Renew Holdings companies AmcoGiffen, Rail Electrification Ltd and QTS have launched the ARQ partnership to provide ‘truly integrated’ delivery of electrification projects. ‘It is clear that the rate of cost increase on typical electrification projects is no longer sustainable. In addition, development life cycles are getting longer while not always delivering the desired outcomes’, said Andries Liebenberg, Executive Director responsible for Renew Holdings’ rail activities. ‘ARQ’s significant differentiator is that it will work in partnership as a unified family of companies, each bringing their unique skills.’
The London Borough of Sutton has submitted an ‘ambitious’ £32m bid to the government’s Levelling Up Fund seeking to reinstate 1·5 km of double track between Sutton and Belmont on the Epsom Downs branch. This would enable services to be increased from two to six trains/h to serve the London Cancer Hub medical site and a local school.
Transport for Wales has awarded One Big Circle a three-year extension to its contract to provide Automated Intelligent Video Review smart video cameras in train cabs to automatically record data and enable risk analysis and remote monitoring.
The future Elizabeth Line station at Woolwich was formally transferred from Crossrail to Transport for London on June 25. The station box was funded and built by Berkeley, and fitted out by Balfour Beatty. The facades incorporate images of Britannia and a lion as a contemporary representation of the ‘dead man’s penny’ bronze memorial plaques that were cast at the Royal Arsenal for the families of soldiers who died in World War I.
South Western Railway guards at Fratton depot in Portsmouth are testing the use of body-worn cameras, ahead of a possible roll out across the operator. The trial will compare the quality of footage to existing CCTV available, as well as whether the footage caught provides better quality evidence for prosecutions.
Network Rail has completed work to renew a 600 m section of track in Newsham, as the first physical work on the Northumberland line project to reintroduce a regular passenger service between Ashington and Newcastle by 2024. ‘While there’s so much going on behind the scenes, the progress feels more tangible when you can actually see it on the ground and this is an exciting time for everyone involved’, said Councillor Richard Wearmouth, Deputy Leader of Northumberland County Council.
On June 25 Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris officially opened the first phase of a Network Rail track maintenance depot in Northampton. The building will accommodate 32 office staff and 90 track maintenance workers at a strategic point on the West Coast Main Line. The £4·5m project is being built in two phases and will be completed in 2023, with the depot being the first net-zero carbon Maintenance Delivery Unit on the network thanks to a large array of solar panels which will eventually provide all of the depot’s electricity and sufficient power to charge electric vehicles.
Mack-Brooks Exhibitions has confirmed its intention to go ahead with the combined Railtex/Infrarail trade fair at the NEC on September 7-9. ‘As we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, rail will play an essential role in rebooting the economy’, commented Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of Railway Industry Association. ‘The rail industry is crucial, not only for keeping our railways running successfully, but also for supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of pounds of investment – all around the country. Railtex/Infrarail comes at a vital time for the sector and will provide a fantastic opportunity for professionals to meet, network and engage, after so long apart’.
