Rail Business UK – Page 184
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Rail Business UKVirgin Trains introduces RCS passenger communications
UK: Virgin Trains has worked with telecoms company Vodafone and mobile messaging specialist OpenMarket to roll out a Rich Communications Services-based chat service for passenger communications. Unlike text-based SMS messages, RCS allows Virgin Trains to send photos, videos, audio and message with easy-to-select buttons. It will initially be used ...
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Metro Report InternationalCrossrail opening delayed
UK: The opening of the Crossrail tunnels under London has been delayed from December 2018 until ‘autumn 2019’, project promoter Crossrail Ltd announced on August 31. The Paddington – Abbey Wood section of the future Elizabeth Line will open later than scheduled because the contractors need more time to ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
Plans to merge British Transport Police in Scotland into Police Scotland have been postponed. This follows ‘recent advice from Police Scotland around the practicalities of a number of issues and timing of implementation, particularly relating to ICT, which have emerged as part of the re-planning exercise commissioned by Scottish Ministers’, ...
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Rail Business UKHitachi trainsets for Hull Trains under construction
UK: The first bodyshell for the fleet of five Hitachi AT300 electro-diesel trainsets ordered by open access operator Hull Trains has been completed at the manufacturer’s factory at Kasado in Japan. Fitting out will be undertaken at Hitachi’s Pistoia plant in Italy ahead of delivery to the ...
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Rail Business UKTrain disruption information by Facebook Messenger
UK: East Midlands Trains is testing the provision of personalised travel disruption information to passengers via Facebook Messenger. The system was developed by technology company Zipabout with the aim of replacing potentially confusing mass broadcasts of disruption information. Passengers opt-in through a ‘Keep Me Updated’ button on the EMT website. ...
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Rail Business UKHitachi expands Newton Aycliffe plant
UK: Local Member of Parliament Phil Wilson officially opened an additional building at Hitachi Rail Europe’s rolling stock plant in Newton Aycliffe on August 23. Hitachi said the £5m Aspire building took its total investment in the County Durham site to more than £100m. The company has created 730 permanent ...
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Rail Business UKLewisham disruption report recommends incident management improvements
UK: An ‘action plan’ to revise procedures when trains are stranded between stations for extended periods was announced by Southeastern and Network Rail on August 23, following the publication of an independent report into an incident on March 2 when nine trains became stranded during bad weather and passengers evacuated ...
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Rail Business UKPublic sector can bid for Scottish franchises
UK: A public sector body would be able to bid for future Scottish passenger franchises should it wish to do so, Scottish government Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure & Connectivity Michael Matheson confirmed on August 23. Publicly-owned ferry and port operator David MacBrayne Ltd has confirmed its interest in exploring ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
On August 20 GWR put into service the first of the 22 five-car and 14 nine-car Hitachi AT300 Class 802 electro-diesel trainsets ordered through Eversholt Rail in July 2015 and August 2016 for use on services from London to Devon and Cornwall. 'These new trains will, with an improved timetable, ...
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Rail Business UKMarston Vale D-Train contract signed
UK: The contract for the supply of three two-car Class 230 D-Train diesel-multiple-units for the Marston Vale line between Bedford and Bletchley has been formally signed, manufacturer Vivarail announced on August 22. Testing is expected to begin in the next few weeks, and entry into service is planned for December. ...
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Rail Business UKAccessibility advisers help improve Flirt UK trains
UK: Greater Anglia recently took a wheelchair-using passenger, a blind person and a visually impaired person plus his guide dog to Stadler’s factory at Bussnang in Switzerland to test prototype ramps for the future Flirt UK multiple-unit fleet. During a previous visit, the group had suggested a number of ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
On August 3 the Secretary of State for Transport approved a Transport & Works Act Order granting legal powers for the construction of a dive-under at Werrington Junction north of Peterborough. This would link the line to Stamford with the GN/GE Joint Line route, removing the need for slow-moving freight ...
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Rail Business UKWales & Borders electric train order confirmed
UK: Stadler Rail has been confirmed as preferred bidder to supply a total of 71 trainsets for use on the next Wales & Borders franchise from 2022. The Swiss company is to supply 36 three-car Citylink tram-train vehicles for use on South Wales Metro services from Cardiff to Treherbert, ...
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Rail Business UKWorld rail freight news round-up
Nurminen Logistics plans to launch a regular container train service from the port of Helsinki to China via Russia and Kazakhstan in the final quarter of this year. The company reports that demand for Finnish railway transport services grew considerably in H1 2018, boosted by container transport from Finland to ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
The Department for Transport has awarded 23 projects a total of £700 000 in Transport Technology Research Innovation Grants under the December 2017 call for proposals. In the rail sector this includes £30 000 for a Heriot-Watt University project to develop a prototype flat panel antenna to provide reliable broadband ...
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Rail Business UKRailway Customs Areas proposed to handle Brexit border requirements
UK: The relative reliability and security of rail freight and the availability of spare capacity through the Channel Tunnel could provide shippers with an attractive alternative to road haulage if the introduction of customs requirements causes increasing delays at the UK’s ports of entry following Brexit, according to a report ...
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Rail Business UKRail data action plan aims to help tech companies
UK: A Joint Rail Data Action Plan was published by the Department for Transport and the Rail Delivery Group on August 8, setting out proposals for train operators to provide more real-time information which would help technology companies develop intelligent travel apps. ‘This will speed the development of travel apps ...
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Rail Business UKArtificial intelligence to analyse rolling stock data
UK: Leasing company Porterbrook has announced a partnership with data science and cloud architecture consultancy Elastacloud, saying the two companies had identified ‘at least 30’ key performance indicators across the rolling stock sector that might be improved through AI. ‘Our industry produces large volumes of data that we all too ...
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Rail Business UKKnorr-Bremse to sell UK rail services businesses
UK: Knorr-Bremse has signed an agreement to sell its Knorr-Bremse RailServices (UK) Ltd rolling stock maintenance and overhaul businesses and consultancy and project management company Kiepe Electric Ltd (UK) to Mutares. The transaction is expected to close by autumn 2018. The sale announced on August 6 will be the first ...
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NewsMidland Metro third-generation tram procurement launched
UK: The West Midlands Combined Authority has begun the process of procuring a third generation of trams for the Midland Metro line, including future extensions. The start of procurement follows a market sounding exercise undertaken earlier this year. The planned framework contract with an estimated value of ...