Specialist manufacturer of bespoke machinery KM Tools has completed a contract to design, manufacture, installation and maintain smart jigs at Hitachi Rail’s Newton Aycliffe plant. The jigs allow the floor, sides and roof of a vehicle to be held in position for welding and finishing. ‘Our turnkey engineering service for specialised production machinery proved an ideal fit for this high-profile contract’, said Neil Harrison, Sales Manager at KM Tools. ‘Experience of working closely with other OEMs in the automotive and rail sectors also ensured we had the right engineering expertise and capacity to support large, modern production lines.’
The next in the series of Unlocking Innovation events organised by the Railway Industry Association, Network Rail and the UK Rail Research & Innovation Network is to be held on May 10-14 and will focus on ‘Developing Whole Systems in the Digital Age’.
Liz Collins, Interim Managing Director of TransPennine Express, has decided to retire from her current full-time role and will take up a new part-time position as Finance & Commercial Director in First Rail’s West Coast Partnership business from June. FirstGroup said an announcement regarding a successor will be made in due course.
Greater Anglia has chosen iland’s Secure Cloud Backup for Veeam Cloud Connect and iland Secure Cloud Backup for Microsoft 365 to protect critical data from internal and external cybersecurity threats and reduce the total cost of data protection and retention, while also moving its overall backup strategy toward the cloud and away from physical tape.
Eurotunnel has opened a Pet Reception at the Channel Tunnel’s UK terminal where staff can check the documents of dogs, cats and ferrets travelling to France.
Network Rail and Greater Anglia are undertaking a Department for Transport funded project to increase the number of ticket gates between platforms 11-17 at London Liverpool Street station to ease crowding at busy times. The number of wide aisle gates will be increased from four to eight, and made automatic so passengers can operate them using their tickets without requiring staff assistance.
CrossCountry has announced the appointment of Jon Fenn as Service Delivery Director from July 5. ‘Jon brings significant operational experience and leadership to CrossCountry, which will be vital so that we emerge from the pandemic as a viable business’, said Managing Director Tom Joyner. ‘Ensuring we learn from the lessons prior to Covid and deliver a robust timetable on which our customers can rely will be at the heart of our success.’
The Institution of Railway Operators has launched a member’s app providing instant access to its professional CPD tool POD. Users can complete their CPD via their mobile device, access resources from anywhere in the world, receive updates instantly and view and sign up for events.
SLC Rail, SLC Property and SLC Investments have been awarded places on Midlands Connect’s four-year specialist technical framework to provide niche advisory services on cost assurance, regulation and planning, economics, funding and finance and environment assessment.
South Western Railway has undertaken a £356 000 programme of small infrastructure enhancements at Godalming, Kingston, Lymington Town, Petersfield, Portsmouth Harbour, Richmond, Shawford, Surbiton, Totton, and Winnersh stations. This has included investment in doors, pavements, ramps, handrails, signage, seats, treads and tactiles to improve accessibility and safety.
Skanska has completed the divestment of its UK rail, highway and street lighting maintenance activities to M Group Services for £50m. The sale forms part of Skanska’s strategy to focus on its core operations in the infrastructure and building sectors in the UK.
Jacobs has been awarded a professional services framework contract for Highways England’s Historical Railways Estate. This includes design, site supervision, bridge and scour assessments, abnormal load checking and stakeholder management, as well as environmental, ecological and estate management services across HRE’s assets. The contract is worth an estimated £30m over seven years, and there is an option for a further three years.
