All articles by Rail Business UK – Page 142
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Rail Business UKEurotunnel signed up for Brexit freight framework
UK: Channel Tunnel concessionaire Eurotunnel is among the eight companies which have been appointed to a government procurement framework enabling them to bid to bring critical goods including medicines into the UK after its departure from the European Union. The framework is intended to speed up procurement ...
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Rail Business UKTfL confirms details of Reading services
UK: Details of the transfer of London Paddington – Reading stopping services from Great Western Railway to TfL Rail from the December 15 timetable change have been confirmed by Transport for London. The services are to be operated under the TfL Rail brand, which will be replaced ...
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Rail Business UKTfW launches rail innovation accelerator programme
UK: Transport for Wales has launched an innovation accelerator programme which will provide a series of ‘innovation sprint’, product design and value proposition workshops in Newport, along with mentoring and additional training At the end of the 12-week Lab by Transport for Wales programme, applicants will be ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
LNER began operating Hitachi Azuma trainsets between Glasgow Central and London King’s Cross on September 23. The London – Aberdeen route is to follow on November 25, and London – Inverness from December 9. On September 19 the Competition & Markets Authority launched a ...
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Rail Business UKRBA 2020: Last chance to enter
CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE: Entries for the 22nd annual Rail Business Awards close on Friday September 27, but a short extension to the deadline is available if you need a bit more time to perfect your submission. The Rail Business Awards were established to recognise and reward excellence in ...
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Rail Business UKReport sets out requirements for a more ambitious rail freight strategy
UK: The Rail Freight Group has published the What level of ambition is achievable and worthwhile for rail freight? report, which suggests that an ‘ambitious’ growth strategy for rail freight supported by a new approach from government could generate between £75bn-£90bn in environmental and economic benefits over ...
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Rail Business UKNew punctuality measure adopted
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has published its first performance statistics for passenger operators using a revised method of calculating delays. Under the new methodology, a train is counted as being on time if it arrives at a station within 1 min of schedule. This ...
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Rail Business UKHector Rail sells GB Railfreight to Infracapital
UK: EQT Infrastructure’s Hector Rail business has reached a definitive agreement to sell its UK subsidiary GB Railfreight to Infracapital, the unlisted infrastructure equity arm of M&GPrudential which is due to demerge from Prudential plc in the fourth quarter of this year. EQT Infrastructure ...
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Rail Business UKStation Improvement Vision for Wales
UK: Transport for Wales has announced a 15-year Station Improvement Vision covering 247 stations. The £194m programme includes free wi-fi and improved shelters, CCTV, cycle storage and passenger information. ‘Where possible’, TfW will provide retail opportunities for local businesses and support the development of community spaces. The ...
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Rail Business UKPublic Accounts Committee ‘unconvinced’ that arch sale was best value
UK: The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has published its report into Network Rail’s £1·46bn sale of its commercial rental space portfolio in England and Wales – mainly railway arches – to The Arch Company on a 150-year leasehold basis. The report published on September 13 ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps has instructed HS2 Ltd to review its ancient woodlands clearance programme to assess which removals can be halted until after Douglas Oakervee completes his review of the project later this year. On September 16 Shapps said removals would stop ...
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Rail Business UKOld Oak Common HS2 station contract awarded
Old Oak Common is one of two London stations on High Speed 2. UK: A joint venture of Balfour Beatty, Vinci and Systra has been selected to manage the construction and delivery of the High Speed 2 station at Old Oak Common in northwest London. With six ...
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Rail Business UKNetwork Rail backs post-hackathon accelerator fund
UK: The ideas selected at this year’s HackTrain hackathon event on November 15-17 are to receive funding from Network Rail to accelerate the development of their concepts. River Tamoor Baig of HackTrain organiser Hack Partners said it had worked with NR to create a process that works ...
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Rail Business UKMidlands Engine Rail proposal launched
UK: Sub-national transport body Midlands Connect has set out its £3·5bn Midlands Engine Rail proposal for seven major projects which it says would ‘revolutionise’ the rail network in the East and West Midlands, helping to support sustainability, productivity and social mobility. The seven projects are: 1) The ...
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Rail Business UKIsle of Wight line’s future secured with £26m investment
UK: Investment of £26m to secure the future of the 13·7 km line between Ryde and Shanklin on the Isle of Wight was announced on September 16. This includes infrastructure modernisation and replacement of the life-expired fleet of small profile ex-London Underground trains which date back to ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
UK 20190912 Southeastern introduced ‘Delay Repay 15’ on September 11, reducing the threshold for claiming a refund from 30 to 15 min. ‘Nearly 90% of passenger journeys on franchises we manage are now covered by the scheme’, said Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris. Network Rail is ...
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Rail Business UKEast West Rail designated as nationally significant project
UK: Following a public consultation process the government has designated the Bedford – Cambridge section of the Oxford – Cambridge railway corridor reinstatement scheme as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. This means that project promoter East West Railway Co can apply to the Secretary of State for ...
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Rail Business UK‘Digital twin’ to support more robust timetable planning
Greater Anglia UK: Greater Anglia has worked with Toshiba to create a ‘digital twin’ of its network to assist with the development of new timetables, which can then be tested for robustness using artificial intelligence. Toshiba Digital & Consulting Corp consolidated data previously stored across separate systems, ...
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Rail Business UKClass 170 DMUs transfer to Wales
UK: Transport for Wales has taken delivery of the first of eight three-car and four two-car Class 170 diesel multiple-units which are being transferred from Greater Anglia. Driver training is scheduled to begin on September 16 with the units expected to enter service on the Cheltenham ...
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Rail Business UKWest Midlands Trains to split Chase Line services again
EMUs replaced DMUs on the Chase Line following the completion of electrification in early 2019. Photo: Tony Miles UK: After months of poor performance on the Chase Line between Birmingham and Rugeley Trent Valley, West Midlands Trains has decided to split the route from its Birmingham – ...