53 Articles

A manifesto is supposed to set out the policies for a party vying to form the next government. In government, it’s the first King’s or Queen’s Speech that then demonstrates the highest priorities for legislation. But seasoned political commentators say nothing usually reveals the true direction, flavour and fundamental forces driving a new government better than its first Budget. That’s when the realities of limited public money come up hard against its idealistic policy ambitions for the future. If that’s so, some have labelled this first Budget as disappointing for rail. The manifesto ambitions for rail were ambitious, with references to the Swiss integrated transport system and lofty ideals of using public transport to help drive economic growth. Rail also featured strongly in the King’s Speech, followed by several early…

3 min.

Reeves commits funding for HS 2 tunnelling to Euston

CHANCELLOR of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves approved the extension of HS2 into Euston station as part of her Budget announcement on October 30. The move will ensure that HS2 runs into the centre of London, rather than ending at Old Oak Common in west London. The extension was initially paused for two years by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as concerns were raised over spiralling costs, and private investment was sought to plug the near £4 billion cost of the 4.5-mile route. However, in her speech, Reeves only committed funding to complete tunnelling to Euston, leaving questions on the wider Euston redevelopment currently unanswered. She told Parliament: “We will provide the funding required to begin tunnelling work between Old Oak Common and Euston. This will catalyse private investment into the…

2 min.

COMMENT

October 30’s Budget contained scant fare for rail supporters. The best of it came when Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “We are committing the funding required to begin tunnelling work to London Euston station” for High Speed 2. Committing to begin is not quite committing to deliver, but it’s at least a step forward from the previous government’s position of not funding anything further than Old Oak Common into London. In other rail matters, Reeves referred to “a further electrification of services between Church Fenton and York by 2026”. A casual listener might have taken this to be a new project with new money, but Reeves was speaking several weeks after Network Rail ran the first electric test train over this stretch of line, having spent the past…

2 min.

Budget: rail freight sector finds little to cheer

THERE was little cheer for the rail freight industry in the Budget, with a freeze in fuel duty for the 13th successive year supporting road haulage ahead of greener modes. At the same time, there were no announcements on hoped-for infrastructure upgrades including the Ely Junction bottleneck and rail electrification at terminals such as London Gateway. GB Railfreight Chief Executive John Smith said the decisions made in the Budget were not compatible with the government’s ambitions. “One of the unintended consequences of this policy is the continued subsidisation of high-carbon road freight when greener, more sustainable options exist. This is not compatible with the government’s stated aim of advancing the decarbonisation of the UK’s supply chains,” he said. This view was supported by Rail Partners Chief Executive Andy Bagnall, who…

1 min.

Omitted from Reeves’ speech… but 4.6% increase in regulated rail fares

Regulated rail fares in England are to rise by 4.6% next year, with railcard costs also set to go up. The government’s full Autumn Budget document confirmed the increases, although they were not mentioned by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her speech to Parliament. The government said: “Since the pandemic, the government subsidy for passenger services has increased to meet a shortfall in revenue as travel patterns have changed, in addition to the funding it provides to operate and maintain the rail network. The government will look to recover this shortfall to support services and ensure the railway is able to operate effectively. “The government confirms that the annual regulated rail fares cap will rise by 4.6% on March 2 2025, one percentage point above RPI. This will be the lowest…

1 min.

Green MSPs pinpoint key role of peak fares in Scottish budget

Green MSPs have vowed to press the SNP government to reverse its decision to bring back peak rail fares. Speaking at the Scottish Greens’ conference on October 26, co-leader Patrick Harvie said peak fares “punish workers and students” and that “exorbitant prices” were “not the actions of a government that is serious about climate action”. Because the SNP lacks an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament, it will be unable to pass its proposed budget in December unless it gets support from another party. Since 2016, it has always been the Greens which have lent their votes to get the budget over the line. The budget will depend on the “Barnett consequentials” allotted to Scotland as a result of spending in the UK Budget. This year, the Scottish Government will…

1 min.

Funds for Supertram renewal

Officials at the South Yorkshire Mayor’s office are “still looking at what the Budget announcement means for Supertram”, after Chancellor Rachel Reeves allocated money to renew the network. The 29km (18-mile) light rail system was mentioned alongside the West Midlands Metro and plans for a light rail between Leeds and Bradford, as part of “£1.3 billion of funding to improve connectivity in our city regions”. Supertram was the second new light rail network to be built in the UK, following Manchester Metrolink. The latter revived existing heavy rail commuter routes, while Sheffield adopted a different approach of mainly on-street running with some segregated permanent way. Some of the route to the ‘Halfway’ terminus runs through Transport Secretary Louise Haigh’s constituency (Sheffield Heeley). Opening in 1994, the network predominantly relies on…

2 min.

Further funding allocated for West Midlands Metro

Transport officials in the West Midlands have welcomed news of additional money for the West Midlands Metro extension, after part of the new route had to be scaled back owing to funding issues. Chancellor Rachel Reeves mentioned the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill scheme as she announced a further £1.3 billion for the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement in the Budget. Officials at Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) appeared to be taken by surprise by the announcement. It now appears the government has committed to providing funding to get trams to the Merry Hill Shopping Centre. While construction of the first phase of the scheme to Dudley is well under way, inflationary pressures have meant the second phase, onwards to Merry Hill and Brierley Hill, needed more cash. Until the Budget,…

4 min.

Cambrian crash: sanding hoses blocked on TfW ‘158’

AUTOMATIC sanders on the Class 158 that slid into an oncoming train on the Cambrian Line last month were blocked, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has found. A preliminary report from investigators has discovered that the wheels on the 1831 Shrewsbury-Aberystwyth (1J25) started sliding when the driver applied the brake to stop in the loop at Talerddig, on October 21. The slide then continued as the Class 158 headed down the 1-in-56 gradient until it collided with the 1909 Machynlleth-Shrewsbury (1S71) at 1926. Both trains were operated by Transport for Wales. One passenger died afterwards, and four other people were seriously hurt, while 11 more needed hospital treatment for their injuries. The report, published on November 5, said: “An inspection of the automatic sanding system fitted to train 1J25…

1 min.

TfW forced to cut back services owing to rolling stock shortage

Transport for Wales has cancelled four of its Cambrian Line services “until further notice” because it cannot find replacements for the two Class 158s that were seriously damaged in the collision near Talerddig on October 21. The operator is currently so short of rolling stock that it has also had to reduce the formations of services on other routes from four coaches to two, including to Manchester Airport. These problems come at a time when the complete replacement of the ‘158s’ by a new fleet of CAF Class 197s could still be more than a year away. Leasing company Angel Trains is unable to take a decision on whether to repair collision-damaged 158824 and 158841 because the units are likely to be quarantined by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch for…

1 min.

Railhead conditions lead to overshoot

A passenger train on the Wrexham-Bidston route overshot its stopping point at Neston (on the Wirral peninsula) on October 23, leading to temporary closure of the line. Confirming the incident, Transport for Wales said the driver of the 0721 Bidston-Wrexham Central “advised of reportable railhead conditions in the Neston area which caused the train to slide part-way through the station”. It continued: “As the rear vehicle was still on the platform, the driver and guard used local door operation to allow passengers on and off the train.” RAIL’s research reveals that the train was formed of two-car diesel multiple unit 197044, which is 48 metres long. The platform at Neston is 85 metres long. RAIL understands that the next passenger train ran with a permanent way team on board to…

2 min.

Wheelslip grinds deep groove into rail

Poor rail adhesion was to blame for a train slipping so violently that it ground a deep groove into a pair of rails, which had to be replaced. The line was closed all day as a result. The incident, on a 1-in-157 gradient at Pontefract Baghill (West Yorkshire) on October 23, involved a rail grinding train on the Up line coming to a halt on slippery rails at 0156. It was unable to restart - and in the attempts, one axle spun out of control. The location is on the Knottingley-Moorthorpe-Swinton route, which is mainly used by freight, with just three York-Sheffield passenger trains a day, each way. Network Rail told RAIL that the line has a 35mph speed restriction, which meant the train was unable to “take a run…

4 min.

High Delay Repay figures don’t tell the whole story

TRAIN operators have paid out £138 million in Delay Repay compensation in the past year. Avanti West Coast and LNER paid out the most, with both paying just over £32 million in the 12 months to the end of July. The Department for Transport said several factors had contributed to the increase in compensation payments, including adverse weather events and the increase in passenger journeys. Great Western Railway’s woes on the Great Western Main Line have contributed to its near-£30m total. It paid out just under £15m in the previous 12-month period, as it processed just under 1.4 million claims. In December 2023, Network Rail was ordered by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to produce an improvement plan focusing on the heavily used Thames valley section of the…

2 min.

Train boarding changes initiated to alleviate ‘Euston rush’

The infamous ‘Euston rush’ could soon be a thing of the past, with Network Rail and train operators Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway implementing a trial of earlier train boarding at the London terminus. From October 28, some 40% of AWC services commenced boarding 20 minutes prior to departure. This initiative is set to expand to around 55% of services in the lead-up to Christmas. Additionally, LNWR has introduced “continuous boarding” for Birmingham services, allowing passengers to board as soon as the preceding train departs. Gary Walsh, director for Network Rail’s West Coast South said: “Getting passengers to their services in good time is at the heart of our improvements at Euston, and these changes will tackle that issue head-on. “Taking quick and effective action is at the…

1 min.

East West Rail confirms electrification plans

East West Rail has announced its preference for electric traction power, and that it will use discontinuous electrification with hybrid battery-electric trains for the line between Bedford and Cambridge. The news follows the announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the Budget on October 30 that the government will continue to fund the rest of the project. In her speech, Reeves stipulated that the line should be electric. David Hughes, CEO at EWR Co, said: “We’re excited to confirm our plans for electrification, which support our environmental goals by delivering sustainable low-carbon journeys and supporting the UK’s transition to an overall net zero carbon economy.” EWR had been considering its options in terms of its traction choices, with diesel a very real possibility. However, its decision to choose electric - and…

1 min.

Safety digest on ‘345’ overspeed

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch is to publish a safety digest after an overspeed incident in east London. At around 0811 on September 24, a Class 345 unit on an Elizabeth line service passed over a set of points east of Manor Park station at 45mph, instead of 25mph. The jolt led to some passengers losing their footing and one falling to the floor. The unit did not derail, and no damage was caused to either the infrastructure or the train. A RAIB spokeswoman said: “We have undertaken a preliminary examination into the circumstances surrounding this incident. Having assessed the evidence which has been gathered to date, we have decided to publish a safety digest.”…

1 min.

Route directors moving at NR

Network Rail has announced several executive leadership changes that will come into force next year. Current North West and Central Region Route Director Rob McIntosh is leaving NR to chair the Transpennine Route Upgrade board. He will be replaced by Jake Kelly, currently Eastern Region route director. Southern Region Route Director Ellie Burrows will leave the role she has held permanently since 2023 and move to the Eastern Region as its new route director. NR will be advertising for a new Southern Region route director and a new route director for the Wales and Western Region.…

1 min.

Further ECML signalling tests

High-speed tests of in-cab signalling on the East Coast Main Line are due to take place at the end of November. A Grand Central Class 180 and a Great Northern Class 717 will be used between Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin over the weekend of November 30-December 1. The tests are the latest stage of the £1.4 billion East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP) that will lead to lineside signals being replaced with displays inside drivers’ cabs. Further tests and proving runs will continue between Welwyn and Hitchin over the coming months.…

1 min.

ScotRail cuts opening hours at 54 ticket offices

Opening hours at 54 ScotRail-operated ticket offices are set to be reduced in 2025. The operator says the changes are being made to deliver more viable customer support at stations, with hours also set to be extended at 12 stations and remain the same at 77 others. The plans, described by the RMT union as “closure by stealth”, represent a scaled-down version of a proposal (paused in 2022) to close three ticket offices and reduce opening hours at 117 others. ScotRail has also said no ticket offices will close in its new proposals. The 2022 proposal to close Cartsdyke, Clydebank and Woodhall ticket offices has since been withdrawn. Figures published by ScotRail showed that 43% of its tickets are now bought online, compared with 5% ten years ago. Station sales…

1 min.

GBRf names Class 66 after former RAIL editor

Network GB Railfreight named a Class 66 after former RAIL editor Nigel Harris at King’s Cross station on November 4. He was invited by GBRf CEO John Smith to unveil his name on the side of 66312 - one of the latest batch of 16 locomotives recently imported from Europe and converted for use by GBRf in the UK. Smith highlighted Nigel’s contribution to the rail industry in his near three decades editing the magazine, from 1995 to 2023. “I always associated locomotive naming with racehorses or regiments, not myself,” said Harris. He said he was “pleased it was a freight locomotive” being named after him, and that it “would be strange when he sees it on the network, bearing my name”. In attendance were former RAIL colleagues, as well…

1 min.

Eastern Region improvement plan

Network Rail’s Eastern Region has been ordered by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to develop an improvement plan, following a significant rise in delays. Over the past two years, delays have increased from 2.4 million to 3.3 million minutes annually. This decline in punctuality and reliability is expected to worsen unless corrective measures are implemented. While the Anglia route remains relatively stable, the East Coast Main Line and East Midlands routes have experienced notable disruptions. Additionally, London Overground and freight services on the North London/Mildmay line have seen a sharp decline in performance. ORR Director of Strategy, Policy and Reform Stephanie Tobyn said: “We have seen a trend of rising delays in parts of the Eastern Region in recent months, with passengers and freight users not seeing the…

1 min.

Direct Amsterdam trains to resume

Direct Eurostar services from Amsterdam to London will resume next year, once renovations at the Dutch capital’s Centraal station are completed. Through trains from St Pancras were suspended from June 15, when remodelling of the departure terminal in Amsterdam meant there was no space for passengers on London-bound trains to undergo pre-boarding Channel Tunnel and UK border checks. Since then, passengers heading from the Netherlands have had to disembark at Brussels Midi for additional checks, before joining a later train. Services heading east to Amsterdam have not been affected. Direct trains from Centraal to St Pancras will resume on February 10 2025. They will be able to carry 440 passengers, with this number set to rise throughout 2025 to reach 650 seats. The departure lounge in Amsterdam will also be…

3 min.

Northern’s union agreement set to ease Sunday shortages

A new rest day working agreement involving Northern train drivers has been agreed, after the operator’s senior managers were questioned by politicians about its “unacceptable” level of service. Northern’s Managing Director Tricia Williams and Chief Operating Officer Matt Rice were called to appear before members of the Rail North Committee on October 30, to answer questions about a series of ‘do not travel’ notices issued on Sundays in the North West. Williams admitted crews do not have to work that day, prompting committee chairman Andy Burnham (Greater Manchester Mayor) to write to the government to request a rest day working agreement for drivers and for a plan for Sundays to be included in conductors’ working week. An agreement with drivers’ union ASLEF was reached the day after the meeting. As…

1 min.

Trainline adds Railcard restrictions warning in the wake of prosecutions

Trainline has changed the way it displays railcard restrictions, after a series of prosecutions of passengers who were using them incorrectly. The online ticket seller now displays warning messages if a railcard is invalid. These appear above the details of a train for which a customer is trying to purchase a ticket. They also appear on its iOS and Android apps, as well as its website. The move comes after Northern repealed hundreds of criminal convictions after it was found to be privately prosecuting hundreds of young adults for ticket disparities, some of which were less than £4 (RAIL 1021). Discounted tickets such as Anytime or Off-Peak must cost at least £12 for a 16-25 or 26-30 railcard to be valid between 0400 and 1000 on weekdays, but that was…

4 min.

Emergency stop buttons added to MPVs after collision

NEW emergency stop buttons have been fitted to Network Rail multi-purpose vehicles on HS1, as part of the response to a collision that left a driver off work for four months. The driver was injured in a low-speed collision involving on-track machines, during an engineering possession on the high-speed line between Singlewell loops and Medway Viaduct (near Strood), at around 0415 on November 16 2023. A driver (driver 1), who was coupling an MPV (MPV1) to a tamper, was injured when a second MPV (MPV2) collided with the vehicles at around 12mph. A Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report said MPV2 was supposed to stop between 50 and 100 metres from the stationary tamper, where the machine controller would hand over control to the drivers. MPV2 was travelling in reverse,…

2 min.

GA car park row goes to High Court

A row over a station car park, which includes a retaining wall that has been likened to the Berlin Wall, is set to be heard in the High Court in what has been described as a national test case about building projects in rural areas. Dedham Vale Society (DVS) in Essex is contesting the Planning Inspectorate’s decision to not allow Tendring District Council to take enforcement action against Greater Anglia over the car park extension at Manningtree station. Completed in 2020, 236 spaces were added, along with a steel retaining wall and high-intensity lights. GA said it had been able to “rely on permitted development rights” to build the extension without going through the planning process. The car park backs onto the St Edmund Way pilgrimage footpath in the Dedham…

1 min.

Foundation work under way on HS2 bridge

Foundation work has begun on a new bridge that will take HS2 under a dual carriageway in Staffordshire. Engineers have started work underneath the A38 at Streethay, on the outskirts of Lichfield, to create the foundations (which will be between 20 and 27 metres deep) of the Rykneld Street bridge. Some 88 piles will be sunk to support the weight of the structure which will eventually carry the road. A temporary 320-metre stretch of the A38 has been built while the work is carried out. The bridge deck is due to be installed in late 2025, after which the road will be moved back to its original position with space for HS2 trains to eventually pass underneath as they travel between Birmingham Curzon Street and the West Coast Main Line…

1 min.

Line closure for electrification

A stretch of a Glasgow suburban line will close for 16 weeks next year as part of a £140 million electrification project. Engineers are electrifying the line from East Kilbride to Glasgow, with work due to be completed in December 2025. From January 25 until May 18, trains will not run between East Killbride and Thornliebank, while work is carried out to the track, bridges and overhead line equipment (OLE). Some 22km (13.6 miles) of overhead power cables will also be installed, while the double track between East Kilbride and Hairmyres will be lengthened. Track will also be lowered near Busby, Clarkston and Giffnock stations, to enable OLE to fit under bridges.…

1 min.

1960s track to be replaced in Essex

Rails in Essex that date back to the late 1960s are to be replaced. Some 3,800 metres of track, first installed in 1967 and 1968, is being removed from c2c routes over a number of weekends across November and December. Network Rail has described the track as “worn out”, and said replacing it is necessary “to minimise the chance of defects”. At the same time, NR will fix faulty drainage pipes alongside platforms at Chalkwell station and carry out maintenance work to overhead lines and level crossings. c2c trains will only serve London Fenchurch Street while works take place, and not call at Stratford, although they will stop at West Ham.…

6 min.

Electric Class 807s: the final piece of the Avanti jigsaw

IN an incredibly low-key ‘launch’, Avanti West Coast put the first of its ten new Class 807 electric multiple units (EMUs) into traffic on October 26, when 807003 set off on the 0721 Birmingham New Street-Euston. The new Hitachi AT 300s are the same train as the Class 800, ‘801’, ‘802’, and ‘803’ designs that have been in use with Great Western Railway, LNER, TransPennine Express, Hull Trains and Lumo since 2017. The 13 five-car Class 805s and ten seven-car ‘807s’ represent a £350 million investment by the Treniltalia/FirstGroup business that is operating on the West Coast Main Line. The Class 805s are bi-mode units, which allows Avanti to serve Holyhead with a train that can run under the wires to Crewe and on diesel power west of the Cheshire…

3 min.

CFPS engineer resigns - and society turns down offers

THE Class 40 Preservation Society has had to temporarily suspend main line running, owing to issues with D345 and the resignation of its chief engineer. It also says it has rejected two offers to buy one of its locomotives. An issue with the main generator on D345 led to it being pulled from two charter trains on October 19 and November 30. The first train was cancelled, but Pathfinder Railtours has kept the second train in its programme, which will now be worked by two West Coast Railways Class 37s. Speaking of his resignation, Alex Williams said: “Following work this week on D345 at Carnforth, an internal fault was found by independent engineers using a borescope on the generator on D345. “A field coil was in contact at one edge…

1 min.

Class 68s used for RHTT cover

Two of the Class 68s relinquished by TransPennine Express have been reactivated for use by Direct Rail Services, for short-term Railhead Treatment Train cover. Unnamed and unbranded 68024/025 were working off Carlisle in late October. On October 28, another of the ex-TPE locomotives (68023) was used to move Mk 5 coaches set TP07 from store at Long Marston to Longsight. There is still no news on possible use for the Mk 5s and the ‘68s’ that were retired by TPE nearly a year ago.…

1 min.

Crewe InterCity charity shoot raises more than £5,000

Locomotive Services Limited lined up six locomotives of five different types, all in InterCity colours, for a charity photo shoot at its Crewe depot on October 25 to commemorate 50 years of West Coast Main Line electrification. Taking part were 47828, 86101 Sir William A Stanier FRS, 87002 Royal Sovereign, 89001, 90001 Royal Scot, and 90002 Wolf of Badenoch. The northern section of the WCML was energised from May 1974, allowing electric traction to work throughout from Euston to Glasgow Central without the need to change to diesel power at Crewe. That resulted in a fleet of 50 Class 50 diesels progressively being transferred away from Crewe to the Western Region, while a fleet of 35 new Class 87 25kV AC locomotives were introduced from 1973 to supplement the fleet…

1 min.

News In Brief

‘701’ on Windsor turn Another Bombardier Arterio unit (701031) entered traffic on October 27, as South Western Railway introduces more Class 701s on the Windsor route. They have also started to appear on passenger trains on the Shepperton line. New graphics East Midlands Railway 170501 now sports Pride graphics on its EMR purple livery, while LNER Azuma 801204 has Our Planet graphics on its driving cars. ‘321’ heads for scrap Another of the former Greater Anglia Renatus Class 321s has been moved for scrap, with 321324 heading to Sims Metals on October 21.…

2 min.

Battery-electric ‘08e’ shunter passes quarry test

A prototype battery-electric ‘08e’ shunter has successfully completed two weeks of trials at a quarry. The plug-in shunter, designed to meet modern environmental, safety and noise pollution standards that a regular Class 08 cannot do, was taken to Whatley Quarry in Somerset, where it was operated by Mendip Rail. During the trials, 08308 managed to push and pull trains of more than 1,000 tonnes from the bottom of the yard to the stone loading area - a journey that involved reverse curves, crossovers and steep gradients. Positive Traction, the company behind the ‘08e’, said the trial allowed engineers to gather data regarding battery life, revised uprated tractive effort, hill start capability, and fast charging through regenerative braking. The results of these were all said to be “more than satisfactory”. “The…

5 min.

Regional News

Network Contributions for by far the UK’s most published column by the same author - now in its 43rd year - are most welcome from all sources. Personal observations, society magazines, website printouts and live links, transport group newsletters and media cuttings (with dates, please) are sought to maintain topicality. Please email your contributions direct to hj@howardjohnston.co.uk, or rail@bauermedia.co.uk EASTERN Bradford: The city council has given its views on the proposed route of the West Yorkshire tram system. It wants to see it adopt the former railway corridor to the north of Holme Wood, through the Parry Lane Enterprise Zone, and along Bowling Back Lane to Wakefield Road to the city centre. It would also serve Forster Square and Interchange stations, and be adapted to take in the new £2…

1 min.

New hourly ‘Enterprise’ service after Grand Central opening

A new hourly service between Dublin and Belfast has been introduced, following the opening of the £340 million Belfast Grand Central station, Starting on October 29, it marks an important milestone in transforming cross-border rail services between Dublin and Belfast. It is jointly operated by Translink and Iarnród Éireann (IÉ). The station’s opening on October 13 enabled the resumption of services between Belfast and Lisburn, which had been replaced by road transport since July 3 while commissioning works were completed for the new station and its signalling system. This included the installation of 4.8km (three miles) of track, 19 sets of points, 25 signals, and 50km (31 miles) of cables, as well as 1,800 metres of drainage, 5,000 concrete sleepers, and 1,220 timber sleepers, all carried out by contractor Babcock.…

7 min.

Over-budget and out of control? HS2 is no different…

WHEN it comes to major national issues, consensus among political parties is not as rare as one might think. On running our railways, there is actually similarity in the thinking of the Labour movement and its Conservative opposition, and both seem destined to move closer as we move through the decade. There is already agreement that wholesale expansion of the network to ‘reverse Beeching’ has always been a non-starter. Labour’s immediate cancellation of the Restoring Your Railway scheme was expected, as it was famously underfunded when the previous government launched it some five years ago. For its part, the Conservatives also ditched the northern and Midlands legs of HS2, and Labour has made it clear that it has no intention of reversing that decision. It has also fully signed up…

12 min.

GA ‘FLIRTS’ with fleet excellence

Even by the standards of the mid-2010s franchise deals, Abellio Greater Anglia’s £1.6 billion plan to replace its entire fleet was bold and ambitious. Hundreds of ex-BR electric multiple units (EMUs), locomotive-hauled trains, a mixed bag of diesel multiple units (DMUs) for rural lines, and even the relatively recent Siemens Class 360s and Bombardier Class 379s would be swept away by a tidal wave of new trains ordered from Bombardier and Stadler. When it won the Anglia franchise in August 2016, Netherlands Railways subsidiary Abellio committed to having its entire new fleet in service by 2020, allowing the older trains to be retired or cascaded elsewhere. They would be supported by new and upgraded depots, improved stations and a range of passenger-focused initiatives to improve the reliability and punctuality of…

10 min.

Wales and Western’s route to reliability

Mikey Worral is very, very frustrated. Like many passengers who use the Elizabeth line in the west of London, his regular commute is plagued with cancellations and delays. “I just didn’t even bother trying to get to the office. It’s become such a source of anxiety that I just end up changing my plans rather than enduring the hell of the going-nowhere sardine tin,” he tells RAIL. Worral was one of those passengers who was stranded on the Elizabeth line on December 7 last year. Passengers were stuck on trains for hours after damage to overhead power lines (RAIL 999). The Great Western Main Line had no power, no communication, and hundreds of passengers had to be walked along the tracks to reach stations. It was a very bad day…

1 min.

Modern Images

If you do, please send it to railphotos@bauermedia.co.uk…

10 min.

Taking care of recruitment difficulties

The recovery of the rail industry after the COVID pandemic has been well-documented. But one area that has caused concern behind the scenes is recruitment. Hidden from the view of passengers behind depot walls is the world of train maintenance and engineering, and this is not immune from the recruitment crisis facing the entire UK rail industry. A recent national newspaper report suggests that the new Labour government is looking to recruit 100,000 people into the rail industry. And the level of the recruitment problem in technical roles has forced one maintenance company to take drastic action. Arriva TrainCare (ATC) maintains, fuels and overhauls trains at six sites across the UK- Crewe, Bristol, Eastleigh, Cambridge, Gateshead and Scarborough. The company has carried out projects for various rolling stock companies and…

7 min.

Budget lets down transport - and railways in particular

THIS was not a good budget for transport. There were some positive aspects, such as the confirmation of some long-announced railway schemes, and there was £100 million for active travel. And while the motoring lobby may feel they have chalked up a victory by stopping the fuel duty rise (or rather preventing the Conservative cut in fuel duty from being scrapped), even they have lost a number of key road schemes - for which, frankly, good riddance. None of this could do anything more than cover up the fact that the whole approach was deeply disappointing. Many railway projects remain in limbo - as pointed out by Railway Industry Association Chief Executive Darren Caplan, given that it is five years since we were promised a schedule for rail enhancement projects,…

20 min.

Much to admire… but pockets of neglect

Having spent the first two days of my Rover crossing England’s North, it’s time to venture further afield. I won’t be returning home again until the trip was over. I have a propensity for leaving suitcases behind, so this time everything is packed into or onto my camera bag. Day 3 My odyssey begins at Halifax, where I catch the 0850 to Huddersfield, a Grade 1 Listed station that’s undergoing a transformation as part of the Transpennine Route upgrade (TRU). The roof is slowly disappearing behind scaffolding, while the old wooden cafe and waiting room on the island platform has been taken apart piece by piece for re-erection later. When the work’s finished, the bay platforms that currently only hold two- or three-car trains will have been swept away by…

7 min.

Rest day agreements to get Northern back on track

WHAT to do with Northern? Government nationalised it in 2020 because of poor performance. Almost five years on, the operator is under fire from local politicians for… poor performance. The latest crisis came to a head on October 30, when Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham chaired a meeting of the Rail North Committee (part of Transport for the North). Just that morning, Burnham said Northern had cancelled 155 trains. And he was speaking a little after 0830, so there hadn’t been much morning. Northern Managing Director Tricia Williams explained that the company had no rest day working agreement with drivers in the ASLEF union. This makes it hard for the company to cover short-notice absences. She also said it had no agreement with conductors west of the Pennines to work…

10 min.

Rail devolution: sidelined, delayed or arriving soon?

Talk about a fresh start. It was the first official meeting after the General Election between new Transport Secretary Louise Haigh and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. And there, in front of London’s media, they hugged each other in the street. If ever there was a sign that relations are perhaps going to be different, then that was surely it. In that moment, the acrimony and vitriol between Central Government and the London Mayor was swept aside. Previous to the new Labour administration, relations had been strained. Constant sniping and arguments over funding had soured the relationship. The Transport Secretary introduced herself to the media: “Hi, I’m Louise.” She was then accompanied on a bus with the Mayor, and given a tour of a south London bus garage. The…

11 min.

Rail’s role in Labour’s “devolution revolution”

Metro Mayors, Combined Authorities, devolution deals and devolved powers! The new Labour administration has aspirations to move more power into the regions. While the Conservative government advanced devolution with the creation of Metro Mayors and new Combined Authorities, following the July election things have certainly moved up a gear. Just days after his landslide victory, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hosted a gathering of the Metro Mayors. A theme of that Downing Street meeting was a greater level of devolution. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham described it as “businesslike”, with mayors keen to show they are ready to deliver. Days later, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner pledged to kick-start a new “devolution revolution” to transfer power out of Westminster and into the hands of “local people”. In her first letter…

3 min.

Alex Robertson Opinion Engage the passengers in railway decision-making

The King’s Speech brings the creation of Great British Railways (GBR) one step closer. There is much to be welcomed about GBR - a body that will co-ordinate infrastructure and service delivery, align industry incentives, and provide a ‘guiding mind’ function that facilitates a more efficient and reliable railway. All highly desirable things. GBR Transition Team leader (and Network Rail Chief Executive) Andrew Haines has also repeatedly acknowledged that rail reform cannot just be about changing organisational structures. It is also about cultural change - the culture of GBR will need to be different to Network Rail. From Transport Focus’s perspective, the key to this will be to ensure that the customer is at the heart of GBR and its decisions. This starts with a good understanding of what passengers…

4 min.

Anthony Smith Opinion Ticket offices and value in staff redeployment

Cost pressures are bearing down on the rail industry. Revenue is rising, but not fast enough to cover the £2 billion gap between operating subsidy and income. How can the government move forward? Workforce reform is painful. Other savings are elusive. Could the answer come from the private sector? The shift to digital ticketing - driven by third party retailers and embraced by the travelling public - provides a wealth of opportunity. Working in partnership with the rest of the rail industry, Britain’s independent retailers are ready to boost growth through competition, innovation and private investment. But how can we ensure that no one gets left behind as self-service becomes the norm? Transport for Wales has trialled the Payzone concept as an alternative to the traditional ticket office - could…

9 min.

Open Access

2 WAYS TO SEND RAIL YOUR VIEWS & OPINIONS WRITE TO US: RAIL, Bauer Media, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough Business Park, Peterborough PE2 6EA. EMAIL US: rail@bauermedia.co.uk TICKETING AND CUSTOMER SERVICE A full-price ticket… despite a rail replacement coach Leisure travel does seem to be the future for the railway, and a recent weekend trip from Newark to Edinburgh gave us a chance to try it for real, so we splashed out and went First Class with a very enjoyable trip north. The LNER crew were very helpful and attentive (although the limit of one food item, no matter the length of the journey, seems poorly thought-out). The Azuma seats in First Class are reasonably comfortable (unlike the dire Standard Class), and it was interesting to note that all headrests had…

5 min.

East West Rail boost

Opinion Industry Insider THE East West Rail plan to restore services between Oxford and Cambridge received approval in the Budget announced on October 30. This followed a significant landmark with the start of trial operations between Oxford and Milton Keynes using new infrastructure between Bicester and Bletchley, where the full line speed of 100mph was recorded (RAIL 1021). Through services were withdrawn in 1968. But elements of the route were retained, with a passenger service between Bedford and Bletchley which has continued to the current day, although the line from Bedford to Cambridge via Sandy was closed to all traffic. A passenger timetable was also retained between Bicester and Oxford until 1967. A number of freight flows continued to use part of the route, including stone trains from Whatley to Wolverton.…

3 min.

Crossword Competition

WELCOME to the RAIL Crossword. In this issue, two successful solvers will be able to learn all about The Big Four, courtesy of the History Press (www.thehistorypress.co.uk). GWR, LMS, LNER and SR: these initials revive memories of the Cornish Riviera Express, the streamlined Coronation Scot, the streamlined Coronation with its ‘Beaver Tail’, and the Southern Electrics. Yet three of these companies only enjoyed a life of 25 years. Colin G. Maggs, one of the country’s leading railway historians, tells the story of how these Big Four companies came into being and their enormous success following the rundown of the railways during the First World War. The remarkable (if surprisingly brief) era of the Big Four saw great changes and achievements, including streamlining, speed records, electrification, diesel power, railway-owned buses and…

2 min.

Stop & Examine

Send contributions to: mike.wright@bauermedia.co.uk Is this a way to combat the scourge of graffiti on the nation’s railway network? At Fitzwilliam station, new artwork which celebrates the history and heritage of the West Yorkshire village has been unveiled. A Bridge Through Time features paintings of picturesque countryside and silhouette figures taking part in activities which have been an important part of local life, such as farming, mining, sports and music. The Friends of Fitzwilliam Station, which ran the project, said artwork is being used to improve the station and deter vandalism and anti-social behaviour. Edgelands Arts created the impressive display for the footbridge, with the help of Fitzwilliam Primary School and King’s Meadows Academy. “We were keen to get the children involved in this project and create something the community…

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RAIL Issue 1022 (Digital)

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