UK passenger train operator news
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Rail Business UKTransport for Wales launches Class 231 Flirt DMUs
UK: Transport for Wales officially launched its fleet of Stadler Flirt Class 231 diesel multiple-units into revenue service with a ceremony at Caerphilly on March 29, at which unit 231001 was named ‘Sultan’. Ordered from Stadler as part of a £800m fleet replacement programme, the 11 ...
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Rail Business UK
Northern offers 25% discount for key workers
UK: Northern has worked with employee discounts and benefits company Network to offer a 25% discount on its Advance tickets for NHS workers, carers, teachers and staff working for registered charities. NHS workers can book via the Health Service Discounts website, carers via Discounts for Carers, ...
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Rail Business UK
Manchester buzzing to put rail into its Bee Network
Greater Manchester Transport Commissioner Vernon Everitt tells Rail Business UK how rail services could be better integrated with other public transport in the conurbation under the recently agreed Trailblazer devolution deal.
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Metro Report International
South Wales Metro tram-train delivered as route blockade announced
UK: The first of the Stadler Class 398 tram-trains for South Wales Metro services arrived at Transport for Wales’ Taff’s Well depot by road on the night of March 21. This follows several months of testing at Network Rail’s Rail Innovation & Development Centre at Melton ...
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Rail Business UK
Avanti West Coast contract extended and Managing Director appointed
UK: Avanti West Coast must continue to regain the confidence of passengers before decisions on its future are made, the Department for Transport said when it announced a six-month extension of the inter-city operator’s contract. The West Coast Partnership contract covers the operation of inter-city services ...
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Rail Business UK
FirstClass to supply depot safety and control system for Cardiff Canton
UK: FirstClass Safety & Control has been awarded a contract to install a depot protection control system at Transport for Wales Rail’s Cardiff Canton site. This will combine FirstClass’s depot protection system with turnout controls, driver destination boards and driver location information boards, managed using its ...
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Rail Business UK
East Midlands Railway joins surplus food redistribution scheme
UK: East Midlands Railway has partnered with sharing app and social enterprise Olio to distribute surplus food from its inter-city trains. Food that is nearing its expiry date will be collected by Olio at London St Pancras and advertised on its app ready to be re-distributed ...
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Rail Business UK
Superfare ticket trials aims to attract flexible travellers to rail
UK: Avanti West Coast is trialling a low-price Superfare ticket, aimed at people who can be more flexible with their journeys and who would not normally opt to travel by train. Superfare prices London – Birmingham £12 London – ...
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Rail Business UK
Arriva UK Trains appoints partner to develop ACE digital customer platform
UK: Arriva UK Trains has formed a strategic partnership with Nagarro to further develop its Arriva Customer Engine digital ticket retailing and real-time information platform. ACE launched at Arriva’s Chiltern Railways business five years ago and according to the company is now ‘a feature-rich, mature platform’ ...
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Rail Business UK
Custom carpets keeps luggage out of train wheelchair spaces
UK: Wool from more than 30 000 sheep is being used by Axminster Carpets to produce over 20 000 m2 of floor coverings for the refurbishment of the Avanti West Coast Pendolino fleet. The two-year contract to supply carpets for the £117m refurbishment of the 56 ...
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Rail Business UK
Northumberland Line expected to reopen in summer 2024
UK: Northumberland Line services between Newcastle and Ashington are expected to begin in summer 2024, Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper has confirmed. The exact launch date will announced closer to the time. ‘Restoring lost railway connections will drive tourism, boost local business opportunities and ...
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Rail Business UK
TfW Rail scales back Class 175 DMU operation following ‘thermal events’
UK: Following a series of underbody fires, TfW Rail has stood down a significant proportion of its Class 175 diesel multiple-unit fleet from March 2 until each set has undergone an intensive cleaning process. Chief Operations Officer Jan Chaudhry van der Velde and Engineering Director Ryan ...
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Rail Business UK
Avanti West Coast launches instant accessibility help channel
UK: Avanti West Coast has launched a WhatsApp channel providing instant access to specialist support for passengers with disabilities. Travel Companion is staffed by members of the inter-city operator’s social media team who have ‘passion and empathy for accessibility’, as well as specialist knowledge. AWC said ...
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Rail Business UK
Scottish Rail Holdings to take over Caledonian Sleeper
UK: The operation of Caledonian Sleeper is to be taken over by Scottish Rail Holdings, an arm’s length company owned by the Scottish government, from June 25. In 2014 Transport Scotland awarded Serco a contract to operate the night train services between London and Scotland for ...
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Rail Business UK
Helping people with non-visible disabilities to Travel with Confidence
UK: Information and training to help people with non-visible disabilities such as autism, anxiety or phobias use public transport is being provided by Hampshire Community Rail Partnership with the support of South Western Railway and Hampshire County Council. The first phase of the Travel with Confidence ...
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Rail Business UK
ETCS knowledge sharing in action
UK: DB Cargo UK recently took a Class 66 diesel locomotive to Govia Thameslink Railway’s Hornsey depot, so the freight operator could learn more about the passenger operator’s approach to rolling out ETCS. The companies have been working together for months to share their knowledge, as ...
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Rail Business UK
Rail needs to get out of a pickle, says Minister in Gherkin
UK: ‘The perception that passengers cannot rely on rail is too close to the truth’, Rail Minister Huw Merriman told representatives of the passenger industry.
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Rail Business UK
GWR buys Vivarail battery train assets to secure Greenford trial
UK: Great Western Railway has agreed contracts to buy Vivarail’s battery train related assets, saying this will secure the future of planned trials of the technology in London. The deal announced on February 16 includes intellectual property, rolling stock and equipment relating to the development of ...
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Rail Business UK
Reliability headaches hinder Welsh train fleet renewal
UK: Transport for Wales updates Rail Business UK on progress with its rolling stock renewal programme.
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Rail Business UK
ScotRail to scrap Highland Explorer supplement
UK: ScotRail is to remove the £10 supplement for using its Highland Explorer diesel multiple-units from April 1, and the vehicles adapted to carry bicycles and sporting equipment will also be introduced on the Mallaig route. The Class 153 DMUs owned by leasing company Angel Trains ...
