UK Department for Transport news – Page 9
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Rail Business UKFranchise support to be extended by 18 months
UK: The government is preparing for a further 18 months of financial support for passenger train operators once the existing Emergency Measures Agreements expire on September 20, industry insiders have confirmed. A formal decision is expected to be announced by Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps ...
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Rail Business UKRestoring pre-Covid service ‘could take two years’ as TOCs face logistical hurdles
UK: Government aspirations for a significant ramping up of passenger services towards pre-coronavirus levels are unlikely to be achieved, with train operating companies warning of staff shortages and a lack of clarity over capacity leading to an increasingly confusing situation.
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Rail Business UKTOC owning groups consider exit strategies as Shapps outlines reform thinking
UK: Several owning groups holding passenger franchises are understood to be considering their future in the light of emerging government thinking about future industry structures and concession models.
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Rail Business UKFirst of a Kind funding awarded for 25 rail innovation projects
UK: The Department for Transport and Innovate UK have announced the 25 projects which are to share £9·4m of funding under the 2020 round of the First of a Kind rail industry innovation programme.
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Rail Business UKNorthern review looks beyond Covid-19 recovery
UK: ‘Covid-19 has not changed our commitment to deliver a “new Northern” that will deliver real and tangible improvements for passengers’, said Managing Director Nick Donovan on June 8, as the operator published the results of the ‘100-day review’ commissioned when control of the franchise was transferred to the Department for Transport’s Operator of Last Resort on March 1.
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Rail Business UKDepartment for Transport demands train operators return to full service from July 6
UK: The Department for Transport has advised all franchised operators that a full service timetable is to be re-introduced from July 6. This follows the step-up in services from May 18, and despite high numbers of staff continuing to be unavailable for work after contracting the coronavirus ...
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Rail Business UKFace coverings to be required on trains in England from June 15
Source: Transport for London UK: The government has announced that operators of public transport services including trains, trams, buses, coaches, ferries and aircraft in England will be asked to make the wearing of non-medical face coverings a requirement for passengers from June 15. The rules for trains ...
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Rail Business UK10 rail schemes awarded business case development funding
UK: The allocation of funding to support the development of business cases for 10 proposed rail enhancement projects was announced by Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps on May 23. He said this formed part of the government’s plan ‘to reverse some of the 1960s ...
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Metro Report InternationalTransport for London to receive emergency funding
UK: The government has agreed to provide a grant of £1·095bn and a loan of £505m from the Public Works Loan Board to support continuity of operations at Transport for London. In return for the package of support running to October 17 which was agreed on May ...
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Rail Business UKColne – Skipton reopening moves closer
UK: Rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris has confirmed that investigations have been commissioned into the proposed reinstatement of the 19·3 km Colne – Skipton ‘missing link’ connecting east Lancashire and west Yorkshire.
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Rail Business UKDfT preparing for future passenger franchise options
UK: Having temporarily suspended its franchise agreements with passenger train operators, the Department for Transport is currently considering its options for what may follow the Emergency Measures Agreements announced on March 23.
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Rail Business UKUK government planning increase in rail services from May 18
UK: Despite an explicit denial of any proposals to increase passenger rail services when First Secretary of State Dominic Raab was questioned at the government’s daily coronavirus press briefing on April 22, industry sources confirm that train operating companies have been asked to prepare to reinstate a ...
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Rail Business UKDfT sets out steps to a transport decarbonisation plan
UK: The Department for Transport has published Decarbonising Transport: Setting the Challenge, a policy paper explaining out how it intends to develop a plan to meet the government’s target of net zero transport emissions by 2050. The plan is scheduled to be published later this year. The ...
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NewsUK train operators offered management contracts or nationalisation
UK: The Department for Transport has given the franchised passenger train operators it is responsible for the opportunity to move to temporary management contracts. On March 23 DfT said it would temporarily suspend existing franchise agreements and transfer all revenue and cost risk to the government for ...
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Rail Business UKTransport Select Committee to question Shapps on coronavirus implications
UK: The House of Commons Transport Select Committee is to question Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps about the impact of coronavirus on transport at 14.30 on March 25. As the situation changes daily, the Committee will be asking how the Department for Transport is responding ...
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Rail Business UKRail services to be reduced to match demand and provide resilience
UK: The government and rail sector have agreed a plan for the gradual reduction of train services to reflect lower passenger demand as people stop unnecessary travel and decrease non-essential social contact in line with advice to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Under plans to ...
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Rail Business UKRail industry forms Coronavirus Joint Forum
UK: Trade unions and industry leaders agreed on March 18 to set up a Rail Industry Coronavirus Joint Forum. This will engage at a senior level to support a collective industry response and help to ensure that the railway can continue to operate during the coronavirus crisis. ...
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Rail Business UKFranchise decisions imminent, as Shapps targets concession model
UK: Decisions about the future of the Southeastern and Great Western franchises are set to be announced imminently, according to Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps.
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Rail Business UKNewhaven Marine station to be closed
UK: The Department for Transport has begun public consultation on Network Rail’s formal proposal to close Newhaven Marine station.
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Rail Business UKFirst of a Kind competition offers £9·4m to support rail innovation
UK: Innovate UK and the Department for Transport have launched the 2020 First of a Kind competition, which will provide £9·4m to support the development of innovative technologies in the rail sector. ‘For two centuries the UK has been at the cutting-edge of rail technology’, said Transport ...