All articles by Rail Business UK – Page 145
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Rail Business UKVirgin Trains rolls-out app to keep everyone informed
UK: Inter-city operator Virgin Trains has provided its staff with a mobile app which is designed to enable them to supply passengers with more timely and accurate information during service disruption. Back on Track was custom developed for Virgin Trains by UP3 and ServiceNow, but the operator told a launch ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
RSSB published its annual health and safety report on June 27, saying that fatigue, signals passed at danger and change management are key risks. It said Britain’s railways are the safest of the 10 biggest in the EU, with 1·4 fatalities per billion train-km, compared to 89·2 in Spain (the ...
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Rail Business UKAtkins’ digitalisation programme bears fruit as interlocking goes live
UK: The first implementation of Atkins’ digital interlocking technology on a UK passenger-carrying line was commissioned on June 22-23. Atkins’ Strategic Rail Market Director Scott Kelley said the deployment was ‘a step change for the domestic signalling market’, with the project being ‘unique in that it involved new technologies, software ...
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Rail Business UKGenesee & Wyoming to be acquired in US$8·4bn deal
INTERNATIONAL: A consortium of Brookfield Infrastructure, GIC and Brookfield’s institutional partners has agreed to acquire short line group Genesee & Wyoming Inc in a US$8·4bn transaction. The consortium would pay US$112 per share in cash, with G&W becoming a privately held company. ‘We believe this transaction is an excellent ...
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Rail Business UKNew trains launch ‘genuine transformation’ of Northern services
UK: The first nine of 101 diesel and electric multiple-units being supplied to Northern by CAF entered passenger service on July 1. ‘Over the course of the rest of this year, the new trains will be introduced into towns and cities right across the north, marking a genuine transformation of ...
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Rail Business UKAachen students scoop IMechE Railway Challenge
UK: A team of students from Aachen University of Applied Science was named champion of the eighth Railway Challenge organised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, after successfully completing a series of on-track challenges at the Stapleford Miniature Railway on June 29-30. Open to students, apprentices and ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
‘We have no intention to bid for new UK rail franchises on the current risk profile offered by the Department for Transport’, said Stagecoach Chief Executive Martin Griffiths on June 26 when presenting the group’s preliminary report for the year to April 27. Its current UK franchised rail operations are ...
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Rail Business UKMidlands Hub plan to boost east-west connectivity
UK: The Midlands Connect consortium of local authorities and regional transport bodies has unveiled proposals for a £2bn package of targeted improvements to boost rail services in the East and West Midlands. The group is seeking £25m in government funding to develop the business case for its Midlands Rail ...
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Rail Business UKNetwork Rail announces signalling framework contracts worth £215m
UK: Network Rail announced on June 25 the award of 17 framework contracts for signalling works with a total estimated value of £215m. The contracts cover ‘minor’ signalling works including refurbishment and component replacement. Network Rail CP6 Minor Signalling framework contracts RouteValueContractors Western £25m-£75m Amey, Balfour Beatty, ...
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Rail Business UKGrand Central to launch Blackpool service in spring 2020
UK: Plans for a Blackpool – London open access service are ‘firmly on track’, with the launch now expected in spring 2020, Grand Central said on June 24. In June last year the Office of Rail & Road granted Alliance Rail Holdings’ Great North Western Railway rights to operate the ...
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Rail Business UKNetwork Rail regions go live
UK: The first phase of a restructuring of infrastructure manager Network Rail into 14 routes reporting to five regions was implemented on June 24. This is intended to devolve responsibility and decision-making to smaller organisations which are closer to customers, and to give local managers the ability to tackle performance ...
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Rail Business UKSouth Wales Metro ECI contracts awarded
UK: Transport for Wales has awarded Balfour Beatty, Alun Griffiths and Siemens Mobility early contractor involvement contracts ahead of procurement for the first stages of the South Wales Metro project. The project which is scheduled to be completed in 2023 covers modernisation, capacity enhancement and electrification works on branch lines ...
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Rail Business UKAssisted travel lounge opened at Birmingham New Street
UK: Network Rail has opened a £175 000 assisted travel lounge at Birmingham New Street station for use by passengers who need help getting between trains and the station concourse. Designed with the guidance of Birmingham New Street’s accessibility forum, the lounge has bright multicoloured signs to aid the ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
Contractor Walker Construction is to begin work shortly on a £5m, year-long project funded by the Department for Transport to improve facilities and ease passenger congestion at St Albans City station. It includes construction of a two-storey extension to the main station building for a 'premier brand' convenience store, widening ...
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Rail Business UKCardiff – London open access plan
UK: Grand Union Trains has applied to the Office of Rail & Road for a track access agreement which would enable it to launch a Cardiff Central – London Paddington open access passenger service from late 2020. The proposed hourly service would call at Newport, Severn Tunnel Junction and Bristol ...
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Rail Business UKGB Railfreight to reopen March sidings
UK: GB Railfreight has secured a lease for the disused March Up Yard rail sidings in Cambridgeshire in eastern England. The operator plans to use the site for the stabling and maintenance of rolling stock which is used on freight trains between Middleton Towers and Yorkshire, to carry aggregates between ...
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Rail Business UKSoutheastern franchise extension confirmed
UK: The Department for Transport and the Govia joint venture of Go-Ahead (65%) and Keolis (35%) have agreed a short-term extension to the current South Eastern passenger franchise until November 10, the operator confirmed on June 13, with an option for a further extension to April 1 2020. The franchise ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
42 Technology has equipped Porterbrook’s Class 319 technology demonstrator EMU with its Adaptable Carriage seating system, which enables seats to be moved out of the way to create space for freight, bicycles or luggage. 42 Technology is finalising a second demonstration installation which will automatically reconfigure off-the-shelf rail-certified seats. Network ...
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Rail Business UKSign language app for deaf passengers
UK: ScotRail and InterpreterNow have introduced an app designed to make it easier for railway staff to communicate with deaf people using British Sign Language. The app can be installed on staff or customer smartphones, and provides immediate access to online British Sign Language interpreting via a video call. Customers ...
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Rail Business UKVirgin Trains open access service to ‘show the rest of the industry how it can be done’
UK: A partnership of Virgin Group, Stagecoach, SNCF and Alstom has applied to the Office of Rail & Road for permission to operate open access trains between London and Liverpool from May 2021, which it says would be ‘the UK’s most advanced and customer-focused’ rail service. The announcement on June ...