Awards, contracts & appointments

Alstom to take over Bombardier

18 February 2020Alstom, French multinational company who operate worldwide in rail transport markets, are set to take over Canadian train producer Bombardier. Bombardier has numerous rail-related sites in Britain, in particular its Derby factory where 2,000 peop...

Network Rail awards five-year term to Jacobs for Design Services

12 February 2020Network Rail has awarded places on four Lots to Jacobs for their prestigious Design Services Framework (DSF), to deliver multi-disciplinary technical and professional services, including geotechnical, civils and structures capability. This is the...

Nexus and Stadler contract officially signed off

12 February 2020The Swiss train builder Stadler has officially been awarded the contract to produce the new train fleet for the Tyne and Wear Metro. Following an 18-month global search by Nexus for the best manufacturing partner, Stadler will produce the 42 new...

Network Rail endorses Bender UK signal system

11 February 2020Bender UK’s Innovative RS4 Signalling Power Protection system has been approved by Network Rail. The system delivers heightened sensitivity for first fault location and allows compliance with Network Rail’s Insulation Monitoring and Fa...

Transport for the South East welcomes new partners

10 February 2020Network Rail, Highways England and Transport for London (TfL) have agreed to join the board for Transport for the South East, whilst working together with civic and business leaders representing more than 7.5m people and 300,000 businesses to form...

Government action on poor West Midlands Trains

10 February 2020Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps has today (Feb 9th) called for West Midlands Trains to invest an extra £20m on improving services for passengers after consistent poor services. The funding is set to help passengers across the West Midland...

More reliable railway through multi-million-pound signalling investments

07 February 2020The reliability of Britain’s railways is set for a regeneration over the next five years with billions of pounds to be invested in railway signalling. The north and midlands investment will benefit from the new investments. An estimated &po...

Birmingham Eastside Metro extension set for approval

07 February 2020The next development to the West Midlands Metro network is set to be given the go ahead by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) next week. When the extension from Birmingham Eastside is complete the line will run from the current Metro lin...

National Accreditation for Community Rail Partnership

06 February 2020The Community Rail Partnership on Fenland’s Hereward railway line, has been given official accredited status from the Department of Transport. The accreditation shows that the government has recognised the CRP’s ability to run to a hi...

Network Rail awards £257m contract for portable plant

05 February 2020Network Rail has awarded a contract to VP Plc worth £257m for the hire, supply and maintenance of portable plant. The agreed contract covers all 13 of Network Rail’s routes, and the maintenance and repair of 28,000 items of portable r...

Government announces preferred route for East West Rail

04 February 2020The government has announced the preferred route for the central section of East West Rail (EWR), which would greatly increase the connectivity across the Oxford Cambridge Arc. After consultation in 2019, the route could see trains running from B...

Amey teams up with University for railway engineering apprenticeship

04 February 2020Amey Consulting has teamed up with Sheffield Hallam University to deliver a trailblazing Railway Engineering degree apprenticeship scheme to help attract new talent into the railway industry. The new apprenticeship will give 30 new students the c...

Grant Shapps welcomes new direct Amsterdam-London rail service

04 February 2020Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps has today (Jan 4) welcomed the new direct Eurostar rail service between Amsterdam and London, set to launch in April 2020. Since Early 2018 passengers have been able to make this journey on the Eurostar, but with...

Network Rail’s Andrew Haines to speak at RIA dinner

03 February 2020The Railway Industry Association (RIA) has announced today (Jan 3) that the Chief Executive of Network Rail, Andrew Haines OBE will deliver a keynote speech at the Annual RIA Gala Dinner. The event will take place on February 13 2020 and will see...

Norwood Junction station upgrade receives significant support

30 January 2020The development of Norwood Junction station has been given the green light by residents, passengers and businesses in the area. With a 94% backing, the upgrade would allow trains to run more dependably and more frequently. The proposals to upgrad...