News


High speed trains take InnoTrans by storm


A fourth generation Pendolino


underlining its role as the leading international trade fair for rail transport technology. In particular, exhibitor numbers from abroad are now higher than ever.’ Bosses from Hitachi were manning one of the exhibition’s biggest stands as, back home, Unite regional secretary Davey Hall, Durham County Council and the Chamber of Commerce, were meeting transport secretary Philip Hammond to support its threatened bid for the £7.5bn InterCity Express programme. The Japanese firm has chosen


Alan Salter reports from Berlin


Settling for a 155mph top speed instead of 225mph could avoid the need for Britain to spend £30bn on new lines, a senior industry figure has claimed. As the railway industry awaits


October’s spending review, its leaders have been casting an eye on the alternatives to the HS2 at Europe’s biggest rail exhibition, in case the chancellor strikes it from the plans. On the table is the latest version


of Alstom’s Pendolino, the early version of which is already covering more than 16.5 million miles a year on the West Coast Main Line and is to be tested on the East Coast. The long snouted fourth generation Pendolino – so far bound for Switzerland and Italy – tilts even more and, with a 37 per cent power increase, can reach 170mph on existing lines. Asked if the new train is an


alternative to HS2, Philippe Mellier, president of Alstom Transport, told Rail Professional:


‘It is very difficult to talk on behalf of the transport secretary, but it is true you can enjoy speeds of 250mph without investment in a brand new line which usually cost, as a minimum, €10m [£8.5m] per kilometre. ‘We strongly believe that the


Pendolino has a big future, because it is giving 80 per cent of the benefits of very high speed without the cost. ‘We are going to extend the


length of the Virgin trains in the UK. It has good prospects because of the technology, which is really unique and gives the operator a lot of benefits without much cost.’ More than 2,200 exhibitors from 45 countries gathered in Berlin for InnoTrans and the organisers say that more than half of them are non-German. The new Pendolino shares the 3,500 metre rail track at the exhibition with 121 new vehicles, including Bombardier’s ultra-high- speed train and the upgraded Velaro D from Siemens. More than 100,000 trade visitors from more than 100 countries attended. Trade fair director Matthias


Steckmann said: ‘Despite the recession and its impact on the industry, InnoTrans has grown in all the main areas compared with 2008,


Newton Aycliffe in County Durham to build the rolling stock, but the project is on hold until the spending review. Supporters of the bid say it would create 800 direct jobs and a further 8,000 in the supply chain, with the bulk of the £40m startup costs met by Hitachi. Among the hundreds of technology companies at the exhibition is one that grew up in the airline industry and now has the railway in its sights.


‘The Japanese firm has chosen Newton Aycliffe in County Durham to build the rolling stock’


Amadeus is already the biggest


transactions processor in the travel industry, operating in almost 200 countries, and works here with Atoc and Eurostar. Philip Martin, head of marketing for the Amadeus Rail Business Unit, said: ‘We are in more countries than McDonalds and our servers are handling 10,000 transactions a second.’


The company has hopes of making pre-booking rail tickets a similar experience to online check- in, which has taken the airline industry by storm with passengers choosing their seats before travel. And Martin says that having both airlines and rail companies on the same system does not conflict. ‘The customer can see all the options and make the best choice.’


Further strikes planned in Tube staffing dispute


Talks between London


Underground and two unions have broken down, making further strike action on the Tube likely.


London Underground had been


talking to RMT and TSSA at Acas, but both unions have refused to return to the table ahead of the next phase of industrial action. Three 24 hour strikes are


scheduled for 3 October, 2 November and 28 November, with an ongoing overtime ban. Members are also refusing to participate in the £5 minimum Oyster top up from 3 October. This follows a one-day strike in September, which saw some lines suspended.


The dispute is over a reduction


in staff at the quietest ticket offices. London Underground’s management has insisted, however, that all redundancies will be voluntary. RMT general secretary said:


‘We have made every effort to resolve this dispute over safe staffing levels through negotiations and continue to pursue a settlement.’


Howard Collins, chief operation officer of London Underground, said that union leaders had insisted London Underground withdrew its plans entirely before talks could continue. ‘We cannot agree to this demand.’


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