Rail Business UK
Rail Business UK provides industry-focused professional coverage of the British rail industry, including the operations, infrastructure and supply sectors.
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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, and reports with the same respected professionalism as the global news coverage from Railway Gazette International and Metro Report International.
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
This week’s round-up of business news from the UK railway industry.
- Rail Business UK
Passcode-protected gate reduces railway trespass
UK: Network Rail has worked with local authorities to install a passcode-protected electrically-powered gate to stop illegal use of the Green Lane crossing in Knaresborough while still allowing specific people access to their private land.
- Rail Business UK
Derby selected as Great British Railways headquarters
UK: Derby has been selected to host the national headquarters of Great British Railways, with the Department for Transport saying it had come top in both the assessment process and the public vote.
- Rail Business UK
Independent train ticket retailers call for level playing field
UK: Attracting new customers to rail requires ‘simplifying ticketing, creating a level playing field that encourages competition, and embracing the private sector to drive down costs’, Chair of the Independent Rail Retailers association Alistair Lees has told the All-Party Parliamentary Rail Group.
- Rail Business UK
RMT members accept Network Rail offer to end strikes
UK: The RMT union’s National Executive has announced the end of the trade dispute with Network Rail, after members voted to accept the latest offer covering pay, jobs and conditions.
- Rail Business UK
Avanti West Coast contract extended and Managing Director appointed
UK: Avanti West Coast must continue to regain the confidence of passengers before decisions on its future are made, the Department for Transport said when it announced a six-month extension of the inter-city operator’s contract.
- Rail Business UK
Diesel and HVO locomotive fuel compared directly
UK: DB Cargo UK has used a load bank at Toton depot to directly compare the performance and emissions from a Class 60 diesel locomotive when fuelled by hydrotreated vegetable oil and by conventional diesel.
- Rail Business UK
Harry Needle Railway Co secures funding for expansion plans
UK: Harry Needle Railway Co has secured £2m in funding from Frontier Development Capital to support a £6·2m plan to expand its engineering capabilities and modify locomotives to lower emissions.
- Rail Business UK
TSSA appoints Interim (joint) General Secretary to implement review recommendations
UK: Peter Pendle has been appointed Interim (joint) General Secretary to help lead the TSSA union in the aftermath of publication of two reports into the organisation’s working culture following a series of scandals. A change management team is also being introduced.
- Rail Business UK
UK railway news round-up
This week’s round-up of business news from the UK railway industry.
- Rail Business UK
Rail sector disappointed at lack of clarity in Spring Budget
UK: Deeper devolution deals for Greater Manchester and the West Midlands and confirmation that the route for the Bedford – Cambridge section of East West Rail will be announced during May were included in the Spring Budget presented by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on March 15, but the rail industry has ...
- Rail Business UK
UK faces being ‘left behind’ in the hydrogen train sector
UK: A government commitment to procuring hydrogen trains and refuelling infrastructure is required to kick-start deployment and achieve faster decarbonisation of the rail network, according to Hydrogen UK.
- Rail Business UK
FirstClass to supply depot safety and control system for Cardiff Canton
UK: FirstClass Safety & Control has been awarded a contract to install a depot protection control system at Transport for Wales Rail’s Cardiff Canton site.
- Rail Business UK
Chartered Institution of Railway Operators achieves two training accreditations
UK: The Chartered Institution of Railway Operators has achieved its first Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services & Skills rating for its apprenticeships, and Office of Qualifications & Examinations Regulation recognition as an End-point Assessment Organisation for the Train Driver Level 4 apprenticeship standard.
- Rail Business UK
Virgin offers ‘sticking plaster’ split tickets in the absence of fares reform
UK: A split ticket function has been added to the Virgin Trains Ticketing booking app, but the company says this is intended as stopgap ‘while passengers and the rail industry wait for long overdue fare reforms’.
- Rail Business UK
Zonegreen acquired by Sentric Safety Group
UK: Sentric Safety Group has acquired railway depot safety equipment manufacturer Zonegreen.
- Rail Business UK
East Midlands Railway joins surplus food redistribution scheme
UK: East Midlands Railway has partnered with sharing app and social enterprise Olio to distribute surplus food from its inter-city trains.
- Rail Business UK
RIA calls on government to accelerate plans to decarbonise rail
UK: The Railway Industry Association has launched a RailDecarb23 campaign urging the government to take three steps to accelerate plans to decarbonise rail and reach Net Zero by 2050.
- Rail Business UK
Government must electrify at a faster rate, says Transport Committee
UK: To achieve its decarbonisation goals the government must electrify the rail network at a faster rate, according to the Fuelling the future: motive power and connectivity report published by the House of Commons Transport Committee.
- Rail Business UK
Industry responds as High Speed 2 delays confirmed by government
UK: Delays to High Speed 2 along with other transport schemes have been confirmed by Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper, who said ‘we have seen headwinds from inflation, triggered by the impact of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine, as well as supply chain disruption as the global economy ...
