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Study highlights expansion prospects for Oxfordshire rail network
The Oxfordshire Rail Corridor Study has outlined a number of future improvements to increase interconnectivity across Oxfordshire.
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Great Western Railway (GWR)
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HS2 to use virtual reality to bring future Old Oak Common station to life
HS2 will use the digital virtual reality to assess and, if necessary, refine its designs in order to help passengers to move smoothly and efficiently around Old Oak Common station.
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ORR to review safety and passenger impacts of Hitachi Rail Class 800 and 385 disruption
Following the disruption caused by the discovery of cracks on Hitachi Class 800 and 385 series trains in May 2021, ORR is set to undertake a review of the impact of the incident on safety and passengers.
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UK rail industry and Hitachi Rail agree service recovery plan
With oversight from the UK's Office of Rail and Road, Hitachi Rail, train operators and the government have agreed a service recovery plan to safely reintroduce more Class 800 Series and 385 Series trainsets into passenger service after cracks were found on some trains.
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UK government calls for action plan following Class 800 train cracking and subsequent disruption
The UK Rail Minister has requested a comprehensive plan from Hitachi to identify the extent of cracking found on some Class 800 Series trains, and has asked the rail industry to urgently set out a strategy to resolve prolonged passenger and network disruption.
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Setting a new benchmark for passenger connectivity with 5G mmWave technology
FirstGroup have successfully completed a trial of the ‘rail 5G’ gigabit track to train solution on the Isle of Wight, paving the way for full commercial deployment on Britain’s busiest railway. For Global Railway Review, Simon Holmes, FirstGroup’s Head of Engineering Digital Communications and Managing Director of Evo-rail (a FirstGroup…
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UK government to restore Dartmoor rail line with £40.5 million investment
With the investment coming from the UK government's Restoring Your Railway Fund, the line between Exeter and Okehampton will be re-opened to passengers all year round, instead of just during the summer.
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30,000 UK railway staff to undertake disability awareness training by end of 2021
All 24 train and station operators across the UK have committed to having their passenger-facing staff undertake disability awareness and equality training.
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Hitachi and Eversholt Rail to develop GWR intercity battery hybrid train
In a UK-first, Hitachi Rail and Eversholt Rail have signed an agreement aimed at bringing battery power – and fuel savings of more than 20 per cent – to the modern Great Western Railway Intercity Express Trains that carry passengers between Penzance and London.
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DfT and FirstGroup reach agreement on future of SWR and Avanti
The agreement with DfT has outlined that FirstGroup will not be required pay a pre-existing franchise agreement termination sum for Avanti, but must pay a contribution of £33.2 million for SWR.
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Claire Mann appointed as Managing Director of South Western Railway
Claire brings more than two decades of experience to her new role, which she is due to begin on 4 January 2021.
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UK government ends rail franchising in bid to connect fragmented network
As part of its efforts to connect the UK's fragmented rail network and support operators through COVID-19, the UK government has begun the process to end railway franchising.
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TOCs Management Series: Q&A with Mark Hopwood, Interim Managing Director, South Western Railway
In the next instalment of our TOCs Management Series, Mark Hopwood, Interim Managing Director of South Western Railway (SWR), explains how the operator is on a journey of evolution that includes addressing train performance, focusing on sustainability strategies, deploying cutting-edge technology and adopting an open and honest approach with both…
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European Train Control System trials completed on GWR train
The ETCS trial was able to go ahead despite the COVID-19 pandemic by utilising innovative temporary remote monitoring equipment.
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First UK all female service launched by Network Rail and Southeastern
Network Rail and Southeastern Railway have collaborated to launch the UK’s first passenger train service operated entirely by women.