Virgin Trains introduces RCS passenger communications 31 Aug 2018 UK: Virgin Trains has worked with telecoms company Vodafone and mobile messaging specialist OpenMarket to roll out a Rich Communications Services-based chat service for passenger communications. Unlike text-based SMS messages, RCS allows Virgin Trains to send photos, videos, audio and message with easy-to-select buttons. It will…
Posts published in August 2018
Rail News Home Federal Legislation & Regulation 8/28/2018 Rail News: Federal Legislation & Regulation Cascades route will have PTC by Dec. 31, Amtrak and WSDOT say An Amtrak Cascades train derailed in DuPont, Washington, last December. Photo – Washington State Patrol Amtrak and Washington state transportation officials anticipate a positive train control (PTC) system will…
Rail News Home Federal Legislation & Regulation 8/28/2018 Rail News: Federal Legislation & Regulation Canada announces funding to improve rail safety in Alberta "We are working closely with railway companies and road authorities to identify grade crossings that require safety improvements," said Minister of Transport Marc Garneau. Photo – Canadian government officials announced CA$3.3 million…
Anti-trespass panels approved 29 Aug 2018 ANTI-TRESPASS: Prime Rail Solutions’ GRP anti-trespass panels designed for use at level crossings, stations, bridges and other locations where an access deterrent is required have been approved for use on the ProRail network in the Netherlands and by Network Rail in the UK, and trials are to be undertaken…
Train disruption information by Facebook Messenger 28 Aug 2018 UK: East Midlands Trains is testing the provision of personalised travel disruption information to passengers via Facebook Messenger. The system was developed by technology company Zipabout with the aim of replacing potentially confusing mass broadcasts of disruption information. Passengers opt-in through a ‘Keep Me Updated’ button…
Rail News Home Federal Legislation & Regulation 8/27/2018 Rail News: Federal Legislation & Regulation Canada's TSB cut safety investigation time in FY2017 Canada's Transportation Safety Board (TSB) last week released its annual report to Parliament, highlighting its annual statistics on reported occurrences in rail, aviation, marine and pipeline modes of transportation for fiscal-year 2017-18.During that…
Stage V engine development on show at InnoTrans 2018 28 Aug 2018 VOITH: The development of a horizontal diesel engine for rail applications offering up to 23% more power than comparable engines while meeting the Stage V exhaust standards coming into force in 2021 will be highlighted by Voith at InnoTrans 2018. Derived from construction…
Rail-certified industrial computer range launched 27 Aug 2018 COMPUTERS: Specialist computing platform supplier Captec has launched a range of EN 50121-4:2006 certified industrial computers for trackside applications including surface and underground installation. The computers feature redundant power supplies, RAID support and hot-swappable drive bays. They are compatible with Celeron, i3, i5 and i7 processors, and…
Rail News Home Federal Legislation & Regulation 8/24/2018 Rail News: Federal Legislation & Regulation FRA issues 2Q status report, awards grants for PTC implementation Workers are busy in Metra’s PTC lab. The commuter railroad will receive a nearly $23 million grant from the FRA for implementation. Photo – Metra The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) yesterday…