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HS2 awards station lifts and escalators framework to TK Elevator
HS2 has appointed TK Elevator to the framework to deliver 300 leading-edge lifts and escalators for four new station facilities being built as part of the high-speed rail project.
Birmingham Curzon Street, Interchange, Old Oak Common and new HS2 platforms at London Euston will need more than 160 lifts and 130 escalators to help people access HS2 trains every day.
TK Elevator employs about 400 people across the UK, and the final contract value is expected to be between £207 million and £316 million, depending on the numbers of lifts and escalators required.
A flexible approach allows HS2 to vary the number of lifts and escalators in line with station requirements as the designs are finalised. The framework also includes maintenance for up to 20 years as well as manufacture and installation.
All the new stations in London and Birmingham will be ‘zero carbon’ in terms of day-to-day operation, and fully accessible with step-free access from street to train. Placed end to end, the escalators would stretch more than 3km – longer than the Forth Rail Bridge.
The longest escalators will be at Old Oak Common, in west London.
They will take passengers 13.5m up from the subsurface platforms to concourse level. Overall, the new station – where HS2 meets Crossrail services to Heathrow and the West End of London – will have more than 50 lifts and escalators.
Launch of direct service between Middlesbrough and London
Adaily weekday service between Middlesbrough and London has been launched. The service served by London North Eastern Railway’s (LNER) Azuma trains is the first direct link in 31 years.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “The railways are the backbone of this country, and I’m delighted we’re establishing a direct service between Middlesbrough and London for the first time in more than three decades.
“Not only will this world-class service provide green benefits, but it will also give the people of Teesside better connections for work, help bring loved ones together, and drive tourism to this fantastic region.”
The trains will run on electric wires between London and North Yorkshire – 220 of the 239-mile journey – before switching to diesel to Middlesbrough.
They also boast free onboard Wi-Fi, electric sockets at every seat and more space than conventional carriages.
David Horne, Managing Director at LNER, said: “We’re proud to be introducing our revolutionary Azuma services between Middlesbrough and London King’s Cross. Their arrival will transform travel for customers and generate further economic opportunities for the area, with our direct services making business, leisure and international travel simpler, smarter and greener.
“Our Azuma trains offer customers greater comfort and space, keeping people connected with free onboard Wi-Fi and sockets at every seat. Our superb at-seat catering offers in both Standard and First further enhance our customer experience.”
Three and EE to provide mobile access on the Tube
Two networks have signed up to deliver mobile connectivity services across the London Underground.
Three and EE are working with the BAI Communications (BAI) neutral host mobile network to provide 4G and 5G-ready mobile connectivity across the London Underground. Their collaboration with BAI, which was awarded a 20-year concession with Transport for London (TfL) to deliver mobile connectivity on the Underground, aims to give customers on the networks access to uninterrupted coverage while on the Tube and within the stations.
Rail fares rise capped at 3.8 per cent in 2022
The UK Government has said it has capped the next fares increase to 3.8 per cent, below current retail price inflation of 7.1 per cent.
The last rise saw fares go up by 2.6 per cent in March 2021. The upcoming rise is the biggest for 13 years, according to figures from the Rail Delivery Group.
In a statement, the government said it will not increase fares by RPI plus one per cent, as it did in 2021 – the formula leading up to the pandemic. This would, it said, “prevent high increases for passengers”.
Before the pandemic, the prices would be raised in January, based on the RPI of the previous July. 2022’s increase will be in March, similar to the delay we saw this year. The government said this is to give passengers more time to purchase cheaper flexible and season tickets at the existing rate.
Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said: “Capping rail fares in line with inflation while tying it to the July RPI strikes a fair balance, ensuring we can continue to invest records amounts into a more modern, reliable railway, ease the burden on taxpayers and protect passengers from the highest RPI in years.
“Delaying the changes until March 2022 offers people the chance to save money by renewing their fares at last year’s price. That includes the 100,000 people who are already making savings with cheaper and more convenient flexible season tickets.”
Advice for Railway Companies – monthly feature by Jobson James Rail – The Rail Broker Does my insurance broker need to be a rail specialist?
Most insurance brokers do not have many, or any, railway industry clients. Those that do tend to ask their rail client to fill in long forms that ask no railway questions. Those forms are passed to London Lloyds brokers, who have never met the railway company, to attempt to obtain quotations.
While proceeding in this way can produce terms, it does not make the process easy for the client, nor is there usually a thorough material fact disclosure if either broker does not understand the rail industry.
For example, railway infrastructure companies’ staff routinely carry detonators – these are a normal piece of work equipment. As they work on pressure, they are very difficult to set off accidentally. Insurance brokers that do little in the rail industry would not understand this and would not think to ask about them. Yet a standard market exclusion on Employers Liability policies is an explosives exclusion, which may very well cause problems if an injury claim should arise from their use or misuse.
Furthermore, we have seen a trend for railway companies that are mainly design and consultancy companies to be sold cheap ‘office’ package policies by general commercial insurance brokers. These usually auto-provide Employers and Public Liability as part of the package. While this is fine for office activities and staff that only work behind a desk, these policies are not designed to cater for any rail-side exposure at all. So, for survey companies whose staff do not carry out any manual work but will go trackside to undertake lineside surveys, the insurance will not pick up any injury claims arising from this work.
The Insurance Act 2015 gave insurers a statutory right to walk away from any claim where they could show that there was a failure to disclose relevant material facts such as these, so there is an onus on the broker to ask the right questions, make the right disclosures, and have the client sign off that disclosure.
Our risk presentations fulfil the majority of the client’s obligation to disclose, it replaces the need for bland forms to be completed and thus complies with the legislation, giving our clients peace of mind.
Richard Allen Dip CII, Director at Jobson James Rail
Tel: 07590 983871 Email: richard.allen@jjrail.co.uk
www.jobson-james.co.uk/rail www.jjrail.co.uk
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• Existing Liability and Works Insurances did not match the contractor business activities and the company was exposed for key areas of activity. • Analysis of the cover was conducted, management interviews carried out, and recommendations were made for alterations. • Rise analysis report was compiled and quotations were secured from specialist rail insurers. • The result, a significant premium reduction across all of the business insurances.
