TUESDAY BRIEFING: Cautious welcome for �3.9bn Transpennine upgrade ++ Mayors work together to improve railways ++ Network Rail unveils masterplan for Cardiff ++ Boastful TikTok fare evader fined ++ Kaynak

Efforts to save the train-building works at Litchurch Lane in Derby are being stepped up, following Alstom’s warning that work will soon run out. If the works close 2000 jobs will be lost, while many more will be at risk in the East Midlands supply chain. Councillors and business leaders

FRIDAY BRIEFING: Industry braces for week of strikes as drivers vote for more ++ Landslip near Woking ++ Limited services restored at Ayr ++ Rail replacement buses in spotlight ++ ORR probes Wales & Western region performance ++ Kaynak

The long series of strikes involving the RMT is over, after 18 months of walkouts. A new ballot of members has shown that a majority are in favour of accepting the latest pay offer. The results of the ballot, as published by the RMT, show that there was a majority

Transport for London says the number of passengers travelling on the Underground was 4.05 million on 23 November, which is the largest daily total recorded since the start of Covid restrictions in March 2020. The new figures have strengthened TfL’s case for a long term budget settlement with the Government.

The number of crimes committed on London Underground rose by more than a third in the six months from April to September this year, pushing the crime rate for each million passengers up from 13.7 to 18.6. There is particular concern about thefts and robberies, because thefts were up by

The lobbying group Rail Partners has made a new bid to get the private sector more involved in operating passenger railways. Although the Government appears to be sympathetic, the Labour Party has said it would move towards a ‘publicly-owned railway’ in England if it gains power at the next General

Grand Central trains will soon be calling at Peterborough for the first time. The open access operator has been given approval for two trains to call at Peterborough twice a day from Monday to Saturday by the Office of Rail and Road. The ORR said it supports open access services

The Office of Rail and Road has begun sponsoring the Rail Ombudsman, in line with a commitment in the 2021 Plan for Rail. The ORR will now hold the Ombudsman to account for independent and impartial provision of its service. The Ombudsman is the last of port of call for

Changes to the rules about central door locking could mean the end of heritage trains on Network Rail infrastructure, a major operator has warned. West Coast Railway Company, which runs many steam-hauled specials on National Rail lines as well as the scheduled ‘Jacobite’ service between Fort William and Mallaig, is

Ballot papers are being sent to RMT members working for London Underground, as the RMT pursues its claim for better pay and a restoration of free travel for all Underground staff. The ballot opened yesterday and will continue until 19 December. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘Tube workers who

The modernised and enlarged station at Gatwick Airport opened to passengers this morning. The first train to call was the 05.48 Thameslink service from Bedford to Brighton. The new reconstruction has added a second concourse, eight new escalators, five new lifts, four new stairways and additional ticket gates. The platforms

The government is said to be poised to reintroduce a degree of commercial freedom in National Rail Contracts, with the intention of allowing operators to increase profits. It has been reported that the owners of operators are urging the government to loosen the tight restrictions of the present contracts. These

FRIDAY BRIEFING: New Piccadilly Line trains under test ++ Merseyside devolution moves forward ++ Clashes over HS2 Euston in the London Assembly ++ Children name new Welsh train ++ Kaynak

Alstom has warned Derby City Council that it intends to end the building of trains in the city. The news follows fears that more than 1300 workers, or two-thirds of the employees, were set to lose their jobs because of a lack of new orders. It has now emerged that

The number of jobs which could be lost in Derby because of the Alstom crisis has more than doubled. Earlier reports suggested that 600 jobs could be shed because of a lack of orders, but it is now feared that more than 1300 workers could be laid off. In a

New figures released by the Office of Rail and Road show that passenger figures are continuing to recover since the Covid pandemic. Altogether 390.2 million journeys were made on National Rail between 1 April and 30 June this year, which the ORR points out was 19 per cent higher than

FRIDAY BRIEFING: Passenger figures rise ++ Underground staff vote for strikes ++ Yorkshire landslip will be repaired by Monday ++ Marston Vale Line to reopen ++ Kaynak

The RMT and the Rail Delivery Group have announced what appears to be a major step forward in resolving the long-running industrial dispute over pay and conditions. New offers will now be subject to ballots of RMT members at the train operating companies still involved in the dispute, which are

A draft Rail Reform Bill which would set up the new ’guiding mind’ Great British Railways has been included in the King’s Speech in the House of Lords today. But the Bill’s draft status has disappointed some observers in the rail industry. Rail Partners’ chief executive, Andy Bagnall, said: ‘The

TUESDAY BRIEFING: First of two DLR strikes has begun ++ Union warns of more problems if minimum service law goes ahead ++ CILT calls for HS2 inquiry ++ Kaynak

MONDAY BRIEFING: King’s Cross station arrests ++ DRL strikes this week ++ Grand Central launches Voyagers ++ Smartcards for Cornwall ++ Viaduct examination ++ Life-saving equipment on TfL ++ Kaynak

Services are being restored this morning on the East Coast Main Line after a section of overhead was damaged by a train pantograph near Peterborough last night. Network Rail engineers have worked through the night to repair the damage. A separate incident near Market Harborough is disrupting services on the

Demiryolu Endüstrisi Birliği konferansı bugün Londra'da açılırken, çoğu demiryolu tedarikçisinin 2024 beklentileri konusunda kötümser olduğunu öne süren yeni bir anket yayınlandı. DEA, yanıt veren şirketlerin yalnızca yüzde 24'ünün demiryolu tedarik endüstrisinin önümüzdeki yıl büyüyeceğine inandığını ve yüzde 54'ünün sözleşme yapacağını söyledi. DEA, bunun son beş yılın en yüksek olumsuz notu

The Government has climbed down over plans to close station ticket offices in England, after the transport watchdogs Transport Focus and London TravelWatch said they would not be recommending any closures. Their announcements today have followed an extended consultation which had attracted 750,000 responses, many of which ’contained powerful and

Transport Focus and London TravelWatch are objecting to the proposals to close station ticket offices in England. The Government has climbed down, and is asking operators to withdraw their plans. The watchdogs’ recommendations had been expected today, after an extended consultation which attracted 750,000 responses. Kaynak

Network Rail’s spending plans for Control Period 7, which begins in April, have been given the green light by the Office of Rail and Road. The budget of �43.1 billion consists of �38.5 billion for England and Wales, and �4.6 billion for Scotland. Network Rail has changed some of its

The RMT has launched a broadside against third-party ticket retailer Trainline, alleging that the company is ‘profiteering’ at the expense of passengers and taxpayers. The union claims that Trainline is also set to gain from ticket office closures. The union has spoken out just days before the passenger watchdogs are

THURSDAY BRIEFING: Network Rail’s ‘shocking’ level crossing warning +++ Unexplained cable damage disrupts Tyneside services +++ New Network Rail route director named +++ Southeastern automates rolling stock inspections +++ Kaynak

Reports are claiming that at least some station ticket offices in England will be spared the nationwide cull which was proposed during the summer, as the deadline for making recommendations about the closures approaches. The House of Commons Transport Committee has written to rail minister Huw Merriman to express its

Members of the RMT have voted in favour of continuing strikes for another six months in the long-running dispute with the Rail Delivery Group over pay and jobs. In the wake of the result, the union has warned that it is prepared to call further stoppages over the autumn and

The Arriva Group has been sold by German state-owned train operator Deutsche Bahn to the American transport investor I Squared Capital. The value of the sale has not been revealed. Arriva owns the Department for Transport contract to run CrossCountry, which has just been renewed and started on Sunday. It

The Second National Infrastructure Assessment has been published today, and it says economic growth will be achieved by improving public transport in large regional cities. It is also advising road improvements on stretches which are ‘underperforming’, but these should be accompanied by a ‘new, comprehensive and long term’ plan for

Transport secretary Mark Harper has revealed that discussions have started on raising private investment to fund the construction of the central London station for HS2 at Euston. Mr Harper said talks took place with the Euston Partnership Board last week. The Board is a group of stakeholders which was set

A Channel Tunnel consortium which includes the British National Express Group is purchasing 12 trains from Alstom, with the intention of competing with Eurostar. The consortium is investing �1 billion, and has an option to ‘scale up’ its fleet to 16. Deutsche Bahn ran a demonstration ICE train to St

The mayor of Greater Manchester has called for land which has already been bought for HS2’s axed Phases 2A and 2B to Crewe and Manchester to be safeguarded. The government has said the land will be resold, but Andy Burnham, who was speaking at a fringe event during the Labour

Reports overnight say that the revival of the HS2 station at London Euston, with its 7km link from Old Oak Common, will only go ahead if private investment can be found. The Prime Minister said on Wednesday that although he was scrapping Phases 2A and 2B from north of Birmingham

HS2 between Birmingham and Manchester has been replaced by numerous transport projects, including road improvements as well as railway electrification, a new tram system and an extension of the �2 maximum bus fare. The improvements have been dubbed ‘Network North’ but they include many schemes elsewhere in England as well

The Prime Minister has told the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester that HS2 will not be built north of Birmingham, saving �36 billion for other transport projects. Kaynak

It is being reported that the Prime Minister will announce the scrapping of HS2 Phases 2A and 2B from Birmingham to Crewe and Manchester today, and that Rishi Sunak will announce a series of alternative transport projects in England and Wales when he addresses the Conservative Party conference in Manchester

The Prime Minister is refusing to say whether HS2 will be built north of Birmingham to Crewe and Manchester, although newspapers overnight are mostly assuming that the axe is about to fall. Rishi Sunak has continued to resist attempts by journalists to find out what will happen. He told BBC

Başbakan, Birmingham, Crewe ve Manchester arasındaki HS2 şubesinin inşa edilip edilmeyeceğini söylemeyi reddetti, çok sayıda raporun 2A ve 2B Aşamalarını hurdaya çıkarmaya hazır olduğunu öne sürdükten sonra. Bay Sunak, Muhafazakar Parti konferansı dün Manchester'da devam ederken planın kaderi hakkında ağzı sıkı kaldı (Pazar). Kaynak

FRIDAY BRIEFING: Rail unions call for emergency HS2 summit ++ More strike disruption ahead ++ Ebbw Vale upgrade close to completion ++ Kaynak

Reports that the Prime Minister is preparing to scrap HS2 Phases 2A and 2B from Birmingham to Crewe and Manchester are igniting more opposition. Transport for the North has added its voice to the protests, saying that both HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail need to go ahead, and that any

TUESDAY BRIEFING: HS2 controversy reaches Cabinet ++ Increase in leisure travel prompts longer Sunday trains ++ Disruption warning on Great Eastern line ++ Kaynak

Business leaders and many politicians have been rallying to the defence of HS2, as reports continue to allege that the Prime Minister is poised to cancel Phase 2 north of Birmingham to Crewe and Manchester. It is said that a decision could be announced before the Conservative Party conference in

The Rail Delivery Group is warning that train services in England are set to be seriously disrupted from the end of this month, when the drivers’ union ASLEF stages industrial action in the continuing dispute over pay. Two 24-hour strikes have been called for 30 September and 4 October, and

The RMT has announced further 24-hour strikes on London Underground on 4 and 6 October, as its dispute continues with Transport for London over job security and conditions. The union fears that 600 staff at stations are facing the loss of their jobs and is also critical of what it

MONDAY BRIEFING: RDG defends pay offer ahead of new ASLEF strikes +++ Labour remains cautious about HS2 +++ Two train operating contracts expire next month +++ Leicestershire reopening plan cut back +++ Kaynak

FRIDAY BRIEFING: HS2 uncertainties grow +++ Wolverhampton tramline extension to open +++ Penalty fare rises in Manchester +++ More trains for Stansted Airport +++ Transpennine MP appointed +++ Chelmford station contract +++ Kaynak

A newspaper report is claiming that HS2 between the West Midlands and Manchester is set to be axed. The Independent alleges that the Prime Minister and Chancellor have discussed cancelling Phase 2 to release money to fund tax cuts before the next election. It would be the second time that

Opposition to proposals to close nearly all station ticket offices in England is growing, as more local authorities voice their objections. At least one is calling train operators to account at a special meeting, while a Mayor has tried using a station while his vision was artificially limited. A national

The derailment of a ScotRail HST at Carmont, near Stonehaven in north east Scotland, was caused by Network Rail’s failures to impose a speed restriction and to maintain an embankment drain properly, a court has been told. In a statement last night, Network Rail Scotland managing director Alex Hynes said:

The derailment of a ScotRail HST at Carmont, near Stonehaven in north east Scotland, was caused by Network Rail’s failure to impose a speed restriction and to maintain an embankment drain properly, a court has been told. Three people were killed and six were injured on 12 August 2020 after

WEDNESDAY BRIEFING: New strategy for West Midlands Railways +++ Registration opens for Rail Wellbeing Live +++ Railway Industry Association appointments +++ Kaynak

The proposed closure of most station ticket offices in England has been condemned as ‘unlawful’ by a local authority in the east of England. The Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority said it had voiced its ‘deep concern’ about the effects of scrapping ticket offices, which are set to close at

The number of people using London Underground and buses over the August bank holiday weekend reached its highest level since the Covid lockdowns, but was still lower than the totals for the same period in 2019. Transport for London is continuing the struggle to balance its books, and the Mayor’s

İngiltere'deki 900'den fazla istasyon bilet gişesini kapatma tekliflerine verilen yanıtların sayısı, tepki verme süresi dolduğunda yarım milyonu aştı. Temmuz sonunda uzatılan istişare bu gece gece yarısı sona eriyor. Tekliflere itirazlar devam ediyor. Bu arada, ASLEF 24 saatlik bir grev gerçekleştirdiği için bugün İngiltere'deki çoğu hatta tren çalışmıyor. RMT üyeleri yarın

Nearly all train services in England are likely to be cancelled tomorrow, as the drivers’ union ASLEF stages a 24-hour strike. Most English operators are affected, with the exceptions of Merseyrail, Transport for London, light rail and trams. Neither ScotRail nor Transport for Wales are in dispute with ASLEF, but

British Transport Police are investigating the death of a Nottinghamshire police officer who received fatal injuries on the East Coast Main Line near Newark Northgate station. Sgt Graham Saville, 46, had been trying to help another man on the track who was described as ‘distressed’, when he was hit by

The RMT union is hoping to hear from the Rail Delivery Group this week following a letter from the union’s general secretary Mick Lynch, in which he sets out a path to a negotiated settlement in the long-running dispute over pay and conditions, and which the union is describing as

The number of people who have responded to controversial ticket office closure proposals in England has topped 460,000, according to the passenger watchdogs Transport Focus and London TravelWatch. The consultation period was extended to 1 September at the end of July, and the proposals have triggered a determined reaction from

The words used by train operators when things go wrong are sometimes confusing passengers instead of guiding them, according to a new report. Passenger watchdog Transport Focus asked passengers for their opinions of advice like ‘do not travel’ on days when trains were actually running, and their responses were often

A Scottish court is to deal with the prosecution case against Network Rail next month in connection with the fatal Carmont derailment three years ago. Three people on board a train were killed when it was derailed by debris washed on to the track near Stonehaven on 12 August 2020,

The Railway Industry Association has signed an agreement with Rail Business Daily to acquire most of its assets. A transition period is expected to take three months, as RIA becomes the publisher of RBD titles and the employer of some RBD staff. Kaynak

A light plane came close to colliding with a train in Cheshire last week, it has been reported. According to the train driver, a two-seater high-winged monoplane banked steeply in front of the train, risking a collision. Kaynak

The train drivers’ union ASLEF has called a new 24-hour strike in England on 1 September, with an overtime ban on the following day. The action has been announced in addition to walkouts by the RMT between tomorrow and early September. Kaynak

Train operators in England are warning of limited services on 26 August and 2 September as the RMT stages two more 24-hour strikes in the dispute over pay and conditions, but there will also be disruption on CrossCountry routes tomorrow and on 9 September in a separate dispute over the

Railway fares will rise in March next year but not by the Retail Prices Index in July, which was 9 per cent. Instead, it is expected that the increase will be based for the second year running on Average Earnings Growth, which was 5.9 per cent in the quarter to

The number of responses in the consultation over ticket office closures sent to the transport watchdogs Transport Focus and London TravelWatch has soared from 170,000 in late July to 315,000 now, according to Transport Focus. The original 21-day consultation period, which would have ended on 26 July, has been extended

Passengers on a London Underground train were taken to a disused station, because of an error by staff. TfL said the train had been sent to Charing Cross to even out the service, but some passengers had stayed on the train because of a ‘miscommunication’ at Green Park. Kaynak

sayılı temel Yasadan hiçbir iz yok Şehrin gbr'nin gelecekteki karargahı olarak seçilmesinin ardından, Büyük Britanya Demiryolları Geçiş Ekibinin Derby'de fırat zamanında bir toplantısı yapıldı. Ancak ekip üyeleri Derby Belediye Meclisi tarafından Derby Roundhouse'da karşılanmış olsalar da, gbt'ye gerekli yetkileri vermek için gerekli olacak temel Parlamento Yasası için Parlamento zamanı bulma konusunda

The first passengers have been boarding trains at a new station in Kent today. Thanet Parkway between Ramsgate and Minster opened for business this morning, and the first train of the day was the 04.58 High Speed service to London St Pancras International. Southeastern has predicted that the station will

Transport secretary Mark Harper is in Bristol this morning, where he will open the new station at Portway Park and Ride on the Severn Beach branch line. The single five-car platform, which will be unstaffed, has cost �5.8 million. It has been funded by the West of England Combined Authority,

Train services will be badly disrupted tomorrow in England as RMT members at most train operators stage another 24-hour strike in the continuing dispute over pay and conditions, which began in the spring of last year. Where trains are running, frequencies will be reduced and last trains will be much

Health and safety law was breached when a tram overturned near Croydon in 2016 with fatal results, a judge has ruled. Seven passengers were killed and only one was uninjured. Tramway owner Transport for London and operator Tram Operations Ltd, a subsidiary of FirstGroup, have been fined a total of

The Rail Delivery Group has confirmed reports this morning that the consultation period for proposed ticket office closures has been extended from today until 1 September. The RDG said train operators had been ‘listening to feedback and hope that more people will have the opportunity to have their say in

This is the last day for lodging responses with Transport Focus and London TravelWatch on the proposals to close most station ticket offices in England. The consultation was announced on 5 July, and the barrage of public protest has grown day by day. Sim Harris wonders whether the responsible ministers

The train drivers’ union ASLEF has announced another week-long overtime ban, from 7 to 12 August. It will be the fifth time that ASLEF has staged such a ban since the first between 15 to 20 May. There have also been 11 one day ASLEF strikes this year. The union

The RMT has cancelled a ‘week of action’ which it had planned to stage on London Underground from 23 July. If the walkouts had gone ahead, Transport for London had warned that almost no trains would have run on the worst-affected days. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘There has

A new report is warning that train-building centres in Britain such as Alstom in Derby and Hitachi in Newton Aycliffe will run out of work within 12 months from now, putting thousands of jobs at risk. The report from the Railway Industry Association, entitled ‘The UK rolling stock industry �

Members of the RMT working for most train operators in England are staging a 24-hour strike today, and the stoppage is causing widespread disruption. Two more strikes have been called for Saturday and 29 July, which is the following Saturday, and there will also be major disruption on London Underground

The ticket office saga is rumbling on. It has become all too clear that the DfT is using the present structure of the passenger railway to offload as much as the blame as possible on to the operators, whether they are in the public or private sectors (writes Sim Harris)..

Controversial regulations which would have allowed employers in the rail industry to use agency staff during strikes have been banned by the High Court, which described them as ‘irrational’. Unions had argued against using temporary staff, partly because such a move amounted to ‘strike-breaking’ and also because many railway jobs

The chief executive of HS2 Ltd Mark Thurston has announced that he will leaving the company in the autumn, after leading the company since March 2017. Mark Thurston joined the company shortly after the Act of Parliament authorising Phase 1 between London and Birmingham had received Royal Assent. Kaynak

The RMT union is staging protests outside many stations to oppose the proposed closure of hundreds of ticket offices. A consultation is under way over the proposals, which will affect most staffed stations in England and also in Scotland at Glasgow Central, because it is run by the English contractor

Rail Partners, the lobby group representing privately-owned train operators, has called for the rail business to ‘put aside ideological battles of public versus private’ and concentrate on creating an ‘reinvigorated public-private partnership to get Britain’s railways back on the track to growth’. Franchising ended officially in 2020, and all operators

The RMT has warned that it will stage a ‘week of action’ on the London Underground from 23 to 28 July. Different grades and sections of the staff will strike during those six days, but details of the planned stoppages have not been released. The walkouts are part of the

Most station ticket offices in England are set to be axed, it has been confirmed. Consultations into proposals to close the offices at all but the largest stations have been launched. They will run for 21 days. The government has been accused of ‘ducking and diving’ from scrutiny, and the

Most station ticket offices in England are set to be axed, it has been confirmed. Consultations into proposals to close the offices at all but the largest stations have been launched. They will run for 21 days. The government has been accused of ‘ducking and diving’ from scrutiny, and the

Most station ticket offices in England are set to be axed, it has been confirmed. Consultations into proposals to close the offices at all but the largest stations have been launched. They will run for 21 days. The government has been accused of ‘ducking and diving’ from scrutiny. The Rail

The Department for Transport is reported to be pressing ahead with the closure of most station ticket offices in England. An announcement is expected this morning about the launch of a consultation, but closing the offices seems likely to spark a furious union reaction and add to the present industrial

Trains have started to call at a new station in the southern suburbs of Exeter this morning, following an opening ceremony attended by transport secretary Mark Harper. Marsh Barton on the Great Western main line is near a park and industrial estate, and is served by trains running between Paignton,

İngiltere'deki tren seferleri kısa sürede iptal edilebilir veya değiştirilebilir, çünkü sürücüler birliği ASLEF tarafından bugünden cumartesiye kadar fazla mesai ve dinlenme günü çalışma yasağı getiriliyor. Kısıtlama, birliğin ücret konusunda sektörle devam eden anlaşmazlığının bir parçasıdır. Bu arada ASLEF, ‘hasta notu politikası’ geri çekildikten sonra dün Avanti Batı Kıyısı'nda çağrıda bulunduğu

FRIDAY BRIEFING: New figures demonstrate railways’ green credentials ++ More trains have been ordered for the DLR ++ Closures ahead on London-Watford local line ++ Tyne & Wear depot upgrade completed Kaynak

The launch of a new train service in Birmingham has been delayed, because the stations will not be ready before 2024. The Camp Hill line, which will have three stations, had been intended to reopen to passengers this year, but work at the stations has been delayed by the discovery

A new station will open between Ramsgate and Minster at the end of next month. Thanet Parkway has two 240m platforms suitable for 12-car trains, and will offer high speed services to London as well as trains to other places in Kent. Thanet Parkway is also a potential integrated transport

The RMT has sounded a warning shot in response to growing speculation that the Department for Transport is preparing to announce the closure of most station ticket offices in England. If it happens, it could ignite a new industrial dispute on National Rail. The reform includes moving the staff from

The Scottish Government assumed control of the Caledonian Express contract yesterday, after Transport Scotland had decided that an extension of Serco’s franchise would not offer value for money. Kaynak

The last Scottish sleeper services operated by the private sector will run tonight. The Scottish Government has terminated the Serco Caledonian Sleeper franchise, which began in 2015, and the services between the Highlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London will be controlled in future by a public sector company. The Scottish Government