UK-maintained Hitachi Nova trains could call at a new Bradford station
Hitachi Rail, the UK arm of the Japanese multi-national engineering giants, has won an eight-year contract to maintain the TransPennine Express fleet of 19 ‘Nova 1’ intercity trains. They were well placed to win the...Read more
Edinburgh – London route shows Europe the way for modal shift
For business travellers eager to demonstrate their environmental credentials, there’s a shift to trains over planes. Now, with additional competition on Europe’s prestige routes, leisure travellers are looking at greener travel decisions that may be...Read more
Siemens bags services deal for TransPennine Express trains worth half a billion
Siemens Mobility has secured an order for the servicing of trains running on the TransPennine Express routes. The contract is for a duration of 8 years, until 2031, and carries a value of 530 million euro....Read more
TPE, UK passenger operator behind service alterations scandal, sacked
The massively criticised UK passenger operator TransPennine Express has been sacked from its franchise. Passengers using the service, which connects Liverpool and Manchester with Glasgow and Edinburgh, have become disillusioned and furious at overcrowded and...Read more
UK punctuality a problem for regulators
Punctuality and reliability continue to be the leading cause of passenger complaints on the British railway network, accounting for 18.6 per cent of all rail passenger complaints between October and December 2022. This comes as...Read more
TransPennine Express reputation trashed in Parliament
British passenger train operator TransPennine Express has been pilloried in the press for cancelled trains and poor performance. The operator, which connects northern England with southern Scotland, has fallen from grace, big time. Now, their...Read more
UK mega-project Northern Powerhouse Rail back on track?
A project to connect major cities in the north of England with a dedicated high-speed railway, vastly increasing capacity for freight and passenger traffic, could be back on the agenda, but only if members of...Read more
Transformational Transpennine investment – or just the best of a bad lot for England’s North?
There have been very few discordant voices raised in dissent since the revised funding package was announced for the Transpennine route. Ambitious it certainly is. A multi-billion-pound rail upgrade in West Yorkshire has been approved,...Read moreReston opens: a new Scottish station, with no Scottish trains
Network Rail has completed the construction of Reston station on the East Coast Main Line (ECML), between Edinburgh and Newcastle. Today’s (23 May) very first scheduled call is the 06.16 TransPennine Express service from Edinburgh...Read more
Commuters and travellers in UK brace for cancellations
Several rail operators in the United Kingdom this week announced cancellations and issued warnings for disruptions through Christmas, as renewed COVID concerns begin to bite.Read more
UK disruption continues over withdrawal of Hitachi trains for safety checks
What next for the UK rail industry, with a significant proportion of the passenger fleet taken off line for urgent safety inspections? The shock news of hairline fractures in the 800 series Intercity Express fleet...Read more
Coronavirus impact on railways: 19 March
RailTech continues to inform about the impact of coronavirus on the rail sector in Europe. Below you can find some highlights of Thursday, 19 March. Earlier, we have published similar updates on Wednesday, 18 March,...Read more
Magic circle of rail franchise in UK
It’s a month since the UK’s newborn and veteran train operators have declared their inspiring plans for the future. Some companies even managed to report fewer quick wins. On the other hand, at least six...Read more