The Rail Delivery Group and seven train operators are trialling Welcome Point touchscreen units which can provide station and journey planning information and offer the ability to call for assistance from staff in a different part of the station. The initial trials are at Manchester Victoria and Windermere with around 40 stations to be used in total. ‘Previous customer feedback has highlighted the inconsistency and difficulty of understanding and accessing station services which creates a barrier to using the railway’, said RDG CEO Jacqueline Starr. ‘Welcome Points could greatly enhance the customer experience at stations.’
ABB Electrification is to install low voltage power equipment, uninterruptible power supplies and central battery systems at the London Euston, Old Oak Common, Birmingham Interchange and Birmingham Curzon Street HS2 stations. They will be standardised to simplifying operations and maintenance.
AWTG has selected Airspan Networks as the Radio Access Network partner for the roll-out of 5G communications infrastructure along the Bicester Village to Bletchley section of East West Rail, with Airspan’s AirSpeed 1900 Outdoor Small Cells to be installed at key points.
Unipart Rail has been appointed as Trainvac Group’s exclusive UK distribution partner for train toilet spares.
Greater Anglia has installed a switch at its Orient Way depot in east London to enable the power supply to the carriage washing machine to be turned off without affecting the overhead electrification on the depot sidings. ‘This is a small but significant piece of work that means the resilience of our busy Orient Way depot has been improved’, said Asset Management Director Simone Bailey.
Law firm Burges Salmon advised FirstGroup on the acquisition of Grand Union Trains GWML Holdings and its subsidiary Grand Union Trains No 2, and a £500m deal for Hitachi Rail to supply 14 trainsets for existing and planned Open access services.
Porterbrook has appointed David Lister as Director for Scotland from April 2025. He is currently Safety & Sustainability Director at ScotRail.
