An agreement has been reached with the Department for Transport for LNER HST sets to be temporarily cascaded to East Midlands Railway. The sets were refurbished in 2016, and a new information system will be fitted before they enter service with EMR in early 2020. They are expected to be withdrawn by EMR by the end of 2020, with all EMR Intercity services to be operated by Class 222 and Class 180 trainsets meeting PRM-TSI standards. ‘By December 2022, we will have replaced our entire train fleet to provide modern and accessible trains better suited to the routes they operate’, said EMR Fleet Director Chris Wright. ‘The agreement to temporarily use the cascaded HSTs means we can provide a much better service for all passengers travelling on our EMR Intercity services in the short term, while we invest to provide a better service going forward.’
Three additional Cubic TS ticket gates are being installed at Cardiff Central station as part of a reconfiguration of the gate line to reduce queuing.
Greater Anglia’s iPhone app now has a remote ticket download feature developed with Ecebs Visa and Altcom. This enables passengers to add season tickets onto smart cards using NFC. An Android version was launched earlier in the year
Talgo UK has opened its head office at Barrow Hill Roundhouse in Chesterfield, where it plans to develop an innovation hub. The company has also appointed Jaime Teresa Lanza as Key Account Manager.
Network Rail is to extend the platforms at seven stations on the Penistone line, with work starting at Huddersfield on November 20.
Key smartcards issued by Govia Thameslink Railway and Southeastern can now be used for travel across both networks.
Greater Anglia has formed a team of six people to manage event crowds at Northumberland Park, Meridian Water and Tottenham Hale stations. The team works to ensure trains arrive and depart on time, manage fast-moving queues, help people purchase the correct ticket and assist anyone needing a ramp.
