Shares in Scottish transport giant FirstGroup have risen four per cent after the company said its rail and bus operations performed better than expected in the first half despite the challenges posed by the surge in inflation.
(Permalink) Avanti West Coast FirstGroup Great Western Railway Hull Trains Lumo South Western Railway

ScotRail, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern Rail, Thameslink, and Gatwick Express introduced a ban on Thursday.
(Permalink) Gatwick Express ScotRail South Western Railway Southeastern Southern Rail Thameslink eBikes eScooters

FirstGroup, the Scottish transport heavyweight, said it was delivering a resilient performance in the face of a challenging political, economic and industrial relations environment.
(Permalink) Avanti West Coast FirstGroup Great Western Railway Hull Trains London Tramlink Lumo South Western Railway TransPennine Express

South Western Railway is trialling the myEyes app, which provides audio directions to help guide people with sight loss from a station entrance to assisted boarding points on platforms where they can get help to board the train.
(Permalink) South Western Railway myEyes

Thousands of rail passengers impacted by an IT error will be reimbursed for the inconvenience they experienced when attempting to claim compensation for a delayed journey. FirstGroup, which runs Avanti West Coast, Great Western Railway, South Western Railway and TransPennine Express and open-access operators Hull Trains and Lumo, self-reported the issue to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) after a recent audit identified the issue. When a passenger submits a Delay Repay claim to the wrong train company, the claim should be redirected to the appropriate train company for processing.
(Permalink) Avanti West Coast Compensation FirstGroup Great Western Railway Hull Trains IT Lumo South Western Railway TransPennine Express

Operator of GWR and South Western Railways says proposal fails to reassure investors. Britain's biggest train operator FirstGroup has rejected a £1.2bn takeover proposal from a US private equity firm, after its board determined the offer was too low. The bus and rail company said it had carefully reviewed the proposal from I Squared Capital, which first became public last month, but concluded that the 118p a share cash offer significantly undervalues FirstGroup's continuing operations and its future prospects.
(Permalink) FirstGroup GWR I Squared Capital South Western Railway

A six-month trial features Siemens Mobilitys train-borne conditioning monitoring solution. Siemens Mobilitys train-borne conditioning monitoring (TBCM) system is featuring in Network Rails Lot 1 Operational Trial, which has been established to assess means of predicting rough rides which are currently reported by drivers.
(Permalink) Network Rail Siemens South Western Railway Track condition

A railway station master has been 'forced out of his job' by killjoy bosses who have banned him bringing his dog to work in Surrey - despite no complaints from passengers, who all adore the friendly pet.
(Permalink) Horsley South Western Railway

FirstGroup has reached an agreement with the Government over the termination of two rail franchises, the transport giant said.
(Permalink) Avanti West Coast FirstGroup Franchise South Western Railway

With the final withdrawal of Island Lines 80-year-old Class 483 trains a little over a month away, the London Transport Traction Group have announced that they've successfully secured one of these trains for preservation on the mainland, at the Epping Ongar Railway in Essex.

South Western Railway has confirmed to the group that they will have a unit for preservation, but its not been confirmed which unit - although it is likely to be 483006 or 483008. This is pending a final decision from the Science Museum's Railway Heritage Designation Advisory Board who are managing the disposal of some of the trains.
(Permalink) Class 483 London Traction Group Science Museum South Western Railway

South Western Railway has revealed the first of the Class 484 electric multiple-units which Vivarail is producing for the Island Line on the Isle of Wight, and has announced the dates of a major blockade of the 137 km line when engineering works are to be undertaken in advance.
(Permalink) Class 484 South Western Railway Vivarail

Recently [28 July], South Western Railway ran a special fact-finding train to investigate the potential re-opening of the Fawley Branch in Hampshire.
The Fawley Branch last saw a regular passenger service more than 50 years ago.
The special service follows a submission to the Department for Transports Restoring your Railway Fund by Hampshire County Council.
(Permalink) Fawley Branch South Western Railway