All articles by Rail Business UK – Page 129
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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 ...
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Rail Business UKInterim East Midlands franchise awarded
UK: The Department for Transport has directly awarded incumbent Stagecoach Group subsidiary East Midlands Trains an interim contract to continue to operate the East Midlands passenger franchise. The new short-term contract announced on February 12 will start when the most recent extension of the current franchise expires on March 3 ...
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Rail Business UKScotRail gets second performance warning
UK: Citing poor customer satisfaction figures, Transport Scotland issued a Remedial Plan notice to ScotRail on February 8. This is the operator’s second warning in quick succession, following a Remedial Notice issued on December 24 because of poor operational performance, during November and December. According to Transport Scotland, ScotRail had ...
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Rail Business UKLong-life screwbolts developed for Crossrail
UK: The bespoke corrosion-resistant PLUS bolt was developed by screwbolt specialist Excalibur to meet the demanding requirements of the Crossrail project in London. Crossrail Ltd requires anchors used in the tunnel lining to demonstrate a 120-year design life instead of the standard 50-year span of a standard fixing. The twin-helix ...
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Rail Business UKConsultation on expanding pay-as-you-go ticketing in southeast England
UK: The Department for Transport has begun public consultation on the possible roll out of ‘pay-as-you-go’ smart ticketing in the region surrounding Greater London. It is envisaged that this would be more convenient for passengers, and reduce differences in fares paid by people by people with different working and travel ...
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Rail Business UKIMechE recommends electrification instead of hydrogen trains
HYDROGEN: Although investment in hydrogen-fuelled trains is a ‘vital’ part of the process to improve air quality, it must not be seen as an easy replacement for electrification, according to The Future for Hydrogen Trains in the UK published by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on February 7. The report ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
The initial report of the Rail Industry Decarbonisation Task Force led by former Angel Trains Chief Executive Malcolm Brown was published on January 31. The report suggests it would be possible to replace diesel for passenger trains, but ‘only diesel offers the power and go anywhere flexibility for freight to ...
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Rail Business UKUK rail funding and expenditure data published
UK: The Office of Rail & Road’s annual report showing railway funding and spending between April 1 2017 and March 31 2018 was published on January 30. In 2017-18 the cost of running the railways rose 1·4% year-on-year to £20·6bn. Income was down 1·3% to £19·4bn, largely because passenger numbers ...
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Rail Business UKGrants to support low-carbon technology demonstrators
UK: The Department for Transport has awarded grants of around £350 000 to each of five projects which aim to develop technology to reduce the rail network’s carbon footprint. The projects were selected under the second round of the DfT’s First of a Kind competition, run by Innovate UK as ...
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Rail Business UKMaritime Transport to operate East Midlands freight interchange
UK: Maritime Transport has signed a 25-year lease to operate the Strategic Rail Freight Interchange which SEGRO is developing at its East Midlands Gateway logistics park in Castle Donington. The 9 ha terminal to be completed this year will be capable of handling 16 trains/day up to 775 m long, ...