UK passenger train operator news – Page 10
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Rail Business UKGrand Central launches at seat information and catering service
UK: Grand Central is introducing an integrated digital portal for onboard entertainment, real-time journey information and at-seat catering. Journey Central has been developed with transport technology company Whoosh and contactless ordering specialist Ordamo. It is accessed through a passenger’s smart phone, tablet or laptop without the ...
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Rail Business UK
TransPennine Express mulls fleet strategy as final CAF trainset accepted
UK: TransPennine Express held a ceremony at the Manchester International Depot in Longsight on June 16 to celebrate acceptance of the final train under its fleet renewal programme. The last train to arrive is one of the 13 CAF MkVa push-pull inter-city trainsets, branded Nova 3 by the operator.
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Rail Business UK
Stadler unveils independently-powered electric multiple-unit
UK: Stadler has unveiled a Class 777 electric multiple-unit which has been fitted with a prototype battery energy storage system to enable operation on non-electrified tracks. The independently-powered electric multiple-unit is being supplied to Liverpool area transport authority Merseytravel in addition to ...
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Rail Business UK
GWR to test battery train on branch line
UK: Great Western Railway has invited expressions of interest in trialling a battery powered train on the 4 km non-electrified branch line from West Ealing to Greenford in west London. The operator notes that the trial ‘will support the objectives of the Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy ...
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Rail Business UK
London to Glasgow record narrowly missed
UK: Despite some very impressive work by driver Neil Barker, an attempt by Avanti West Coast to set a new record for the London – Glasgow route on June 17 narrowly missed beating the record established by a pre-series Advanced Passenger Train in December 1984.
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Rail Business UK
Govia Thameslink Railway contract extended to March 2022
UK: The Department for Transport has extended Govia Thameslink Railway’s Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement from September 20 2021 until March 31 2022 on the existing terms, and laid the ground for a directly-awarded contract which could run up to a further six years. Govia Thameslink Railway ...
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Rail Business UK
East Coast Main Line changes in planned May 2022 timetable
UK: LNER and TransPennine Express have begun public consultation over plans to change timetables and service patterns on the East Coast Main Line from the May 2022 timetable. LNER says its proposed new timetable ‘builds on over a decade of planning and investment’ in Azuma trains ...
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Rail Business UK
Welsh rolling stock strategy evolves as three-phase post-pandemic recovery envisaged
UK: TfW Rail has again revised its fleet strategy as it seeks to ensure passenger services can be improved despite the financial constraints caused by Covid-19, Managing Director Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde tells Rail Business UK.
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Rail Business UK
‘Lessons learned’ review of Hitachi train crack issue
UK: The Office of Rail & Road is undertaking a review to understand the lessons the industry can learn from the discovery of cracks on Hitachi Rail AT200 (Class 385) and AT300 (classes 800, 801 and 802) trainsets during May. ORR said it would work with ...
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Rail Business UK
Northern’s CAF multiple-units return to service
UK: All but two of Northern’s CAF Class 195 diesel and Class 331 electric multiple-units are now back in service, after analysis of the causes of the cracks discovered in April and the development of a modification that is being rolled out across the Class 195 fleet.
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Rail Business UK
London King’s Cross station remodelling completed
UK: Network Rail has completed its remodelling of the approaches to London King’s Cross station as part of its £1·2bn East Coast Main Line upgrading programme. Wholesale replacement of the track layout installed in the early 1970s has allowed the station platforms to be extended for ...
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Rail Business UK
Ex-Grand Central Mk IVs to operate Swansea – Manchester service
UK: Transport for Wales has purchased a batch of 30 refurbished Mk IV inter-city carriages to operate its Swansea – Manchester route from December 2022, replacing the current Class 175 DMUs.
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Rail Business UK
New way to get in touch from station help points
UK: TransPennine Express is testing Everdelta station help points, which have a QR code which customers can scan with a mobile phone to obtain a link which enables them to connect with staff to obtain information or assistance. The service is currently being trialled at Huddersfield, ...
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Rail Business UK
Rail needs to be ‘relevant and wanted’ in an era of changed travel demand
UK: ‘How we go about our daily lives and conduct our businesses has changed for a lot of people’, said Steve Montgomery, Managing Director of FirstGroup’s First Rail business at the TransPennine Express RE-Connect 2021 conference. Before the coronavirus ‘we were seeing customer numbers at record ...
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Rail Business UK
Inverness Airport station approved
UK: Highland Council’s planning committee has unanimously approved proposals to build a station at Inverness Airport on the Aberdeen – Inverness line. Located approximately 12 km northeast of the city, where the railway runs along the side of the airport, the station will have two platforms, ...
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Rail Business UK
ScotRail tests on-train Covid-19 check-in system
UK: As part of Scotland’s coronavirus measures, ScotRail is undertaking an eight-week trial of the NHS Test & Protect Check In Scotland QR code system on one of its Inter7City trainsets, at the request of the Scottish government and Transport Scotland. From May 24, passengers with ...
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Rail Business UK
ScotRail EMU overhaul contract awarded
UK: Leasing company Eversholt Rail has awarded Brodie Engineering a ‘multimillion pound’ contract for the time-based overhaul of its fleet of 21 Class 318 electric multiple-units operated by ScotRail. This includes the safety critical overhaul of components including traction equipment, doors and heating and ventilation systems, ...
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Rail Business UK
FirstGroup agrees National Rail Contracts for SWR and TransPennine Express
UK: The Department for Transport has finalised the first of the National Rail Contracts under which formerly franchised passenger services are to be operated over the next few years. The directly-awarded NRCs are envisaged as an interim step between the current Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements and ...
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Rail Business UK
Matthew Golton to lead TransPennine Express
UK: FirstGroup has announced the appointment of Matthew Golton as Managing Director of TransPennine Express from June 1. He will take over from Acting Managing Director Liz Collins, who is retiring from her current full-time role and taking up a new part-time position as Finance & ...
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Rail Business UK
Class 769 bi-mode trainsets enter service with Northern
UK: Considerably later than envisaged, Northern’s first Class 769 bi-mode multiple-units entered service with the start of the new timetable on May 17.
