All articles by Rail Business UK – Page 131
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Rail Business UKEviFile speeds Great Western electrification data capture
DATA CAPTURE: Contractor Balfour Beatty has been using a secure data collection platform from Leeds-based EviFile as part of its work to install 25 kV 50 Hz electrification between Bristol and Cardiff. The contractor deployed a customised version of eviFile’s digital progressive assurance methodology to replace a paper-based approach. This ...
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Rail Business UKNon-PVC wrap for Welsh DMUs
LIVERY: Two Class 175 and two Class 143 diesel multiple-units operated by KeolisAmey on the Wales & Borders franchise have become the first trainsets to be wrapped with non-PVC Envision Print Wrap LX480mC wrap supplied by 3M and Aura Graphics. 3M Scotchgard 8993 glossy overlaminate and anti-graffiti wrap 8588G provide ...
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Rail Business UKFreightliner awarded Mendip Rail contract
UK: The Mendip Rail joint venture of aggregate and cement producers Hanson Aggregates and Aggregate Industries has awarded Freightliner a long-term contract to haul an expected eight million tonnes of aggregate a year from quarries in Somerset to terminals in London and the southeast of England. The current contract is ...
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Rail Business UKRENFE joins MTR’s West Coast Partnership bid team
UK: MTR Corp announced on December 20 that Spanish national operator RENFE had joined its bid for the West Coast Partnership franchise. The Department for Transport invited three shortlisted bidders to tender for WCP in March this year. The contract will cover operation of inter-city services on the West Coast ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
Virgin Trains has completed the roll-out of Avocet hand-held ticketing issuing machines supplied by The Ticket Keeper. These will be able to issue digital tickets to a mobile device, reducing paper usage. ‘Avocet is giving us flexibility‘, said Nick Dodd, Director of digital projects at Virgin Trains. ‘Our people can ...
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Rail Business UKRail section of China to UK service extended
INTERNATIONAL: Freight forwarding company Davies Turner has extended the rail element of its Express China Rail less-than-container-load service linking Wuhan in China with the UK. Containers were previously transferred from rail to road in Warszawa, but now continue to Duisburg, from where they are sent by road under bond to ...
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Rail Business UKRail Sector Deal aims to boost supply chain
UK: The government has announced details of its Rail Sector Deal, which is intended to improve engagement with the supply chain so that companies better understand future demand and can invest with more confidence. Plans include ‘significantly’ reducing digital signalling costs by 2025, doubling rail exports by 2025, supporting apprenticeships, ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
On December 7 the Office of Rail & Road published its recommendations for preventing a repeat of the May 2018 timetable failure, alongside a draft final order requiring Network Rail to improve its timetabling process. Recommendations include clearer scope for industry boards to oversee major network change; independent, system-wide advice ...
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Rail Business UKTranslink orders more CAF DMU cars
UK: Northern Ireland transport operator Translink has ordered a further 21 diesel multiple-unit cars from CAF to cope with increasing ridership on the Northern Ireland Railways network. Funded by £50m from the Department of Infrastructure, the intermediate vehicles have been ordered as an option on the contract under which CAF ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
The parliamentary Transport Select Committee issued its formal report on December 4 examining the widespread disruption experienced across the network after the May 2018 timetable change. The committee makes a series of recommendations, including the ‘immediate priority’ of establishing national oversight for upcoming timetable changes with independent oversight of the ...
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Rail Business UKOyster and contactless payment to be extended further outside London
UK: Acceptance of Oyster and contactless payment is to be extended to Hertford North and Epsom next year, Rail Minister Andrew Jones announced on November 30. Ticket barriers will be modified to accept Oyster and contactless cards at Epsom, Cuffley, Bayford and Hertford North early next year. Stations up ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
Until January 25 the Office of Rail & Road is consulting on its proposed new regulatory policy for Network Rail, which would come into effect with the start of Control Period 6 in April. Intended to target issues that have the most serious impact on passengers, freight customers and ...
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Rail Business UKSix short-term priorities for London rail services
UK: The London Assembly’s Transport Committee published a report on November 26 setting out what it sees as the short-term priorities for heavy rail services in the capital. Broken Rails: A Rail Service Fit for Passengers makes six recommendations: 1. Effective small-scale interventions: The committee’s key recommendation is that infrastructure ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
Italian supplier Sigma is to supply c2c with ETS90 ticket vending machines featuring large LED screens which can be used for infotainment and advertising. The contract is Sigma’s first in the UK, having previously supplied c2c’s parent company Trenitalia and Italo-NTV in its home market as well as the Athens ...
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Rail Business UKSmarter approach to flood prevention on test
UK: A project has been launched which aims to combine real-time measurement of water levels, weather forecasting, historical data and smart analysis to prevent the flooding of railway lines. The TrackWater project is being undertaken by InTouch Ltd, Network Rail, Lancaster University and the Transport Systems Catapult, with funding from ...
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Rail Business UKCorrosion resistant rail installed at Drax power station
UK: British Steel has supplied Drax power station with Zinoco corrosion resistant coated rail for use at a level crossing where significant rail damage had been identified during a track renewal programme. The coating provides a barrier to corrosion, with enhanced impact resistance compared to previous treatments, and also provides ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
Conservative MP for Harrogate & Knaresborough Andrew Jones was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport on November 12, following Jo Johnson’s resignation from the government on November 9. Jones was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport in 2015-17, and Exchequer Secretary to HM Treasury ...
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Rail Business UKTransPennine Express Nova 3 fleet delayed
UK: TransPennine Express’s fleet of CAF Nova 3 push-pull coaches is now expected to enter service ‘slightly later than planned’ in spring 2019, the operator confirmed on November 12. TPE said CAF had recently made it aware of a ‘technical issue with a key on-board system’ on the Mark 5A ...
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Rail Business UKPassenger flow modelling ideas sought
UK: Network Rail and the Transport Systems Catapult have invited proposals for live demonstrators of technologies which could improve understanding of passenger flow. The areas of focus are system-wide modelling to understand flows at stations and on trains as one complete system, and using new and existing data sources ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
Air Marshal Sir Richard Frank Garwood has been appointed as the first non-executive Chairman of the Tri-Branch Management Board, formed to optimise coordination between the Department for Transport‘s air, marine and rail accident investigation branches. He was Director General of the Military Aviation Authority in 2013-15 and Director General of ...