FirstGroup make Sheffield and London open access bid
Aberdeen-headquartered transport multinational FirstGroup has applied to run a new London to Sheffield rail service. The private sector transport operator has submitted the first phase of an application for a new open-access rail service between...Read more
A catalogue of calamities blight Britain’s festive railway getaway
There has not been much in the way of festive cheer on the UK railways. Strike action may have come to end (with the considerable exception of London Underground). However, whatever squabbles there may have...Read more
London commuters are the first to benefit from hi-tech signalling in East Coast Digital Project
A milestone has been reached in the deployment of the East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP). The first passenger trains controlled by digital in-cab signalling known as the European Train Control System (ETCS) have entered service...Read more
UK advances with East Coast Digital Programme
The billion-pound plans to improve rail travel for passenger and freight operations to and from London have progressed further. Critical work took place over the last weekend in June to prepare for a digital future....Read more
Edinburgh – London route shows Europe the way for modal shift
For business travellers eager to demonstrate their environmental credentials, there’s a shift to trains over planes. Now, with additional competition on Europe’s prestige routes, leisure travellers are looking at greener travel decisions that may be...Read more
UK safety authorities have overspeeding concerns
A recent safety alert has highlighted the urgent need to address overspeeding issues, particularly at Spital Junction, a critical formation near Peterborough station, in Cambridgeshire. An advisory, issued by the statutory safety body, the Rail...Read more
UK East Coast Digital signalling upgrade means January diversions
Enabling work at weekends in early January and mid-February will mean diverted services on the East Coast Main Line. The work will hasten the introduction of digital signalling ETCS to the route famous for the...Read more
Scots travelling further but in fewer numbers, except on routes to London
Post-covid, but stuck in the middle of a pandemic of disputes. British passenger numbers have shown recovery in the latest official figures, but there are mixed results, and not all are positive. There are mixed...Read more
ETCS testing for UK Network Rail New Measurement Train
Network Rail has successfully completed European Train Control System testing on the power cars of its New Measurement Train. The yellow-liveried engineering inspection train, adapted from a redundant formation of the diesel-powered ‘High Speed Train’,...Read more
Britain faces decades of climate disruption says minister in the hot seat
This week’s heatwave has put pressure on UK infrastructure like never before. The unprecedented closure of the East Coast Main Line, in the face of temperatures more akin to Spain than Stevenage, was the headline...Read more
Reston opens: a new Scottish station, with no Scottish trains
Network Rail has completed the construction of Reston station on the East Coast Main Line (ECML), between Edinburgh and Newcastle. Today’s (23 May) very first scheduled call is the 06.16 TransPennine Express service from Edinburgh...Read more
New open-access operator Lumo to join UK network
Despite the crisis and major changes in rail governance, Britain will see the arrival of a new operator called Lumo. Lumo will begin operations between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh on 25 October 2021, calling...Read more
UK high-speed rail HS2 may never reach Leeds
There are fears that Britain’s high-speed railway project HS2 may never be extended beyond the London – Birmingham link, currently under construction. The extension of the project to reach Leeds may be shelved according to...Read more