Rail Archives - Page 4 of 5

Rail News, November 2017

HS2 ltd, the company responsible for developing the UK’s new high-speed rail network, has announced that five manufacturers are in the running to build the 225mph trains that will run on the new high-speed rail network. According to the firm, Alstom; Bombardier Transportation; Hitachi Rail Europe; Patentes Talgo S.L.U. and Siemens will all be invited to tender for a £2.75bn contract to design, build and maintain at least 54 trains for the new network. Of the five companies in the running for the ...

Rail News, November 2017

Leeds University is investing £10m in a new Institute for High Speed Rail that will focus on the design, manufacture and integration of high speed rail infrastructure. Featuring a vehicle system test facility, the institute will be located close to the HS2 rolling stock depot to the east of Leeds, and will provide both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Areas of research will include foundations and track, traction systems, braking and energy harvesting, sensor technology and digital systems. Working alongside the National College for ...

Rail News, August 2017

William Cook Rail has won export orders that it said could be worth “millions of pounds” to supply critical components to a world leader in light rail systems. The family-owned business will manufacture structural parts for bogies on Alstom’s range of Citadis Spirit light rail vehicles for service in Ottawa, Canada. The complex and highly specified cast steel components will be precision engineered at the company’s new £15m rail plant in Leeds. The Citadis Spirit vehicles are designed for high capacity transport of passengers ...

Rail News, July 2017

The Department for Transport has unveiled plans for a £17.2 million new railway station in Warrington. It is among five new stations to be built across England and Wales as the Government invests more than £16m in schemes under the new stations fund. The DfT will contribute £4.23m towards the new station Warrington West in Cheshire, which will have two platforms and a 268-space car park. Other stations are being built as part of the project are at Horden Peterlee in County Durham, ...

Rail News, July 2017

A £900m train order that once looked destined for Germany has been won by the Bombardier plant in Derby. A fleet of 90 commuter trains for the South West franchise will be built in Britain, in a boost for the country’s oldest train manufacturing site, one of only two left in the UK. The order for 750 Aventra carriages, similar to the trains being built for Cross rail’s Elizabeth Line and parts of the London Overground, is a boost to the Derby ...

Rail News, February 2017

The Government has started a hunt for HS2 manufacturer. The £2.75 billion contract will be awarded in 2019 with the winning bidders going on to deliver a brand new fleet of up to 60 trains which will provide services capable of seating more than 1,000 passengers. The trains will be required to meet HS2's design and performance needs and international standards for passenger experience, noise reduction, and environmental sustainability, while maximising skills, employment and growth opportunities. The successful bidder will also maintain ...

Evolution of reshoring in the plastics industry heading into 2017

Last spring the UK experienced a growth in reshoring manufacturing, following the industry trend in North America. 18 months later, how has this evolved and what will be the impact of Brexit? Family-run, UK plastic injection moulding company Pentagon Plastics have continued to experience a resurgence in reshoring. Over the last year they have welcomed an increase in enquiries from customers that have previously used overseas suppliers. Paul Edwards, Managing Director, highlights that companies looking to bring their manufacturing back to the UK ...

On The Road To Reshoring

Reshoring got top billing a couple of years ago when Prime Minister of the day David Cameron launched a government-backed reshoring initiative. This saw UK Trade & Investment and the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) form ‘Reshore UK’ (https://is.gd/dizale). That was January 2014 and the initiative is no longer; just like MAS. Today we have ‘Growth Hubs’ and local enterprise partnerships (LEPs), but a search for ‘reshoring’ at the LEP network website (https://is.gd/zehipa) delivers no related returns. So it is left to small trade association ...

Rail News, October 2016

The French train company Alstom is to build a new multimillion-pound plant in the north-west of England, delivering a major boost to the region during a time of uncertainty for the UK. Alstom will spend an initial £20m on a new site at Widnes, Cheshire, creating about 600 jobs. The facility will modernise the Pendolino trains on the west coast mainline and contain a training academy, but it could eventually manufacture new rolling stock if Alstom wins a contract to produce trains ...

Uncertainty over the date when electrified trains will start running to Swansea is affecting potential investment, it has been claimed.

Uncertainty over the date when electrified trains will start running to Swansea is affecting potential investment, it has been claimed. Network Rail said electrification would arrive between 2019 and 2024, but the exact date was “to be confirmed”. The line is being electrified to speed up journey times from London to Wales. Electrified trains were originally due to arrive in Cardiff by 2017 but that deadline has now been put back. Network Rail’s programme manager Anthea Dolman-Gair said that it had now ...