UK passenger train operator news – Page 40
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Rail Business UKSelf-service smart card machines to go live at GTR
UK: Govia Thameslink Railway passengers will be able to obtain the operator’s ITSO-compliant The Key smart cards through self-service vending machines from February 3. Paragon ID has supplied GTR with 12 free-standing kiosks which have been installed at selected stations outside London. Passengers will use a ...
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Rail Business UKNo immediate changes to follow Northern nationalisation
UK: The Northern franchise which is currently held by Arriva will be nationalised on March 1, Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps confirmed in a widely-anticipated announcement on January 29. This follows severe performance problems. Last year the Secretary of State requested proposals for the franchise ...
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Rail Business UKNewhaven Marine station to be closed
UK: The Department for Transport has begun public consultation on Network Rail’s formal proposal to close Newhaven Marine station.
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Rail Business UKGWR launches mobile assistance service
UK: GWR has launched a 10-member mobile Customer Assistance Team to help enable passengers with reduced mobility travel with confidence. Until recently people needing additional assistance were helped onto a train by one member of staff and met at their destination by another. This meant that customers ...
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Rail Business UKElectroflex battery EMU plan to end Southern diesel operation
An electric multiple-unit is to be equipped with batteries for ’first of a kind’ testing which could lead to the end of diesel traction on the Ashford – Hastings and Oxted – Uckfield routes.
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Rail Business UKWork underway on Bow Street station
UK: Transport for Wales has launched work on Bow Street station on the Cambrian line between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury. Opening is scheduled for later this year. The £8m project is being undertaken by TfW, Network Rail and Ceredigion County Council with funding from the Welsh Government and ...
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Rail Business UKLondon Overground Aventra maintenance contract to run to 2035
UK: Bombardier Transportation is to continue to maintain the London Overground Class 710 Aventra electric multiple-unit fleet until July 2035, under an agreement with Transport for London which has moved the break point in the manufacturer’s servicing contract from July 2025 to July 2035. Bombardier said the ...
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Rail Business UKGreater Anglia’s first Class 720 commuter EMU delivered for testing
UK: The first of the Class 720 Aventra electric multiple-units which Bombardier Transportation’s Derby factory is supplying for Greater Anglia’s London commuter services has been delivered to Ilford depot ahead of testing. Entry into passenger service is planned for spring this year, with the entire fleet expected ...
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Metro Report InternationalElizabeth Line through central London now expected to open in summer 2021
UK: The London Paddington to Abbey Wood central section of the Elizabeth Line is now expected to open in ‘summer 2021’. The full service from Reading and Heathrow Airport in the west to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east is now expected to commence by mid-2022, ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern franchise is no longer viable, says Shapps
UK: The current Northern rail franchise is no longer financially viable and will have to be replaced by some form of management contract, Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps confirmed in a written statement to the House of Commons on January 9.
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast Pendolino refurbishment and maintenance contract awarded
UK: Operator Avanti West Coast and leasing company Angel Trains have awarded Alstom a £642m, seven-year contract to overhaul and maintain the 56 Class 390 Pendolino tilting trainsets which entered service on the West Coast Main Line from 2003. Alstom said the £127m refurbishment element of the ...
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Rail Business UKPassenger assistance meeting points provided at Cardiff Central
UK: Transport for Wales has introduced dedicated passenger assist meeting points at Cardiff Central station, with the aim of making it easier for staff to recognise customers who require assistance and to provide a comfortable area for people who require seating and extra warmth while waiting. ...
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Rail Business UKCardiff electric services go live
The 08.50 to London Paddington on January 5 was the first passenger service to leave Cardiff Central using electric power (Photo: Jeremy Segrott). UK: GWR’s 08:50 train to London Paddington on January 5 was the first passenger service to leave Cardiff using electric power, after the 25 ...
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Rail Business UKGovia Thameslink Railway to pilot fares reform for part-time workers
UK: A scheme to pilot proposed reforms to the national fare structure was launched by LNER on January 2, and on the same date Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps announced another pilot at Govia Thameslink Railway as well as the introduction of a fund ...
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Rail Business UKNon-PRM compliant trains get last-minute derogation
UK: A few days ahead of the January 1 2020 deadline for ensuring compliance with tighter accessibility standards, the Department for Transport has granted limited dispensations for operators to keep in service for up to one year trains which do not meet the TSI-PRM requirements.
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Rail Business UKScotRail franchise to end in 2022
UK: The Scottish government will not take up an option for Abellio’s ScotRail franchise to run for the full term, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure & Connectivity Michael Matheson confirmed on December 18. The contract started on April 1 2015 with a minimum term of seven years, ...
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Rail Business UKWest Midlands Trains reveals first Class 196 DMU
UK: West Midlands Trains has revealed the first of its CAF Civity Class 196 diesel multiple-units, which is now on test at the Velim circuit in the Czech Republic. The 12 two-car and 14 four-car DMUs were ordered in October 2017 at cost of around €200m, with ...
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Rail Business UKWarrington West station opens
UK: Warrington West station opened with the December 15 timetable change. It is managed by Northern, which operates two trains an hour to Warrington Central and Manchester and two in the opposite direction to Liverpool. Construction was undertaken by Balfour Beatty and Network Rail. The £20·5m project ...
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Rail Business UKRobroyston station inaugurated
UK: The £14m Robroyston station on the Glasgow to Cumbernauld line opened with the December 15 timetable change. ScotRail said the station would provide residents of Robroyston and Millerston with better access to Scotland’s two largest cities, provide a 263-space park-and-ride site for ...
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast and Bombardier sign three-year maintenance contract
UK: Avanti West Coast has awarded Bombardier Transportation a £117m three-year contract to ‘refresh’ and continue to maintain its 20 Class 221 Super Voyager diesel-electric multiple-units until December 11 2022. Under the train services agreement, maintenance will continue to be undertaken at Bombardier’s Central Rivers depot, with ...