UK rail industry news – Page 9
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Rail Business UKCall for clarity and a clear plan for the future of rail in the north of England
UK: Calls for a long-term plan for rail in the north of England dominated Transport for the North’s annual conference on December 14. Leader of Leeds City Council Judith Blake called for local accountability, insisting that ‘elected politicians must have a say on projects to reflect ...
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Rail Business UK
NIC reports sets out five options for rail investment in the Midlands and north
NIC report UK: The National Infrastructure Commission has released its final report into the rail needs of the Midlands and north of England, commissioned by the government to inform the development of an Integrated Rail Plan. In the report published on December 15, NIC calls for a commitment ...
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Rail Business UK
January rail fare increase delayed to March 1
UK: The annual change in rail fares will be delayed from January until March 1 2021, the Department for Transport announced on December 16. Regulated fares will then increase by RPI+1, a 2·6% rise. Passengers renewing season tickets will be able to do so at ...
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Rail Business UK
GWR to test Hitachi battery hybrid inter-city train
UK: Leasing company Eversholt Rail and Hitachi Rail Europe have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop an underfloor battery powerpack to be trialled on a Class 802 electro-diesel inter-city trainset operated by Great Western Railway on the London – Penzance route.
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Rail Business UK
Perry Barr station plans revised following public criticism
UK: Designs for the rebuilding of Perry Barr station in Birmingham have been revised in response to overwhelmingly negative public and stakeholder responses to the initial proposal. When the designs were unveiled in September, social media feedback included ‘the architecture of a miserable and joyless world’, ...
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Rail Business UK
Electrical innovation at Sandwich station
UK: KH Engineering Services has completed an ‘extensive’ programme of mechanical and electrical design works for two platform extensions at Sandwich station, acting on behalf of principal contractor BAM Nuttall. The 80 m platform extensions at the Dover end will enable the station to accommodate 12-car ...
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Rail Business UK
CAF completes final Class 195 DMU for Northern
UK: CAF has delivered the final Class 195 Civity diesel multiple-unit to Northern, completing the 2016 order for 25 two-car and 33 three-car sets. The final 44 vehicles were assembled at the company’s new factory in Newport, which was opened by Prince of Wales in February, ...
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Rail Business UK
South Western and West Coast franchise termination payments agreed
UK: FirstGroup and the Department for Transport have reached agreement on payments for the termination of the South Western Railway and West Coast Partnership franchise agreements, which were signed before the pandemic, and are negotiating new directly-awarded management contracts which would come into effect when the current ...
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Rail Business UK
South Western Railway scraps onboard catering
UK: South Western Railway has withdrawn its onboard catering services and ended its contract with provider Elior, putting around 130 jobs at risk. ‘It is with regret that, following consultation with our passengers and the Department for Transport, we have had to terminate our contract with ...
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Rail Business UK
DB Cargo UK tests hydrotreated vegetable oil locomotive fuel
UK: DB Cargo UK has successfully tested the use of 100% renewable hydrotreated vegetable oil to fuel a Class 67 diesel locomotive, and on-track trials are to follow with Class 67 and Class 66 locomotives, as well as testing with a Class 60. The testing, ...
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Rail Business UK
West Midlands Trains deploys on-train information and entertainment
UK: West Midlands Trains has deployed an on-train real-time information and entertainment system supplied by GoMedia and its parent company Icomera. Passengers connect their smart device to on-train wi-fi, and can then access live information about both the progress of the train and onward connections. There ...
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Rail Business UK
More powerful rail-mounted tree chipper introduced
UK: QTS Group has unveiled its Mega Chipper V2 rail-mounted chipper, an automated 460 hp machine which can chip a 600 mm diameter tree in 10 sec. A successor to the railway contractor’s original Mega Chipper, the V2 is more powerful and efficient with a ...
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Rail Business UK
Inquiry considers railway infrastructure in Wales
UK: The House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee has opened an inquiry into railway infrastructure in Wales, inviting written evidence by February 26 regarding: where does responsibility lie for rail infrastructure in Wales? how effectively do the UK and Welsh governments co-operate with one ...
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Rail Business UK
Routes into Rail highlights railway careers
UK: Organisations from across the rail sector have collaborated to launch a revamped Routes into Rail website to provide information about careers in the rail sector, and highlight more than 700 job vacancies. The website aims to facilitate an increase in diversity in rail by reaching ...
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Rail Business UK
M Group to acquire Skanska UK rail services activities
UK: M Group Services has announced the acquisition of Skanska UK’s rail and road infrastructure services business. The £50m acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2021, as part of Skanska’s strategy of focusing on its core activities in the infrastructure and ...
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Rail Business UK
Mechan jacks and turntables installed in Exeter
UK: Mechan worked with main contractor Hochtief to design, supply and install a set of 12 lifting jacks and two turntables for a three-road maintenance facility which has been built to expand GWR’s Exeter Olds View depot near St David’s station. The 15 tonne rail mounted ...
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Rail Business UK
Claire Mann named South Western Railway Managing Director
UK: Claire Mann has been appointed as the next Managing Director of South Western Railway, and will take up the post in early 2021. Mark Hopwood, currently Interim Managing Director of SWR, will return to his former role as Managing Director of Great Western Railway ...
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Rail Business UK
Northern runs its final Pacer
UK: Following a temporary reprieve to provide additional capacity during the pandemic, Northern has operated its final passenger service with a Pacer diesel multiple-unit. Northern’s final Pacer service ran on November 27, when unit 142 004, coupled to 150 225, left Kirkby at 15.36 and ...
