UK passenger train operator news – Page 44
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NewsHull Trains reveals ‘luxurious and aesthetically appealing’ AT300 design
UK: Open access operator Hull Trains has revealed the appearance of its future fleet of five Hitachi AT300 trainsets, following the completion of the engineering and design phase and the sign-off for production to begin. The £60m order for five five-car inter-city electro-diesel multiple-units was placed by ...
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NewsGreat Northern Class 717 EMUs unveiled
UK: Siemens has unveiled the Class 717 Desiro City electric multiple-units which it is building for Govia Thameslink Railway. Being built at the Siemens plant at Krefeld in Germany, the 25 six-car units are scheduled to enter service from September on GTR’s Great Northern commuter services from Welwyn Garden City, ...
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NewsGWR to manage Heathrow Express service
UK: The Heathrow Express premium airport service between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport is to continue running until at least 2028 under a new agreement announced on March 28. The non-franchised service is currently operated in-house by Heathrow Airport Ltd, which will continue to own the service and be responsible ...
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NewsThameslink first with ATO over ETCS
UK: Working with Network Rail and Siemens,commuter operator Govia Thameslink Railway has successfully operated its first passenger-carrying train using ATO over ETCS Level 2. On March 17 a southbound eight-car Thameslink train to Three Bridges operated automatically through the cross-city core between St Pancras, Farringdon, City Thameslink and London Blackfriars, ...
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NewsItalian booking technology for c2c
UK: London commuter operator c2c is working with developer IBM to bring the Italian state railway group’s PICO multi-channel and medium-independent ticket retailing technology to the UK market this year, Trenitalia UK Chairman & Managing Director Ernesto Sicilia told the Transport Ticketing Global 2018 conference. PICO enables passengers to purchase ...
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NewsHull Trains Managing Director steps down
UK: Will Dunnett has resigned as Managing Director of Hull Trains, in a move which the East Yorkshire to London open access inter-city operator said was unrelated to the extensive and ongoing disruption after its DMU fleet suffered damage during the recent ‘Beast from the East’ bad ...
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NewsAbellio pulls out of Wales & Borders bidding
UK: Abellio Rail Cymru withdrew from bidding for the next Wales & Borders franchise on February 22, leaving KeolisAmey and MTR Corp (Cymru) Ltd as the two remaining bidders. NS subsidiary Abellio had been bidding for the Wales & Borders Operator & Development Partner contract in consortium with Carillion. Franchising ...
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NewsCAF coaches to enter service with Caledonian Sleeper in October
UK: The coaches which CAF is building in Spain for use on Caledonian Sleeper trains between Scotland and London are expected to begin entering passenger service during October, the operator said after the first five vehicles arrived in the UK on January 15. The new stock will initially be used ...
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NewsBetter franchise design could have reduced TSGN disruption, says NAO
UK: Some of the extensive disruption experienced by passengers on the Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern franchise over the last three years could have been avoided if the Department for Transport had taken more care to consider passengers in its design of the franchise, head of the National Audit Office ...
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NewsBombardier to supply Aventra EMUs to c2c
UK: Leasing company Porterbook has awarded Bombardier Transportation a £105m contract to supply six 10-car Aventra 160 km/h electric multiple-units for the c2c rail franchise, and provide eight years of maintenance and support services from their introduction in 2021 until November 2029. The deal ‘demonstrates our focus on long-term investments ...
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NewsThameslink Programme completion deferred by a year
UK: The Department for Transport has agreed to a proposal from Network Rail and train operator Govia Thameslink Railway which would see introduction of the full 24 trains/h timetable on the Thameslink route through central London deferred by a year to December 2019. With a total value of £7bn, of ...
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NewsSouthern Class 455 EMUs to be modified for PRM compliance
UK: ESG Rail has been awarded a turnkey contract to modify Class 455 electric multiple-units which Govia Thameslink Railway leases from Eversholt Rail to bring them into compliance with the Persons with Reduced Mobility Technical Specification for Interoperability. The work on the 46 four-car ex-British Rail third-rail EMUs used on ...
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Metro Report InternationalTransport for London plans new Overground stations
UK: Transport for London has begun a five-week public consultation on plans to build stations at Hythe Road and Old Oak Common Lane in west London. ‘These two potential new London Overground stations would improve connectivity to High Speed 2 and support the regeneration at Old Oak and Park Royal’, ...
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NewsBombardier and CAF win West Midlands train contracts
UK: Bombardier Transportation and CAF have been selected to supply rolling stock for the next West Midlands franchise, the West Midlands Trains Ltd consortium of Abellio, East Japan Railway and Mitsui & Co announced on October 17. Totalling 413 vehicles, the orders are worth £680m, with financing being led by ...
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NewsWales & Borders franchise invitations to tender issued
UK: The Welsh Government invited shortlisted bidders Abellio Rail Cymru, Arriva Rail Wales, KeolisAmey and MTR Corp (Cymru) Ltd to submit final tenders for the next Wales & Borders passenger franchise on September 28. The franchise is scheduled to start in October 2018. The current franchise held by Arriva Trains ...
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NewsGreater Anglia reveals interior of Aventra commuter train fleet
UK: Greater Anglia has unveiled a full-size mock-up of the interior of the Aventra electric multiple-units ordered from Bombardier Transportation for entry into service on the East Anglia franchise in 2019-20. Bombardier is to supply 89 five-car and 22 ten-car 25 kV 50 Hz EMUs for Greater Anglia commuter ...
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NewsCaledonian Sleeper coaches ready for testing
UK: The first five of the 75 coaches that CAF is building for Caledonian Sleeper services between Scotland and London have arrived at the Velim test centre in the Czech Republic, where they will undergo several weeks of dynamic testing. The two seating cars, two sleeping cars and a club ...
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NewsEast Japan Railway enters UK market with West Midlands franchise win
UK: The West Midlands Trains Ltd consortium led by the Abellio subsidiary of Dutch national operator NS (70·1%) and the JREM Train 50:50 joint venture of East Japan Railway and Mitsui & Co (29·9%) was named preferred bidder for the West Midlands franchise by the Department for Transport on August ...
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NewsElectrostar grab rail coatings replaced
HANDRAILS: TBM Rail is refurbishing the passenger grab poles, rails and handles on almost 700 Bombardier Class 377 Electrostar electric multiple-unit cars used on Govia Thameslink Railway’s Southern services. ‘We were asked to source and provide a solution to the aging polyester coatings that in today’s climate are no longer ...
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Metro Report InternationalBarking Riverside extension approved
UK: The Secretary of State for Transport issued a decision letter on August 4 approving an order under the Transport & Works Act to grant Transport for London legal powers to build the 4·5 km Barking – Barking Riverside extension of the Gospel Oak – Barking line in east London. ...