New Northern franchise to include fleet of ‘newly built’ trains

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New Northern franchise to include fleet of ‘newly built’ trains              The north is to receive a fleet of “newly-built” diesel or battery powered trains by 2020 according to the Invitation to Tender for the new Northern and TransPennine franchises sent out today. The documentation specifies that the new franchisee must modernise the fleet of Northern trains, replacing the Pacers and bringing into service a minimum of 120 new carriages for non-electrified routes. The ITT for Northern says: “These must be newly-built (not re-using components from existing rolling stock) and, unless the Bidder intends for them to be hauled by a locomotive, must be capable of operating under their own power for significant distances on non-electrified routes."...more > LU adopts NR Sentinel ID cards to improve safety and end double-shifting London Underground (LU) is to adopt the same Sentinel ID card for engineering and maintenance workers in its supply chain already in use by Network Rail. In what has been dubbed a “milestone agreement” between the two biggest employers in the industry, it is hoped that the introduction will create a UK standard industry ‘pass’ for personnel working on the railway – removing duplication and improving data sharing. It will make it easier to ensure workers do not go straight from a Network Rail job to an LU one, or vice-versa, when they are too tired to safely do so. LU’s switch to Sentinel...more >

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WHITEPAPERS / CASE STUDIES / RESEARCH How to ensure onboard CCTV and WiFi services are always available? Bringing the latest security and surveillance systems (e.g. CCTV), as well as onboard entertainment technologies (Infotainment) such as passenger display screens and WiFi services, to the demanding Rail sector is a challenge. Reliability of these onboard technologies is critical for both train operators and passengers ...more >

FOLLOW US: #UKRIA2015        The UK Rail Industry Awards 2015 were a resounding success as more than 800 industry professionals came together to celebrate the achievements of the past year. But the awards were also an amazing success on social media...more >

YOUR VIEWS From: Stephen Waring Subject: Cutting cost of electrification using battery power through neutral sections RE: Prototype battery-powered ‘IPEMU’ carries passengers for first time        EGGHEADS-STYLE QUESTION: On the face of it, availability of dual-mode overhead electric + internal battery EMUs could significantly reduce the cost of line electrification by allowing neutral sections under difficult bridges and through tunnels, reducing need for bridge raising and trackbed lowering. Is this: A) somewhat naive; B) a sensible and realistic option to be evaluated in future...more >

EMPLOYER OF THE WEEK Deploy UK Rail is the newest part of the growing groups companies under DE Group brand. Deploy UK Rail has been created to work alongside the already successful Trades and Labour division which supplies a high volume of skilled and unskilled resources to construction industry within London and the South East...read more > Project Engineer: Design Delivery Manager / CEM: Graduate Electrical Engineer: Electrical Design Engineer: FEATURED RECRUITERS

JOBS: Quality Control Engineers: Principal Planner: NoBo Assesors: Project Manager - Rail Cabling: Senior Project Manager: Design Co-ordinator: Comms Design Engineer: Overhead Line Supervisor:

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