Track and signalling

Network Rail publish Decarbonisation Plan

11 September 2020Network Rail have released their interim Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy, illustrating its preliminary recommendations for decarbonising the rail network, including plans for 12,000 kilometres of electrification by 2050 and a key role fo...

Trains kept moving by AWC despite damaged overhead wires

11 September 2020Avanti West Coast have taken an unlikely option to allow their timetable to run, without delays, despite damaged overhead wires. The operator successfully ran their Pendolino fleet without power under damaged overhead wires for the first time. T...

Ep.16 Unlocking rail investment, David Ollerhead

02 September 2020David Ollerhead, Programme Director at Network Rail’s Open for Business Programme, joins host Ailsa Cowen for episode 15 of Rail Technology Magazine’s podcast, Track Talk. David discusses playing with trains as a child, investment into...

Solar-powered scarecrow used to keep trains on time in Manchester

01 September 2020A solar-powered scarecrow that sends out the calls of a hawk is being used to scare away birds that have been causing delays to passengers travelling between Manchester and London Euston.   Significant numbers of birds have been causing dama...

Network Rail promises direct action following Stonehaven derailment

13 August 2020Chief Executive of Network Rail, Andrew Haines, has pledged to get to the bottom of the cause and put immediate additional safety measures in place following yesterday’s derailment near Stonehaven in which three people sadly died and six wer...

Siemens Mobility installs new signalling system at Hither Green

11 August 2020Following the final contracts being confirmed for the Hither Green Area Resignalling Project, Siemens Mobility Limited are set to provide the technology to improve passenger services. The new signalling system will create greater reliability and...

£5m upgrade for Crumlin’s River Ebbw railway bridge

11 August 2020Network Rail are set to begin upgrade work on River Ebbw railway bridge in Crumlin, South Wales next month. The £5m upgrade work will take place on weekends throughout September. The current bridge deck will be replaced, which is only capab...

£195,000 for rail freight trial

06 August 2020Funding has been allocated by the Scottish Government to Victa Railfreight to carry out a test to transport timber by rail in the North of Scotland. £195,000 has been contributed through the Scottish Strategic Rail Freight Fund. This is ope...

HS2’s Birmingham Curzon Street station: 55% carbon reduction

05 August 2020The HS2 project, Curzon Street station, which has been designed by a team in Birmingham, is hoped to reduce carbon emissions by an unprecedented 55% and achieve net zero carbon emissions from controlled energy consumption and use a variety of tech...

Overhead electric line overhaul to improve passenger journeys

03 August 2020Passenger and freight journeys are set to be made more reliable in Lancashire and Cumbria as part of a £3.4m investment into the overhead 25,000-volt electric cables which power trains.

£81m signalling scheme hits halfway marker in South London

30 July 2020As the London Bridge Area Signalling Centre ends operations, an £81m scheme by Network Rail (NR) to renew infrastructure in the Hither Green area of South London reaches the halfway mark and is on track to deliver an improved railway for pas...

UK Government urged to collaborate on Global Centre of Rail Excellence

29 July 2020Welsh Government tell UK Government to be quick if they want to play a part in the delivery of the world leading project. The Global Centre for Rail Excellence would generate a world leading facility for research, growth and testing of rail techn...

Network Rail continue work to secure street next to West Coast main line

28 July 2020Multi-million-pound work to secure land next to the West Coast main line in Stoke-on-Trent begins its second phase next month to make freight and passengers more reliable. The £4m Railway Upgrade Plan investment will stop a suburban street...

Scottish rail decarbonisation plan unveiled

28 July 2020Today (28th July) Transport Secretary Michael Matheson launched his blueprint to decarbonise Scotland’s passenger rail services by 2035.   The Cabinet Secretary was speaking during a visit to ScotRail’s Shields Road electric flee...

Network Rail Scotland completes £1m of rail works

27 July 2020Network Rail have delivered more than £1m of work to renew track and refurbish a key junction on Scotland’s Railway in Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire. Between Saturday July 17th and Monday July 20th, engineers worked to renew 1.5km o...