All articles by Rail Business UK – Page 106
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Rail Business UKORR closes signalling market study owing to Covid-19
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has closed the formal study of the UK signalling market which it had launched in January to explore whether there were any competition issues affecting the supply chain, and to determine if any action were needed. ‘Given the impact of ...
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Rail Business UKRSSB publishes 2020-21 business plan
UK: Safety and standards body RSSB has published its business plan for 2020-21, developed in consultation with its members, affiliates and the wider rail industry. This includes: Safer Rail: a ‘refreshed’ health & and safety strategy with dedicated resources allocated for implementation; Healthier Rail: initiatives to ...
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Rail Business UKPerformance improves as services cut
UK: Train operating companies have been reporting a marked improvement in performance on normally congested routes, following the significant reductions in passenger services to provide only a basic ‘key workers timetable’ during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Rail Business UKJim McMahon named Shadow Transport Secretary
UK: The new Labour leader Keir Starmer named Jim McMahon as Shadow Transport Secretary on April 6. The Labour & Co-operative Member of Parliament for Oldham West & Royton said he was ‘delighted and humbled’ to join the shadow cabinet. ‘This is an exciting time ...
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Rail Business UKGrand Central follows Hull Trains in suspending open access services
UK: Open access operator Grand Central temporarily suspended all services from the end of April 3, as coronavirus restrictions continue to affect its passenger numbers. The London King’s Cross to Sunderland and Bradford operator said it anticipated that the ‘necessary but temporary’ measure would last for an ...
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Rail Business UKETCS tested successfully on Heathrow Express Class 387s
UK: An initial series of test runs using Class 387 EMUs equipped with ETCS on the Great Western Main Line has been completed, leasing company Porterbrook announced on April 3. Using sections of the GWML east of Reading and the branch from Hayes & Harlington to Heathrow ...
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Rail Business UKAventra EMU reaches Liverpool Street
UK: The first of the Class 720 Aventra EMUs which Bombardier Transportation is supplying for Greater Anglia’s commuter services has completed its first test run into London Liverpool Street station. As part of the testing programme, the EMU is expected to run over all of Greater ...
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Rail Business UKUse data to tailor coronavirus timetables to current needs, says Zipabout
UK: Passenger data systems supplier Zipabout says train operators should revise their emergency timetables based on passenger behaviour and real-time demand data, to ensure their reduced services can meet the needs of key workers during the coronavirus pandemic. ‘The necessary reduction in rail ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
LNER’s daily return service between Hull and London King’s Cross has been reinstated with effect from March 31. It had been temporarily suspended as part of the coronavirus-related service reductions, but was reinstated after Hull Trains announced that it was suspending all of its services. The five-car ...
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Rail Business UKBalfour Beatty awarded Motherwell station contract
UK: Balfour Beatty has been appointed as contractor for redevelopment of Motherwell station as a £14·5m regional transport hub. The project is being undertaken through a partnership between ScotRail, North Lanarkshire Council, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport and Transport Scotland. It includes a new station building with a ...
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Rail Business UKDfT sets out steps to a transport decarbonisation plan
UK: The Department for Transport has published Decarbonising Transport: Setting the Challenge, a policy paper explaining out how it intends to develop a plan to meet the government’s target of net zero transport emissions by 2050. The plan is scheduled to be published later this year. The ...
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Rail Business UK£40m support package for Wales & Borders services
UK: The Welsh Government’s Minister for Economy & Transport Ken Skates has announced a £40m package of support to ensure the continued operation of a skeleton Wales & Borders rail service during the coronavirus pandemic. The Welsh Government is working with Transport for Wales and operator TfW ...
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Rail Business UKRSSB offers membership fee payment delay
UK: Rail safety and standards body RSSB has offered its members with an annual turnover below £10m the chance to defer payment of their 2020-21 membership levy for until later in the year. The measure affects more than half of RSSB’s members, who can continue to ...
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Rail Business UKGrand Central commits to revised timetable, but Blackpool launch likely to be delayed
UK: Asked whether Grand Central was planning to follow the other East Coast Main Line open access operator Hull Trains in temporarily stopping operations because of the coronavirus pandemic, Grand Central Managing Director Richard McClean told Rail Business UK on March 30 ‘we remain committed to providing ...
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Rail Business UKSoutheastern given direct award management contract
UK: The Department for Transport has announced a direct award contract for incumbent Govia to continue operating the South Eastern franchise, which covers commuter and regional passenger services between London, Kent and East Sussex. The contract announced on March 30 runs from April 1 2020 to ...
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Rail Business UKFirstGroup says new Great Western contract has ‘appropriate balance’ of risk and reward
UK: The Department for Transport has directly awarded incumbent FirstGroup a new three-year contract to continue to operate Great Western services from the expiry of the current direct award on April 1 2020 until March 31 2023, with a possible extension of up to one year at ...
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Rail Business UKHull Trains suspends services ‘to protect long-term future of business’
UK: Open access operator Hull Trains announced on March 29 that was temporarily suspending services with effect from midnight, in a move which it said aimed to ‘safeguard the future of the business’ in the ‘unprecedented circumstances’ of the coronavirus pandemic. Arrangements have been made for tickets ...
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Rail Business UKUK rolling stock manufacturers suspend production
UK: Bombardier Transportation, CAF and Hitachi Rail have temporarily put the production of rolling stock at their UK plants on hold as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. ‘In the current unprecedented circumstances, we want to protect our people from Covid-19, support the government’s efforts to delay ...
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Rail Business UK3Squared moves to larger office
UK: Rail software company 3Squared has moved into a larger 9 000 m2 office within the same Fountain Precinct building in central Sheffield. The company currently has 52 staff, and the larger office renovated at a cost of £250 000 will enable it to almost double its ...
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Rail Business UKInfrarail rescheduled to take place alongside Railtex 2021
UK: The Infrarail 2020 railway infrastructure trade fair has been rescheduled because of the coronavirus outbreak. It will now be co-located with the Railtex 2021 exhibition of railway equipment and services, which is due to be held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on May 11-13 ...