Rail Industry Focus

Class 700: the future of commuting in the capital

21.06.16: How can we meet the need for more trains with greater capacity while also ensuring a better experience for commuters? That’s the question Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) seeks to answer with its new Class 700 Desiro City train. RTM’s...

How could Brexit affect the rail sector?

21.06.16: Sean Thomas, senior consultant at economics consultancy Oxera, looks at the impact Brexit could have on the rail sector.  Brexit raises significant implications for the GB rail network and its operators. Here I consider two potential e...

A journey up the Chase Line

10.06.16: Sam Evans, Network Rail’s project manager for the Walsall to Rugeley electrification project, updates RTM’s Luana Salles on the scheme and the new technologies being used to deliver it more efficiently. The £90m Chase Line...

Getting Great Western electrification back on track

09.06.16: Andy Haynes, project director, West of England, the Greater West Programme, talks about hitting a major milestone on the Great Western Route Modernisation scheme, and how the team has renewed confidence to hit the revised timetables. As RTM...

Digital railway is already underway

07.06.16: Martin Arter, Digital Railway development director, explains the future opportunities digital railway will offer the sector and supply chain. Fully integrated traffic management functionality at Network Rail’s Romford Rail Operating C...

TES becomes full member of RSSB

18.05.16: TES Ltd has successfully attained full membership of the Rail Safety and Systems Board (RSSB).  John Abbott, RSSB external engagement director, and his colleagues Mike Carr and Alan Tordoff visited TES headquarters in Colchester to ind...

Track access extension opens up growth opportunities for Hull Trains

06.05.16: Will Dunnett, managing director at Hull Trains, talks to RTM’s David Stevenson about the recent extension to its track access, the need for a modernised fleet and how open access operators can generate competition in the market. Hull...

Bringing all of Waterloo back to life

06.05.16: RTM’s Luana Salles reports on the major programme of works taking place at London Waterloo station, including bringing the former Eurostar platforms back into use and building a new concourse. Work in the UK’s busiest station ha...

Alstom’s ‘star trek’ scanner that transformed virgin fleet maintenance

28.04.16: A new laser scanner, developed by Alstom, has the potential to transform rolling stock fleet management by detecting maintenance problems in trains automatically. Rosemary Collins reports. Alstom’s Barcelona research and development t...

School pupils get a taste of railway careers at iRail 2016

21.04.16: RTM’s Rosemary Collins reports from the seventh annual iRail event held in Derby. Young people got to test out their visions for the future of the railway industry at the seventh annual iRail event, held at the iPro football stadium i...

Looking to the future at Victorian Paddington

21.04.16: Natalie Holden, senior commercial scheme sponsor for the Paddington project at Network Rail, talks to RTM’s Luana Salles about the ongoing work to replace the station’s intricate glass roof, upgrade its retail hub, and of the changes...

On the cusp of change

19.04.16: Speaking at Infrarail, rail training leaders outline the industry’s reliance on the supply chain to ensure it hits training targets, as well as the need to open up courses, transfer skills and offset levy costs. Luana Salles reports. ...

Thameslink benefits already on the horizon

19.04.16: Nick Gray, principal programme sponsor for Thameslink, reveals the latest statistics and changes taking place in and around London Bridge ahead of project completion in 2018. In the last edition of RTM, rail systems project director on the...

Delivering high-quality training for the next generation

18.04.16: Andrew Spencer, director of commercial services at The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), discusses the recent acquisition of Amber Train and the plans for its future. Delivering high-quality training for the next generation of r...

Crossrail: moving towards operations

15.04.16: Howard Smith, Crossrail operations director at TfL, runs through the project’s latest updates and highlights the ongoing shift from construction to operation. With tracks already laid and station refurbs gathering pace, the time has c...