Table of contents for Issue 993 in RAIL

@RAIL @holdmch IT’S rare for a single railway issue to dominate political discourse in the way that HS2 has done recently. But HS2 is well on its way to becoming a defining decision of Rishi Sunak’s prime ministership. The issues have been well ventilated in the national media these past few weeks. Essentially, a big political decision looms: should the nation continue with HS2 to Crewe and Manchester as currently designed, and complete the southern end to Euston, or should the project be killed once Old Oak Common to Curzon Street is complete? The true anticipated cost of HS2 is not yet in the public domain, but we can be sure that behind the scenes, officials and ministers are closely scrutinising the latest estimates. From publicly available information, we know…

The new XC contract will bring further timetable enhancements (building on those made in May), and from December 2024 a new daily direct Cardiff-Yorkshire-Edinburgh train. XC also plans to restore hourly services from the Midlands to Stansted Airport (cut during COVID) and is to look at opportunities for regional routes operated by Class 170 diesel multiple units (DMUs). Taking on seven of 18 former Avanti West Coast five-car Class 221 Super Voyagers (to be released by the delivery of 13 bi-mode five-car Hitachi Class 805s) will fill the gap left by the withdrawal of the last of its five seven-coach HSTs on XC. Under the new contract, the existing 58 Class 220/221 Voyagers and 29 Class 170 Turbostar DMUs will undergo a full refurbishment- their first for 20 years. “This…

A new Bee Network app that puts real-time bus, tram and train travel information at customers’ fingertips for the first time, and which allows them to buy combined bus and tram tickets that are 20% cheaper, has gone live in Manchester. It comes ahead of the launch of Greater Manchester’s first locally controlled bus services in nearly 40 years, with the start of London-style bus franchising in parts of the city on September 24. The Bee Network is Greater Manchester’s plan for an integrated, ‘London-style’ transport network, with aspirations including local rail services. Bus franchising will be completed across the city by January 2025, enabling full ‘tap and go’ integrated ticketing across Metrolink trams and buses. “We are also working with the rail industry to begin bringing tap-and-go payment to…

TransPennine Express has confirmed Chris Jackson as its new Managing Director from September 14. He has been in the post since the end of May (replacing Matthew Golton), when the franchise was placed under direct government control. In his first 100 days, Jackson has been rebuilding relationships with trade unions over a return to rest day work, reducing cancellation levels, and fully restoring the Sunday timetable. He hopes to have his TPE reliability and punctuality plan in place for the start of the new timetable in December. Recruited by Railtrack as a graduate, Jackson has 22 years’ experience across the infrastructure, freight and passenger sectors. Previous senior positions include Regional Director at Northern, and Blackpool Transport Services board member.…

Angie Doll will step up to become the new CEO of Govia Thameslink Railway at the end of November. Currently chief operating officer at the UK’s biggest passenger rail operator, she will take over from Patrick Verwer. Doll has helped manage Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express services since October 2021. Prior to that, she was MD of Southern and Gatwick Express, having joined the railway industry in 1999 as station manager in Brighton. Her achievements include leading the UK’s first domestic high-speed train services at Southeastern and introducing Gatwick Express’s new Class 387 fleet. Verwer moves after five years to the Go-Ahead Group as Rail CEO. Much of his work will be overseas, including in Germany and Norway.…

The Railway Family Prize Draw has launched ‘The Mini’. Tickets are priced at just £4, with prizes including a chance to win a trip for two to the top of the Forth Rail Bridge, courtesy of Scotland’s Railway, or a cab ride with Freightliner. The closing date is October 6. Or perhaps you fancy your chances in an auction? The Railway Family Fundraiser has just two items being auctioned for this year: ■ Behind the Scenes tour for four people at Alstom’s Derby facility, including time on the test track. ■ Own a piece of Railway history, with the headboard used by award-winning Varamis Rail on its very first journey. To enter ‘The Mini’, the auctions, or to find out how every penny raised will change lives, visit: www.railwayfamily. co.uk.…

TRAIN operators and ticket retailers need to provide “improved clarity” for passengers regarding their rights when there are changes to trains for which they have booked advance purchase tickets, says the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). In a letter to operators, ORR says they should “build on the good progress of automatic notifications” and “consider their ticket flexibility policies when trains are cancelled, as a way to give greater choice for passengers and ease congestion”. The regulator says it would like all ticket retailers to “secure the right outcomes” for passengers, and that it expects any necessary changes - whether to the National Rail Conditions of Travel, retail systems, or individual train operator policies - to be “progressed at pace”. It added that it is “pleased that since it…

Network Rail has awarded the £124 million main contract to construct Chelmsford’s new station at Beaulieu Park to J Murphy & Sons. It follows agreement with Essex County and Chelmsford City Councils, and forms part of a wider local regeneration scheme. There will be three platforms, with an additional track so that Greater Anglia’s Liverpool Street-Norwich services are not affected by local trains. Other facilities at the station include step-free access via two lifts, footpaths and cycle routes (with 500 bike spaces), and parking for over 700 cars. Beaulieu Park is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025.…

Part of the case for HS2 is that it will transfer passengers from road and air to rail, while increasing rail freight capacity on the existing West Coast Main Line, which is ‘full’. In a short speech, Rishi Sunak announced a major U-turn on the Government’s climate commitments, as he promised to put his party on a more radical path in an attempt to close the gap with Labour before the next General Election. In one of his biggest policy changes since taking office, Sunak confirmed new voter-friendly measures, including that the UK would push back the ban on selling new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035, axe deadlines to phase out gas boilers, and scrap proposed new taxes to discourage flying, all while retaining the commitment to…

A six-month trial with no peak rail fares starts in Scotland on October 2. In a UK ‘first’, customers can travel at any time of the day on off-peak tickets. ScotRail, which is owned by the Scottish Government, said the aim is to make public transport more accessible and affordable, encouraging people to travel by train instead of getting in their cars. Fares between Edinburgh and Glasgow during peak times drop from £28.90 to £14.90. Savings for rush-hour commuters will range from 20% to 48%. Across Scotland, passengers will have a straight choice between one fully flexible, buy-anytime ticket and a cheaper Advance option. ScotRail has reported a 30% drop in rail commuting due to lifestyle changes since the pandemic. But leisure numbers have largely recovered, especially at weekends. In…

GTR customer role Govia Thameslink Railway has appointed Mark Pavlides to the new role of Chief Customer Officer. He has previously worked for British Airways, Asia Pacific and William Hill, and his role includes making the operator’s digital services more customer-friendly. Sign language trials Northern is seeking help from charities and experts to help it launch a sign language trial on services between Manchester Victoria and Leeds. It will help deaf people interpret information such as station announcements. 100th SWR adoption Staines, adjudged Medium Station of the Year at the 2023 National Rail Awards, has become the 100th station on the South Western Railway network to be adopted by volunteers. The first was Christchurch in 2007. Rail Europe chairman Global ticketing company Rail Europe has appointed former Trainline International President…

Rail users still face uncertainty over plans to reduce ticket office opening hours in Scotland. While Scotland is unaffected by the DfT-backed plan to close 974 ticket offices in England, in early 2022 Abellio ScotRail proposed closure of three ticket offices. After intense campaigning, the plan was dropped. ScotRail is now operated under the direct control of the Scottish government. However, the TSSA union has expressed concerns that plans to reduce opening times are still on the table. It says that the proposed changes, currently awaiting ministerial approval, would remove staff from offices across 127 stations at off-peak times, which the TSSA says would result in ticket offices closing for most of the day. Responding to confirmation by Scottish Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop that all ScotRail ticket offices in Scotland…

AN all-party group of MPs is trying to find ways of keeping the railways open on strike days. The House of Commons Transport Select Committee has come up with nine questions for the Department for Transport to answer on how it can get new counter-strike legislation (which became law earlier this year) to actually work, to ensure a minimum level of service. The DfT has yet to announce how the regulations will work in practice. In advance of this, the committee says the minimum service level on strike days should be at least as good as that provided on previous strike days, and must also be flexible. It also says that higher pay and training should be given to those taking on greater responsibility when they are expected to work…

The RMT union is calling its London Underground station staff members out on strike on Wednesday and Friday October 4 and 6, over job losses and safety concerns. It will close most of the network, as stations that are designated ‘underground’ have statutory minimum staffing levels. The union has been locked in a long-running dispute since last year over 600 station staff cuts and “detrimental” working conditions. Safety concerns raised include fewer staff facing higher workloads, more lone working, and increased fatigue. The RMT says the planned job losses will “affect every aspect of the Tube, including stations and maintenance, leading to the likelihood of more unstaffed stations and a lowering of safety standards”. General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “Station staff have had enough of having their livelihoods threatened by…

THE long-awaited West Midlands Metro extension to Wolverhampton railway station has opened to passengers. The new route was originally planned to open in 2020, and then again ahead of last summer’s Birmingham Commonwealth Games. The first passenger tram finally ran on the route on Sunday September 17. The £50 million extension, which is less than half a mile long, has trams start at Wolverhampton station, then run along the station approach road and stop at the city’s modern bus interchange in Pipers Row, before joining the tram network close to the current terminus at Wolverhampton St Georges. “Extending the Metro to the very front door of our new railway station is part of ensuring our award-winning Interchange project delivers the very best gateway to our city for all modes of…

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Nigel and Barry have earned the gratitude of the industry and RAIL readers As an ordinary reader of RAIL, I just wanted to convey my personal thanks for years of such an enjoyable read under Nigel’s watch. I distinctly remember the culture you built up after taking over at the helm in 1995, not least the way you portrayed yourself and your team at the time. The highlight of every new issue of RAIL was learning various aspects about you and your team, from the team’s favourite songs and albums to celebration trips to the cinema to watch The Full Monty. It felt like we were getting to know you as human beings without even meeting, and those days of the team being made up of the likes of Mel…

“SIGNIFICANT improvements for passengers in reliability, punctuality and customer satisfaction” underpin the Department for Transport decision to award a three-year National Rail Contract to Avanti West Coast. It has an optional extension to nine years. In its September 19 statement, the DfT also announced a four-year National Rail Contract (NRC) for CrossCountry, with an optional extension up to eight years. Both NRCs start on Sunday October 15. Post-COVID, the operators had short-term contract extensions. Acknowledging that there “are still challenges ahead”, AWC Managing Director Andy Mellors said the deal “provides stability for customers and colleagues as we continue to rebuild trust and confidence”. In a cautious welcome from watchdog Transport Focus, Director David Sidebottom said: “After previous poor performance… AWC must continue to focus on improving reliability to regain passenger…

POOR project management by TIE (Transport Initiatives Edinburgh) lies at the heart of the delays in building and opening Edinburgh’s tram network, according to a 961-page report produced by retired judge Lord Hardie. City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) had expected its subsidiary, TIE, to have the first line from Edinburgh Airport to Newhaven open in summer 2011 for £545 million. The first trams eventually ran in May 2014 from the airport to York Place, in the city centre, for a cost reported as £776m. Funding came principally from Scottish ministers with a £500m grant, but the council had to subsequently borrow £246.5m to complete the project. Hardie’s inquiry found that £776m underestimated the cost, and that when missing elements such as items budgeted elsewhere and a large compensation claim from…

The mothballed Atkins brand name has returned to the railway business, with the rebranding of the SNC-Lavalin Group of companies as AtkinsRéalis with effect from September 13. With its world headquarters in Montreal and a large office in Derby, the professional services and project management company has gone through several identity changes over the years. WS Atkins was founded in the UK in 1938, but had a troubled time before selling out in 2017. The name Réalis is inspired by the city of Montréal and the company’s French-Canadian roots.…

Kier Group has bought the rail division and HS2 contract from the Administrators of Buckingham Group Contracting (BGC), which collapsed on September 4 (RAIL 991). The deal safeguards 180 jobs on HS2 in Buckinghamshire, Liverpool’s £80 million new Headbolt Lane station, and a £54m project building new West Midlands stations at Willenhall and Darlaston. However, 446 people will lose their jobs after the Administrators were unable to sell BGC’s remaining divisions (Building, Civil Engineering, Demolition, Major Projects, and Sport & Leisure). Kier Transportation, Group MD Joe Incutti said: “The BGC rail business had built a very strong reputation for assured delivery. “The team will strengthen our capability, and this helps to bring an end to uncertainty for clients and employees by ensuring continued delivery on existing projects, and the retention…

THE Botley Road beside Oxford station is to remain closed for a year and a half, Network Rail has announced. The road had been due to reopen in October following a summer blockade, with a further six-month closure from March 2024. But Network Rail says work is now so far behind schedule that the main route from the west into Oxford city centre, beneath the railway bridge alongside the station, will not reopen until October next year. The infrastructure owner claims “a number of unique challenges” have caused the delays. The £161 million project to upgrade the station with a new entrance and platform will eventually improve journeys and provide capacity for East West Rail, as well as for additional passenger and freight services on the main line. The work…

Rail minister Huw Merriman was on board an All-Party Parliamentary Group Heritage Rail special on the Kent & East Sussex Railway on September 15, to learn about its expansion plans. As a local MP (for Bexhill and Battle), he has not been allowed to influence the recent decision to allow the line to be extended 3.5 miles to a new western terminus at Robertsbridge (with a level crossing over the A21 road). But it was still considered useful to have him present. The group was led by Lord Faulkner of Worcester, who is also president of the Heritage Railway Association.…

London and South East passenger operators occupy the top seven places for the total number of passengers carried by 35 UK rail, metro and light rail businesses in 2022-23, according to Office of Rail and Road figures. London Underground leads the way with more than one billion journeys in the year up to the end of March, followed by Govia Thameslink Railway, and then the new Elizabeth line already hard on its heels. On UK light rail and tram systems, in 2022-23 a total of 212 million passenger journeys were recorded - an increase of 23% compared with the previous year’s 172 million, but still well down on pre-COVID levels. Seeking to put the figures into perspective, ORR looks to draw comparisons with the last ‘normal’ year - 2018-19. On…

RUMOURS continued to circulate around the cancellation of HS2’s second leg running north to Manchester, as this issue of RAIL went to press. In the absence of any announcement from ministers or the Department for Transport, there was little to counter suggestions that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was preparing to axe the leg north from Birmingham. The suggestion drew vehement criticism - including from Boris Johnson, who had axed the Leeds leg when he was prime minister. The Times reported Johnson as claiming that cutting Manchester from HS2 was “total Treasurydriven nonsense”. He is reported as saying: “We need to connect the Midlands with the North with HS2, because that is the way to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail.” Yet Johnson’s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, speaking to the BBC as Defence…

‘WILL he, won’t he?’ That’s the question being asked of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak about whether he will re-commit to completing the ‘western leg’ of HS2 to Manchester, after the Government dodged questions in Parliament about its intentions. Physical work on Phase 2b (taking HS2 from the Midlands to the North West) has yet to start, pending legislation, against a backdrop of increasing speculation that it will be paused or dropped. Concerns about the future of HS2 were partly sparked by media briefings ahead of the PM’s September 20 announcement of what he calls a “new approach to reach net zero” (see panel above) and reports on Treasury ideas for the November Budget. This prompted Labour Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh to table an urgent question in the House of…

Train operators south of the border will watch the trial with interest. They may believe that simpler fares would bring more passengers, but there is no indication that the Westminster government will follow Scotland’s lead. Peak fares, known today as ‘Anytime’ tickets, have been the standard fare for much of the railway’s history. Passengers can travel at any time on the day shown on the ticket, and they can break the journey as often as they like. For example, a passenger between Brighton and London Victoria could stop at Gatwick Airport, East Croydon and Clapham Junction. Off-peak fares are designed to persuade some travellers to avoid the busiest services, thereby reducing crowding and potentially attracting additional passengers who would otherwise not travel by train. Could the Scottish business model be…

Much greater transparency is needed on the railway’s spending plans, to “reflect the difficult trade-offs” that will need to be made in the next five years and the “long-term consequences” of those decisions. That is the conclusion from the Railway Industry Association (RIA), in its formal response to the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR’s) consultation on the draft determination of Network Rail’s Business Plans for 2024-29 (Control Period 7, CP7). RIA, which represents 350 rail suppliers, warns of the need to tackle emerging risks since the five-year plan was initially developed. It sets out how the ORR’s Draft Determination of CP7 “highlights a number of challenges facing the industry, including the need for a smooth transition of work programme into CP7 and smooth profile up to 2029”. RIA welcomed…

Two more days of strike action and an overtime ban represent the latest efforts by drivers’ union ASLEF to force the Government’s hand into making an improved pay offer, in its 16-month dispute. ASLEF members are striking on Saturday September 30 (after this issue of RAIL went to press) and Wednesday October 4, and staging overtime bans on Friday September 29 and Monday to Friday October 2-6. The overtime ban means that drivers who volunteer to work rest days will not be available, leading to cancellations. The dispute involves the 14 train operators in England (Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry Trains, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway, Greater Anglia, GTR - including Gatwick Express, LNER, Northern Trains, Southeastern, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Trains) that…

Campaigners are claiming that Northampton-Leicester rail journey times could be cut from 90 minutes to just 35 if the direct former London and North Western Railway route via Market Harborough is reinstated. A problem to be overcome is that parts of the line, which was closed to passenger services in 1960 and lifted in 1981, have been subject to redevelopment, particularly in the Harborough area. A section of line has also been taken over by the Northampton & Lamport Railway, whose base is at Pitsford & Brampton station. The English Regional Transport Association is staging public meetings to call for funding to complete a Network Rail feasibility study initiated in 2020.…

Network Contributions for by far the UK’s most published column by the same author - now in its 42nd 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 WESTERN Berkeley: The reopening of the four-mile Sharpness branch is in jeopardy following objections from Nuclear Transport Solutions and Direct Rail Services, which lease the station for transferring nuclear waste. Rowden Mill: The holiday accommodation at the former Worcester-Leominster line station is being expanded with the arrival of more coaches. The site, which was purchased from the previous owners in 2017, has 300 yards of running track. Torre: The broken station…

MAKING full use of the West Coast Main Line capacity released by shifting long-distance services onto High Speed 2 depends on the new line reaching Manchester from London Euston. That’s the over-riding message from Network Rail’s study of how best to use that released capacity. Its 340-page report makes clear that if HS2 doesn’t reach Manchester, there will be “an acute and specific difficulty for planning services into Manchester”. The bottleneck runs through Stockport (where trains remain under the control of a string of mechanical signal boxes dating back to the 1880s) and prevents train operators running more services to intermediate stations not currently served by Avanti West Coast’s inter-city trains. NR’s work doesn’t look at the implications of not running HS2 into Euston because it was written before the…

HOW did the tram line in Edinburgh end up costing nearly twice its original estimate of £500 million? That is what Lord Hardie was tasked with finding out in his thorough and lengthy inquiry. What started out as a line running all the way from Edinburgh Airport to Leith ended up being cut short and still costing £750m. Then, when the extension was belatedly built as the tram proved to be so popular, the total bill reached £1,034m (and may eventually be more). Lord Hardie certainly does not hold back in his criticism of virtually everyone involved. Even the cost of the report proved controversial. The report itself ended up costing £8.7m (suspiciously downgraded from £13m by “using public resources that were not replaced”, whatever that means), but it will…

“THIS is not about short-term popularity. It is about doing what is right for the country in the long-term.” Sharp-eyed readers will have realised that I’ve used this quotation before. It appeared in RAIL 989 in August, when I explored the origins of the Department for Transport’s plan to run High Speed 2 north from Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester. The words come from Patrick McLoughlin, when he was Transport Secretary and launched that DfT plan back in 2013. They’re worth repeating because we continue to face a situation in which ministers, particularly the Prime Minister, seem to be putting short-term popularity first. The latest chapter of HS2’s diminishment appears to be consigning Manchester’s HS2 leg to the bin, there to join Leeds in having a revolution in transport connectivity…

HIGH SPEED 2 High-speed success in China (and in many other countries) shames the UK Jim Steer considers furthering HS2, focusing (among other things) on capturing the Edinburgh/Glasgow air market, saying this journey time needs to be well below four hours (RAIL 988). Around 15 years ago, I attended a conference where Jim Steer was promoting HS2. This was not long after China had made their decision to build a high-speed line from Beijing to Shanghai… but look at what’s happened since. China has built their route, with their trains taking exactly the same time as today’s fastest London-Glasgow trains, but for over twice the distance. And it’s been up and running for over a decade already. Meanwhile, HS2 has been cut, cut, and cut again (the eastern leg, the…

Opinion Industry Insider QUARTERLY statistics for rail freight published by the Office of Rail and Road for the period between April 1 and June 30 this year reveal a slight decline in net tonne kilometres (ntk) moved, which reduced by 1% to 3.92 billion. A decline in tonnes lifted was more marked, with a reduction of 6% compared with the corresponding quarter in 2022. A factor must be a decline in the freight delivery metric reflecting cancellations and poor timekeeping, for which the moving annual average is 86%. This is a considerable deterioration since the 95.2% recorded during 2021. The Government made a pledge in July 2021 that it would set a growth target for freight, which inferred that elements it controls either directly or through the regulatory…

WELCOME to the RAIL Crossword. All the people… so many people… they all go hand-in-hand… hand-in-hand through their… trainlife. Apologies to 1990s Britpop bands and their fans for shameless paraphrasing, but things could all become a bit of a blur if you get your hands on the prize offered to successful solvers in this issue’s Crossword. That’s because we have copies of the Train Life - a Railway Simulator game (www.trainlife-thegame.com) to give away, courtesy of Nacon (www.nacongaming.com). In Train Life - a Railway Simulator (retail price £16.99), you can play as both the driver and company director. Take the controls of your locomotives and drive your passengers or goods across ten countries, exploring the countryside, towns, forests and mountains of Europe from your cab. You can drive faithfully reproduced…

Some final thoughts from the team at RAIL @RAIL Send contributions to: rail@bauermedia.co.uk Our thanks to everyone who joined in the fun and entered our Luton DART caption competition (Stop & Examine, RAIL 989). We had way too many suggestions and too little space to include everyone here, but have selected a few highlights: First up is Thomas Popham - King Charles: “Is this the PM?” Costumed performer: “No, Your Majesty, his helicopter can’t land at the airport.” Then we have James McGrath - Performer: “Are you joining the RMT picket line sir?” Charles: “I was going to make a placard, but my pen broke.” Dale Ward suggested - “Football transfer rumours: Palace in talks with new winger.” In the end, we had two favourites which we couldn’t split, because…

The West Coast Partnership (WCP) is a joint venture between FirstGroup and Trenitalia. The National Rail Contract comprises two distinct parts: Avanti West Coast (AWC), which runs the current services on the West Coast Main Line; and West Coast Partnership Development, which works with HS2 Ltd and the Department for Transport to develop and operate high-speed rail services. The NRC starts on October 15 and lasts until October 17 2032, subject to ongoing DfT approval. It begins with a core three-year term to October 18 2026. After three years, the Transport Secretary can terminate the contract at any point with three months’ notice. ■ The NRC is a management contract under which the DfT retains all revenue risk and substantially all cost risk, up to the agreed annual business plan…

ScotRail is seeking the views of the public before recasting its Edinburgh/Perth/Dundee passenger timetable in 2025, once the reopened Levenmouth line has bedded in. While Scotland’s services have been threatened with widespread cuts, as a result of changing travel patterns since COVID and the general search for economies, ScotRail says that Fife will benefit “from more frequent services and improved regional connectivity”. A six-week consultation opened on September 11, and the changes will take place after the new stations have opened. They are currently scheduled to do their first business in late spring/early summer. Feedback is sought on two interim timetables in which Levenmouth at least benefits from a direct journey time to Edinburgh of just over an hour. One of the options is to retain the existing timetable structure…

The proposed reopening to passengers of the 31-mile Ivanhoe Line from Burton-on-Trent has suffered a setback, with Network Rail claiming there is not enough capacity on sections of single track to run into Leicester. If the revival happens as hoped in 2026, trains from Burton will be terminated at the halfway point at Coalville, where sites are being investigated for a station to replace the old one that was demolished after its closure in September 1964. The whole route is still open for freight. Leicester is seen as difficult to reach because of two track bottlenecks east of Moira to Coalville,and Bagworth Junction into Leicester. While possible to do, redoubling is not seen as financially feasible until the new service proves itself. Other new stations on the Burton side are…

THE Government is facing widespread calls to make immediate decisions on train building and refurbishment, following the news that Alstom’s Derby works is threatened with closure. Recent stop-start decisions on rolling stock orders are threatening manufacturing jobs and leaving all train builders at the risk of closure, warns the Railway Industry Association (RIA), which represents the UK supply chain. It says previous orders will soon be completed, meaning UK factories will be empty and putting at risk thousands of jobs unless action is taken soon. The sector employs 30,000 people and contributes £1.8 billion to the UK economy each year. The Government is reported to be “working urgently” with Alstom to secure the jobs of its staff and suppliers in its Derby factory - the UK’s largest. In a statement,…

DEPARTING RAIL Managing Editor and Events Director Nigel Harris was the recipient of his very own Outstanding Personal Contribution award at his 24th and final National Rail Awards event on September 14. More than 1,100 guests attended the event at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel (co-hosted by TV presenter Steph McGovern), and they gave Nigel four standing ovations in tribute to his 28 years leading RAIL and transforming the magazine into a leading business publication that is widely respected throughout the industry and government (RAIL 991). Network Rail Chairman Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill CBE presented Nigel with the Outstanding Personal Contribution award - and revealed that a locomotive would be named by GB Railfreight in Nigel’s honour, at a ceremony to take place next year. Malcolm Brown, CEO of…

The Severn Valley Railway has struck a deal to train Network Rail engineering staff, in return for free maintenance of the Kidderminster-Bridgnorth line as well as redundant materials. While no money will change hands, both sides recognise the value of using each other’s expertise, technology, and facilities. The presence of old semaphore signalling and lever frame signal boxes is seen as of particular value. NR will also look at how it can use its ultrasonic testing train on the heritage line, which will help the SVR to monitor its assets and identify potential faults.…

A lack of clarity remains on what Labour would do with HS2 if elected. Labour’s National Policy Form (NPF) document, released on September 15, commits “to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail and High Speed 2 in full”. The NPF forms a ‘menu’ from which election manifesto commitments will now be drawn. “In full” is defined by Labour as HS2 Phases 1 2a/2b and HS2 East. Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Labour MP Pat McFadden, who is in charge of Keir Starmer’s election campaign, was opaque. “We want to see the railway being built,” he said, before adding: “We’ve had a lot of inflation [since 2019] so I want to see what happens in the coming months.” Asked by Kuenssberg if Labour commits to “completing HS2 in full”, Fadden…

Class 365 benefactors The Class 365 ‘Networker’ electric multiple unit preserved at the East Kent Railway, which is now part-converted into a restaurant, was not donated by Eversholt Rail (RAIL 992). It was jointly purchased by RAIL Contributing Writer Howard Johnston and railway members. Tribute to adopters South Woodham Ferrers station adopters have been honoured by Greater Anglia and the Essex & South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership for their ten years of volunteer efforts and improvements during their Sunday work visits.…

CONSERVATIVE MPs - including former Home Secretary Priti Patel - have attacked the Government over plans to close almost 1,000 ticket offices in England. Although a full Commons debate is still awaited following a petition (RAIL 992), Chris Loder MP (Conservative, West Dorset) secured a Westminster Hall debate on September 13 at which the party’s MPs lined up to make their concerns known. During the strictly time-limited 30-minute session, in which MPs could speak for no more than two minutes, half of the 32 MPs who spoke (all against the proposals) were Conservatives. “Absolutely flabbergasted” was how Patel (Conservative, Witham) described her reaction to the closure plans, which affect four stations on the Great Eastern Main Line in her constituency. “The way the consultation has been handled is suboptimal,” she…

The Railway Industry Association has welcomed the Scottish Government’s decision to support the £140 million upgrade of the East Kilbride line, on the southern edge of the Glasgow suburban system. RIA says it helps to address the key issue of a rolling programme of electrification that keeps costs down and preserves jobs, though recognising that securing funding is always a challenge. The East Kilbride announcement has come from Scottish Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop, who said the electrification and station improvements are on schedule for completion in December. The route has been closed for the upgrade work, which includes more double-tracking, a new accessible station at the East Kilbride terminus, and better facilities at Hairmyres. Greener, faster, and more comfortable electric trains are promised from the end of December 2025. RIA,…

New research has revealed that that none of the parts of the preserved Stockton & Darlington Locomotion No.1 can be proven to belong to the original 1825 George Stephenson engine. Early railway experts Dr Michael Bailey and Peter Davidson were set to make the revelation to an invited audience at Locomotion in Shildon on September 27 (as this issue of RAIL went to press). Commissioned by Locomotion’s owner the National Railway Museum, their 225-page report presents the first-ever complete account of No.1’s history at work and in preservation. The engine’s boiler barrel dates from 1827 and was originally from sister locomotive Diligence, which still makes it the world’s oldest known standard-gauge boiler in existence. The engine itself was substantially rebuilt several times. What we see now is the fourth and…

Network Rail has put out a call for the possible procurement of specialist modules for wagons, so that they can transport long points. In a prior information notice (PIN), NR says it is “soft market testing for the supply of wagon modules for railway long switches”. It wants to “assess the feasibility and availability of module supply options which can be attached to wagons to allow the delivery of long switches”. At this stage, NR says the exercise might not result in procurement and that the PIN “is for gathering information on potential solutions only”.…

Tiller’s traction talk GB Railfreight Locomotive Engineering Specialist Bob Tiller will be explaining the company’s future locomotive options at a special Zoom meeting organised by the Railway Correspondence & Travel Society on October 9, at 1930. Details at rcts.org.uk. Closures on the Tube Extended weekend closures on parts of London Underground’s Piccadilly and District lines will affect travel between October 26-29. Track is being replaced between Hammersmith and West Kensington, and a new drainage system installed. Ukraine food parcels Rail Partners raised £105,847 to buy 7,056 food parcels for Ukraine railway workers and their families, at a reception on September 12 supported by UK train operators, manufacturers and suppliers. See Seaford’s sights A new travel map at Seaford station makes it easier for visitors to explore the Sussex coastal town…