All Northern articles
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Rail Business UKNorthumberland Line service from Newcastle to Ashington launched
UK: Cheers greeted the arrival of the first Northumberland Line passenger service at Ashington station on December 15, more than 60 years after services to Newcastle were withdrawn in November 1964 and the route became freight-only. Initially only the new stations at Ashington and Seaton Delaval ...
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Rail Business UKRail industry shares cybersecurity best practice
UK: ‘Don’t plan for if, plan for when’ a cyber threat will emerge, Rail Safety & Standards Board Chief Executive Mark Philips told more than 100 delegates at a conference to discuss cyber-resilience in the rail industry, The event was organised by Northern with support from ...
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Rail Business UKRemote condition monitoring boosts Northern DMU reliability
UK: A programme to fit engine remote condition monitoring to Northern’s Class 170 Turbostar diesel multiple-unit fleet has been completed. Leasing company Porterbrook says its data showed that moving just one task to condition-based maintenance can save up to 1 500 labour-hours per year. The monitoring ...
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Rail Business UKNeurodiverse thinkers cut train operator’s fuel bills
UK: Northern has worked with data scientists to calculate the most fuel efficient way of driving its diesel multiple-units while keeping to time. The tool combines the specific topography of Northern’s routes with real consumption data for different train types. Testing between Middlesbrough and Whitby identified ...
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Rail Business UKEast Yorkshire rail fare cut aims to boost ridership
UK: Northern and TransPennine Express are to reduce all fares between stations on the lines from Hull to Scarborough and Selby from September 29 to December 21 in an effort to attract more passengers. All return tickets are being reduced by 20%, and single tickets will not ...
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Rail Business UKRegulator tells Northern to improve help for disabled passengers
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has told Northern to submit a plan to improve the way it provides assistance to disabled passengers. The operator rated poorly in the regulator’s latest survey of passengers who pre-booked additional assistance, with 18% saying the help requested was ...
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Rail Business UKNine start-ups selected for rail innovation programme
UK: Nine technology start-ups have been selected from more than 100 applicants to joint the Future Labs innovation programme run by Southeastern, Northern, LNER and TransPennine Express with specialist company L Marks. Chata.ai enables organisations to harness their data through proactive self-service analytics, allowing users ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern awards station passenger information systems contract
UK: Train operator Northern has awarded Sella Controls a contract to supply, install and commission 269 customer information displays as well as long line public address systems at 68 stations. Design work is under way, with the first installations planned for this summer. The current equipment ...
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Rail Business UKTrain operator says WhatsApp service has saved 1 277 h of employee time
UK: Train operator Northern says its entirely AI-operated Whatsapp enquiry service has received 8 000 messages from customers in the first year of operation, which has freed-up 1 277 h of employee time. People can ask for live train times, service updates and disruption information, as well ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern reviews recruitment process to better support neurodivergent candidates
UK: Train operator Northern has reviewed its recruitment processes with the aim of ensuring that applicants with neurodivergent conditions are better supported. Candidates with autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia and Tourette’s syndrome are now being given extra support, including: a step-by-step breakdown, including timings, ...
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Rail Business UKRail industry leaders urge next government to resolve Sunday working conundrum
UK: Delivering a ‘seven day railway’ must be a priority for the next government, industry leaders have told Rail Business UK following a surge in Sunday cancellations caused by crew shortages.
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Rail Business UKTrain operators launch joint innovation programme
UK: Four train operators are to run a joint programme giving technology companies the opportunity to demonstrate AI, telecoms, quantum and other innovations in a real-world rail environment. The Future Labs programme is to be run by the government-owned operators LNER, Northern, Southeastern and TransPennine Express ...
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Rail Business UKSingle-leg pricing for the Northumberland Line
UK: Northern is to implement single-leg pricing on the Northumberland Line when passenger services start this summer. The maximum off-peak single fare for the full route from Ashington to Newcastle will be less than £3. Northern told Rail Business UK ‘customers using the new Northumberland Line ...
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Rail Business UKRail regulator identifies how assistance for disabled passengers needs to improve
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has identified ways in which the provision of assistance for disabled passengers needs to be improved, following audits of how five operators are meeting regulatory requirements. ORR chose East Midlands Railway, Govia Thameslink Railway, Greater Anglia, LNER and Northern ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern uses AI to trial British Sign Language announcements
UK: Train operator Northern is working with InfoTec and Signapse to test the use of AI to provide onboard announcements in British Sign Language. The software combines individual words signed by a BSL interpreter to display complete sentences on the information screens. The initial trials involve ...
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Rail Business UKBradford Forster Square station remodelling funded
UK: The Department for Transport has announced £24m of funding for the delivery of works to increase capacity at Bradford Forster Square station. A further £4m has previously been spent on design work for the project, which includes a new platform, relocating a crossover and associated ...
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Rail Business UKAccessible station toilet programme underway
UK: A toilet designed by Seed Architects has opened at Northern’s Broadbottom station as part of an accessibility programme funded by Transport for Greater Manchester.
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Rail Business UKLatest tranche of Transpennine Route Upgrade funding confirmed
UK: The release of a further £3·9bn tranche of funding for the ongoing £11·5bn Transpennine Route Upgrade was confirmed by Rail Minister Huw Merriman on December 4. The Department for Transport indicated that work on TRU would be accelerated through the cash injection and noted that ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
This week’s round-up of business news from the UK railway industry.
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Rail Business UKNorthern to trial British Sign Language announcements
UK: Train operator Northern is looking for charities, organisations or specialists who could help it to provide British Sign Language interpretation of its onboard announcements. A trial is planned on services between Manchester Victoria and Leeds by the end of the year. ‘We know that rail ...