All articles by Rail Business UK – Page 125
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
ScotRail has unveiled the livery designed by artist Peter McDermott for the five Class 153 single-car DMUs which are being modified to carry up to 20 bikes and large sporting equipment on the West Highland Line. The first is due for completion later this year when the ...
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Rail Business UKDisqualification of non-compliant franchise bids was lawful, High Court finds
UK: The Department for Transport’s disqualification of non-compliant bids for the East Midlands, South Eastern and West Coast Partnership franchises was lawful, Mr Justice Stuart-Smith said when handing down judgment in the High Court on June 17. In April 2019 the then Secretary of State for Transport, ...
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Rail Business UKFirst of a Kind funding awarded for 25 rail innovation projects
UK: The Department for Transport and Innovate UK have announced the 25 projects which are to share £9·4m of funding under the 2020 round of the First of a Kind rail industry innovation programme.
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Rail Business UKEast Coast Trains Class 803 production begins
UK: Production of the five Class 803 trainsets which FirstGroup subsidiary East Coast Trains has ordered for its future London to Edinburgh open access service is underway at Hitachi Rail’s Newton Aycliffe factory.
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Rail Business UKHS2 Ltd launches innovation accelerator
UK: HS2 Ltd announced the launch of an ‘innovation accelerator’ programme on June 16 aimed at attracting start-ups and small businesses to put forward ideas to be incorporated into the first phase of the high speed line between London and the West Midlands. The project promoter ...
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Rail Business UKWabtec to cut up to 450 jobs at Doncaster
UK: Wabtec announced plans to reduce its workforce at Doncaster by up to 450 employees on June 16. The company will enter into a 45-day consultation period with employee representatives and trade unions to discuss the proposal and improved work practices. It is envisaged that the jobs ...
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Rail Business UKFace coverings now mandatory on trains in England
UK: It became mandatory for public transport passengers in England to cover their nose and mouth on June 15. Government advice remains to avoid public transport where possible, however mandating the use of face coverings is intended to help prevent infected people from spreading coronavirus as lockdown ...
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Rail Business UKData-driven performance and short term planning projects funded
UK: RSSB has announced the three winners of funding under the second round of its Data Sandbox+ programme, which aims develop data-driven ways of improving operational performance, and two projects to be funded under the Dynamic Train Planning competition. The selected Data Sandbox+ projects are: Utilising ...
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Rail Business UKContractor appointed for Aberdeen station modernisation
UK: Morrison Construction has been appointed to undertake a £8m modernisation of Aberdeen station. The year-long project will include relocating the ticket office and first class lounge to provide an improved environment and create additional ‘high value’ retail areas, enhancement of existing ...
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Rail Business UKSouth Western Railway’s first Class 701 delivered
Source: Christopher Addoo UK: The first of 90 Bombardier Transportation Class 701 Aventra electric multiple-units ordered for operation on South Western Railway’s commuter routes into London Waterloo has been delivered to Eastleigh ready for the start of certification testing next month. The 10-car EMU was hauled ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
Zonegreen has installed three Points Converters at Ryde St John’s Road depot on the Isle of Wight. These connect directly to existing hand-operated turnouts, enabling them to be automated without the expense of full signalling conversion. The turnouts are controlled by locally-installed key switch panels situated on ...
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Rail Business UKKidderminster station building opens
UK: A new main building at Kidderminster station was opened without ceremony on June 7. The glass-fronted structure built by Buckingham Group Contracting is double the size of the previous building. ‘The customer experience at the station will be vastly improved and ...
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Rail Business UKGB Railfreight to lease more intermodal wagons
UK: GB Railfreight has signed a contract to lease a further 52 WH Davis Ecofret2 three-section container wagons from VTG Rail UK. The announcement on June 10 follows a previous agreement covering 32 Ecofret2 wagon sets, which are due to enter service in 2020-21. Ecofret wagons are ...
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Rail Business UKConsultation underway on revised Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme plan
UK: A second round of public consultation has begun on the Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme. The project aims to remove a major bottleneck at what Network Rail Managing Director, Southern Region, John Halsall described as ‘the single greatest constraint on train punctuality and capacity’ on the ...
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Rail Business UKDigital Railway business opportunities to be highlighted
UK: The Railway Industry Association’s Unlocking Innovation webinars organised in partnership with Network Rail and the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network will return in the week commencing June 29 with a series of webinars looking at the Digital Railway programme. The webinars are intended to explore ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern review looks beyond Covid-19 recovery
UK: ‘Covid-19 has not changed our commitment to deliver a “new Northern” that will deliver real and tangible improvements for passengers’, said Managing Director Nick Donovan on June 8, as the operator published the results of the ‘100-day review’ commissioned when control of the franchise was transferred to the Department for Transport’s Operator of Last Resort on March 1.
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Rail Business UKRail supply chain needs clarity on future work to support coronavirus recovery planning
UK: Companies in the railway supply chain are largely confident that they can survive the coronavirus crisis as long as they gain visibility on future work by early autumn, according to the findings of a survey commissioned by the Rail Supply Group. RSG said the survey undertaken ...
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Rail Business UKAcorn Rail obtains Trackside Principal Contractor Licence
UK: Acorn’s Rail division has obtained a Trackside Principal Contractor Licence from Network Rail, permitting it to tender for maintenance, labour or contract work. Newport-based Acorn Rail undertakes civil engineering, track renewals, signalling, power & telecoms, tunnelling, and mechanical and engineering works. ‘Our Rail division is supported ...
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Rail Business UKDepartment for Transport demands train operators return to full service from July 6
UK: The Department for Transport has advised all franchised operators that a full service timetable is to be re-introduced from July 6. This follows the step-up in services from May 18, and despite high numbers of staff continuing to be unavailable for work after contracting the coronavirus ...
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Rail Business UKFace coverings to be required on trains in England from June 15
Source: Transport for London UK: The government has announced that operators of public transport services including trains, trams, buses, coaches, ferries and aircraft in England will be asked to make the wearing of non-medical face coverings a requirement for passengers from June 15. The rules for trains ...