Arriva Group has today announced it’s concluded a deal to acquire RTS Infrastructure, marking its entry into the UK rail infrastructure construction market and significantly expanding its train maintenance capability, with the addition of a depot near Leeds, complementing the existing Arriva Train Care business offering. The acquisition will broaden Arriva’s service offering to existing […]
Category: Rail Business
Cross-Channel rail expansion takes step Forward
On Thursday 11 September, challenger train companies Evolyn, Gemini, Trenitalia, and Virgin joined a meeting convened by Calvin Bailey MBE MP in Parliament, alongside existing train operator Eurostar and infrastructure operators London St Pancras Highspeed and Eurotunnel. All five train operators are looking to invest in the UK to enable them to provide expanded cross-Channel […]
Melanie Onn MP visits Siemens Mobility’s Goole Rail Village
Melanie Onn, MP for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, recently visited the Siemens Mobility Rail Village in Goole to hear from constituents who work at the site. She was given a tour of the state-of-the-art facility by employees to hear about their work assembling new trains, including for Transport for London. The Goole Rail Village has […]
Record-breaking performance across the board sees Octavius grow to £320m business
Transport solutions provider Octavius has achieved record growth for the second successive year. The rail and highways infrastructure specialist achieved record turnover of £323 million for financial year 2024-25, and record EBITDA* profit of £13 million – a 60 percent improvement on the previous year. In the last three years Octavius has grown by nearly […]
ORR rejects West Coast Main Line applications due to insufficient capacity
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has rejected applications from three companies seeking track access contracts with Network Rail to run services on the West Coast Main Line (WCML). ORR concluded there is insufficient capacity on the West Coast Main Line southern section for the introduction of any of the proposed services: from East […]
Independent Rail Retailers prospectus champions passenger choice and innovation
Independent Rail Retailers (IRR) has launched a new prospectus setting out a clear vision for the future of rail retailing highlighting the key role independent retailers play in modernising the passenger experience, growing rail use, and supporting a competitive, customer-first rail industry. Contributing over £5 billion in train tickets annually, accounting for a significant portion […]
RIA recognises latest positive rail customer statistics
Following the positive news for rail investment in the Government’s Spending Review last week, the Railway Industry Association (RIA) welcomes the latest rail usage statistics published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and the Department for Transport (DfT). The ORR quarterly figures, from January to March 2025, show a 7% increase in passenger […]
FirstGroup ranked in Europe’s 50 Most Sustainable Corporations
FirstGroup plc, a leading private sector provider of public transport, has been awarded a place on the list of Europe’s 50 Most Sustainable Corporations, one of only seven UK companies to be included. This new ranking is produced by sustainable business media group Corporate Knights. The report ranks Europe’s largest publicly listed companies, drawn from […]
EMR made Patron of Rail Forum, supporting safe and responsible recycling in the rail sector
EMR – a global leader in sustainable materials – has become a Patron of Rail Forum, an organisation that enables cooperation and collaboration between stakeholders in the UK rail industry. With more than 390 members across the UK, including Arriva TrainCare, DB Cargo, East West Rail, Network Rail and Siemens Mobility, Rail Forum brings together […]
FirstGroup plc – rolling stock agreement for Stirling open access rail service
FirstGroup plc (or the ‘Group’) is pleased to provide an update on its new London to Stirling open access rail service. As previously announced, in 2024 the Group acquired Grand Union Wcml which included track access rights granted by the Office of Rail and Road (‘ORR’) to run open access rail services from London Euston […]