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Wednesday, 28 March 2018

The Scotsman

• ScotRail Alliance to invest £400,000 in cycling facilities The Scotrail Alliance (a close working relationship between Abellio ScotRail and Network Rail Scotland Route) has announced that they will spend £400,000 on improving access and facilities for cyclists at Scotland’s railway stations.

Times Online

• Stagecoach heading on right route [Subscription]Recent bad weather has dampened sales on Stagecoach’s bus routes, but its rail operations reported growth as the company continues talks with government about restructuring the struggling east coast franchise.

City AM

• What you need to know about the 48-hour DLR strike starting today as TfL warns of wider disruption to Tube lines and stationsTransport for London (TfL) has warned a 48-hour DLR strike starting today is set to cause wider disruption for London travel with a number of Tube lines and stations expected to be affected as a result of the walkout.

Birmingham Mail

• HS2 high speed rail services could be run by a publicly-owned operator, says Chris GraylingTransport Secretary Chris Grayling indicates shift away from rail privatisation and suggests a partnership with majority public ownership could run HS2 trains

London Evening Standard

• DLR strike latest: Commuters braced for chaos as 48-hour walkout beginsThousands of Londoners are braced for chaotic journeys to work this morning as a 48-hour strike on the Docklands Light Railway gets under way.

Rail Technology Magazine

• UK's first ever self-drive mainline train runs on Thameslink routeThameslink passengers have this week been given a ride on the first self-drive train journey on the UK mainline network. The technology will be used in the future along with Network Rail’s new digital signalling system to run a train between London St Pancras and London Blackfriars every...
• TfL successfully expands testing of CBTC signalling system to Baker Street junctionTfL yesterday announced that it had successfully expanded the testing of its new Tube signalling system which will be used on the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines. The system, which is already in use on the Northern and Jubilee lines, was tested from Hammersmith...
• Team Orange completes drainage work at Potters Bar stationMajor work to improve the drainage at Potters Bar station to reduce the risk of flooding to the subway. Network Rail completed the work using a £300,000 investment as part of the Railway Upgrade Plan. Engineers replaced old pieces of track with newer ones in order to protect the subway...
• Multimillion-pound Alloa line electrification works beginMajor upgrade work on the Sterling-Alloa route is set to begin this weekend. Hundreds of engineers will work over 16,000 hours during the four-week works to deliver a multimillion pound upgrade to prepare the Alloa line for electrification. The work forms part of the Scottish government-funded...

Railnews

• Falling franchise earnings trigger emergency support The Department for Transport has needed an additional £60 million from the Treasury to balance its books for rail franchises in the current financial year, saying that industrial action is partly to blame. Another £188 million has been obtained by raiding other transport budgets. The total additional support amounts to £248.7 million, a figure which RMT general secretary Mick Cash has described as a ˜scandal™.
• TfL orders more trains for Elizabeth Line Five more trains have been ordered by Transport for London for the Elizabeth Line, taking the total size of the future fleet to 70. Bombardier said the contract for the extra trains, which will be built in Derby, is worth approximately £73 million. The 45 additional vehicles will be formed into five 9-car units, taking the total of vehicles to 630.

Railway Gazette

• Siemens and Alstom sign agreement for ‘the birth of a new champion’INDUSTRY: A business combination agreement for the proposed merger of Siemens’ Mobility division...

The Business Desk

• Bombardier wins £73m deal for more London trainsDerby-based train-maker Bombardier has received a £73m order from Transport for London (TfL) for five more Bombardier Aventra trains to be used on the capital’s new Elizabeth line.

RMT

• Call for meet with German Transport Minister over NorthernOn the eve of the next 24 hour phase of strike action on Northern Rail in the dispute over guards and rail safety, RMT has confirmed that it has written to the German transport minister seeking an urgent meeting aimed at breaking the current deadlock.

Other News Sources

• HS2 high speed rail services could be run by a publicly-owned operator, says Chris GraylingRachel Reeves, MP for Leeds West said the government are 'going to have to make a decision' soon and pick a new operator
• Surbiton station overcrowding: 'It's late. It's full. But it's a train' announces driver amid South Western Railway chaos One train driver got into "the spirit" when frustrated passengers finally packed onto the train on Tuesday morning (March 27)