UK passenger train operator news – Page 7
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Rail Business UK
‘A victory for union hard-liners’ as TransPennine Express transfer risks causing more disruption
Rail Business UK can reveal that the short-notice decision by Transport Secretary Mark Harper to bring TransPennine Express into the government’s Operator of Last Resort has stoked serious concerns about unintended consequences within the industry.
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Rail Business UK
Manchester rail plans rethought as ‘ambition wasn’t able to be delivered’
UK: Network Rail has withdrawn a planning application for rail infrastructure works in Manchester, Rail Minister Huw Merriman confirmed during a visit to the city on May 25.
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Rail Business UK
Reading Green Park station opens
UK: Passenger trains began serving the new Reading Green Park station on the Reading to Basingstoke line on May 27, following an inauguration ceremony two days previously. The station’s development was undertaken by Reading Borough Council, Network Rail and train operator Great Western Railway, with the ...
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Rail Business UK
Locally guided £72m rail plan aims to unblock northern rail capacity
UK: Rail Minister Huw Merriman announced a £72m programme of investment for the network in Greater Manchester during a visit to Manchester Victoria station.
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Rail Business UK
Interview: ‘You can’t innovate as a monopolist’
UK: Avanti West Coast and c2c parent Trenitalia is ready to make significant investment in Britain’s railways, mirroring its recent expansion in Spain. But this is contingent on the government relaxing its grip on the industry, the company’s UK Managing Director Ernesto Sicilia explains to Nick Kingsley and Sophie Burton.
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Rail Business UK
Light rail in Havering Council infrastructure vision
UK: Havering Council has announced an infrastructure vision for the east London borough which includes a ‘tram, light rail or other form of transport’.
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Rail Business UK
East Coast Azuma charter signed
UK: LNER, Agility Trains and Hitachi Rail have signed a ‘pioneering’ Relationship Charter covering collaboration during the remaining 23 years of the contract to provide rolling stock for use on the East Coast Main Line. In 2014 Department for Transport’s Intercity Express Programme awarded Agility Trains ...
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Rail Business UK
Six projects awarded rail accessibility innovation funding
UK: Independent pan-disability body the Northern Accessibility User Group has selected six projects to share funding from Northern’s £250 000 Accessibility Innovation Fund. South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority will create an Accessibility Hub at the Meadowhall transport interchange in Sheffield. Working with TransPennine Express, this ...
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Rail Business UK
Collaborative approach completes depot upgrade
UK: RTS Infrastructure Services has installed a new fuelling and servicing facility at Northern’s Barrow-in-Furness light maintenance depot, as part of a project which the contractor’s Managing Director Chris Reid said was a ‘masterclass in teamwork and flexibility’. The depot enhancements enable Northern to operate six-car ...
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Rail Business UK
No silver bullet promised as TransPennine Express to transfer to Operator of Last Resort
UK: FirstGroup’s National Rail Contract to operate TransPennine Express services will not be renewed when it expires on May 28, Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper announced on May 11. Operations will instead be transferred to the government’s Operator of Last Resort. Services will run ...
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Rail Business UK
LNER to expand single-leg ticket pricing
UK: LNER has announced the roll-out of single-leg pricing across all journeys where it manages the pricing, with tickets going on sale from May 14 for travel from June 11. The operator said this would make ticketing ‘simpler and more flexible’. Anytime Single, Off-Peak/Super Off-Peak Single ...
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In depth
Train Control: En route to digital signalling
Final testing and commissioning of ETCS Level 2 is underway on the Northern City Line to London’s Moorgate terminus, which is due to go live later this year as a ‘pathfinder’ project for the East Coast Digital Programme. Chris Jackson reports.
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In depth
UK: Lumo takes on the airlines
In the 18 months since its launch on the London – Edinburgh route, open access operator Lumo has driven up ridership and lifted rail’s market share significantly, as FirstGroup’s Commercial & Revenue Director Stuart Jones explains to Tony Miles.
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In depth
UK: East Coast collaboration is delivering
Almost uniquely among UK train operators, LNER is seeing ridership on its inter-city services well above pre-pandemic levels, while a collaborative approach between operator and infrastructure manager is driving up performance. Tony Miles investigates.
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Rail Business UK
Crowns, chocolates, a named train and planning ahead as rail industry prepares for the coronation
UK: Additional services, longer trains and queuing systems are planned to handle the crowds who are expected to travel to events marking the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey on May 6 and the concert to be held in Windsor the following day.
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Rail Business UK
Scottish Rail Holdings board members appointed
UK: On April 26 Scotland’s Minister for Transport Kevin Stewart announced the appointment of two non-executive directors to the board of Scottish Rail Holdings, the non-departmental public body wholly owned by the Scottish government which acts as the owning group for train operator ScotRail. Richard Cairns ...
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Rail Business UK
Station vending machines fitted with ‘living walls’
UK: ‘Living walls’ which can be attached to vending machines are being tested at Bournemouth station by South Western Railway, Decorum Vending, Regency Design and plant supplier PHS Greenleaf. The small, self-sufficient, vertical gardens are designed to thrive in all locations, whether in sunlight or shade. ...
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Rail Business UK
ScotRail to carry more bikes to Mallaig
UK: ScotRail has increased its capacity for carrying bicycles on the West Highland line with the introduction of Highland Explorer DMUs on services to and from Mallaig.
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Rail Business UK
Class 802 maintenance moves to Plymouth as quest for better availability goes on
UK: Great Western Railway, Eversholt Rail and Hitachi Rail are to extend their maintenance partnership covering 36 Class 802 inter-city trainsets, with work to be transferred to the GWR depot at Laira in Plymouth.
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Rail Business UK
Devizes station would need to be part of wider rail plan
UK: The construction of a Devizes Gateway station at Lydeway is unlikely to represent value for money as a standalone project, but it could be viable as part of a wider rail improvement programme, a study has concluded. The feasibility study undertaken by Wiltshire Council, Devizes ...