Rail franchises operators & contracts

Northern Rail could be renationalised, according to transport secretary Grant Shapps

16.10.19: The government is considering renationalising Northern Rail due to repeated poor performance. Transport secretary Grant Shapps has said he has issued a “request for proposals” from the train operator and the Operator of Last Res...

Boris Johnson to reform current rail franchising model

14.10.19: Boris Johnson to scraprail franchise system in favour of reformed model The UK’s rail franchising model is to be overhauled and proposals for railway reform brought forward, the Government has announced in today’s Queens Speech....

Chiltern Railways trials first UK 3D printed train parts

02.10.19: Chiltern Railways has become the first train operator in the UK to trial 3D printed parts on in-service passenger trains. The operator has partnered with train leasing company Angel Trains to launch the trial, as well as leading 3D printing...

First Trenitalia announced as new West Coast Partnership operator

14.08.19: In a move described by transport secretary Grant Shapps and chair of the Rail Review Keith Williams as a departure from flawed systems of the past, First Trenitalia have been announced as the successful bidder to run the West Coast Partners...

ORR publish guidance to support older and disabled passengers

27.07.19: The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has published its new Accessible Travel Policy (ATP) guidance for train and station operators which they say will lead to older and disabled passengers being able to travel by rail with greater confide...

Punctuality on South Glasgow services reaches 22-month high

25.07.19: Train punctuality has reached its highest level for almost two years on ScotRail services running to and from stations in south Glasgow, the latest figures reveal. South Glasgow services saw 95.8% of trains meet the rail industry standard p...

ORR annual assessment of Network Rail Scotland highlights progress

23.07.19: In its final annual assessment of Network Rail Scotland for Control Period 5 (2014-19), the Office for Rail and Road (ORR) highlighted good progress in its delivery of enhancements and freight performance but continued poor passenger train servi...

TransCityRail: Next stop the Midlands

18.07.19: Unprecedented change and investment is coming to the Midlands, according to a number of high-profile rail leaders speaking at today’s first ever TCR Midlands conference in Birmingham today. With representatives from the West Midlands...

Supply chain gets offer it cannot refuse from West Midlands Trains

18.07.19: Jane Fisher, Transition and projects Director of West Midlands Trains, appealed for third party suppliers to “Approach us and we’ll try and make it happen” at the packed networking event at The Vox Conference Centre. She p...

Maritime Transport launch new rail services

17.07.19: Maritime Transport has launched two new rail services from DP World London Gateway to its rail terminals in Trafford Park and Wakefield. It marks further efforts to expand into the intermodal market in response to rising customer demand in...

Richard Branson calls rail franchising “a real mess”

11.07.19: The owner of Virgin Trains, Richard Branson, has claimed the railway franchising system is "a real mess" and is too constrictive against rail operators. After a dispute with the Department for Transport (DfT) over who should be responsible...

GBRf brings back Class 92 to run Caledonian Sleeper service

10.07.19: GB Railfreight (GBRf) have announced that Locomotive 92006 has re-entered service following a £2 million refurbishment at Wabtec’s Brush Traction facility in Loughborough. The Class 92 will be used on the Caledonian Sleeper serv...

Testing begins on new ‘state-of-the-art’ Greater Anglia fleet

10.07.19: High-speed testing of a new fleet of UK-built commuter trains has begun, Greater Anglia has announced. The 111 trains, built by Bombardier, are to run on Greater Anglia routes into London from counties across the East of England. The n...

TPE hails ‘major milestone’ as Nova 1 trains arrive

09.07.19: TransPennine Express (TPE) have welcomed the first of its new Nova 1 fleet of trains, which the rail operator claims will transform the on-board experience for passengers. The futuristic-looking trains, built by Hitachi, will have more carr...

LNER Azuma trains to run in Scotland from August

04.07.19: London North Eastern Railway (LNER) plan to run their new Azuma fleet of trains in Scotland from August, the operator announced today. The new trains have been running services on the East Coast mainline since May, but were not able to laun...