UK passenger train operator news – Page 20
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Rail Business UKEx-Grand Central Mk IVs to operate Swansea – Manchester service
UK: Transport for Wales has purchased a batch of 30 refurbished Mk IV inter-city carriages to operate its Swansea – Manchester route from December 2022, replacing the current Class 175 DMUs.
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Rail Business UKNew way to get in touch from station help points
UK: TransPennine Express is testing Everdelta station help points, which have a QR code which customers can scan with a mobile phone to obtain a link which enables them to connect with staff to obtain information or assistance. The service is currently being trialled at Huddersfield, ...
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Rail Business UKRail needs to be ‘relevant and wanted’ in an era of changed travel demand
UK: ‘How we go about our daily lives and conduct our businesses has changed for a lot of people’, said Steve Montgomery, Managing Director of FirstGroup’s First Rail business at the TransPennine Express RE-Connect 2021 conference. Before the coronavirus ‘we were seeing customer numbers at record ...
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Rail Business UKInverness Airport station approved
UK: Highland Council’s planning committee has unanimously approved proposals to build a station at Inverness Airport on the Aberdeen – Inverness line. Located approximately 12 km northeast of the city, where the railway runs along the side of the airport, the station will have two platforms, ...
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Rail Business UKScotRail tests on-train Covid-19 check-in system
UK: As part of Scotland’s coronavirus measures, ScotRail is undertaking an eight-week trial of the NHS Test & Protect Check In Scotland QR code system on one of its Inter7City trainsets, at the request of the Scottish government and Transport Scotland. From May 24, passengers with ...
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Rail Business UKScotRail EMU overhaul contract awarded
UK: Leasing company Eversholt Rail has awarded Brodie Engineering a ‘multimillion pound’ contract for the time-based overhaul of its fleet of 21 Class 318 electric multiple-units operated by ScotRail. This includes the safety critical overhaul of components including traction equipment, doors and heating and ventilation systems, ...
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Rail Business UKFirstGroup agrees National Rail Contracts for SWR and TransPennine Express
UK: The Department for Transport has finalised the first of the National Rail Contracts under which formerly franchised passenger services are to be operated over the next few years. The directly-awarded NRCs are envisaged as an interim step between the current Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements and ...
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Rail Business UKMatthew Golton to lead TransPennine Express
UK: FirstGroup has announced the appointment of Matthew Golton as Managing Director of TransPennine Express from June 1. He will take over from Acting Managing Director Liz Collins, who is retiring from her current full-time role and taking up a new part-time position as Finance & ...
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Rail Business UKClass 769 bi-mode trainsets enter service with Northern
UK: Considerably later than envisaged, Northern’s first Class 769 bi-mode multiple-units entered service with the start of the new timetable on May 17.
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Rail Business UKServices ramp up as 80x inter-city trainsets return to service
UK: Both LNER and Great Western Railway have been able to reinstate many of their inter-city services after the Office of Road & Rail reached agreement with Hitachi and the train operators over how the cracking problems with the Class 80x fleets are to be managed. Following ...
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Rail Business UKClass 80x recovery plan takes shape
UK: Industry insiders report that progress is being made towards the reinstatement of some of the Class 80x Hitachi units currently out of service following the discovery of cracks ‘behind the lifting (jack) pocket bolster’.
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Rail Business UKFirstGroup agrees £6m termination fee for TransPennine Express
UK: FirstGroup plc announced on May 11 that it had reached agreement with the Department for Transport on the fee payable for termination of the TransPennine Express franchise. The move is part of the process agreed with DfT as the Covid-19 pandemic saw operators moving into ...
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Rail Business UKAmey Consulting awarded Southeastern estate management contract
UK: Southeastern has awarded Amey Consulting a property and estate management services contract covering 164 stations. The work will be delivered by Amey Consulting’s AmeyTPT commercial estate team, which specialises in maximising secondary revenues for high footfall facilities such as railway, bus and service stations. ‘Stations ...
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In depthUK: Transforming Transport for Wales
Transport for Wales is pushing ahead with its ambitious strategy to refresh the country’s rail services, despite the ending of a long-term operating contract as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Tony Miles investigates.
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Rail Business UKMass cancellations as Hitachi trains grounded by cracks
UK: A significant number of train services were cancelled over the weekend of May 8-9 after cracks were discovered in electric and electro-diesel trains constructed by Hitachi Rail for several operators.
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Rail Business UKNI Railways targets zero emissions by 2040
UK: Translink is to assess the options for procuring zero-emission trains in support of its recently published Climate Positive Strategy, which sets out an ‘ambitious’ target to achieve a 50% reduction in train, bus and building emissions by 2030, net zero emissions by 2040 and to ...
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Rail Business UKEast Midlands Railway to launch electric trains and increase regional services
UK: East Midlands Railway is to launch its EMR Connect sub-brand with the May 16 timetable change, covering its new electric service between London St Pancras and Corby. This will be the TOC’s first electric route, with the twice-hourly service being operated using eight-car formations of ...
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Rail Business UKReal-time passenger counting using on-train CCTV
UK: South Western Railway is testing the use of CCTV cameras, AI technology from PoS Insights and onboard wi-fi from Icomera to produce continuous estimates of passenger numbers on its Siemens Desiro EMU cars. The operator has plans for the data to be made available in ...
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Rail Business UKLocal station improvements make a real difference to passengers
Major projects have more glamour, but smaller changes desired by local passengers can have disproportionate impact on the user experience, says Charlie Morse, Senior Chartered Engineer at SNC-Lavalin.
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Rail Business UKCaledonian Sleeper services return to full timetable
UK: Caledonian Sleeper has confirmed that it will be restoring its full timetable from April 29, after a lengthy period of running a single daily train between London and Inverness via Edinburgh. Both the Lowlander and Highlander services will re-start, albeit with slightly shorter formations for ...