All articles by Rail Business UK – Page 140
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Rail Business UKPorterbrook completes £250m refinancing
UK: Porterbrook has announced the successful refinancing of its £250m public bond, locking in low funding costs 12 months ahead of the bond’s maturity in October 2020. A £100m samurai loan has been raised from a syndicate of four Japanese institutional investors, in what Porterbrook said was ...
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Rail Business UKSoutheastern trials hidden disability awareness aids
UK: Southeastern is running trials of two hidden disability awareness schemes on the Tonbridge – Hastings route, and if successful hopes to roll them out more widely across the 176 stations it serves. Passengers who have difficulties communicating can use a Just A Minute card to discreetly ...
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Rail Business UKTalgo UK established and Longannet agreement signed
UK: Spanish rolling stock manufacturer Talgo has appointed its UK & Ireland representative Jon Veitch as Managing Director of Talgo UK, and has signed a framework agreement with Scottish Enterprise and Transport Scotland for the establishment of a manufacturing plant at Longannet in Fife should it win ...
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Rail Business UKLonger peaks increase Victoria Line capacity
UK: Transport for London introduced a new timetable for London Underground’s Victoria Line on November 4 that doubles the length of time during which services run at 100 sec headways. Following the completion of a signalling upgrade in 2017, Victoria Line services have been running every 100 ...
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Rail Business UKInPost installs delivery lockers at stations
UK: Govia Thameslink Railway and InPost have announced a partnership which will see automated parcel pick-up and drop-off lockers installed at 11 stations. Users will be able to collect items from a range of retailers including Boohoo, NastyGal and Holland & Barrett, and return items to Asos, ...
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Rail Business UKEast Midlands Railway launches The Platform feedback tool
UK: East Midlands Railway has launched The Platform, an online community where customers can share their experiences which is managed by independent research company Breaking Blue. ‘We currently have a post travel survey in existence which is very good for giving us statistics on how to improve ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
The Rail Delivery Group is a partner in the ‘It’s everyone’s journey’ campaign to make public transport more inclusive which was launched by the Department for Transport with industry, disability groups and disabled people on October 29. ‘We want everyone to be able to benefit from ...
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Rail Business UKRailway Industry Association responds to general election vote
UK: ‘We hope there will not be significant hiatus in rail work or the development of supportive policy for any longer than necessary’, said Railway Industry Association CEO Darren Caplan after the House of Commons voted on October 29 for a general election to be held on ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern rail crisis is a ‘collective system inability’, says Arriva UK Trains MD
Arriva UK Trains Managing Director Chris Burchell talks to Rail Business UK about ongoing problems at the Northern franchise, where performance has been hit by the late delivery of new trains, a series of industrial disputes and the inability of the infrastructure to handle the timetable.
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Rail Business UKVivarail to relocate
UK: Vivarail is to move its main manufacturing base from the Quinton Rail Technology Centre at Long Marston to Southam near Leamington Spa. The company said the relocation was driven by its growing order book and its development of a ‘full suite of emission-free trains’ based on ...
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Rail Business UKCompetition aims to use data to improve train performance
UK: Applications for funding under the second round of the £1·3m Data Sandbox+ research competition are due to close on December 6. The competition is being co-funded by RSSB and Network Rail as part of the PERFORM cross-industry initiative led by RSSB. This aims to use advanced ...
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Rail Business UKHS2 streamlines civils subcontracting process
UK: The four High Speed 2 main works civils contractors have collaborated to introduce a standardised pre-qualification system for subcontractors which is designed to streamline the process, reduce costs and boost productivity. Under the Common Assessment Standard, bidders for work with Align, BBV, EK and SCS Railways ...
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Rail Business UKTelent awarded Network Rail station wi-fi contract
UK: Network Rail has awarded Telent Technology a contract to roll-out free passenger wif-fi with ‘seamless connectivity and single sign-on’ at the 20 major stations which it manages directly. This follows pilot schemes at London Euston and London Bridge. Deployment at the remaining stations is scheduled to ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
Network Rail has secured Department for Transport funding to draw up detailed proposals for enhancements at Denmark Hill station in south London, including a new entrance on Windsor Walk to reduce congestion and provide easier access to King’s College and Maudsley hospitals. The proposals are intended ...
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Rail Business UKDMUs converted to carry bikes and luggage on the West Highland line
UK: Five Class 153 single-car diesel multiple-units are being converted to carry up to 20 bicycles and large luggage including winter sports equipment, for use by ScotRail to provide additional seating capacity and encourage tourism on the scenic West Highland line. The units ...
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Rail Business UKNorth-West Transport Hub opens
North-West Transport Hub UK: The rail facilities at the North-West Transport Hub in Northern Ireland’s second city were opened by transport agency Translink on October 21. The new Derry~Londonderry station returns to railway use the city’s former Waterside station, a Grade B-listed nineteenth century structure ...
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Rail Business UKContactless travel extended to Luton Airport Parkway
UK: Contactless payment was rolled out to three more railway stations in the London commuter area, including Luton Airport Parkway, on October 22. Passengers can use contactless bank cards, but not Oyster smart cards, to travel to and from St Albans City, Harpenden and Luton Airport Parkway ...
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Rail Business UKPacers to continue into 2020, operators confirm
UK: Operators have confirmed that their Pacer diesel multiple-units will remain in service into early 2020, in spite of previous announcements that the unpopular four-wheeled vehicles dating from the 1980s would be withdrawn before enhanced PRM accessibility requirements come into force on January 1 2020. ...
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Rail Business UKLNER launches Azumas to Lincoln
UK: ‘We are putting Lincoln firmly on the LNER map’, said Customer Service Director Suzanne Donnelly at the formal launch of Azuma services off the East Coast Main Line on October 21. With effect from the December timetable change Lincoln will benefit from a ...
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Rail Business UKIlford and Romford station enhancement contract
UK: Network Rail has awarded VolkerFitzpatrick a £20m contract to complete the upgrading of Ilford and Romford stations in east London for the Crossrail project. Ilford station will gain a ‘new, spacious and bright’ building by the end of 2020 to replace the existing entrance on Cranbrook ...