Coronavirus news – Page 8
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Rail Business UKTreasury concerns over ticketing changes
UK: Department for Transport sources have confirmed to Rail Business UK that a key focus within the department is now on the development of part-time season tickets or carnets to encourage commuters to return to train services. However, pressure from the Treasury to manage any lost ...
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Rail Business UKGWR Emergency Measures Agreement extended
UK: On September 1 the Department for Transport exercised its option to extend the Emergency Measures Agreement covering FirstGroup’s Great Western franchise until at least June 26 2021. FirstGroup Chief Executive Matthew Gregory said this ‘provides important clarity and continuity for our customers, employees and wider stakeholders’. ...
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NewsBombardier Transportation to cut Thunder Bay workforce
CANADA: Bombardier Transportation has announced plans to reduce the workforce at its Thunder Bay plant in Ontario by 125 people by mid-October, and potentially by 75 more next March. ‘Unfortunately, we find ourselves unable to sustain current workforce levels’, the company said. ‘During the last 19 months, ...
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Rail Business UKTOCs expect timetable stability after September uplift
UK: Train operators are preparing to ramp up services early next month as the government encourages the country to return to workplaces and education in greater numbers. While some TOCs have announced an uplift from September 7 following a request from the Department for Transport specifying that ...
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Rail Business UKTrain operators resist proposed Emergency Remedial Measures Agreements
UK: With the current Emergency Measures Agreements with franchised passenger train operating companies set to expire on September 20, industry sources report that some TOCs have been ‘resistant’ to the terms of the successor Emergency Remedial Measures Agreements proposed by the Department for Transport. Rail Business ...
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NewsGeorge Washington University to advise Amtrak on pandemic response
USA: National passenger operator Amtrak has engaged the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health to provide technical expertise and guidance to enhance its response to the coronavirus pandemic. This will include advice on: reviewing safe ...
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Metro Report InternationalEnglish light rail support extended
UK: The government has allocated further financial support for five tram and light rail networks in England as part of a commitment to provide £256m for bus and tram services for between eight and 12 weeks. The funding announced on August 8 aims to enable operators ‘to ...
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NewsClass 90s support Freightliner decarbonisation objectives
UK: As part of its strategy to decarbonise rail freight and operate longer trains, Freightliner has acquired another 13 Class 90 electric locomotives formerly used on Greater Anglia inter-city services, bringing its fleet to 23.
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Rail Business UKONS reclassifies Train Operating Companies as public non-financial corporations
UK: Train Operating Companies which are operating under Emergency Measures Agreements with the UK and Scottish governments have been reclassified as public non-financial corporations, the Office for National Statistics announced on July 31. The reclassification, which is backdated to April 1, is a statistical matter which affects ...
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Metro Report InternationalList of coronavirus products for public transport operators published
USA: A list of sources of products to help the public transport sector respond to and recover from the coronavirus crisis has been compiled by the American Public Transportation Association and the Community Transportation Association of America. The Covid-19 Recovery Vendor List for Public Transportation provides links ...
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Rail Business UKHull Trains announces date for service restart
UK: Open access operator Hull Trains has announced plans to restart its East Yorkshire to London inter-city services during August. As a non-franchised operator Hull Trains must survive on a purely commercial basis. It did not qualify for the emergency support which the Department of Transport has ...
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NewsIndian Railways unveils ‘post-Covid coach’
RCF coach INDIA: The Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala has rolled out its first ‘post-Covid coach’, incorporating what Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal said were ‘significant design improvements for post-Covid travel’ The vehicle incorporates a range of ‘hands-free’ features including forearm-operated compartment ...
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Rail Business UKEmergency Recovery Measures Agreements announcement delayed
UK: Despite industry expectations, details of the Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements which are due replace the current Emergency Measures Agreements with passenger train operators from September were not released before the end of the Parliamentary session on July 22. Rail Business UK understands that discussions with operators ...
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Rail Business UKOperators unable to meet DfT ambition for full timetable from September 7
UK: Industry sources confirm that the Department for Transport has asked passenger operators to work towards a ‘near-full timetable’ from September 7 as part of the government’s plan to encourage people to start using public transport and to return to working normally. At the moment no advice ...
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Metro Report InternationalSecond review of Transport for London’s financial options announced
UK: The Transport for London board chaired by Mayor Sadiq Khan has commissioned an independent review of Transport for London’s long-term funding and financing options. This will be carried out in parallel with a previously-announced review of TfL financing which is being undertaken by the Department for ...
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Rail Business UKInquiry to consider implications of the pandemic for public transport
UK: The longer-term implications of the coronavirus pandemic for public transport are to be examined by the House of Commons’ Transport Select Committee, which has called for written evidence on the extent that the pandemic ‘could, and should’, be used as an opportunity to influence how people ...
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Metro Report InternationalGovernment sets out details of Transport for London financial review
UK: Cost efficiencies, workforce modernisation, alternative potential operating models and ‘exploring the feasibility of extending driverless operation from the Docklands Light Railway to other lines which are already automatic’ are to be considered by a government review into the financial structure of Transport for London. TfL ...
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Rail Business UKRail Supply Group’s Coronavirus Taskforce sets out path to recovery
UK: The Rail Supply Group’s Coronavirus Taskforce has published its report setting out actions needed to support the recovery of the supply chain from the effects of the pandemic. Having been tasked by the government with drawing up a recovery plan for the rail sector, RSG commissioned an independent survey ...
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NewsFreight by passenger train pilot project funded
SWEDEN: Innovation agency Vinnova is to fund a project which aims to use spare capacity on passenger trains to carry high value light goods such as pharmaceuticals and e-commerce deliveries. The SKr1m grant has been awarded under a programme which aims to facilitate ‘rapid and sustainable change’ ...
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Rail Business UKRail industry responds to transport reopening in England
UK: ‘In England, from today we are making clear that anybody may use public transport, while of course encouraging people to consider alternative means of transport where they are available’, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on July 17. Johnson went on to say that ‘from August 1, ...