Awards, contracts & appointments

Network Rail awards £8m contract for New Measuring Train

08 January 2020That is because Network Rail have announced the awarding of an £8m, five-year contract to Loram UK for the maintenance of its New Measurement Train – affectionately known as the Flying Banana because of its distinctive yellow livery.

£642m deal secured between Alstom and Avanti West Coast

08 January 2020The new West Coast Mainline operator, Avanti West Coast, have secured a seven-year deal worth precisely £642 million with Alstom, who will refurbish and maintain the routes 56 electric Pendolino trains. As well as covering a £127 mill...

South Western Railway franchise uncertain after £137m loss

08 January 2020Rail franchise, South Western Railway (SWR), could face nationalisation following evidence of a £137m loss in the year to March 2019. Account filings to Companies House, published yesterday (Jan 7), revealed “significant doubt”...

Electric rail services underway for South Wales passengers

07 January 2020This week rail passengers in South Wales are benefitting from electric services for the first-time following Network Rail’s successful completion of electrification of the railway between Cardiff Central and London Paddington. Electrificati...

XRAIL Group awarded seven-year contract in Saudi Arabia

02 January 2020A long-term maintenance contract on the Haramain High Speed Railway (HHR) in Saudi Arabia has been awarded to XRAIL Group. HHR is a 453-kilometre long high-speed, digital inter-city rail system, and has been referred to as the ‘crown jewel&...

Network Rail seeking £2.8m worth of contracts for technological solutions

20 December 2019Innovate UK and UK Research and Innovation have today (Dec 20) announced that Network Rail is looking for organisations to apply for contracts worth £2.8m. Organisations can apply for a share of £2.8m for projects that tackle technolo...

Abellio ScotRail contract comes to an early end

18 December 2019Today (Dec 18th) saw confirmation from Transport Secretary Michael Matheson that the Abellio ScotRail contract will come to an earlier end than planned. Currently the franchise contract requires Scottish Ministers and Abellio to revisit the level...

TfL Rail has begun operating services between London Paddington and Reading

16 December 2019Services between London Paddington and Reading are now operated by TfL Rail which is the next step in the opening of the Elizabeth line.  Under TfL Rail, customers will now benefit from improvements to their stations including new customer i...

Azuma trains arrive on Highland Chieftain route

10 December 2019London North Eastern Railway’s Highland Chieftain route between Inverness and London King’s Cross has welcomed the arrival of the new Azuma trains.   LNER operates The Highland Chieftain service in both directions every day betwe...

RMT puts forward settlement to end SWR strike

09 December 2019As the second week of South Western Railway’s safety strike commences, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) has set out a 6-point strategy to a settlement. The plan which was meant to be put forward at renewed AC...

Heritage award presented to Network Rail

06 December 2019The National Railway Heritage have presented Network Rail with an award for their refurbishment of the South Esk viaduct at Montrose. At the award ceremony in London, the National Railway Heritage award was presented to Network Rail and contracto...

£350m contract for Hitachi Rail to build new Avanti West Coast trains

06 December 2019Hitachi Rail awarded a contract worth more than £350m by First Trenitalia, whose new Avanti West Coast rail service starts on the 8th of December, to maintain and prove 23 new intercity trains. The 135 new carriages will bring additional ca...

RSSB appoint Arup to review hydrogen trains

29 November 2019The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) has tasked Arup with developing a case for hydrogen-powered trains on the Great Britain (GB) mainline. The review will move to establish a high-level operational concept, any relevant operational hazards...

Intercity Express Train named after first female MP

28 November 2019Great Western Railway (GWR) has today (Nov 28) released the name of its new Intercity Express Train, named after Nancy Astor, the first women to take her seat as an MP in the House of Commons. It comes after she was nominated for GWR’s sear...

FirstGroup and Trenitalia announce new MDs for partnership

27 November 2019The joint takeover of the West Coast Mainline between FirstGroup and Trenitalia will take place on the 8th of December. They announced yesterday (26 Nov) the appointment of their two Managing Directors. Phil Whittingham, Managing Director of Virg...