This week’s round-up of business news from the UK railway industry.
The Rail Forum trade association which represents almost 400 rail-related businesses has moved to Paul Duval House in Derby’s Station Quarter. It said this offers easy access for people visiting Derby by rail, while also being within walking distance of members based on Pride Park or within the city.
Mobile telecoms service provider Pipcall is targeting the rail market with its automatic call recording function that can be used on both personal and corporate mobile devices. The company told Rail Business UK that changes to Network Rail’s standards in March 2026 will mean every safety-critical voice call must be recorded, whether made by NR staff, contractors or umbrella workers.
AECOM has been appointed as an ‘ecosystem delivery partner’ for VolkerRail as part of the Southern Renewals Enterprise for Network Rail’s Southern Region. AECOM will provide multidisciplinary design services, including topographical surveys, track and electrical track engineering design, along with project and engineering management services for SRE track delivery partner VolkerRail.
A planning application for the Southern Gateway project at Bristol Temple Meads station has been submitted to the city council. It includes a secure cycle building, bus stops, walking and cycling routes. A new multi-storey car park will enable the relocation of car parking into a single location at the Southern Gateway, freeing space at the Friary, Station Approach and in the Grade I listed Midland Shed for new development, public spaces and travel routes. Network Rail will provide a new pedestrian route over the River Avon to improve access for residents in the south of the city.
c2c has secured securing full re-accreditation as part of the British Transport Police and Department for Transport Safeguarding on Rail Scheme to protect vulnerable people on the network. ‘Scoring 92% in our latest audit shows the continuous improvement we have been delivering over the past three years’, said c2c’s Head of Revenue Protection & Security, Iain Palmer.
Stannah and contractor BAM Nutall have installed three 16-person passenger lifts at Shortlands station in southeast London to provide step-free access to each platform. Stannah said it faced several logistical challenges owing to the restricted size of the site and limited access, which made material deliveries particularly difficult.
London Overground operator Arriva Rail London has appointed Niall Rooney as Customer Experience Director, succeeding Charlotte Whitfield who became Operations Director in April. Rooney has held a range of senior leadership roles at British Airways over the past decade. ‘Bringing insight from one of the world’s leading airlines into the rail sector presents an exciting opportunity to rethink how we deliver service and raise the bar for our customers’, said Managing Director Steve Best.
The RMT union has backed the call from the London Assembly Transport Committee for Transport for London to publish the review which led to the removal of blue light status from Emergency Response Unit vehicles, and has called for the reinstatement of the ‘vital emergency capability’. Blue light status was granted following a recommendation from the London Assembly’s 7 July Review Committee in response to the 7/7 bombings.
Richard Holden, Conservative MP for Basildon & Billericay, was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Transport on July 22. ‘I will work with fellow Conservative MPs to push for reliable, affordable joined‑up transport that genuinely serves people’s lives and local communities’, he said. Holden was Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Transport from October 2022 to November 2023.