Rail Business UK – Page 163
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Rail Business UKORR opens market study into railway signalling
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has opened a market study looking into the supply of signalling systems, which accounted for more than £4bn of Network Rail’s spending in 2014-19. ORR will look at the level of competition for the delivery of significant signalling projects, including ...
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In depthVery Light Rail research on track
This year should see not one but two prototypes of very light rail vehicles being tested in the UK. Karol Zemek talks to Dr Nick Mallinson, Programme Manager at WMG Centre of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult at the University of Warwick, about the research taking place into this potentially disruptive technology.
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Rail Business UKNational Audit Office makes HS2 recommendations
UK: The High Speed 2 programme is over budget and behind schedule because the Department for Transport, HS2 Ltd and government underestimated the complexity and risks, according to the National Audit Office’s High Speed Two: A Progress Update report published on January 24. NAO said the ‘ambitious’ ...
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Metro Report InternationalBirmingham’s Eastside tram extension approved
UK: The Secretary of State for Transport has approved a Transport & Works Act Order granting the West Midlands Combined Authority powers to build and operate the the Eastside extension of the West Midlands Metro tramway. This line would run for 1·7 km from Bull Street in ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
South Western Railway has reintroduced refurbished Class 442 EMUs, operating as four 10-car sets on services from London to Portsmouth and Poole. Features include at-seat power sockets, LED lighting wi-fi and real-time passenger information displays. ‘We will look to introduce all of the Class 442s in the ...
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Rail Business UKWilliams Review to lead to legislation as franchising ‘not the way forward’
UK: Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris confirmed on January 21 that the forthcoming Williams Review into the future structure of the UK rail sector would lead to a white paper outlining reforms to the rail industry structure. Addressing a Westminster Hall debate in the House of Commons about ...
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Rail Business UKGWR launches mobile assistance service
UK: GWR has launched a 10-member mobile Customer Assistance Team to help enable passengers with reduced mobility travel with confidence. Until recently people needing additional assistance were helped onto a train by one member of staff and met at their destination by another. This meant that customers ...
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Rail Business UKRail Human Library aims to inspire interest in railway careers
UK: A ‘Rail Human Library’ will form part of the 10th Get Up to Speed With STEM event which is to be held in Rotherham on March 25 with the aim of encouraging young people to take an interest in the construction, technology and manufacturing sectors. More ...
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Rail Business UKElectroflex battery EMU plan to end Southern diesel operation
An electric multiple-unit is to be equipped with batteries for ’first of a kind’ testing which could lead to the end of diesel traction on the Ashford – Hastings and Oxted – Uckfield routes.
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Rail Business UK‘Think about the total energy needed to move the trains’
UK: ‘Think about the total energy needed to move the trains’, was the message Helen Simpson, Innovation & Projects Director at leasing company Porterbook, presented to policymakers at a well-attended meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Rail Group on January 14. Simpson said achieving ...
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Rail Business UKOffice for Statistics Regulation calls for National Rail Passenger Survey improvements
UK: The Office for Statistics Regulation has published an assessment of the National Rail Passenger Survey statistics produced by Transport Focus. The statistics have been produced for the last 20 years and have been included as a performance measure in franchise agreements since 2008. OSR has concluded ...
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Rail Business UKRailway supply industry benchmarking tool launched
UK: Rail industry buyers can now compare suppliers’ capabilities using a online benchmarking tool which has been made available through the Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme. Almost 4 000 suppliers have had their credentials verified through the RISQS scheme, which is managed by the Rail Safety & ...
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Rail Business UKWork underway on Bow Street station
UK: Transport for Wales has launched work on Bow Street station on the Cambrian line between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury. Opening is scheduled for later this year. The £8m project is being undertaken by TfW, Network Rail and Ceredigion County Council with funding from the Welsh Government and ...
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Metro Report InternationalTram driving National Occupational Standards to be reviewed
UK: Industry group UKTram is leading a project to review the existing Tram Driver National Occupational Standards. The tram driver standards were last updated in 2005, and the review is scheduled to be completed by June. NOS set out the skills, knowledge and understanding required to undertake ...
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Rail Business UKLondon Overground Aventra maintenance contract to run to 2035
UK: Bombardier Transportation is to continue to maintain the London Overground Class 710 Aventra electric multiple-unit fleet until July 2035, under an agreement with Transport for London which has moved the break point in the manufacturer’s servicing contract from July 2025 to July 2035. Bombardier said the ...
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Rail Business UKTarmac’s Birmingham asphalt plant receives first train
UK: The first trains have delivered aggregate to an asphalt and aggregates facility which Tarmac is developing to support infrastructure projects in and around Birmingham. The site is to be entirely supplied by rail, with DB Cargo UK using converted coal hopper wagons to transport aggregates from ...
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Rail Business UKGreater Anglia’s first Class 720 commuter EMU delivered for testing
UK: The first of the Class 720 Aventra electric multiple-units which Bombardier Transportation’s Derby factory is supplying for Greater Anglia’s London commuter services has been delivered to Ilford depot ahead of testing. Entry into passenger service is planned for spring this year, with the entire fleet expected ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
The Office of Rail & Road has published its estimates of passenger entries and exits at 2 566 stations in the year to March 31 2019. London Waterloo remained in the top spot at 94·2 million. Denton and Stanlow & Thornton were the least used with each ...
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Rail Business UKFirst freight train to East Midlands Gateway Terminal
UK: DB Cargo UK operated the first commercial rail freight service to the new East Midlands Gateway Terminal in Castle Donington on January 7. The Strategic Rail Freight Interchange has been developed SEGRO and is operated by Maritime Transport under 25-year lease signed last year DB Cargo ...
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Rail Business UKGB Railfreight to lease Ecofret2 triple-platform container wagons
UK: GB Railfreight is to lease 32 Ecofret2 triple-platform container wagons from VTG Rail UK, which said it had made ‘significant investments’ in the latest version of the Ecofret design. The wagons are being built at WH Davis’s Shirebrook site, with the first 16 scheduled for delivery ...