All articles by Rail Business UK – Page 133
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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 ...
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Rail Business UKWorld rail freight news round-up
Germany's Kreisbahn Siegen-Wittgenstein opened the Südwestfalen container terminal in Kreuztal in Nordrhein-Westfalen on September 14. The 18 500 m² facility has two 225 m tracks and a 191 m long siding. The UK Rail Freight Group has called on the government to ensure that freight growth is at the heart ...
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Rail Business UKBritish Steel rail contract extended
UK: A £200m contract for British Steel to supply approximately 200 000 tonnes of rail to Network Rail was formally signed at InnoTrans on September 19 in a ceremony attended by Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling. The two-year extension to a five-year contract which began in 2014 covers ...
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Rail Business UKOffice of Rail & Road publishes report into May timetable disruption.
UK: On September 20 the Office of Rail & Road published its interim inquiry report into what caused the May 2018 timetable disruption. The three-month inquiry has found that Network Rail, Govia Thameslink Railway, Northern, the Department for Transport and ORR ‘all made mistakes which contributed to the collapse ...
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Rail Business UKUK hydrogen train demonstrator to be tested in 2019
UK: A memorandum of understanding for the development of a hydrogen fuel cell demonstrator train was signed by leasing company Porterbrook and the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Railway Research & Education at InnoTrans on September 19. Porterbrook is to provide an ex-Thameslink Class 319 25 kV 50 Hz/750 V ...
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Rail Business UKRail market still growing, confirms UNIFE
INNOTRANS: Steady growth in the demand for railway products and services can be expected for the next six years, according to the 2018 World Rail Market Study compiled for UNIFE by Roland Berger and launched by UNIFE Chair Sabrina Soussan at InnoTrans on September 18. The seventh biennial study ...
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Rail Business UKFare collection competition concerns raised
UK: The market for ticket gates is 'a near-monopoly, with buyers of gates potentially paying too much', and the market for ticket vending machines is 'delivering poor service quality with low availability of machines', the Office of Rail & Road said on September 13 when it published an update to ...
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Rail Business UKUK railway news round-up
The first of three HST sets owned by Angel Trains which were formerly used by GWR and Grand Central has been refurbished for use by East Midlands Trains. The work is being undertaken at Etches Park depot in Debry with the support of Loram, SNC-Lavalin and DG Design. On September ...
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Rail Business UKShared blame for Virgin Trains East Coast franchise failure
UK: Operators Stagecoach and Virgin and the Department for Transport share responsibility for the failure of the InterCity East Coast franchise earlier this year, the House of Commons Transport Committee says in a report published on September 12. The Intercity East Coast Franchise report also warns that the government’s proposal ...
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Rail Business UKNetwork Rail agrees £1·46bn commercial estate sale
UK: Infrastructure manager Network Rail announced on September 10 that it had agreed terms for Telereal Trillium and Blackstone Property Partners to buy its commercial estate portfolio in England and Wales for £1·46bn. The deal comprises around 5 200 properties, the majority of which are spaces under viaducts. Properties in ...