UK passenger train operator news – Page 30
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Rail Business UKGWR to test battery train on branch line
UK: Great Western Railway has invited expressions of interest in trialling a battery powered train on the 4 km non-electrified branch line from West Ealing to Greenford in west London. The operator notes that the trial ‘will support the objectives of the Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy ...
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Rail Business UKLondon to Glasgow record narrowly missed
UK: Despite some very impressive work by driver Neil Barker, an attempt by Avanti West Coast to set a new record for the London – Glasgow route on June 17 narrowly missed beating the record established by a pre-series Advanced Passenger Train in December 1984.
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Rail Business UKGovia Thameslink Railway contract extended to March 2022
UK: The Department for Transport has extended Govia Thameslink Railway’s Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement from September 20 2021 until March 31 2022 on the existing terms, and laid the ground for a directly-awarded contract which could run up to a further six years. Govia Thameslink Railway ...
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Rail Business UKEast Coast Main Line changes in planned May 2022 timetable
UK: LNER and TransPennine Express have begun public consultation over plans to change timetables and service patterns on the East Coast Main Line from the May 2022 timetable. LNER says its proposed new timetable ‘builds on over a decade of planning and investment’ in Azuma trains ...
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Rail Business UKWelsh rolling stock strategy evolves as three-phase post-pandemic recovery envisaged
UK: TfW Rail has again revised its fleet strategy as it seeks to ensure passenger services can be improved despite the financial constraints caused by Covid-19, Managing Director Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde tells Rail Business UK.
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Rail Business UK‘Lessons learned’ review of Hitachi train crack issue
UK: The Office of Rail & Road is undertaking a review to understand the lessons the industry can learn from the discovery of cracks on Hitachi Rail AT200 (Class 385) and AT300 (classes 800, 801 and 802) trainsets during May. ORR said it would work with ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern’s CAF multiple-units return to service
UK: All but two of Northern’s CAF Class 195 diesel and Class 331 electric multiple-units are now back in service, after analysis of the causes of the cracks discovered in April and the development of a modification that is being rolled out across the Class 195 fleet.
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Rail Business UKLondon King’s Cross station remodelling completed
UK: Network Rail has completed its remodelling of the approaches to London King’s Cross station as part of its £1·2bn East Coast Main Line upgrading programme. Wholesale replacement of the track layout installed in the early 1970s has allowed the station platforms to be extended for ...
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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 ...