UK news
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NewsHitachi to supply inter-city trains for Avanti West Coast services
UK: First Trenitalia has awarded Hitachi Rail a contract to supply and maintain 23 inter-city trainsets for use on Avanti West Coast services. The contract announced on December 6 is worth £350m. Due to enter service from 2022, the 200 km/h trains to be assembled at ...
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Tracsis launches goodwill app
UK: Software supplier Tracsis Travel Compensation Services has launched a ‘Gesture of Goodwill’ app designed to be used by station and on-train staff to issue dissatisfied passengers with vouchers which can be downloaded to a mobile device and redeemed at retail outlets. Pre-approved maximum transaction ...
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UK railway news round-up
LNER ran a ‘preview’ service to Harrogate using an Azuma bi-mode trainset on December 3, ahead of the planned start of Azuma services to the town with the timetable change on December 15. The trains will operate electrically on the East Coast Main Line between London ...
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DB plans Arriva flotation in May
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn is looking to float its international public transport operating subsidiary Arriva on the stock market next year, CEO Richard Lutz told local media on December 4.
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Luton Airport peoplemover bridge installed
UK: A bridge that will carry the future Luton DART peoplemover over the A1081 road has been slid into place by contractor VolkerFitzpatrick-Kier. The 80 m long, 1 000 tonne structure had been assembled off-site over eight months, and was then moved around 900 m to ...
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East Coast Trains open access recruitment underway
UK: FirstGroup subsidiary East Coast Trains Ltd is recruiting a management team for the launch of its planned London – Edinburgh open access services by May 2021. Appointments are expected to be announced early next year, Steve Montgomery, Managing Director of FirstGroup’s First Rail division, told ...
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Power supplies overcome hiccup problems
SIGNALLING: PULS Power has obtained Network Rail certification for five of its PULS QS Series DIN-Rail power supplies to be used in signalling equipment in environments not exceeding 95% relative humidity. Three of these feature the PULS Hiccupplus overload protection mode, which the supplier said overcomes ...
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Nova 2 enters service at last
UK: The third new type of train being procured by TransPennine Express under its £500m fleet expansion programme entered passenger service on November 30, when a Class 397 ‘Nova 2’ EMU worked the 08.10 train from Manchester Airport to Edinburgh.
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Network Rail seeks feedback on product acceptance
UK: The Railway Industry Association has launched a survey on behalf of Network Rail to find out how the industry views the infrastructure manager’s product acceptance process and to seek suggestions for further improvement. ‘Our product acceptance process is all about ensuring we have safe, compatible, ...
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FirstGroup amends management structure
UK: Ahead of the launch of the West Coast Partnership franchise with Trenitalia on December 8, FirstGroup announced a number of changes to its UK rail leadership team on November 29. With effect from January 6, the current Managing Director of the South Western Railway franchise, ...
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Rail Forum Midlands sets out election wish-list
UK: Regional trade organisation Rail Forum Midlands has published a manifesto setting out what the supply chain would like to see following the general election. It has four key points: a commitment to rail playing a major role in the de-carbonisation and clean air ...
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Avanti West Coast sets out plans for West Coast franchise
UK: Avanti West Coast was officially unveiled as the brand name for the new West Coast Partnership franchise on November 27. Joint venture partners FirstGroup and Italian national operator Trenitalia explained that ‘Avanti is Italian for “Forward!” and reflects a mission to deliver an innovative railway ...
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UK railway news round-up
LNER has announced ‘the first major change’ to its Hitachi Azuma fleet, with additional floor mounted racks for large items of luggage to replace some non-reservable seats on the nine-car trainsets in the new year. ‘We’re pleased to be able to respond to customer feedback by ...
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Book review
Losing Track
Subtitled ‘an insider’s story of Britain’s railway transformation from British Rail to the present day’, this ‘semi-autobiographical’ book by John Nelson reflects on how Britain’s passenger railway has evolved over the past 50 years, with a view to informing the current Williams Review into the future ...
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Arup to review the case for hydrogen trains
UK: The Rail Safety Standards Board has appointed Arup to develop a ‘route map to enter service’ for hydrogen-powered trains. This will involve working with manufacturers, regulators, rolling stock owners and operators to establish a high-level operational concept as well as to identify hazards and ...
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Paragon fleet supports Hull Trains’ ambition to be the ‘greatest train operator’
UK: ‘My vision is that Hull Trains will be the greatest train operator in the UK’, Managing Director Louise Cheeseman told Railway Gazette International at the unveiling of the open access operator’s first Hitachi AT300 trainset on November 25. ‘Other operators will come and look ...
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TransPennine Express launches Nova fleet
UK: Marking the completion of a £500m investment programme, TransPennine Express formally launched its new fleet of 44 Nova trainsets with an event at Liverpool Lime Street station on November 22. Working with different leasing companies and manufacturers, the FirstGroup-operated franchise has procured three builds of ...
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Train toilet bioreactor on test
UK: What supplier Protec says is the first bioreactor train toilet in the UK is being tested in service on a Class 334 electric multiple-unit which ScotRail leases from Eversholt Rail. The bioreactor uses bacteria to break down waste while the train is running, with a ...
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Greater Anglia rolls out disabled-led accessibility training
UK: All 2 500 of Greater Anglia’s frontline staff are to receive accessibility awareness training delivered by a team of trainers who have disabilities themselves. The team was put together by consultant Sarah Rennie, who said the trainers would ‘bring a level of lived experience into ...
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Business Travel Association sets out investment priorities
UK: The Business Travel Association has published a pre-election wish-list of its long-term infrastructure investment priorities. For the rail sector, this includes delivering High Speed 2 ‘as currently planned with no reductions in rail links or service provision’, Northern Powerhouse Rail ‘to improve connectivity across the ...
