UK passenger train operator news – Page 16
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Rail Business UKVoyager transfer anticipated as CrossCountry gets National Rail Contract
UK: The Department for Transport has directly awarded Arriva UK Trains a National Rail Contract to continue to operate CrossCountry long-distance passenger services. The contract announced on September 19 succeeds a unique Operating Cost Franchise Agreement which DfT entered into in October 2020 during the pandemic. ...
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Rail Business UKNational Rail Contract aims to enable Avanti West Coast to plan ahead
UK: The Department for Transport has awarded the Avanti West Coast joint venture of FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia UK (30%) a further National Rail Contract to continue to operate West Coast Main Line inter-city passenger services from the expiry of its current agreement on October 15. ...
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Rail Business UKChris Jackson confirmed as TransPennine Managing Director
UK: Chris Jackson was confirmed as Managing Director of TransPennine Express operating company TransPennine Trains with effect from September 14. He had been holding the role on an interim basis since TPE operations were transferred to the government’s public sector owning group DfT OLR Holdings Ltd ...
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Rail Business UKBeaulieu Park station main construction works contract awarded
UK: Network Rail has awarded J Murphy & Sons Ltd the second of two main contracts to build Beaulieu Park station on the Great Eastern Main Line near Chelmsford. The £124m contract announced by Network Rail on September 15 has been awarded on behalf of Essex ...
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Rail Business UKGo-Ahead appoints rail strategy leader and new head of Govia Thameslink Railway
UK: Patrick Verwer has been appointed Rail CEO at international rail and bus operator The Go-Ahead Group from the end of November. Angie Doll will succeed him as CEO of Govia Thameslink Railway, which Go-Ahead operates though a 65:35 joint venture with Keolis. Verwer will oversee ...
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Rail Business UKScotRail to trial all-day Off Peak fares
UK: Off Peak tickets on routes where fares are controlled by ScotRail will be valid all day under a six-month trial running from October 3 until March 29 2024. The Scottish government-funded project aims to encourage people to travel by rail instead of car. ScotRail said ...
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Rail Business UKVirtual train tour to help passengers ahead of travel
UK: Open access operator Lumo has worked with Ocean 3D to develop an interactive 360° walk-through tour of its trains to assist people who may be anxious ahead of entering unfamiliar environments.
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Rail Business UKEast London Line maintenance contract planned
UK: Transport for London has begun market engagement for the next contract to maintain London Overground’s East London Line. The Infrastructure Maintenance Contract 3 will cover the core route from north of Dalston Junction to New Cross, New Cross Gate and Old Kent Road Junction. It ...
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Rail Business UKNI Railways operations planning software contract awarded
UK: Translink has selected software company SISCOG to design, develop and maintain a platform for planning NI Railways timetables and managing rolling stock and staff deployment. This will include SISCOG’s cloud-hosted Ontime, Fleet and Crews products, which will be used to help to maximise the benefits ...
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NewsTransPennine Express to stop using loco-hauled push-pull trains in December
UK: TransPennine Express has confirmed that it will cease using its push-pull sets of Class 68 locomotives and MkVa coaches, previously designated ‘Nova 3’, from the December 2023 timetable change. The decision is the result of a review of operations after TPE was transferred to the ...
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Rail Business UKTactile maps to help TPE passengers navigate stations
UK: TransPennine Express has installed Map for All tactile maps developed and produced by the Royal National Institute of Blind People to help blind and partially sighted passengers navigate Hull Paragon, Dewsbury and Manchester Airport stations. The maps have a mixture of layers, visual contrasts, textures, ...
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NewsOn-train connectivity rolls out
EUROPE: Following successful trials on the UK’s Island Line, FirstGroup’s railway telecoms company Evo-rail has worked with Comsa to install its Rail-5G on-train connectivity technology on the Figueres - Perpignan high speed line between Spain and France. Evo-rail said the mmWave technology which uses trackside antenna ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern names next Managing Director
UK: Northern has announced the appointment of Chief Operating Officer Tricia Williams as its next Managing Director. Williams will succeed Nick Donovan, who is to step down in spring 2024 after four years leading the state-owned operator. ‘I want to thank Nick for the incredible work ...
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Rail Business UKStoma Friendly improvements at Southeastern station toilets
UK: Southeastern has upgraded the accessible toilets at 71 stations to Colostomy UK’s Stoma Friendly standards, which are designed to help people change their stoma bags without hassle or embarrassment. Features include a hook on the door to hang clothing, handbags and luggage; shelf space to ...
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Rail Business UKPlastic waste 3D printing project wins LNER Futurelabs accelerator competition
UK: London North Eastern Railway has announced the winners of its fourth annual Futurelabs accelerator programme for start-ups and SMEs. The themes were to encourage passengers to choose rail, to strengthen the sustainability of the network, to create a frictionless journey, and to explore emerging technology. ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern orders SIM Factor motion platform train driver training simulators
UK: Polish company SIM Factor is to supply Northern with six motion platform cab simulators including 600 km of real footage of the operator’s routes. These will provide a full-immersion environment for training drivers, conductors and other apprentices. There will also be a passenger saloon simulator ...
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Rail Business UKSouthern seeks feedback on West Coastway timetable changes
UK: Govia Thameslink Railway is seeking public feedback on a redesign of the timetable for Southern-branded West Coastway services between Southampton, Portsmouth, Brighton and London via Gatwick Airport from next year. GTR said the aim is to provide more evenly-spaced departure times, increase capacity where demand ...
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Rail Business UKVirtual station tours to help passengers plan ahead
UK: East Midlands Railway has worked with Virtual Tour Experts Ltd to create online navigation guidance to help passengers with journeys through Derby, Sheffield, Nottingham, Lincoln and Kettering stations. Users can access information about all of the public areas in each station, including toilets, customer service ...
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Rail Business UKFirst Class 395 refurbishment completed
UK: The first of Southeastern’s 29 six-car Class 395 electric multiple-units has returned to service following an interior refresh. Unit 395 012 entered the operator’s Ashford depot on June 12 and re-emerged on August 14. The £27m programme, which is being carried out in partnership with ...
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Rail Business UKSignalbox develops Transport for Wales live train map
UK: Transport for Wales Rail has worked with technology company Signalbox to develop a live digital map showing the location of all its trains, enabling passengers to view their journey in real time and see expected arrival times at each station. Signalbox currently uses live data ...