Network Rail news – Page 12
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Rail Business UKDartmoor reopening returns regular trains to Okehampton
UK: GWR began operating regular passenger services between Exeter and Okehampton on November 20, with the ‘Dartmoor Line’ from Crediton being the first route to be reopened under the government’s ‘Restoring Your Railway’ programme.
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Rail Business UKSODOR enters the space race
UK: The Satellites for Digitalisation of Railways project has been launched to demonstrate how constellations of communication satellites could be combined with terrestrial telecoms networks to provided passengers and train operators with better onboard connectivity, including in stations and tunnels. SODOR is being developed by a ...
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Rail Business UKORR seeks increased competition in the signalling market
UK: Proposals for increasing competition in the signalling market to reduce costs and boost performance, efficiency and innovation have been published by the Office of Rail & Road. ORR’s market study found that the signalling market in Great Britain is worth £800m to 900m per year ...
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Rail Business UKNetwork Rail ‘concerned’ about future access to European research programme
UK: Speaking at the Railway Industry Association’s annual conference in London on November 5, Network Rail Chief Executive Andrew Haines expressed concern that the difficult political relationship between the UK government and the European Union since Brexit poses a risk to future access to European railway research programmes.
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Rail Business UKTrack monitoring system to be tested on Chiltern line
UK: Network Rail is to undertake in-service trials with DB Systemtechnik’s CTM2·0 continuous track monitoring system on a Chiltern Railways MkIII driving van trailer operating in passenger service between London Marylebone and Birmingham. The equipment measures longitudinal level, twist, dynamic alignment, ride comfort, cyclic top, speed ...
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Rail Business UKSteam locomotive ETCS testing contract awarded
UK: Network Rail has appointed Atkins and Thales to carry out design and trial fitment to determine whether it is a viable to fit ETCS onboard equipment to steam and heritage diesel locomotives, enabling them to continue operating on routes where ETCS is to be rolled ...
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Rail Business UKDiesel replaces electric traction in face of rising power costs
UK: Some rail freight operators have temporarily replaced electric haulage with diesel traction, following significant increases in the cost of traction electricity. The increase between September and October is understood to be more than 210%. Network Rail said the costs were the result of price rises ...
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Rail Business UKGlasgow Queen Street station rebuild completed
UK: The completion of a £120m four-year project to rebuild Glasgow Queen Street station was officially marked on October 4, with a celebration attended by Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Delivered as part of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme, the modernisation of Scotland’s third-busiest station was ...
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Rail Business UKSignal engineering apprenticeships offer route to ‘well-paid, secure’ careers
UK: Randstad Infrastructure is to expand its workforce by 50% and take on apprentices after being awarded a national contract to supply signalling engineers to Network Rail.
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Rail Business UKThameslink 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 UKNetwork Rail and YRP launch ‘Welcome to Rail’ initiative
UK: Not-for-profit networking body Young Rail Professionals and Network Rail have joined forces to launch what is intended to become an annual induction programme for people new to working in the rail industry.
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Rail Business UKTransport for London joins project reference scheme
UK: Transport for London has joined the Rail Supply Group’s export reference scheme which provides simplified project references for suppliers who are seeking to sell their products or services overseas. Network Rail and HS2 Ltd already participate. ‘At the Rail Supply Group we’ve been working closely ...
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Rail Business UKBetter Value Rail Toolkit launched to assist project sponsors
UK: An online Better Value Rail Toolkit has been launched to help organisations sponsoring rail projects make the right decisions at the early stages, ensure that rail is the best option and save time and money during the process. The website has been jointly developed by ...
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Rail Business UKCrossrail 2 and major infrastructure investment still required on South West Main Line despite Covid-19 effect, warns Network Rail
UK: A report issued by Network Rail indicates that the expected drop in commuter and business travel caused by Covid-19 will not be sufficient to remove the need for major infrastructure investment on the South West Main Line serving London Waterloo, including potential resumption of work on Crossrail 2.
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Rail Business UKBeaver tunnel aims to prevent culvert blockage
UK: Network Rail has installed a beaver tunnel to help the protected animals pass under the Highland Main Line near Gleneagles while preventing them from building dams across railway drainage culverts. A pipe has been inserted through an existing culvert drain, with ...
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Rail Business UKORR calls for Network Rail action on drainage, structures and track worker safety
UK: The Office of Rail & Road published its latest annual assessments of railway safety in Great Britain and of Network Rail’s performance on July 13. ‘Our reports highlight the need for Network Rail to focus on the interlinked fundamentals of safety, managing assets, delivering efficiently ...
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Rail Business UKNetwork Rail installs recycled plastic sleepers
UK: Network Rail has announced its first main line use of composite sleepers made from recycled plastic. These have been installed on Sherrington viaduct between Salisbury and Warminster where weight restrictions previously required the use of wood rather than concrete. Creosote-treated softwood sleepers are to be ...
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Rail Business UKBridge raising project completed
UK: A river bridge which has been subjected to 30 flood-related closures in the past decade has been raised by 1 m in a £3·6m six-week project undertaken by Network Rail and contractor AmcoGiffen. It was decided to lift the 80 tonne bridge over the River Dulas ...
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Rail Business UKWe need a simpler, sustainable and more user-centric railway, says Network Rail Chief Executive
UK: ‘This is a fantastic time to look at reshaping the industry, as we come out of Covid’, says Network Rail Chief Executive Andrew Haines. ‘The government is committed to growing the railway’ and to decarbonisation, and ‘there is no appetite to use Covid as an excuse to shut the railway.’
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Rail Business UKLondon King’s Cross station remodelling completed
UK: Network Rail has completed its remodelling of the approaches to London King’s Cross station as part of its £1·2bn East Coast Main Line upgrading programme. Wholesale replacement of the track layout installed in the early 1970s has allowed the station platforms to be extended for ...