In The News | 24th January 2024 | Latest Rail News

Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Wednesday, 24th January 2024. Sponsored by Petards Rail

InTheNews Sponsored by Petards Rail: The latest rail news on Wednesday, 24th January 2024

Flights have been cancelled and trains suspended as Storm Jocelyn brings strong winds to many areas of Britain.

Windspeeds of up to 97mph were recorded in Capel Curig in Snowdonia, Wales, and Honister Pass in Cumbria saw 77mm of rain – equivalent to about half of the area’s average amount in January.

Gusts of 80mph could be experienced in exposed areas, with 40-50mm of rain possible over higher ground, the Met Office said.

On Tuesday night eight flights were cancelled at Dublin airport and four at Glasgow airport on Tuesday evening, while train services in Scotland were suspended from 7pm and drivers were warned to postpone journeys.

Innovation teams from across the UK have been successful in securing funding from the second round of the ‘Innovation in Railway Construction’ competition.

Funded by the Department for Business and Trade in the UK Government in partnership with Innovate UK, the competition has been running since 2022 and invited teams to propose, deliver and demonstrate innovation in railway construction.

All projects are due to be delivered at the purpose-built Global Centre of Rail Excellence facility, currently being built in South Wales.

Click here for more details.

East Midlands Railway (EMR) has teamed up with a Bristol-based tech firm on a project which aims to improve the safety and efficiency of train inspections.

An article on the Insider Media Limited website says the DepotMATE project, which is being funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) and Innovate UK’s First of a Kind scheme, is being brought forward in partnership with One Big Circle – a tech firm that develops intelligent video, AI and machine learning for the rail industry.

The project will take advantage of One Big Circle’s Automated Intelligent Video Review (AIVR) cloud-based platform.

Railway Children is urging the rail community to swap their warm beds to spend the night on a cold station floor to support their work with vulnerable children around the world.

The charity’s popular Sleepout event is back for 2024 after last year’s successful event raised over £170,000 and had 360 participants sleeping at stations across the UK.

This year, the Railway Children Sleepout will take place on Thursday, March 14th with 12 different locations confirmed, including Glasgow Central, Manchester Piccadilly, Derby, Leeds, Swansea, Birmingham New Street, London Waterloo, London Liverpool Street, London St Pancras and London Bridge.

Click here for more details.

Photo credit: Railway Children

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