UK passenger train operator news
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Rail Business UKScotland’s Railway publishes five-year Climate Action Plan
UK: The Scotland’s Railway partnership of Network Rail and ScotRail has published a five-year Climate Action Plan setting out aims to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2024-29. There are five priority areas: Climate ready: preparing the railway and organisations for anticipated changes in the ...
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Rail Business UKCrossCountry cuts services to catch up on driver training
UK: CrossCountry is cutting services from August 10 until November 9 in an effort to reduce on-the-day cancellations while it catches up on a post-pandemic backlog of driver training. On July 29 the operator said prolonged industrial action across the rail industry had prevented it from ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern awards station passenger information systems contract
UK: Train operator Northern has awarded Sella Controls a contract to supply, install and commission 269 customer information displays as well as long line public address systems at 68 stations. Design work is under way, with the first installations planned for this summer. The current equipment ...
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Rail Business UKTrain operator says WhatsApp service has saved 1 277 h of employee time
UK: Train operator Northern says its entirely AI-operated Whatsapp enquiry service has received 8 000 messages from customers in the first year of operation, which has freed-up 1 277 h of employee time. People can ask for live train times, service updates and disruption information, as well ...
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Rail Business UKFirst stage of £36m Tyseley depot expansion completed
UK: Spencer Group has completed the first of three phases of a £36m project being undertaken on behalf of West Midlands Trains and Network Rail to enable Birmingham’s Tyseley depot to handle four rather than three-car trains. The first stage included removal of a significant section ...
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Rail Business UKAutomated detection of lineside vegetation on test
UK: The use of cab-mounted forward-facing CCTV for the automated detection of potentially hazardous lineside vegetation is being tested on the East Coast Main Line. The 12-month trial is being sponsored by infrastructure manager Network Rail, and undertaken in partnership with train operator LNER, rolling stock ...
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Rail Business UKNorthern reviews recruitment process to better support neurodivergent candidates
UK: Train operator Northern has reviewed its recruitment processes with the aim of ensuring that applicants with neurodivergent conditions are better supported. Candidates with autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia and Tourette’s syndrome are now being given extra support, including: a step-by-step breakdown, including timings, ...
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Rail Business UKLower fares to compensate passengers for battery train troubles
UK: Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram has announced reduced weekend fares on Merseyrail’s Headbolt Lane line until September, as ‘a goodwill gesture to thank passengers for their patience’ during problems with the introduction of the subfleet of Stadler Class 777 electric multiple-units fitted with batteries. ...
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Rail Business UKScotRail introduces emergency timetable
UK: Following the rejection of a pay offer and a decision by many drivers not to make themselves available for overtime work, ScotRail is to introduce a temporary timetable from July 10 which removes around 600 services. The company said the changes are ’a result of ...
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Rail Business UKScottish transport ticketing goes digital
UK: Unicard has migrated paper-based ZoneCard tickets valid on ScotRail, Glasgow Subway and bus services in the west of Scotland to its ITSO-compliant smart ticketing platform. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport awarded the contract with the aim of improving the passenger experience and reducing the complexity of ...
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Rail Business UKTrain operators highlight damage caused by abusive social media messages
UK: A campaign to raise awareness of the damaging effects of sending railway staff abusive social media messages has been launched by 15 train operators, with more expected to join. A short video shows a selection of offensive messages sent to customer contact staff and ...
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Rail Business UKRail industry leaders urge next government to resolve Sunday working conundrum
UK: Delivering a ‘seven day railway’ must be a priority for the next government, industry leaders have told Rail Business UK following a surge in Sunday cancellations caused by crew shortages.
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Rail Business UKGWR expands Long Weekender ticket availability
UK: Great Western Railway has expanded the range of routes where it offers the Long Weekender ticket, which was launched earlier this year to exploit changes in travel patterns. Passengers can use Long Weekender tickets to depart at any time on Friday or Saturday and return ...
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Rail Business UKWest Midlands Trains proposes Manchester to London service
UK: West Midlands Trains has announced plans to extend its existing West Coast Main Line services to create a Manchester – London route.
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Rail Business UKSign language translation to be tested at London Overground stations
UK: London Overground operating concessionaire Arriva Rail London is to test technology that translates digital passenger information into British Sign Language which can be accessed through a smart device via a personalised digital avatar. The Luna platform supplied by GoMedia uses translation technology from Signapse. Trials ...
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NewsDublin – Belfast boost in Irish timetable recast
IRELAND: National railway Iarnród Éireann is planning a major uplift in its inter-city and inter-regional services in the second half of the year, including a boost in frequency to the cross-border Enterprise service linking Dublin and Belfast.
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Rail Business UKHeathrow Express access rights extended
UK: Heathrow Express announced on June 24 that it had secured a track access agreement covering its non-stop services between London Paddington and the airport terminals until June 2028.
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast bi-modes are quick off the mark
UK: Rail Business UK takes a ride in the cab of one of the Class 805 electro-diesel trainsets now entering traffic with Avanti West Coast.
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Rail Business UKFlipside redesigns Caledonian Sleeper website
UK: Night train operator Caledonian Sleeper has worked with digital agency Flipside to make its Sleeper.scot website more user-friendly. Matterport’s 360 technology has been used to provide virtual tours of the trains, and Recite Me has enhanced the site’s accessibility with customisable background colour, font style, ...
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Rail Business UKInterview: ‘Open access works in Europe and it works here’
UK: Martijn Gilbert, head of FirstGroup’s Lumo and Hull Trains businesses, says the open access model is a proven success, and makes the case for further expansion whatever rail reforms may lie ahead.