UK passenger train operator news – Page 8
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Rail Business UKTicket sales ahead of expectations as low-cost Lumo launches
UK: FirstGroup reports that initial ticket sales at its newly launched London – Edinburgh open access operator Lumo are ahead of expectations, with weekend services proving to be particularly popular. ‘We have always said we intend to reimagine rail travel and we are glad people ...
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Rail Business UK
Compensation sought in legal action over London zone boundary tickets
UK: Legal claims have been brought against current and past South Eastern and South Western franchisees over claims that passengers were overcharged because fares from the London zone boundaries to stations outside the zones were not readily available for purchase by Travelcard holders. The Competition Appeal Tribunal ...
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Rail Business UK
Northern takes full control of Neville Hill depot
UK: Northern has taken over full control of the Neville Hill depot in Leeds, which it previously managed jointly with East Midlands Railway. Around 550 engineers, technicians and train presentation staff are employed at the site. ‘We are delighted to welcome our ...
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Rail Business UK
SE Trains takes over Southeastern services
UK: Southeastern services were transferred to the SE Trains subsidiary of the Department for Transport’s Operator of Last Resort when the directly-awarded management contract held by Govia’s London South Eastern Railway expired at 02.00 on October 17. DfT had an option to extend the contract to ...
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Rail Business UK
‘Compromise’ timetable agreed in Manchester as policymakers demand investment commitments
UK: Following fraught political negotiations and public consultation, agreement has been reached on the introduction of a post-pandemic timetable for the Manchester area from December 2022.
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Rail Business UK
Glasgow Queen Street station rebuild completed
UK: The completion of a £120m four-year project to rebuild Glasgow Queen Street station was officially marked on October 4, with a celebration attended by Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Delivered as part of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme, the modernisation of Scotland’s third-busiest station was ...
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Rail Business UK
Virtual reality simulation aims to ‘empower people to use public transport’
UK: A virtual reality simulation is being developed to enable disabled passengers to take simulated journeys where they can experience trains and stations, and interact with on-board staff to find out about the support available. Northern’s Commercial & Customer Director Mark Powles said the aim is ...
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Rail Business UK
Hull Trains MD appointed
UK: David Gibson has been appointed as Managing Director of open access operator Hull Trains with effect from October 1. Gibson left the Royal Air Force in 2003, joining Hull City Council as Assistant Chief Executive before moving to Capita’s Consulting & Transformation division as a ...
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Rail Business UK
Operator of Last Resort to take over Southeastern after ‘£25m breach of franchise agreement’
UK: The Department for Transport’s Operator of Last Resort is to take over the running of Southeastern services after Govia’s current management contract expires on October 16. The government’s decision follows an investigation of profit sharing agreements, which found that more than £25m of historic taxpayer ...
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Rail Business UK
ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper Emergency Measures Agreements extended
UK: The Scottish government has extended the Emergency Measures Agreements for the ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper franchises until December. The EMAs put in place in March this year ran from April 1 to September 19. Under the extended agreements the two operators will continue to receive ...
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Rail Business UK
Thameslink test confirms ETCS backwards compatibility
UK: A significant milestone has been reached in the East Coast Digital Programme, with the testing of a Great Northern Class 717 EMU over the Thameslink core between London St Pancras and Blackfriars stations using ETCS Level 2. The Siemens Mobility-built Class 717s are equipped ...
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Rail Business UK
On-train air quality standards to be reviewed following RSSB research
UK: The Department for Transport has ordered a review of regulations governing exposure to air pollution on trains and at stations, after research commissioned from the Rail Safety & Standards Board found that air quality was ‘poorer than desired’ on some trains using diesel power. RSSB’s ...
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Rail Business UK
Direct awards agreed with Greater Anglia and West Midlands Trains
UK: The Abellio-led Greater Anglia and West Midlands Trains businesses have agreed directly-awarded National Rail Contracts with the Department for Transport, ahead of the expiry of their Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement contracts on September 19. Both business are currently run as joint ventures between Abellio and ...
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Rail Business UK
Fatigue and stress led to Hitachi train cracks, finds ORR
UK: Both fatigue and stress corrosion led to the cracks that resulted in Hitachi-built Class 80x trainsets and Class 385 EMUs being withdrawn from service earlier this year, according to an interim review released by the Office of Rail & Road.
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Rail Business UK
Digital upgrade for Siemens Mobility’s Class 185 DMU fleet
UK: The 51 Class 185 diesel multiple-units which TransPennine Express leases from Eversholt Rail are to be equipped with Siemens Mobility’s Railigent cloud-based reporting tools, which are expected to improve reliability significantly while reducing overall maintenance and whole-life costs. The cloud-based digital tools will enable the ...
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Rail Business UK
TransPennine Express pauses overnight servicing at Scarborough depot
UK: TransPennine Express has ceased the overnight servicing of its Nova 3 push-pull trainsets at Scarborough depot, following repeated complaints from nearby residents about the noise created by the Class 68 locomotives. People living near the £7m facility which opened in 2019, were particularly concerned about ...
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Rail Business UK
Passenger occupancy analytics partnership follows successful trial
ANALYTICS: Icomera and Glimpse Analytics are to co-operate to offer ‘robust’ video analytics software for the real-time monitoring of passenger loadings, enabling operators and passengers to make more informed decisions based on train occupancy. The partnership agreement follows successful trials on South Western Railway services from ...
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Rail Business UK
Additional Edinburgh – Newcastle services from December 2021 timetable
UK: TransPennine Express has signed an agreement with Transport Scotland and the Rail North Partnership which will see it operate five services each way per day between Edinburgh and Newcastle from the December 2021 timetable change. The trains will serve Edinburgh Waverley, Dunbar, Reston, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Alnmouth, ...
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Rail Business UK
Lumo aims to be the green alternative to Edinburgh – London flights
Having unveiled Lumo as the brand name for its Edinburgh to London open access service, FirstGroup explains to Rail Business UK how it is taking a different approach to rail travel with the aim of winning passengers from air and coach.
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Rail Business UK
Biotoilet trial in Southeastern EMU modification programme
UK: Leasing company Eversholt Rail has awarded Southeastern franchisee LSER a contract undertake modifications to its fleet of 112 Bombardier Transportation Class 375 Electrostar electric multiple-units to upgrade onboard systems and meet franchise commitments. The programme is worth up to £10m. It will include replacing the ...
