UK railway electrification news
News about UK railway electrification plans, projects, technology and suppliers.
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In depthDecarbonisation: Accelerating the electrification task
Network Rail is now deploying UK-based Gripple’s SwiftLine Rail Dropper, which the supplier believes will speed up key steps in the installation of overhead electrification equipment.
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Rail Business UKThird rail or batteries could replace Southern diesel trains
UK: Govia Thameslink Railway is unable to commit to decarbonisation of its operations unless Network Rail and the Department for Transport agree to fund and implement alternatives to diesel operation on the un-electrified Ashford – Hastings and Hurst Green – Uckfield lines, the operator says in its ...
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Metro Report InternationalLondon Underground orders second-generation safety system
UK: London Underground has awarded Drallim Industries a contract to design, manufacture and service an enhanced version of the Permanent Current Rail Indicating Device. The permanently-fixed traction current status indicators are designed to reduce the risk of staff accessing the track when the traction current is ...
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Rail Business UKGovernment will consider rail freight operators’ proposals for last-mile electrification
UK: The government will consider industry proposals for last-mile electrification into freight terminals which would enable operators to take advantage of existing and future main line electrification when procuring new locomotives, Rail Minister Huw Merriman has told Rail Business UK. Speaking at an event to announce ...
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Rail Business UKScottish rail electrification framework procurement underway
UK: Network Rail has begun procurement for a framework contract covering the ‘efficient, consistent development, delivery, entry into service and handback’ of electrification to decarbonise rail operations in Scotland. This forms part of the Aberdeen Route Upgrade Electrification programme worth £250m-£300m and the £50m-£60m electrical safety ...
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Rail Business UKLong-term and overseas opportunities for rail apprentices
UK: The Transpennine Route Upgrade programme is ‘an investment in people’ and ‘it really is important that these projects leave a legacy of skills’, Rail Minister Huw Merriman said when he announced the latest tranche of funding. Speaking on December 4, Merriman said ‘if you look ...
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Rail Business UKRail plans in Hull and East Yorkshire devolution deal
UK: Electrification from Hull to Sheffield and Leeds, journey time reductions, a parkway station and more local input into rail priorities are included in a proposed devolution deal signed by the leaders of East Riding of Yorkshire and Kingston upon Hull City councils and the Department ...
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Rail Business UKLatest tranche of Transpennine Route Upgrade funding confirmed
UK: The release of a further £3·9bn tranche of funding for the ongoing £11·5bn Transpennine Route Upgrade was confirmed by Rail Minister Huw Merriman on December 4. The Department for Transport indicated that work on TRU would be accelerated through the cash injection and noted that ...
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Rail Business UKRail Charging Facility to enable battery trains to use local power supplies
UK: Porterbrook has announced a £1·7m deal with Siemens Mobility to purchase a Rail Charging Converter, a modular and containerised system developed to enable a battery-powered train to be recharged from standard local power supply cables in places where 25 kV 50 Hz overhead electrification is ...
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Rail Business UKNetwork Rail awards East Kilbride electrification contracts
UK: Network Rail has awarded the main works contracts for the East Kilbride Enhancement Project, which includes electrification of the line near Glasgow. The announcement on November 22 follows the confirmation of Scottish government funding in September, The contracts totalling £61·5m have been awarded to Story ...
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Rail Business UKEurostar depot equipped with moveable overhead electrification
UK: Electrification specialist Furrer+Frey has completed a project to install moveable conductor bar at Eurostar’s Temple Mills depot in east London. A total of 1·5 km of movable overhead has been installed on the eight depot tracks. It can be moved out of the ...
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Rail Business UKElectrification hopes sidelined in RSSB sustainability strategy
UK: The Rail Safety & Standards Board has launched a Sustainable Rail Blueprint, which it says will support the rail industry in making progress on environmental and social sustainability challenges. According to RSSB, the industry faces a challenge not just to deliver net ...
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Rail Business UKResearch expertise used to optimise Transpennine Route Upgrade designs
UK: The University of Huddersfield’s Institute of Railway Research is providing specialised pantograph-catenary interaction and vehicle dynamics expertise to optimise designs for the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme. The IRR has worked with Network Rail, J Murphy & Sons, Siemens, Systra and VolkerRail to produce a three-dimensional ...
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Rail Business UKEast Kilbride electrification funding confirmed
UK: The Scottish government has confirmed funding for the East Kilbride Enhancement Project, saying a rolling programme of electrification forms a key element of its transport decarbonisation plans. The announcement on September 6 confirms £96·3m of funding for project delivery. This is on top of £43·5m ...
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Metro Report InternationalSwiss electrification technology used on Tyne & Wear Metro renewals
UK: Furrer+Frey is to renew overhead electrification equipment on the Tyne & Wear Metro network using a customised version of a design it developed for railways in Switzerland. The five-year contract awarded by transport authority Nexus covers refurbishment of 100 track-km of electrification equipment dating from ...
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Rail Business UKRail Minister commits to trans-Pennine electrification ‘in full’ and HS2 to Manchester
UK: Suggestions that the Transpennine Route Upgrade may be scaled back in response to funding constraints were rejected by Transport Minister Huw Merriman when questioned by Rail Business UK.
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Rail Business UKChiltern electrification alternatives studied
UK: Chiltern Railways is working to present the Department for Transport with options for a fleet renewal programme, with London Marylebone being the only non-electrified London terminal and pressure for the withdrawal of diesel trains continuing to mount, particularly from local residents. Industry insiders report that ...
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Metro Report InternationalTramway electrification competency guidance published
UK: The Light Rail Safety & Standards Board has published its latest Overhead Line Equipment Systems Training & Competency Guidance. ‘This guidance will effectively support the delivery of light railway engineering OLE competency in relation to training apprentices, new recruits and improving the skills of existing ...
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Rail Business UKRIA outlines the benefits of rail electrification
UK: A paper setting out the key benefits of electrification has been published by the Railway Industry Association. Rail Electrification: The Facts says: over the life of a train an electric railway is the cheapest to operate, even factoring in electrification construction costs; electric trains ...
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Metro Report InternationalSouth Wales Metro tram-train delivered as route blockade announced
UK: The first of the Stadler Class 398 tram-trains for South Wales Metro services arrived at Transport for Wales’ Taff’s Well depot by road on the night of March 21. This follows several months of testing at Network Rail’s Rail Innovation & Development Centre at Melton ...