Track and signalling

RAIB to launch class investigation following front-line worker incidents

24 January 2019  Image credit - viole The RAIB has announced it will launch a class investigation into a number of life-threatening incidents in which safety systems on the railway were entirely dependent on the decisions of front-line track workers....

Cross-party calls for Glasgow airport rail link to be delivered ‘as matter of urgency’

22 January 2019The proposed rail link between Glasgow Airport and the city centre must be built “as a matter of urgency,” according to opposition parties making a cross-party plea at Holyrood. Plans to connect the city centre to the airport in Glasg...

ORBIS: Turning track data into intelligence

22 January 2019Track engineer Dan Collins explains how an app and an iPad are transforming track maintenance in Network Rail’s Western route. Carrying 2,200 train services a day, an average of 208 freight trains and 92 million passenger journeys a year, N...

East West Rail seeking partners to deliver Cambridge-Bedford rail link

21 January 2019East West Railway Company (EWRC) has announced it is seeking specialist partners to deliver the central section of its new rail line between Cambridge and Bedford, after publishing a prior information notice (PIN) today. The EWRC is developing th...

Crossrail restarts dynamic testing on Elizabeth Line after series of delays

18 January 2019Crossrail has begun operating test trains on the Elizabeth Line, restarting a crucial part of testing after months of setbacks and delays. Two test trains will operate on the line during the first week of the main dynamic testing phase which Cros...

Unions launch campaign after closure notice served on 200-job Glasgow rail depot

18 January 2019Rail maintenance company Gemini Rail has served a closure notice on its Springburn depot and served workers with redundancy notices, sparking unions to launch a campaign to save the rail works. Gemini Rail announced its intention to close the dep...

Train derailment between Sheffield and Doncaster prompts RAIB investigation

17 January 2019The RAIB have launched an investigation into a train derailment after a freight train came off the tracks between Sheffield and Doncaster, causing major disruption. The freight locomotive had just left Roberts Road depot at around 5.17pm on 21 De...

Network Rail announces final CP6 multimillion-pound contract winners for rail projects in Scotland and North East

17 January 2019Network Rail has announced the winners of its final major multimillion-pound contracts for CP6, worth a total of £470m. Following on for the previous CP6 contracts awarded by Network Rail at the end of last year, worth several billion pound...

Northern to deliver new fleet of trains on Cumbrian rail routes this summer

16 January 2019A new fleet of trains will be introduced for the first time on routes in Cumbria as Northern bosses promise a host of new initiatives for 2019. Northern’s 98 trains, which are a mix of diesel and electric, will be “drip fed” int...

West Midlands promises rail revolution in new detailed 30-year strategy

16 January 2019The West Midlands has set out its short- and long-term plan for rail in the region, promising new passenger services and stations and to build on the benefits of high-speed rail. Launched by the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE), the ‘Rai...

Huddersfield rail electrification to be included in £2.9bn TransPennine upgrade in revealed ‘confidential’ information

15 January 2019The long-awaited £2.9bn upgrade to the TransPennine rail route may also include the partial electrification of the line between Huddersfield and Leeds and Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge after a councillor revealed “confidential&rd...

Repoint: revolutionising track switch

15 January 2019Sam Bemment, senior R&D engineer at Loughborough University, brings us an update on the Repoint project – a scheme which has transformed the track switch as we know it. In the August/September issue of RTM, I presented the history of an...

London trams to be fitted with automatic braking system in response to Sandilands recommendations

14 January 2019London’s tram network is to be fitted with an automatic braking system in response to safety recommendations following the fatal Croydon tram crash. The new safety measures will automatically apply brakes and bring a tram to a controlled st...

Engineers able to predict and fix track faults before they develop using new Costain augmented reality tech

11 January 2019Engineers will be able to use augmented reality (AR) to predict failing components and faults on train tracks and in stations after engineering companies, in collaboration with a university, have developed a network of Internet of Things (IoT). C...

Investigation launched after track worker forced to dodge train with two seconds to spare

10 January 2019An investigation has been launched after a track worker removing cables from a rail line was forced to dodge a train less than two seconds before the vehicle passed him at 51mph. According to the RAIB, the employee was removing cables which were...