HS2 Ltd reports that its civils contractors doubled their total spend with SMEs to £942m in 2022-23 when compared to the previous financial year. Supply Chain Lead Robin Lapish said ‘2024 promises to be another year of opportunity, with a procurement pipeline worth over £1bn set to be released by our construction partners, plus the award of our railway systems contracts, totalling £5bn. We want to see more local businesses stepping forward and benefitting.’
The Department for Transport has published explanatory notes for the Railways (Revocation & Consequential Provision) Regulations 2024, a statutory instrument which revokes several pieces of assimilated EU law and makes consequential amendments to existing legislation. The notes include a list of the regulations that are being revoked and why.
Contractor Kier Transportation has installed Zonegreen’s Depot Personnel Protection System at the recently extended North Shed at East Midlands Railway’s Derby Etches Park site; this will maintain EMR’s future fleet of Hitachi Aurora trainsets. An interlock prevents vehicle movement being initiated if the crane is not in its safe parking area.
South Western Railway was awarded a 100% score for its Safeguarding on Rail reaccreditation by the British Transport Police. Safeguarding on Rail was developed by BTP and the Department for Transport to reflect the high numbers of vulnerable people on the rail network, and the responsibility that the industry has to keep them safe.
RailWalks.co.uk has been launched to develop a network of walking routes and trails between stations. Partners involved in the initiative include Community Rail Network, Slow Ways and the University of Worcester.
Former HS1 Ltd CEO Dyan Perry has been appointed Chair of the High Speed Rail Group. In her newly created role, she will offer an ‘independent, trusted and informed’ perspective to support the board in shaping its future strategic direction.
Northern is to install a total of 35 waiting shelters at 21 stations at a cost of £1·9m.
Greater Anglia is introducing six Transport Safety Officers who will patrol between Southend Victoria and Shenfield, Shenfield and Colchester, and Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea. The pilot programme is being undertaken with Thurrock Council, Southend-on-Sea City Council, and Essex County Council, with funding from the Department for Transport. The primary focus will be to engage and educate, but they will also possess enforcement powers, including the authority to issue fixed penalty notices for specific anti-social behaviours.
Kerbside Coffee has opened a branch in a retail unit at Hatfield station that had been empty for more than two years, and Budgens supermarket is trading in a unit which was vacant for several months. Govia Thameslink Railway has around 350 retail units on its network, and signed almost 60 tenancy agreements last year and has more than 60 in progress. ‘It’s heartening to see our stations’ retail businesses bouncing back after such a difficult period’, said Commercial Director David Gornal.