All articles by Rail Business UK – Page 125
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Rail Business UKNorthern Class 331s to serve Leeds from May
UK: Regional franchisee Northern expects to put its first CAF-built Class 331 EMUs into passenger services between Leeds and Doncaster with the May 19 timetable change, having received regulatory authorisation from the Office of Road & Rail. The approval applies to the 31 three-car sets and the 12 four-car versions. ...
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Rail Business UKGemini confirms Springburn works closure
UK: Gemini Rail has confirmed that it is to close its Springburn rolling stock maintenance works in Glasgow, citing ‘severely adverse market conditions affecting its core business’ and losses of £1m per month throughout 2018. The site has work in place until July, but closure is planned by March 2020 ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
The Railways (Interoperability) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 were laid before Parliament on February 26, and would come into effect in the event of a no-deal Brexit to maintain the regulatory status quo for obtaining authorisation to put rolling stock and infrastructure into service. DfT is consulting on a new ...
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Rail Business UKElectrification to reach Market Harborough
UK: The Department for Transport has confirmed that infrastructure manager Network Rail has been instructed to design an extension of the Midland Main Line electrification by around 15 km from Kettering to Market Harborough, which would enable a new connection to a power supply at Braybrooke. In a written answer ...
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Rail Business UK5G roll out to begin on South Western Railway
UK: FirstGroup has announced that its Rail Division will be the exclusive supplier of Blu Wireless’s 5G communications for ontrain connectivity. This follows a 2½ year development programme undertaken with Network Rail, the Department for Transport and the Department for Culture Media & Sport. Roll-out is to begin ...
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Rail Business UKChannel Tunnel Brexit works funded in out-of-court settlement
EUROPE: On March 1 the UK government agreed to pay Eurotunnel up to £33m in an out-of-out-court settlement to bring to an end the Channel Tunnel concessionaire’s legal challenge against the Department for Transport’s decision to award ferry companies DFDS and Brittany Ferries contracts to provide cross-Channel freight transport services ...
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Rail Business UKMSSL acquires Bombardier UK rolling stock component business
UK: Indian automotive and transport component supplier Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd's PKC Group announced on February 28 that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Bombardier Transportation’s UK rolling stock electrical component and system production and installation activities. This includes the manufacturing of wiring harnesses, panels and cabinets and ...
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Rail Business UKPolicymakers back HS2 as contractors challenge costs
UK: Representatives of the High Speed Rail Industry Leaders group joined national and regional politicians in Birmingham on February 25 to unveil a giant jigsaw of Britain, writes Tony Miles. This was intended to highlight the regional connectivity benefits of High Speed 2, with the ‘missing piece’ in the jigsaw, ...
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Rail Business UKFirst new Stansted Express trainset delivered
UK: The first of 10 Stadler Flirt electric multiple-units which Greater Anglia has ordered for use on Stansted Express branded services between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport was delivered to the operator’s Norwich depot on February 28. It will now undergo safety and performance testing before it is approved ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
The Public Accounts Committee published its Rail Management & Timetabling report on February 27. Key findings included the Department for Transport’s management being characterised by cost overruns, project delays and disruption; there is not enough transparency about the service improvements that passengers can expect and the levels of profit that ...
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Rail Business UKPut customers first, Williams tells UK rail sector
UK: The rail industry needs ‘to adapt to a fast changing world’, and ensure that it focuses on the needs of passenger and freight customers, according to former British Airways Chief Executive Keith Williams, who was last year commissioned by Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling to undertake a ...
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Rail Business UKAlexa skill enables passengers to book travel assistance
UK: Virgin Trains has launched a ‘skill’ for Amazon Alexa virtual assistants which enables passengers with disabilities to book assistance for their journey using simple voice commands. The JourneyCare service usually requires users to fill in an online form or call a helpline after booking, which involves repeating information which ...
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Rail Business UKDigital technology aims to improve rail accessibility
ACCESSIBILITY: The TOC Ability consortium has published a report into the use of digital technology to improve the accessibility of the UK rail network by enabling disabled passengers to share their journey requirements with train operators while protecting their privacy. The consortium comprises Atkins, Arriva, Enable iD, Goss Consultancy, Loughborough ...
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Rail Business UK21st Rail Business Awards celebrate the hard work behind the headlines
UK: Almost 700 senior representatives from across the rail sector, from operators to suppliers and consultants, packed the Hilton Park Lane Hotel in London on February 21 for the 21st Rail Business Awards. After what had been a difficult year for the UK’s railways, it was a chance to ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
CAF has started design and engineering work for the 51 two-car and 26 three-car Civity UK diesel multiple-units which it is to supply from its Newport factory for use on the Wales & Borders franchise from early 2022. The Department for Transport says it is close to reaching an agreement ...
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Rail Business UKUK rail ticketing reform proposals published
UK: Outline proposals for a ‘radical’ reform of the rail ticketing system in Great Britain were published by the Rail Delivery Group on February 18. Branded ‘Easier Fares for All’, the proposals are designed to bring about major changes to the existing national ticketing rules, sweeping away accumulated layers of ...
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Rail Business UKCommission adopts 'no-deal' Brexit contingency measures for rail
EUROPE: The European Commission has adopted proposals designed to help avoid major disruption to cross-border rail services between the UK and the European Union in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit. The Commission is working with the European Parliament and Council to ensure the legislative measures can be in ...
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Rail Business UKThameslink fleet stake to be sold
UK: A consortium of Dalmore Capital and Equitix Investment Management has signed agreements to acquire 3i Infrastructure’s one-third stake in Cross London Trains Holdco 2 Ltd. This was established by 3i, Innisfree and Siemens in 2011 to finance, own and maintain the fleet of 115 Desiro City Class 700 EMUs ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
LGIM Real Assets has provided £200m in long-term debt financing on behalf its clients including Legal & General Retirement Institutional to support Equitix and SMBC in the purchase of 60 Stadler trainsets for use by the Wales & Borders operator on the Valley Lines. Translink has awarded British Steel an ...
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Rail Business UKNetwork Rail reorganisation aims to bring ‘radical change’
UK: Plans for a reorganisation designed to ‘put passengers and freight users first’ and address concerns about poor operating performance on the increasingly busy network were announced by infrastructure manager Network Rail on February 12. ‘The need for radical change is clear’, said Chief Executive Andrew Haines, reflecting on his ...