Rail Business UK
Rail Business UK provides editorially independent and industry-focused professional coverage of the British rail industry, including operations, infrastructure, policy and the supply chain.
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Rail Business UK is part of the long-established Railway Gazette Group, the leading provider of business news and information for the global railway industry. Reporting is undertaken with the same respected professionalism seen in the global news coverage from Railway Gazette International and Metro Report International.
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- Rail Business UK
Samaritans to continue railway suicide prevention programme
UK: Network Rail has reappointed Samaritans as primary delivery partner for its strategy to prevent suicide on the railway.
- Rail Business UK
UK railway news round-up
This week’s round-up of business news from the UK railway industry.
- Rail Business UK
Cancellation of HS2 Phase 2 may force demand management on trains north of Birmingham, NAO says
UK: The cancellation of Phase 2 of High Speed 2 means the programme will now not address the capacity issues on the West Coast Main Line north of Birmingham, according to the National Audit Office.
- Rail Business UK
‘TBM in a can’ plan makes progress at HS2 site in west London
UK: Construction of HS2 Ltd’s Green Park Way ventilation shaft at Greenford in west London has entered a crucial phase, as preparations ramp up ahead of the arrival and subsequent recovery of four tunnel boring machines at the site.
- Rail Business UK
Innovation funding supports sustainable decommissioning of HS2 worksites
UK: HS2 Ltd is to work with SMEs Infinitive Group Ltd and Material Index as part of its efforts to sustainably ‘deconstruct’ worksites along the 225 km of high speed railway being built between London and the West Midlands.
- Rail Business UK
Government introduces bill to take passenger train operations into the public sector
UK: The legislation envisages that the direct award of a contract to a public sector operator would become the default, rather than a last resort.
- Rail Business UK
Train operator says WhatsApp service has saved 1 277 h of employee time
UK: Train operator Northern says its entirely AI-operated Whatsapp enquiry service has received 8 000 messages from customers in the first year of operation, which has freed-up 1 277 h of employee time.
- Rail Business UK
Acting Chair appointed at Network Rail
UK: Network Rail’s senior non-executive director Mike Putnam has been appointed as Acting Chair of the infrastructure manager, replacing Lord Peter Hendy who has been appointed as Minister of State at the Department for Transport.
- Rail Business UK
First stage of £36m Tyseley depot expansion completed
UK: Spencer Group has completed the first of three phases of a £36m project being undertaken on behalf of West Midlands Trains and Network Rail to enable Birmingham’s Tyseley depot to handle four rather than three-car trains.
- Rail Business UK
Five electrified railway lines at risk from climate change
UK: The 25 kV 50 Hz overhead equipment on five sections of railway needs ‘immediate assessment and renewal’ to address the threat to reliability posed by climate change, according to electrification engineering company Furrer+Frey.
- Rail Business UK
UK railway news round-up
This week’s round-up of business news from the UK railway industry.
- Rail Business UK
Nationalisation, Great British Railways and devolution plans included in King’s Speech
UK: A package of rail reforms including taking the remaining private train operators into state ownership was unveiled at the state opening of parliament on July 17.
- Rail Business UK
Automated detection of lineside vegetation on test
UK: The use of cab-mounted forward-facing CCTV for the automated detection of potentially hazardous lineside vegetation is being tested on the East Coast Main Line.
- Rail Business UK
Sheffield students scoop 2024 Railway Challenge
UK: A team of students from the University of Sheffield was the winner of the 13th Railway Challenge competition, organised by the Railway Division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
- Rail Business UK
Burnham bullish on Liverpool – Manchester fast line prospects
UK: Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham remains confident that funding remains available for the development of a new Liverpool – Manchester railway serving Manchester Airport and a new underground station in Manchester following the recent change of government.
- Rail Business UK
Northern reviews recruitment process to better support neurodivergent candidates
UK: Train operator Northern has reviewed its recruitment processes with the aim of ensuring that applicants with neurodivergent conditions are better supported.
- Rail Business UK
Rail and tram-train in Manchester’s Bee Network expansion plans
UK: Local rail services around Manchester are to be brought into the region’s expanding Bee Network by 2028 as part of a public transport development strategy unveiled by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham on July 10.
- Rail Business UK
Royal Mail to switch postal traffic from electric trains to road
UK: Royal Mail has decided to stop using rail to move letters and parcels, replacing its electric train services with road haulage from October 10.
- Rail Business UK
UK railway news round-up
This week’s round-up of business news from the UK railway industry.
- Rail Business UK
Lower fares to compensate passengers for battery train troubles
UK: Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram has announced reduced weekend fares on Merseyrail’s Headbolt Lane line until September, as ‘a goodwill gesture to thank passengers for their patience’ during problems with the introduction of the subfleet of Stadler Class 777 electric multiple-units fitted with batteries.