Belmond has awarded GB Railfreight a five-year extension to its contract to haul the Royal Scotsman luxury sleeper train.
DW Windsor Group has launched a dedicated rail business unit headed by David Woodcock, which will bring together its lighting and control technology for the rail sector. The company’s recent projects include interactive lighting at Chippenham station, where data and AI-driven lighting aims to speed-up boarding, encouraging safer walking speeds, providing dynamic wayfinding and help vulnerable passengers obtain assistance.
SLC Operations has appointed Head of Train Operations Mike York as Operations Director. ‘I’m really looking forward to leading the Operations team as we establish ourselves as the go-to company for driver hire, testing of new trains, driver training and providing End Point Assessments for the Train Driver Level 3 assessment’, he said.
Southern is working with The Aldingbourne Trust to re-familiarise passengers with learning disabilities and additional needs with train travel. The sessions share information about the steps that the operator has taken to keep people safe during the pandemic, as well as offering people an opportunity to ask any questions to boost their confidence.
Atkins has appointed Alex Parsons as Advanced Signalling Development & Delivery director, a newly created role responsible for leading and further developing its in-cab and lineside signalling delivery capability. She joins from Tracsis, where she was Managing Director of the Rail Operations and Planning Systems business.
Network Rail and MPH Construction have completed a £250 000 refurbishment of the Grade II listed Severn Bridge Junction signal box in Shrewsbury, partly funded by the Railway Heritage Trust. The building is believed to be the largest operational mechanical signal box in the world, with 89 of its 180 levers still in use.
The Railway Industry Association is to hold a series of ‘Meet the Bidder’ sessions on behalf of HS2 Ltd from June 17-30, enabling SMEs and potential subcontractors to meet the Preferred Bidders for the Operational Telecommunications & Security and Tunnel & Lineside M&E Systems packages.
Network Rail has signed the International Union of Railways’ Climate declaration, committing to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions, achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2050 and contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The Railway Benefit Fund has relaunched its Family Support Fund which offers extra support for families with a household income of under £40 000. Now known as the Children’s Fund, it provides grants of up to £300 to cover the cost of the expenses such as school uniforms, sports kit and equipment, school trip expenses, tuition and summer school fees, as well as baby costs for new parents.
Aston-based Auctus Management Group has been awarded a five-year £2m contract from the Balfour Beatty Vinci joint venture to provide bespoke induction training programmes for new starters working on the West Midlands section of High Speed 2, which is expected to require around 7 000 skilled staff. ‘We are delighted to play our part in training the workforce that will bring high speed rail to the West Midlands’, said Auctus CEO Richard Toy. ’This contract has enabled us to create six new roles within the team, provide more job certainty for existing staff during the pandemic and plan ahead for the expansion of our induction team.’