This week’s round-up of business news from the UK railway industry.
King Charles III officially opened the Transport for Wales South Wales Metro Depot in Taff’s Well on November 14. The £100m depot at the 5 ha former Forgemasters site will be used to maintain a fleet of 36 Stadler tram-trains which are to enter service next year. The depot provides over 400 jobs.
Greater Anglia has completed a project to retrofit its Stadler Class 745/1 Stansted Express EMUs with tables. They had fold-down seat-back tables for most seats, but there were previously no tables in the bays of four; when the trains were specified, it was expected that they would only operate a few services a day at most on the Great Eastern Main Line. However, they are now covering more services than anticipated and feedback has reinforced the value passengers place on tables, especially on inter-city services.
On November 2 c2c used the closure of London Fenchurch Street station for engineering works to conduct a comprehensive fire evacuation drill in partnership with the London Fire Brigade. ‘These kinds of opportunities are rare because of the impact it has on the station’, said Tony Jackson, LFB Station Commander for Whitechapel. ‘It is a chance for our officers to work with the station supervisors and their staff to make sure the procedures are correct and in-place.’
Transport UK’s East Midlands Railway has opened an Assisted Travel Lounge at Derby station, offering a ‘comfortable and thoughtfully designed’ space for passengers who require additional support. It has accessible seating with integrated charging points and space for wheelchair users to move around freely. The desk area has been redesigned with a split-level layout to make it easier for wheelchair users and those with reduced mobility. Acoustic wall panels have been installed to help reduce background noise, making the environment more peaceful for all users, and a new information screen provides larger, clearer updates.
Transport for Greater Manchester, Network Rail, Northern Trains and Story Contracting have completed a £10m project at Salford Central station which includes a new ticket office, modernised station building with new roof, accessible toilets, improved platforms and more inclusive passenger information, including a braille map.
Grinsty Rail has joined the Global Electronics Association. It said this gives it direct access to technical resources, industry advocacy and a worldwide network of manufacturers, suppliers and training partners. As part of the membership programme, Grinsty Rail is launching a company-wide retraining and certification initiative to ensure staff meet internationally recognised workmanship and repair standards. ‘Our customers rely on us for safe, reliable rail electronics — these certifications ensure our teams use the latest, industry-recognised criteria for inspection, cable/harness work and repair’, said Managing Director Matt Perry-Parker.
Presenting the half-yearly report for the 26 weeks to September 27 2025 on November 18, FirstGroup CEO Graham Sutherland said ’we have delivered a robust performance in H1 2026, made further progress in growing and diversifying the business and maintained our positive earnings trajectory. In the second half, we will benefit from the actions we have taken to restructure the business as well as the contribution of our recent acquisitions and expect modest growth in our adjusted earnings per share for the full year. Our focus remains on the delivery of our commitments, including the successful execution of our UK focused growth strategy. Underpinned by our strong balance sheet and disciplined capital allocation policy, we are well placed to deliver further benefits for all our stakeholders.’
A £10·5m Hegenscheidt wheel lathe facility built by Balfour Beatty has opened at Holyhead, meaning Transport for Wales trains in North Wales will no longer need to travel to the existing lathe at Cardiff Canton. ‘This multi-million-pound investment is the latest milestone in Network North Wales’ vision for a better public transport system’, said the Welsh government’s Cabinet Secretary for Transport & North Wales Ken Skates. ‘Our new facility will operate seven days a week, significantly reducing the turnaround times for trains to be back up and running, and making sure people can get where they’re going with fewer disruptions.’
Govia Thameslink Railway has appointed Rebecca Butler to the new role of Safeguarding Manager, broadening the operator’s previous Suicide Prevention Manager role to encompass safeguarding of all passengers and staff. ‘I’m hoping to build stronger collaboration between the different agencies, such as social services and the British Transport Police, to ensure we do everything we can to avert a personal crisis’, she said.
Southeastern is to update and improve the online maps for 139 stations by the end of March 2026, following the successful trial of 3D station mapping at 25 stations earlier this year. All maps will be available on the Southeastern website as opposed to only being available on the National Rail Enquiries website.
Infrastructure development and delivery specialist SLC has signed the Armed Forces Covenant, pledging to ensure that serving personnel, service leavers, reservists and their families are treated with fairness, respect and opportunity. ‘As a business that helps clients make infrastructure projects happen, including within the defence sector, we greatly value the expertise, dedication and leadership that members of the Armed Forces community bring to our team and our projects’, said SLC director Paul Fountaine.
Caledonian Sleeper has launched its first Christmas jumper, with each purchase including a £5 donation to the Railway Children charity.
The 2025 Rail Staff Carol Service will take place on December 18 at St Mary’s Somer’s Town in London. It is organised by the Transport Benevolent Fund CIO and supported by the London’s Transport Choir, the Chartered Institution of Railway Operators, Network Rail, Porterbrook, Rail Forum, Rail Freight Group, RSSB and Siemens.