Govia Thameslink Railway news
News about Govia Thameslink Railway, the UK's largest passenger train operator, which runs a network of commuter and regional services north and south of London under the Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express brands. Govia is a joint venture of Go-Ahead Group (65%) and Keolis (35%).
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Rail Business UK
Moorgate branch ETCS goes live
UK: Revenue-earning suburban services have started to use ETCS Level 2 over London’s Northern City Line from Finsbury Park to Moorgate.
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Rail Business UK
AI technology aims to help prevent railway suicides
UK: Innovate UK has awarded funding to the Suicide Avoidance via Intelligent Video Examination project, which is being undertaken by Purple Transform, Govia Thameslink Railway and Lancaster University. The project uses three AI technologies. The first uses smart cameras at stations and along the track that ...
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Rail Business UK
Go-Ahead appoints rail strategy leader and new head of Govia Thameslink Railway
UK: Patrick Verwer has been appointed Rail CEO at international rail and bus operator The Go-Ahead Group from the end of November. Angie Doll will succeed him as CEO of Govia Thameslink Railway, which Go-Ahead operates though a 65:35 joint venture with Keolis. Verwer will oversee ...
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Rail Business UK
Southern seeks feedback on West Coastway timetable changes
UK: Govia Thameslink Railway is seeking public feedback on a redesign of the timetable for Southern-branded West Coastway services between Southampton, Portsmouth, Brighton and London via Gatwick Airport from next year. GTR said the aim is to provide more evenly-spaced departure times, increase capacity where demand ...
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Rail Business UK
Thameslink EMUs to get ETCS onboard upgrade
UK: A five-year contract to upgrade the Class 700 Thameslink EMU fleet to the latest specification of European Train Control System has been awarded through the cross-industry East Coast Digital Programme. The £32·7m contract announced on June 21 was signed by infrastructure manager Network Rail, operator ...
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Rail Business UK
Train operator trials assistance app for blind and partially sighted passengers
UK: Govia Thameslink Railway is trialling the Aria wayfinding app which connects blind and partially sighted people to a remote adviser who can use the passenger’s smartphone camera to guide them through a station to a member of staff. Passengers at Brighton, Stevenage, London Blackfriars and ...
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In depth
Train Control: En route to digital signalling
Final testing and commissioning of ETCS Level 2 is underway on the Northern City Line to London’s Moorgate terminus, which is due to go live later this year as a ‘pathfinder’ project for the East Coast Digital Programme. Chris Jackson reports.
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Rail Business UK
Crowns, chocolates, a named train and planning ahead as rail industry prepares for the coronation
UK: Additional services, longer trains and queuing systems are planned to handle the crowds who are expected to travel to events marking the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey on May 6 and the concert to be held in Windsor the following day.
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Rail Business UK
ETCS knowledge sharing in action
UK: DB Cargo UK recently took a Class 66 diesel locomotive to Govia Thameslink Railway’s Hornsey depot, so the freight operator could learn more about the passenger operator’s approach to rolling out ETCS. The companies have been working together for months to share their knowledge, as ...
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Rail Business UK
Class 387/1 EMU to be fitted with ETCS
UK: Govia Thameslink Railway has sent its first Class 387/1 EMU to be fitted with ETCS in-cab signalling as part of the East Coast Digital Programme. Alstom will install the Atlas 3 ETCS in Worksop, including a new driver’s dashboard, AWS/TPWS, doppler radar and ETCS ...
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Rail Business UK
Supporting military leavers in the rail industry
UK: Govia Thameslink Railway has signed the Armed Forces Covenant, aiming to help ex-military personnel move into the rail industry and ensure fair treatment in the workplace. GTR said veterans and reservists bring a variety of transferable skills to the civilian workplace. The company has ex-Forces ...
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Rail Business UK
Electrostar services contract awarded
UK: Govia Thameslink Railway has awarded Alstom a £256m Technical Support & Spares Supply Agreement covering the 1 210 cars in its Class 377 and 387 Electrostar EMU fleets. Alstom and before that Bombardier Transportation have supported the fleets since they were delivered. The latest TSSSA ...
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Rail Business UK
Ridership doubles year-on-year but still down on pre-pandemic levels
UK: The Office of Rail & Road reports that 990 million rail journeys were made in Great Britain between April 1 2021 and March 31 2022, more than double the 388 million journeys in 2020-21 when the pandemic caused figures to fall to the lowest levels ...
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Rail Business UK
ETCS lineside equipment commissioned on Northern City Line
UK: In a major step for the East Coast Digital Programme, the ETCS Level 2 signalling and train control equipment on the Northern City Line between Finsbury Park and Moorgate was commissioned over the May Day bank holiday weekend. The conversion is a key element in ...
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Rail Business UK
Angie Doll becomes permanent Chief Operating Officer at Govia Thameslink Railway
UK: Managing Director of Southern & Gatwick Express Angie Doll has been appointed as Govia Thameslink Railway’s Chief Operating Officer with effect from April 20, having been Interim COO for the past six months. She started her railway career in 1999 as Station Manager at Brighton. ...
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Rail Business UK
Govia Thameslink Railway awarded National Rail Contract
UK: The Department for Transport has awarded incumbent Govia Thameslink Railway a National Rail Contract to continue operating Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern passenger services from April 1 2022 until at least April 1 2025, with up to a further three years at the Secretary of ...
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Rail Business UK
GTR undertakes station accessibility improvements
UK: Govia Thameslink Railway has completed a £600 000 programme of small station improvements to make the Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern networks more accessible. The works included installing improved customer information points at Three Bridges and Caterham stations, with wide, automated doors, and counters set ...
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Rail Business UK
GTR to restore Gatwick Express from April
UK: After being suspended at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and briefly revived late last year just before the Omicron wave, Govia Thameslink Railway’s Gatwick Express will resume regular service on April 3 with twice hourly trains running non-stop between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria. ...
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Rail Business UK
Thameslink test confirms ETCS backwards compatibility
UK: A significant milestone has been reached in the East Coast Digital Programme, with the testing of a Great Northern Class 717 EMU over the Thameslink core between London St Pancras and Blackfriars stations using ETCS Level 2. The Siemens Mobility-built Class 717s are equipped ...
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Rail Business UK
Disabled trainer-led courses for all GTR staff
UK: All customer-facing Govia Thameslink Railway staff have now participated in disability equality courses delivered by experts who are themselves disabled, and the programme is being expanded to all the operator’s staff including the board. The courses are delivered by a company owned by wheelchair-using accessibility ...