All articles by Rail Business UK – Page 129
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
An 18-month £140m modernisation of Liverpool Lime Street station has been completed. Platforms across the station have been completely remodelled, two new platforms have been built, and extensive signalling enhancements completed. On October 12 the Department for Transport published guidance on rail safety rules, technical standards, authorisations, certificates and train ...
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Rail Business UKCross Country direct award option left open
UK: The Department for Transport has published a prior information notice which would enable it to directly award a contract for the operation of Cross Country services for a maximum of 60 months from the end of Arriva’s current contract in October 2019. Arriva originally won the Cross Country franchise ...
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Rail Business UKStudy to look at adapting Bordeaux station to handle London trains
EUROPE: The four infrastructure managers responsible for the high speed lines between London and Bordeaux have agreed to study the feasibility of adapting Bordeaux Saint-Jean station to handle international passengers traveling to and from the UK. SNCF Réseau, Eurotunnel, Lisea and HS1 said the October 10 agreement was a key ...
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Rail Business UKWales & Borders to offer the ‘best passenger rail service in the UK’
UK: The KeolisAmey joint venture took over from Arriva Trains Wales as the operator of Wales & Borders services with the start of the new franchise on October 14. The 15-year Operations & Development Partner contract was awarded by the devolved Welsh Government’s Transport for Wales agency, and is ...
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Rail Business UKBatteryFLEX Desiro EMU conversion proposed
UK: An engineering assessment has found that there is a ‘positive case’ for fitting Siemens Desiro Class 350/2 electric multiple-units with batteries to enable off-wire operation, Porterbrook Leasing said on October 15. The company is holding discussions with battery chemistry specialists with a view to producing a demonstrator unit. The ...
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Rail Business UKNetwork Rail agrees Sussex traffic management strategy
UK: Network Rail has confirmed its intention to directly award Hitachi Rail Europe a £30m contract to supply a traffic management system for the Sussex area of its South East Route and the East London Line. NR has identified traffic management as a priority for investment under its Digital Railway ...
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Rail Business UKWorld rail freight news round-up
Marking 10 years of direct intermodal trains between China and Germany, Deutsche Bahn has established DB Cargo Eurasia as a dedicated business unit to develop Eurasian transit freight. DB and partners including Russian Railways launched a single train between Xiangtang and Hamburg in 2008; it now runs 3 600 per ...
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Rail Business UKPassenger assistance app on test
UK: A mobile app enabling passengers with disability to get assistance during their journeys is being tested by Greater Anglia, London Northwestern Railway, West Midlands Railway and South Western Railway ahead of a planned national launch next year. Developed by Transreport in collaboration with disability organisations including Scope, RNIB, Disability ...
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Rail Business UKScotRail HSTs ready to enter service
UK: ScotRail will put its first refurbished diesel HST sets into revenue service between Aberdeen and Edinburgh on October 15, the operator announced during a VIP preview run on October 10. Full deployment is expected to follow from the December 9 timetable change. Branded Inter7City, the 26 upgraded HST sets ...
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Rail Business UKTalgo shortlists UK factory sites
UK: Talgo has shortlisted the port of Mostyn in north Wales as one of six potential sites for its proposed UK rolling stock manufacturing plant, the company announced in Cardiff on October 9. The other sites include St Helens, Leeds and Chesterfield in northern England, and Hunterston or Longannet in ...
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Rail Business UKHS2 unveils Birmingham station concepts
UK: Proposals for two new high speed stations in the West Midlands were unveiled by HS2 Ltd on October 9 as part of a public engagement programme. HS2 is seeking feedback on the designs before formal submissions for planning approval are lodged with Birmingham City Council and Solihull Metropolitan ...
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Rail Business UKTrainPal smartphone app offers split ticketing options
UK: A smartphone booking app which calculates split ticketing options has been launched by Ctrip, the parent company of flight booking platform Skyscanner. The intricacies of the UK ticketing system mean it is sometimes possible for passengers to save money by booking separate tickets for different sections of a through ...
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Rail Business UKRegulator opens investigation into GTR and Northern passenger information
UK: The Office of Rail & Road announced on October 5 that it had opened an investigation into whether Thameslink Southern & Great Northern franchisee Govia Thameslink Railway and Arriva’s Northern had breached its requirements to do everything reasonably practicable to provide appropriate, accurate and timely information to their passengers ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern unveils CAF multiple-units to bring a 'step-change in quality'
UK: The first CAF Class 195 diesel multiple-unit and Class 331 electric multiple-unit for the Northern franchise were officially unveiled by operator Arriva Rail North’s Managing Director David Brown and Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry at Alstom’s Edge Hill depot in Liverpool on October 4. The 25 two-car and 30 ...
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Rail Business UKUK to retain EU rail standards following Brexit
UK: Legal requirements designed to promote common safety and technical principles across all European Union railways will need to be met by UK companies and suppliers whether or not a deal covering the UK’s expected departure from the EU is agreed, the Rail Safety & Standards Board said on October ...
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Rail Business UKEU funding secured for South Wales Metro project
UK: The Welsh government has secured £119m of EU funding for South Wales Metro infrastructure works, First Minister Carwyn Jones confirmed on October 4. This will finance infrastructure enhancement to enable services on lines around Cardiff to be doubled from two to four per hour. ‘The South Wales Metro ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
Great Northern carried passengers on one of its 25 Siemens Desiro City Class 717 EMUs for the first time when it operated a 'preview' service on September 28. Phased entry of the Rock Rail-owned EMUs into regular service on commuter routes from London's Moorgate station is scheduled to start in ...
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Rail Business UKDepot safety system linked to signalling
UK: The Zonegreen Depot Personnel Protection System at Chiltern Railways' Banbury depot has been linked to the facility's Fenix Tiefenbach signalling system, making it possible for trains to enter directly from the main line without needing a stop/start entrance and exit procedure. Installation was undertaken by Zonegreen and contractor Orton ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
Northern has returned to service its first Class 158 DMU to be fully refurbished by Arriva Train Care in Crewe. Features include USB sockets at every seat and free wi-fi, with information screens and digital seat reservations to follow. Suppliers involved in the project include Panasonic (CCTV, media screen, USB ...
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Rail Business UKGrayling demands 'root and branch' review of UK railway
UK: A comprehensive review of the rail sector was announced by Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling on September 20. Responding to concerns over the passenger franchising model following the collapse of the Inter-City East Coast franchise, delays and cost over-runs with Network Rail’s investment programme, and operational problems ...