Table of contents for Issue 995 in RAIL

Comment rail@bauermedia.co.uk @RAIL STALEMATE. A phoney war. Or two sides determined to prevail come what may. However you view the industrial action afflicting English train operators, one thing is clear - their staff have received no pay rise for several years. Meanwhile, passengers are inured to the disruption that action causes. They’ve become used to rail services being unpredictable and unreliable. They’ve made other arrangements. If union leaders expected to unleash travel chaos and force employers to the negotiating table, then they have badly miscalculated. Their ‘enemy’ is absent from the battlefield. So too, in increasing numbers, are their members. One major train operator told me recently that half its staff were turning up for work on strike days. Certainly, several operators run some sort of service during strikes -…

Castleford will receive direct trains to and from York from December 2023’s timetable change, as TransPennine Express starts local services between Huddersfield and Castleford and extends them. TPE plans an initial service of four trains per day, and says it will add another two from next summer. Running from Huddersfield, the service will call at Deighton, Mirfield, Wakefield Kirkgate, Normanton, Castleford and York. Current timetables show Castleford served by Northern’s Leeds-Knottingley and Leeds-Sheffield services, with an occasional bus to Huddersfield and a Leeds-Goole train. TPE already runs via Castleford when engineering work closes the direct line between York and Leeds, while Normanton sits on its diversion between Leeds and Huddersfield. Network Rail is rebuilding a disused second platform at Castleford. It says this platform last had regular trains in the…

Contract caterers working for Rail Gourmet on TransPennine Express (TPE) trains staged a one-day strike on October 13, in a dispute over pay, and plan a 48-hour strike on November 9-10. The RMT said its members have “poorer terms and conditions and lower pay than directly-employed colleagues” at TPE. “As the company that contracts out its catering services, TPE needs to step in and pressure Rail Gourmet to deliver on our members’ demands,” said RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch. He claimed that Rail Gourmet made £1.4 million profit last year (on a £24.8m turnover), but “have refused to meet the expectations of members in terms of a pay offer”. He said: “Our members remain determined to continue their industrial campaign until they achieve justice on pay, sick pay, and are…

Proposals to close almost all ticket offices in England “go too far, too fast” towards a situation that risks excluding some passengers from the railway, says the influential House of Commons Transport Select Committee. In a three-page letter to Rail Minister Huw Merriman, Committee Chair Iain Stewart wrote: “At a minimum, changes this radical should be carefully piloted in limited areas and evaluated for their effect on all passengers before being rolled out. “This would allow for the alternative proposals, which at present are too vague, to be properly understood.” The Committee, which is holding an ongoing inquiry into the legal obligations of transport accessibility, says it wants to present its “reflections” on the ticket office closure issue “before the point at which Transport Focus and London TravelWatch give their…

A driver involved in the Salisbury train crash in October 2021 had not been warned to brake earlier, to allow for leaves on the line. And Network Rail had not effectively managed the risk of slippery rails. These were two of the findings of a Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report into the crash between two trains on October 31 2021, at a junction immediately in front of Fisherton Tunnel. Thirteen of the 197 passengers were taken to hospital. The South Western Railway driver, 74-year-old Robin Tandy, was seriously injured. The RAIB report, published almost exactly two years after the crash, found that “a probable underlying factor” was that Network Rail’s Wessex Region “did not effectively manage the risks of low adhesion” during autumn leaf fall. It had also “not…

Transport for London intends to step up its redevelopment of stations and the takeover of car parks for housing, as it attempts to finance its investment plans and balance the books in the face of repeated cuts in government support. The creation of a new financially independent property company - Places for London (PfL) - is intended to exploit its property portfolio, which includes sales and rents. Locations have been identified for 20,000 new homes to be built by 2031, and work has already started at some sites for more than 3,350 of these. Controversy has surrounded some of the schemes, which local authorities and commuters have seen as putting money-making before travel. Recently completed works are at Blackhorse View, with work starting at Wembley Park, Barkingside and Greenwich. Future…

The Scottish timetable was virtually abandoned on October 19. It took three days to restore some services. The routes affected included Glasgow/Edinburgh-Inverness via Perth, Glasgow-Perth, Perth-Dundee, Inverness-Elgin, Inverkeithing-Dundee via Kirkcaldy, Inverkeithing-Perth via Dunfermline, and Glasgow-Oban/Fort William/Mallaig. No trains ran between Aberdeen-Dundee and Aberdeen-Elgin for some time, and the Inverkeithing-Edinburgh route was also slow to recover because of pre-planned engineering works. The Far North and Kyle of Lochalsh lines were shut for the same reason.…

NATIONAL Infrastructure Commission Chairman and former Network Rail Chief Executive Sir John Armitt CBE has hit out at the Government’s decision to cancel the Birmingham-Manchester section of HS2, and warned that the UK does not currently have a future rail strategy. “Until recently, we had a long-term strategy in the Integrated Rail Plan, and we now have a collection of rail projects at various stages of maturity,” said Armitt, as the independent government body launched its second five-yearly National Infrastructure Assessment report. “What the Government needs to do now - and urgently - is work with local leaders to turn a collection of schemes into a rigorously costed portfolio of rail improvements with clear delivery timescales, designed to address the long-standing capacity and connectivity challenges facing the North and the…

A total of £564 million was spent on land purchases for the now-cancelled HS2 Phase 2, Rail Minister Huw Merriman has revealed in a Commons Written Reply to Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh. Merriman said the total cost of land purchases for HS2 is £3.38 billion, of which £2.812bn is for Phase 1 (London-Birmingham). Of the rest, Phase 2a (Birmingham-Crewe) was £208m, Phase 2b East (Birmingham-East Midlands Parkway) was £160m, and Phase 2b West (Crewe-Manchester) was £196m. “No formal estimate of the current sales value of the land has been undertaken. But any land and property that is no longer required will be sold, and a programme is being developed to do this,” said Merriman.…

Glasgow Central station has been targeted for the Railway Children charity’s first foray into Scotland, after 181 incidents were recorded in the last 12 months (a fifth of the total for the country). The launch of Safeguarding on Transport on October 23 brings together the rail industry and British Transport Police to help young people who are troubled by from family conflict, abuse, mental health issues, and exploitation by criminal gangs. The project is co-funded by Alstom and Avanti West Coast.…

Nexus has abandoned the idea of giving away its soon-to-be-redundant Tyne & Wear Metro cars to community groups because relocating them will be too expensive. Two years ago, it encouraged ideas about the future of five of its 90 two-car units, which are soon to be replaced by the £362 million Stadler Class 555s. Suggestions included turning them into classrooms or street food outlets. All but two sets will now probably go for scrap. One of the prototypes (4001) has been pledged to the Stephenson Museum on North Tyneside, and another (possibly 4020) to Beamish Museum near Stanley. Nexus Customer Services Director Huw Lewis said: “We recognise that there is affection for the trains, but the project is not viable, or good use of public money. “This is due to…

St Helens could house a strategic rail freight interchange, after Tritax Symmetry bought a 221-acre site. The site sits within Liverpool City Region’s freeport zone, east of the M6 and just south of Network Rail’s Chat Moss line near Newton-le-Willows. Previous efforts to establish a rail freight interchange have failed, but they concentrated on the site of Parkside Colliery on the opposite side of the M6. Tritax Symmetry Managing Director Andrew Dickman said: “Parkside East is a significant project and one we believe will be an exemplar in providing greener, more efficient solutions, removing freight from main line stations and in doing so alleviating pressure and freeing up passenger capacity.”…

UK operators are being asked to support a new European initiative urging nations to work towards a single ticket to cover transport journeys by rail, air, sea and road. The multi-national initiative seeks to address the climate and cost of living crises, to reduce the current domination of the motor car. It is reckoned that 80% of people avoid public transport because it is inconvenient and expensive. The EU’s Multimodal Digital Mobility Services body is critical of rail companies which it says operate unfairly to force users to buy more than one ticket. It is also concerned at the general lack of interest from airline operators.…

After failing to sell 37069/402/423 recently, Direct Rail Services has readvertised the three locomotives (along with 37218 and 37401 Mary Queen of Scots) for sale again. The operator currently has only one remaining contract which requires Class 37s - for Railhead Treatment Train (RHTT) circuits in Yorkshire. Once that ends in December, the company will have no bespoke need to retain the veteran 1960s ex-British Rail locomotives. All are then expected to be disposed of. At the time of the locomotives being advertised, 37401 was still in traffic and on standby for RHTT cover, with turns being covered by 37407 Blackpool Tower, 37419 Driver Tony Kay, 37422 Victorious, 37425 Sir Robert McAlpine/ Concrete Bob and 37716. The only other Class 37 remaining in the company’s fleet is 37424 Avro Vulcan…

GB Railfreight had to hire in 66540 Ruby from Freightliner on October 9, to work the 2045 Inverness-Euston Caledonian Sleeper train as far as Edinburgh, after 66740 Jayne failed before departure. 73968 was coupled inside the ‘66’ to provide train supply. This is the first time a Freightliner Class 66 has worked this duty for GBRf. 66540 then worked north again on October 10, on the 2115 Euston-Inverness with 73969 from Edinburgh, and then worked south that evening. The ‘66’ had been on Railhead Treatment Train duties at Inverness.…

The final 12 Class 707 electric multiple units transferred from South Western Railway to Southeastern in early October, with 707014-024/030 making the switch from Wimbledon to Slade Green Depot. The five-car units, built by Siemens in 2015 and owned by Angel Trains, were ordered by South West Trains. But when the franchise was re-let, the new operator did not want the units. The first units moved east two years ago, but the full fleet could not make the switch in one go because they were still needed on the SWR network, owing to delays in delivering Class 701 units from Bombardier. The new arrivals will be reliveried into SET dark blue livery and branded ‘CityBeam’.…

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 Brislington: Objections have been raised to proposals by the West of England Combined Authority to convert a long section of the former Bristol-Radstock line into a road or busway, to ease pressure on the main A4 road to Bath. The alignment is viewed as better suited to a rail-based transport scheme. Cirencester: Cotswold Council has approved repairs to the Grade 2 Listed former Town station, to prevent further water damage.…

“This is a profound crisis,” warns an industry leader. “I’ve not yet met anybody who thinks this is a good way to run the railway,” says another. “The best way out of the crisis is to grow the revenue. But we are not being allowed to do that,” explains the frustrated boss of a train operating company. Since COVID, the Treasury has collected all fare revenue from the railway. Spending is allocated by the Department for Transport. This means that the only place where revenue and expenditure - profit and loss - land on the same desk is at No. 10 Downing Street. Where, frankly, the Prime Minister has more pressing priorities. It is, by common consent, an unworkable nonsense that serves the interests of no one. There is no…

TRANSPENNINE Express’ recovery plan, published on October 19, sets out how it expects to recover passenger confidence and improve services. But it contains no punctuality targets. Managing Director Chris Jackson told RAIL that he was instead concentrating on cutting service cancellations to 7% (for all reasons) by the end of 2024-25. Cancellations in the last four-week period were 5.2%, he added. Defending the lack of punctuality targets, Jackson said: “We didn’t want to confuse the reader, nor did we want to set ourselves up for failure.” He explained that the company was projecting different figures depending on different scenarios, which included having rest day working in place, not having it, and having it but still seeing sporadic industrial action short of strikes. Nevertheless, Jackson said he was being held to…

Part of TPE’s recovery plan entails it cutting off-peak services from December 2024, in order to create space to train drivers. The company says that only 70% of its 579 drivers are fully trained on the routes and trains. But it predicts this figure will rise to 95% by December 2024. TPE’s recovery plan said that by then, it would be in a position to reinstate four trains every hour between Leeds and Manchester. Precise details depend on the outcome of wider work to recast the East Coast Main Line (ECML) timetable, it added. However, TPE delivers a warning with its plan, saying: “These changes are not expected to be simple to resolve to the satisfaction of all stakeholders.” This refers to the tension between using ECML capacity to run…

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak should commit to a date to complete wiring the Midland Main Line to Nottingham and Sheffield for electric trains, according to a new report from Transport for East Midlands. Noting that the first section of the line (London St Pancras to Bedford) received overhead wires in the 1980s, TfEM Chairman Sir Peter Soulsby said: “In the wake of the decision to cancel HS2, our message to the Government is simple and unequivocal - name the date for Midland Main Line electrification, sign the project off, and switch on the East Midlands rail network.” Soulsby, who is the elected mayor of Leicester, added: “We need to change Westminster’s attitude towards transport investment in the East Midlands. We receive too little, it takes too long, and the huge…

A ‘stress test’ carried out by c2c at Benfleet station to trial changes if the ticket office is closed was a failure, claims the TSSA union. It says the station’s four ticket office windows were closed, with passengers directed instead to the five ticket machines, which “resulted in chaos”. The TSSA reported: “Within four minutes the queues were unmanageable, and the ticket office was forced to reopen for customers, who were said to be unimpressed.” A vocal opponent of the closures, the union added: “c2c must tell ministers the plans to axe every ticket office in England simply will not work. “c2c has been plagued with issues in recent months, as ticket machines, Smartcards and online purchases have broken down, resulting in huge queues and rail users taking to social…

The first direct competition to Eurostar since its introduction 30 years ago is “expected to start operating in 2025” and “will be fully operational in 2026”, according to new operator Evolyn. The company says it has reached agreement with Alstom to supply 12 new Avelia trains, with an option to expand up to a “minimum of 16 according to our forecasts”. While details of the trains are not disclosed, Alstom’s Avelia platform (based on the TGV Duplex) is available in single and double-deck versions, with the latter due to enter service with SNCF in 2025. The news was confirmed when Eurotunnel owner and operator Getlink revealed in a financial update: “The attractiveness of the Channel Tunnel was reaffirmed with Evolyn’s decision to launch a new high-speed passenger train service between…

STORM Babet caused severe disruption across much of the UK rail network on October 19, leaving routes unfit for use with severe flooding, damage to buildings, and trees and debris thrown across the track. The clean-up could take several weeks. Network Rail has conducted helicopter response surveys to establish whether there is any long-term damage to embankments and structures, and a host of speed restrictions are in place. While eastern Scotland probably suffered the worst of the gales, with very few services running, there was also disruption to the East and West Coast, West of England, and Midland Main Lines. The sudden termination of trains and station shutdowns, as the winds became stronger, resulted in heavy overcrowding and passengers left stranded. In many cases, replacement buses could not be provided…

Transport for London is carrying out early market engagement to improve customer accessibility, ahead of a possible contract tender in June 2024. It forms part of TfL’s mission to ensure that all customers “experience a positive journey, including those with physical, visual, audible and neurodivergent impairments. This means seamless end to end journey completions and if a problem is encountered, these customers know how to continue their journey and/or access support.” The market engagement will enable TfL to understand what solutions exist and are ready for implementation, what technologies in other industries might be applicable, and to gauge suppliers’ interest, capabilities, and capacity to engage in a trial.…

Safety regulators served notice on Network Rail to improve the way it handles congestion at Euston station in London, following reports of minor injuries during crowding over the summer. The notice from the Office of Rail and Road calls on NR to assess the risk of overcrowding at Euston and to implement controls to reduce crowding and ease passenger flow by November 21. NR said it was “already on the case making further improvements”, saying that it had cleared shops from the concourse to make more room and fitted new destination boards inside and outside the station. ORR said that during a site visit in September, it found that NR had no recorded risk assessment to two of the station’s pinch points, that crowd control measures were inadequate, and that…

Network Rail says it will soon be ready to submit its outline business case to complete the new Sea Wall defences for the West of England main line in Devon, which have cost £165 million so far. The final section to be improved is the 1.2-mile stretch between Teignmouth and Parsons Tunnel (Holcombe). The most challenging yet, it follows three years of analysis of existing data, plus further ground investigations. A series of public events was staged last November to exhibit a range of options, from stainless steel netting and soil nailing to work at track level. The alignment would stay where it is, with the tourist beaches unaffected. Meanwhile, the completion of a new £48m rockfall shelter marks a major milestone in the programme to protect the Exeter-Newton Abbot…

DECARBONISING UK freight transport in line with the ‘1.5 degree goal’ is feasible, but it requires acceleration of investment into solutions as well as “clear leadership and action” by government. That’s the verdict of the Decarbonising UK Freight Transport programme, a government-backed network of 11 universities and 30 industry partners. Its newly published final report - Accelerating Investment for Decarbonising UK Freight Transport - is the culmination of three and a half years of work. It concludes that electrification is a “common need” across all freight modes and therefore is a “no-regrets, low-risk investment” for public and private investors. Noting that renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO - for example, hydrogen-derived fuels such as methanol and ammonia) have the greatest role in decarbonising domestic and international maritime freight, the report…

More passengers are using Transport for London services than the organisation expected when it planned its budget earlier this year. Tube use in Period 5 increased by 5% compared with the corresponding period last year, rather than TfL’s budgeted figure of 2%. TfL Rail passenger growth is currently around 7% year-on-year, having fallen back from the almost 10% annual growth recorded in the summer. Passenger growth remains strong on the Elizabeth line but is less than TfL expected in its budget. Actual growth has been 21% against a budget of 34%. Nevertheless, TfL reports that the Elizabeth line had a record 4.5 million passenger journeys in the week ending September 30, with Thursday September 28 setting a daily record of 738,000 journeys. On average, TfL says passengers make 600,000 journeys…

ALSTOM is now fitting new interiors to Avanti West Coast 390006, as it continues a refurbishment project that’s set to run to next summer - by which time all 54 Pendolino sets will be sporting new seats and technology to recognise which seats are occupied. The latest set is the fifth nine-car unit to be put through Widnes, with Alstom having completed all 35 11-car units in AWC’s fleet. The refurbishment involves stripping interiors back to almost bare metal before fitting new seats, tables (made from recycled plastic bottles), carpets, and a new shop. Each set takes ten working days, and by the eighth day Alstom aims to have it outside the three-road facility and under test before being handed back to the operator. Alstom stressed that the artificial intelligence…

Posters are being displayed across the South Western Railway network to raise public awareness of people who are thinking of going missing by catching a train. The Missing People charity is supporting tannoy announcements at major stations, to encourage people to contact the free and confidential helpline on 116000. There is a strong link between transport and the 170,000 people (almost half of them children) who go missing each year by taking one-way journeys away from home.…

Transport for Wales has ended its use of Alstom Class 175s, with the last working on October 17 when 175101/109 took the 0512 Cardiff-Holyhead as far as Chester, where they were swapped for 197105 to continue the journey. It was always TfW’s intention to retire the Angel Trains-owned Alstom units (11 two car Class 175/0 sets and 16 three-car Class 175/1s that were delivered in 1999, and entered service in 2000) when sufficient CAF Class 197 diesel multiple units were in traffic to replace them. This is despite TfW having fleets of much older ex-BR Class 150, ‘153’ and ‘158’ diesel units dating from 1985, 1987 and 1990 respectively. The Class 175s are now stored across the TfW network at Chester, Holyhead, Cardiff Canton and Swansea Landore, pending examination before…

DB Cargo has stood down another seven Class 60s, leaving it with just six of the locomotives in active traffic pools. Those recently withdrawn are 60001/017/044/066 (which move to the WQAA pool) and 60007/059/100 (which move to the WQBA pool). That leaves just 60010/015 in the WCBT pool and 60024/040/062/074 in the WCAT pool. GB Railfreight has ten Class 60s in traffic, and DC Rail has four, with the latter expecting to grow its fleet once it has had locomotives overhauled. DBC has also stood down two Class 67s, with 67016/028 moving to the WQAA pool. 67016 was the last active Class 67 still in the original EWS livery in which it was delivered back in 2000. Of the 30 Class 67s, two are now with Colas Rail, 11 are…

In a rare move undertaken by rail, West Midlands Trains 08805 Hunslet was transferred from its base at Soho depot to the Nemesis Rail site at Burtonon-Trent on October 15. The locomotive will undergo a major exam, as well as receiving a repaint. West Coast Railways 47815 Great Western was used to facilitate the move, which involved removing the Class 08’s connecting rods to enable it to run at a higher speed than the shunter’s 15mph maximum. Moves of Class 08 shunters are now almost exclusively undertaken by road hauliers, as it is usually cheaper and pathing the moves can be difficult.…

Avanti West Coast is cutting services over Christmas because it expects staff taking holidays and low numbers volunteering for overtime to leave it short of crews. Most of the cuts will fall on Manchester services, with between ten and 18 daily trains taken from weekday timetables and a Saturday service of two trains per hour. AWC said some of the services it was removing typically only carried around 140 passengers, arguing that other trains could cope with these extra numbers. In the West Midlands, it made a similar argument to chop between five and seven daily services. Trains into North Wales will also be affected, especially on Saturdays in December when AWC plans to run nothing beyond Crewe. It is pledging to run buses instead. Drivers’ union ASLEF said the…

Getting to the heart of the matter WHEN trains can’t run, the railways’ usual fall-back is to call in buses and coaches. But it’s increasingly hard to find coaches at the drop of a hat. And according to train operator Northern, there’s a shortage of coach drivers. Some of this deficit follows the shortage of lorry drivers after Britain left the European Union. That hole, according to Northern, has been filled by coach drivers tempted into lorry cabs by higher wages. In turn, Northern reports a 26% vacancy gap for coach drivers. None of which helps the railway when it’s forced to suspend operations, as Avanti West Coast was on Monday September 25 after a problem near Lockerbie closed both tracks of the West Coast Main Line. The problem reached…

A new train production plant is to be opened by Siemens next May in Goole, to produce (initially) the new trains for London Underground’s Piccadilly Line. The company is spending £200 million on building the East Yorkshire facility, along with a wider business park which it hopes will become a key part of the railway supply chain. Goole will join Newport (CAF), Derby (Alstom), and Newton Aycliffe (Hitachi), after these companies were encouraged by the Government to establish (or, in the case of Derby, maintain) plants. It is rather difficult to know what to call these plants, as only Derby does much manufacturing. The others are really nothing other than assembly facilities using components produced across the world. While Goole is obviously an investment to be welcomed, there are widespread…

LET’S ride from Manchester over the Pennines into Yorkshire. That’s the core route for TransPennine Express - and it’s one I’ve tried a couple of times over the past few weeks. Each trip exposed problems for and with TPE. In both cases, my train was a single three-car Class 185. One I caught from Manchester Oxford Road around 1700, and the other from Piccadilly around 1600. Both were ridiculously overcrowded. Large numbers of passengers boarded with me, and more were waiting at Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield and Leeds. By York, where I alighted, overall numbers were lower. But it’s clear that for tea-time trains leaving Manchester, three cars is not enough. Both trains ran late, caught in congestion. On the first, we left Manchester on time but became stuck behind a…

What sorry reading the article on rolling stock makes (RAIL 989). The overwhelming conclusion is that the Department for Transport and the Office of Rail and Road have no idea what is going on and how to proceed. And I doubt very much there is even a business plan. It is typical Government policy seen many times over, with a lack of foresight and trying to cut costs instead of looking at what is required and following it through (for example, HS2). Also, I don’t see any half-built high-speed lines in Germany. Since the article was written, we now have the TransPennine Express Mk 5 stock being cast aside when it has barely entered squadron service! It is the long-suffering passengers who have to endure this mismanagement by travelling on…

WELCOME to the RAIL Crossword. In this issue, two successful solvers can savour the delights of one of the world’s most iconic trains, courtesy of Amberley Publishing (www.amberley-books.com). Flying Scotsman in America: The 1970 tour is a fascinating collection of previously unpublished images documenting the famous train in the US, with a particular focus on the 1970 journeys. Published to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the locomotive being built, Flying Scotsman in America: The 1970 tour (paperback, 96 pages, retail price £15.99) features 180 illustrations. Describing their adventure of a lifetime are authors Richard Hinchcliffe (who was the 13-year-old son of tour manager George Hinchcliffe) and Bill Wagner (at that time a 21-year-old college student from Illinois). Now, more than 50 years later, they come together again using Wagner’s…

Some final thoughts from the team at RAIL @RAIL Send contributions to: mike.wright@bauermedia.co.uk Several readers have responded to our request for you to share your long-distance roundabout journeys with us, after Denis Jones’ marathon trip from Stafford to Glasgow, Edinburgh, London and then back to Stafford in just one day (Stop & Examine, RAIL 992). First up is Frances Coakley, who recalls: “At a loss for a holiday and birthday present (72nd), I bought a week all-line First Class Rover in September 2017, starting and finishing each day at Guildford (living only ten minutes’ walk away) and making use of the 0515 (approx) CrossCountry from Southampton to Newcastle, for connections at Reading, Wolverhampton, and so on.” Frances says her longest trip was on the Saturday: Guildford-London Waterloo-London Euston-Carlisle-Dumfries-Glasgow-Edinburgh via Carstairs-London…

TransPennine Express is keen to do a deal with conductors that would pay them 2p per scan of digital tickets. RAIL understands that TPE has put forward a business case to the Department for Transport in which the cost of paying conductors 2p per scan is dwarfed by the scale of fraud that comes from passengers claiming refunds for unscanned but used digital tickets. Rail union RMT has been in dispute with TPE over digital scanning payments for some time, in a situation made more prominent by Northern’s decision to pay conductors extra to scan tickets. Senior figures also want a deal with drivers’ union ASLEF that allows the company to use drivers more efficiently - for example, by shifting them to work not shown on daily diagrams. This work…

THE England-wide national rail dispute remains in a stalemate, with more strikes on the cards after RMT members voted to continue their industrial action. Describing the ballot outcome as a “ringing endorsement of RMT’s approach to the dispute”, RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said it means “we have industrial leverage to secure an improved offer from the Rail Delivery Group”. As this issue of RAIL went to press, new strike dates had yet to be announced. The union balloted 20,261 members in the 14 train operating companies (TOCs) controlled by the Department for Transport. Each achieved over the legal minimum of a 50% turnout required for industrial action (such as overtime bans) and over the 40% legal minimum need for strikes to be called. The mandate lasts for six months,…

Murphy has won a £93 million contract by Network Rail to build Cambridge South station. The station will have four platforms, access from both sides, and 1,000 cycle parking spaces. From 2025, it will serve a nearby biomedical campus. In association with the station’s construction, Alstom and NR’s South Rail Systems Alliance will modify the track and overhead line equipment layout by installing two loops, enhance Shepreth Branch Junction, alter signalling, and close two private level crossings.…

East West Rail is coming under the microscope of the National Audit Office, as it examines how the Department for Transport has assessed the economic and strategic case for the project. EWR is currently rebuilding the line between Bletchley and Bicester for passenger traffic, and aims to later extend services east from Bedford to Cambridge. This would give a route all the way from Oxford to Cambridge. Launching the investigation, the NAO said: “Although it is a transport project, the intended benefits are much wider than improving travel connections and journey times.” It noted that one of the significant intended benefits was the creating of new housing along the route. It said this would need different government departments to work together, and that this would be one of its lines…

State-owned Arriva is to go back to the private sector, after being sold by the German Government to Miami-headquartered infrastructure firm I Squared Capital. The €1.6 billion (£1.39bn) deal is expected to complete in 2024, subject to conditions and approvals by the German Government. Sunderland-based Arriva holds national rail contracts for CrossCountry, Chiltern Railways, and Transport for London’s operating concession for London Overground, and owns open access operator Grand Central. Alongside its UK rail businesses, the deal includes Arriva’s UK bus operations, comprising 5,900 vehicles. Of these, 1,500 are in London, contracted to TfL. The deal ends a long-running saga that has entailed German state railways Deutsche Bahn (DB) trying to offload Arriva, which it bought in 2010 for €1.6bn. In 2019, DB said it would dispose of Arriva, either…

South Western Railway is reinstating services over the Waterloo-Exeter route from December 11, after three years running a reduced timetable because of the COVID pandemic. From the start of the new timetable, in response to increasing demand, two trains per hour will run on weekdays from London as far as Salisbury, instead of terminating at Basingstoke, where passengers have had to wait 30 minutes for their onward journey to the west of England. The changes mean more services between Andover, Salisbury and London, along with direct off-peak travel between Overton, Whitchurch, Grateley, and the capital. Further west, there are more direct journeys to Yeovil Junction and Exeter St Davids. Following the increase in numbers, SWR is offering a total of ten extended services Monday to Saturday, with two from Honiton…

Network Rail has announced it is to make 269 track renewals staff redundant over the next five years, because their work is being handed over to private contractors as part of an efficiency drive. NR’s business plan for Control Period 7 (CP7, April 2024-March 2029), published in May, had warned of a lower workload for its outside engineering team. The total number currently employed is 794, but increasing numbers of vacancies are not being filled, and the final number is expected to fall below 300. While the Office of Rail and Road advised back in June that NR should increase its spend on core assets by £600 million, this money is expected to come from rephasing work programmes or shifting expenditure from less important areas. A Network Rail spokesman said:…

ALLEGATIONS of financial mismanagement by HS2 Ltd formed the centrepiece of a major investigation published by the Sunday Times on October 22. Its work suggests that senior executives in HS2 Ltd repeatedly played down reports that the company was over-spending and dismissed concerns raised by managers in the business. The story comes just a couple of weeks after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled the northern half of the project, which was set to build onwards from the West Midlands to Manchester (to open in the 2030s) and towards an East Midlands hub near Nottingham (rather than Leeds, which government cancelled back in 2021). Sunak justified his decision by saying that the project was costing too much. But his announcement met with stiff criticism - particularly around Euston, which is now…

Four chances to check the correct working of a signal following track engineering work were missed on October 26 2022, resulting in a train passing a signal at danger and a following train stopping just 75 metres short of the first. This incident took place near Wingfield, on the Midland Main Line between Derby and Chesterfield. A subsequent investigation found that wires controlling the red and yellow aspects of signal DY586 had been transposed when the signal was reconnected after the track work. This meant it displayed a red aspect when it should have displayed yellow, and yellow when it should have been red. The first train, an empty stock working (reporting number 5C23), found DY586 displaying a red aspect despite the previous signal displaying green. This train stopped 760…

The long-awaited plans for six new stations in South Wales form part of a 13-week public consultation that began on October 16. The locations, all between Cardiff and Severn Tunnel Junction, are at Cardiff East, Newport West, Somerton, Llanwern, as well as Magor and Undy. Transport for Wales has spent £2.7 million on studies since 2019. It sees them as part of a grander plan to build up business on the South Wales Main Line, to revive the stalled electrification scheme to Swansea and possibly further to Milford Haven.…

Several retail buildings have been demolished at London’s Victoria station to make way for more ticket barriers. Network Rail is spending £30 million to increase the number of gates from 88 to 125, to reduce overcrowding at the busiest times. Although national statistics have been skewed by COVID, the London terminus was the second busiest in the country in 2021-22, with 37 million entries and exits. The retail units next to Platforms 2-7 and 8-13 have gone, while those along the narrow route to Platforms 15-19 have also been sacrificed to create a spacious thoroughfare between Platform 14 and the escalators leading to the Victoria Place shopping centre.…

The Railway Mission will be holding Remembrance services at stations and other locations across the UK between November 7-11, to commemorate the dead of both World Wars and other conflicts. There are eight in London - at Euston, Liverpool Street, King’s Cross, Waterloo, Marylebone, St Pancras International, Paddington and Hoxton. Other services will take place at Dover Western Docks, Birmingham Moor Street, Alstom (Crewe and Longsight), Cardiff Central, York, Preston, Derby, Birmingham New Street, Bristol Temple Meads, Liverpool James Street, Crewe, Sheffield, Glasgow Central, Reading, Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria, Edinburgh Waverley, Kidderminster, and Barrow-in-Furness. Dates and times can be found at https://railwaymission.org/news/remembrance.…

MORE High Speed Train Class 43 power cars have been moved to Great Yarmouth for export to Mexico - and possibly Nigeria (RAIL 994). On October 13, 43008 was moved by road from Plymouth Laira to Studley (Warwickshire). After spending the weekend there, on October 16 it continued to Great Yarmouth. Meanwhile, 43184/304 ran light from Neville Hill (Leeds) to join it on the same day. They had followed 43007/378, with trailers 42038/052/053/097, 42380, 44012 and 43239/366, which ran with 41026/035, 42037/051 and 42342/379 from Plymouth to Ely on October 13 and then on to Great Yarmouth on October 16. On the same day, 43239/366 also moved from Ely to Great Yarmouth. On October 18, the locomotives were taken by road to the dockside and loaded onto a ship. On…

The Severn Valley Railway is set to run an extra diesel day for Friday December 29. The ‘Winter Warmer’ will feature two sets of coaches in use - one steam-heated by 40106 Atlantic Conveyor and the other heated by Class 46 ‘Peak’ D182, which had its overhauled steam heat boiler recertified for use on October 10. They will top-and-tail with any available home fleet locomotives, with 33108 and 50035 Ark Royal confirmed as taking part - the Class 50 working with the Class 40, and the ‘33’ with the ‘46’ to keep an all-English Electric and all-Sulzer combinations. Other locomotives that could take part are (subject to availability) Class 17 D8568, 20048, and possibly a guest locomotive. The SVR has also confirmed that its main diesel events for 2024…

THE Deltic Preservation Society (DPS) is tantalisingly close to returning D9015 Tulyar back to operational condition, after a rebuild that has lasted 26 years. The Class 55, then numbered 55015, was retired in 1997 for an overhaul which was initially expected to take between two and three years. However, with the DPS returning its other two Class 55s (D9009 Alycidon and 55019 Royal Highland Fusilier) to main line traffic in 1999, and the need to support them during a hire contract with VSOE in 1999-2000, resources to work on 55015 were diverted away from its rebuild. The work was started at the Midland Railway Butterley. But in 2003, the locomotive was moved by road to the DPS’s new purpose-built shed at Barrow Hill. An issue with reskinning the locomotive in…

TRANSPORT for London is warning that major capital programmes may be delayed if the Department for Transport fails to agree TfL’s 2024-25 capital spending business case this autumn. The latest commissioner’s report to TfL’s board said on October 18 that delays in agreeing the business case would “mean we would again need to start making difficult choices relating to reducing service levels, asset renewals, and delaying non-committed investment”. One of those unfunded projects is the second phase of Transport for London’s Piccadilly Line upgrade that would install new signalling and supplement the first phase’s 94 new trains with a further 18. The first of those new trains is now being tested by manufacturer Siemens before being delivered to London for further tests. TfL expects the train to arrive in the…

Leicestershire County Council says the proposed £750 million East Midlands rail freight terminal falls short on key information. The authority claims that the benefits of the Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange (HNRFI), alongside the Leicester-Birmingham line and next to the M69 motorway, have been exaggerated. If built, the interchange will have nine warehouses and be served by up to 16 trains a day. However, there are concerns about its effects on residents and the countryside, and the lack of sufficient ‘green’ benefits.…

Opinion Industry Insider SIR John Armitt CBE, the highly respected chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission and a former chief executive of Network Rail, has called for a delay of up to three years in the disposal of property and for planning protection, for HS2 routes from Birmingham. Since the Government announcement that economic benefits would be preserved by the development of rail routes described as Network North, it is clear that the detail has not been worked out. For example, there was a hasty retraction of a commitment to reopen the 21-mile Leamside East Coast Main Line diversionary route between Pelaw and Ferryhill. It is not a good time for decisions to be made that cannot be reversed if the circumstances change. At present, judgement is moulded…