Northumberland Line More than 50,000 journeys have been made on the Northumberland Line in its first month. Operator Northern said Saturdays have been particularly popular. More than 3,500 journeys were made on the opening day alone, 15 December, and more than 16,000 journeys were then recorded in the first week. Trains run every 30 minutes during the day and every hour during weekday evenings and on Sundays.

Toilet project Class 707 City Beam trains running on Southeastern are to be fitted with toilets. The 707s were originally ordered for South Western Railway, but SWR decided that their lease costs were too high. Contracts are expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks, when detailed final designs can get underway. Once complete, accessible toilets will be fitted on all 30 trains. The toilets are expected to be the larger accessible version with a wide electric sliding door, suitable for wheelchair users.

Bridge upgrade Work to restore a classic railway bridge which spans the River Thames in central London is due to start in three days from now. Hungerford Bridge, which connects Charing Cross station on the north bank of the Thames with the south London network, was opened 161 years ago. Its spans consist of wrought iron lattice girders, and it also has a pedestrian footway. Network Rail engineers will prepare and paint the bridge, test the truss pins and replace the pin end caps on the girders. All the original metalwork will be retained and refurbished.