Rail Industry Focus

New strategy needed to tackle ‘digital deserts’ on rail routes

27.01.17: RTM’s David Stevenson looks at the perennial issue of poor mobile coverage on the railways, and how the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) wants the problem to be tackled. Mobile coverage on Britain’s 19,000 miles of railw...

A depot for the future and centre for excellence

24.01.17: RTM’s David Stevenson reports from a recent visit to the modernised Hornsey traincare facility. As you cross the footbridge at Hornsey station to go down to the traincare facility, it is impossible not to notice the vastness of the no...

A one-industry call for skills development

20.01.17: At the launch of the new Rail Sector Skills Delivery Plan in December, key industry figures got together to outline how the major strategy will seek to address rail’s workforce gaps through clear, tangible and deliverable pledges. Luana Sa...

The future of East West Rail

20.01.17: Shortly before the end of last year, transport secretary Chris Grayling announced unprecedented proposals to create a new and independent East West Rail operation tasked with designing, managing and running services between Oxford and Cambridge....

Delivering on route devolution

17.01.17: At RTM’s recent Northern Powerhouse Rail Conference, Andy Haynes, Network Rail’s contracts and procurement director, explained the infrastructure owner’s decision to establish eight devolved routes, each with a managing directo...

Ilkeston, 50 years on

18.11.16: The town of Ilkeston is finally getting another rail station after almost 50 years without tracks. Geoff Pickford, service director for highways at Derbyshire County Council, gives an update on the latest developments taking place at the site. ...

Oxford station on track for Marylebone

15.11.16: Network Rail’s senior programme manager, Jonathan Davies, and its project manager, Rob Mashford, speak to RTM about the ongoing works in and around Oxford station ahead of Chiltern Railways running services on the new Oxford-Marylebone lin...

Making rail history

15.11.16: An innovative approach to partnership working has helped S&C North Alliance make rail history on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) by delivering the UK’s first 125mph handback on a S&C renewal. Neil Johnson, alliance director, explai...

Are we ready to export rail?

07.11.16: RTM’s David Stevenson reflects on the key messages from this year’s Dinner at the Roundhouse. A key message to come out of this year’s Dinner at the Roundhouse was that UK rail needs to be ready to export and broaden its h...

Putting gender diversity to the test

07.11.16: RTM’s Luana Salles reports from this year’s Big Rail Diversity Challenge, which gathered 30 gender-balanced teams from different rail companies to participate in a series of challenges that proved men and women can, and should, work...

Lighting the way in energy consumption reduction

07.11.16: RTM’s David Stevenson speaks to Ben Martin, head of asset management at c2c, about the energy-saving programme being rolled out at the operator’s stations. In an effort to significantly reduce energy consumption, National Expres...

Delivering a seamless wireless experience for customers

15.09.16: An innovative collaboration to deliver a seamless wireless experience for customers has led to an industry first for Chiltern Railways. Hans Stiles, the operator’s head of IT, explains how. Five years ago, Chiltern Railways became the...

The station of today and of tomorrow

15.09.16: As Cambridge North station finally begins to take shape, RTM speaks to Eliane Algaard, director of route asset management for Anglia at Network Rail, to find out more about the latest developments. For a station that has been plagued with d...

RSSB unveils trailblazing closed loop 'dynamic' pantograph

13.09.16: The cutting-edge pantograph developed by Somerset-based company Brecknell Willis, in conjunction with the RSSB, was unveiled at an industry event last week. The closed loop pantograph, which benefitted from a £300,000 innovation grant...

New Tube for London: learning from past mistakes

05.09.16: Transport for London (TfL) has committed to learn from the mistakes made in the Four Lines Modernisation Automatic Control (4LM ATC) programme in order to improve its signalling procurement for New Tube for London – but major issues have a...