UK passenger train operator news – Page 25
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Rail Business UKGTR launches £55m Electrostar refurbishment
UK: Govia Thameslink Railway and leasing company Porterbrook have begun a £55m five-year programme to modernise 214 Bombardier Transportation Class 377 Electrostar electric multiple-units operated on Southern services, and 56 similar Class 387 units used on Gatwick Express and Great Northern services. The ...
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Rail Business UKTrack Your Train as signalling data added to Realtime Trains
In RTT’s Detailed View, the aspect of the next signal the train would pass is denoted by the coloured icon top left. UK: The Realtime Trains web platform which provides independent train running information for the national network added a further layer of functionality on September ...
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Rail Business UKSolar-powered scarecrow deployed to keep birds away from electrical equipment
UK: A solar-powered scarecrow that mimics the calls of a hawk is being used to humanely scare away birds which were damaging overhead line equipment and the pantographs of Avanti West Coast Pendolino trainsets at Alstom’s Longsight depot. ‘Birds at Alstom’s depot have become a real ...
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Rail Business UKGrand Central drops plans for Blackpool – London open access service
Rail Business UK understands that after months of work exploring all options, it had become clear that the service would not be financially viable until at least 2024.
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Rail Business UKWabtec to overhaul IC225 sets as lease extended
UK: Leasing company Eversholt Rail The leasing has awarded Wabtec Faiveley UK a contract to overhaul seven IC225 push-pull trainsets at its Doncaster site. This comes after operate LNER extended it lease until summer 2023, with a possible extension to summer 2024. The deal includes 10 Class ...
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Rail Business UKClass 730 EMU for Birmingham’s Cross-City Line revealed
UK: One of the Bombardier Transportation Class 730 Aventra electric multiple-units which West Midlands Trains has ordered for its Cross-City Line services through Birmingham has been unveiled at the manufacturer’s Derby factory. ‘Designed and built in Derby they really are made in the ...
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Rail Business UKClass 230 variants approved for passenger service
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has given authorisation for battery and diesel-battery versions of Vivarail’s Class 230 D-Train multiple-units to be used in passenger service. Battery set No 230 002 is a demonstrator trainset powered only by batteries which was completed in 2018 and is ...
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Rail Business UKRailcard discounts now available on GTR smart cards
UK: Railcard discounts can now be obtained for pay-as-you-go travel when using Govia Thameslink Railway’s Key smart cards. Key smart card holders enter their Railcard details onto their online keyGo account. Any journeys made are then automatically assessed at the end of each day, and if they ...
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Rail Business UKTransport for Wales selects 11 ideas for virtual innovation lab
UK: More than 100 companies applied to take part in the second phase of the Lab by Transport for Wales innovation and accelerator programme, and 11 have been selected to develop their ideas to proof of concept or minimum viable product stage in a virtual programme which ...
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Rail Business UKEast Midlands collaboration aims to give a greater voice for local stakeholders
UK: The government and Transport for the East Midlands have reached a multi-year collaboration agreement which is designed to give councils and local stakeholders a more influential role in deciding how rail services can support development in the region. Announced on September 3, the agreement will give ...
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Rail Business UKGWR Emergency Measures Agreement extended
UK: On September 1 the Department for Transport exercised its option to extend the Emergency Measures Agreement covering FirstGroup’s Great Western franchise until at least June 26 2021. FirstGroup Chief Executive Matthew Gregory said this ‘provides important clarity and continuity for our customers, employees and wider stakeholders’. ...
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Rail Business UKSoutheastern launches SeatFinder
UK: Southeastern is to provide train loading data to passengers through its app and journey planner, with the launch in September of SeatFinder which uses data based on vehicle weights to produce daily estimates of future loadings. Live departure boards on the website ...
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Rail Business UKGreat Western Railway takes delivery of trimode electro-diesel multiple-unit
UK: Great Western Railway has taken delivery of the first of 19 Class 769 Flex multiple-units equipped to operate using 750 V DC third rail, 25 kV 50 Hz overhead or diesel power. The Class 769 has been developed from Class 319 dual-system EMUs formerly used on ...
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Rail Business UKSiemens Mobility to resignal Core Valley Lines
UK: Transport for Wales has awarded Siemens Mobility Ltd a three-year contract for the renewal and replacement of lineside signalling equipment and the creation of an integrated control centre as part of the Core Valley Lines Transformation programme. This includes 50 new signals, over 300 axle counter ...
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Rail Business UKArterio brand name for South Western Railway Class 701 fleet
UK: South Western Railway has announced Arterio as its brand name for the fleet of 90 Class 701 electric multiple-units which Bombardier Transportation is supplying for use on suburban services from London Waterloo station. Speaking at Wimbledon depot on August 24, SWR Managing ...
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Rail Business UKEMR set to retain Liverpool – Nottingham service
Photos: Tony Miles UK: The Department for Transport has confirmed to East Midlands Railway that, for the time being at least, it is no longer planning to transfer the Liverpool Lime Street – Nottingham service to TransPennine Express from the December 2021 timetable change. This long-standing proposal ...
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Rail Business UKIsle of Wight ‘transformation’ gets underway
UK: South Western Railway has revealed the first of the Class 484 electric multiple-units which Vivarail is producing for the Island Line on the Isle of Wight, and has announced the dates of a major blockade of the 13·7 km line when engineering works are to be ...
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Rail Business UKSoham station construction contract awarded
UK: Network Rail has awarded J Murphy & Sons Ltd the contract to build the new Soham station, which will be served by Greater Anglia’s Ipswich – Peterborough services. An £18·6m funding package for the project has been put together by the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, ...
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Rail Business UKGWR buys vehicles outright in HST fleet expansion
Photos: Tony Miles UK: Despite concerns over future passenger numbers, the Department for Transport has given permission for Great Western Railway to procure three more shortened HST diesel trainsets, branded as the Castle Class by the franchisee. Each set comprises four refurbished PRM TSI-compliant MkIII trailer ...
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Rail Business UKRAIB outlines Stonehaven derailment investigation as Network Rail announces immediate action
UK: The Rail Accident Investigation Branch issued a statement on August 14 setting out initial information about the derailment of a ScotRail passenger train near Carmont in Aberdeenshire two days earlier, which led to the death of the driver, conductor and a passenger. The HST trainset ...