UK passenger train operator news – Page 9
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Rail Business UKTransPennine Express Newcastle – Edinburgh local services to continue
UK: The Newcastle – Edinburgh service operated by TransPennine Express under contract to Transport Scotland will continue after December 2024, despite the end of Scottish government funding. The service introduced in December 2021 comprises five Newcastle – Edinburgh trains per day, plus two additional trains between ...
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Rail Business UKInterview: ‘There’s more to do but we have made excellent progress’
UK: TransPennine Express is ‘making moves in the right direction but we’re under no illusion there’s still much more we need to do‘, the operator’s Managing Director Chris Jackson tells Rail Business UK.
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Rail Business UKMerseyrail Class 507 EMUs bow out
UK: August 26 marked the first day of the operation of eight-car formations of Stadler Class 777 EMUs on Merseyrail services to Southport, as well the first day in almost 46 years when no Merseyrail services were operated by a Class 507 EMU. The last day ...
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Rail Business UKNine start-ups selected for rail innovation programme
UK: Nine technology start-ups have been selected from more than 100 applicants to joint the Future Labs innovation programme run by Southeastern, Northern, LNER and TransPennine Express with specialist company L Marks. Chata.ai enables organisations to harness their data through proactive self-service analytics, allowing users ...
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Rail Business UKPay-as-you-go to be extended to 47 more stations
UK: Pay-as-you-go travel using a contactless bank card or device is to go live at a further 47 c2c, London Northwestern Railway, Southeastern and South Western Railway stations from September 22. This will not impact existing ticketing options or the availability of traditional season tickets, and ...
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Rail Business UKTinted window film to reduce train air-conditioning needs
UK: TransPennine Express is trialling two tinted window films which it hopes will reduce solar heating and thus lower the energy used by train air-conditioning systems. The operator expects the film supplied by Aura Brand Solutions to block more than 30% of solar energy and 99·9% ...
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Rail Business UKLNER withdraws flexible off peak fares from more stations
UK: LNER’s pilot scheme withdrawing flexible Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak fares is to be expanded to cover journeys between London and more than 20 stations around and between Newcastle, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh from September 30. In January, the nationalised operator launched a two-year ‘Simpler Fares’ trial ...
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Rail Business UKAll-day off-peak fare trial fails to achieve modal shift goals
UK: A pilot scheme which removed peak fares on ScotRail services in favour of offering cheaper off-peak fares all day is to end, after analysis found only ‘a limited degree of success’ in achieving modal shift from cars The Scottish government spent £40m subsidising the ScotRail ...
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Rail Business UKCrossCountry Voyager refurbishment contract awarded
UK: Leasing company Beacon Rail has formally awarded Alstom a £60m contract to refurbish CrossCountry’s fleet of Voyager and Super Voyager 200 km/h inter-city diesel-electric multiple-units. The work will include an interior refresh with replacement seats, tables and carpets, improved lighting, a passenger counting system and ...
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Rail Business UKNear-miss reporting guidance aims to increase level crossing safety
UK: The Level Crossing Strategy Group has published guidance to improve the reporting and management of near misses at level crossings. The guidance is the result of collaboration between stakeholders including Network Rail, the Rail Safety & Standards Board, operators LNER and c2c, and train drivers’ ...
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Rail Business UKCrossCountry ordered to produce improvement plan
UK: Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh has written to the two Interim Managing Directors of CrossCountry expressing ‘serious concern’ about the train operator’s performance. She expects the operator to agree a Remedial Plan, saying ‘I will not hesitate to take further action under the ...
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Rail Business UKScotland’s Railway publishes five-year Climate Action Plan
UK: The Scotland’s Railway partnership of Network Rail and ScotRail has published a five-year Climate Action Plan setting out aims to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2024-29. There are five priority areas: Climate ready: preparing the railway and organisations for anticipated changes in the ...
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Rail Business UKCrossCountry cuts services to catch up on driver training
UK: CrossCountry is cutting services from August 10 until November 9 in an effort to reduce on-the-day cancellations while it catches up on a post-pandemic backlog of driver training. On July 29 the operator said prolonged industrial action across the rail industry had prevented it from ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern awards station passenger information systems contract
UK: Train operator Northern has awarded Sella Controls a contract to supply, install and commission 269 customer information displays as well as long line public address systems at 68 stations. Design work is under way, with the first installations planned for this summer. The current equipment ...
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Rail Business UKTrain operator says WhatsApp service has saved 1 277 h of employee time
UK: Train operator Northern says its entirely AI-operated Whatsapp enquiry service has received 8 000 messages from customers in the first year of operation, which has freed-up 1 277 h of employee time. People can ask for live train times, service updates and disruption information, as well ...
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Rail Business UKFirst stage of £36m Tyseley depot expansion completed
UK: Spencer Group has completed the first of three phases of a £36m project being undertaken on behalf of West Midlands Trains and Network Rail to enable Birmingham’s Tyseley depot to handle four rather than three-car trains. The first stage included removal of a significant section ...
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Rail Business UKAutomated detection of lineside vegetation on test
UK: The use of cab-mounted forward-facing CCTV for the automated detection of potentially hazardous lineside vegetation is being tested on the East Coast Main Line. The 12-month trial is being sponsored by infrastructure manager Network Rail, and undertaken in partnership with train operator LNER, rolling stock ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern reviews recruitment process to better support neurodivergent candidates
UK: Train operator Northern has reviewed its recruitment processes with the aim of ensuring that applicants with neurodivergent conditions are better supported. Candidates with autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia and Tourette’s syndrome are now being given extra support, including: a step-by-step breakdown, including timings, ...
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Rail Business UKLower fares to compensate passengers for battery train troubles
UK: Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram has announced reduced weekend fares on Merseyrail’s Headbolt Lane line until September, as ‘a goodwill gesture to thank passengers for their patience’ during problems with the introduction of the subfleet of Stadler Class 777 electric multiple-units fitted with batteries. ...
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Rail Business UKScotRail introduces emergency timetable
UK: Following the rejection of a pay offer and a decision by many drivers not to make themselves available for overtime work, ScotRail is to introduce a temporary timetable from July 10 which removes around 600 services. The company said the changes are ’a result of ...