Railway 200 is launched in Darlington
Next year’s Railway 200 festival has been launched with a day of events in Darlington, the town which was one terminus of the pioneering Stockton & Darlington Railway and which saw a steam-hauled train carry members of the public as passengers for the first time on 27 September 1825. Railway 200 will be a national event throughout the United Kingdom, and is being supported by the rail industry, the government, Transport Scotland, Transport for Wales, the Northern Ireland Executive, rail and business bodies, educational institutions, civic and community groups, and many other partners, including heritage railways, Visit Britain and the Museums Association.
The environmental charity Greenpeace has published proposals for a new flat-fare rail card, possibly costing £49 a month, which would allow unlimited travel on regional and local trains. The plan has been drawn up on behalf of Greenpeace by the high speed rail lobby group Greengauge21.
ASLEF members have voted to end their long-running pay dispute and to accept the offer which was made by the Department of Transport in August. ASLEF drivers at most train operators in England have been in dispute since 2022 over pay, and there has been a series of strikes.
Arriva has published a series of proposals which it says are designed to improve the railways in the shorter term. Its report ‘Accelerating the Government’s Ambition to Fix Britain’s Railways’ includes recommendations such as making more effective use of the existing network, rolling stock and other assets, making timetabling more flexible and responsive, and also allowing train operating companies to make decisions about timetables.
The veteran Merseyrail fleet was the oldest on National Rail, having been built 45 years ago, but its longevity came at a price. A report which will be considered by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority at its meeting on Friday shows that keeping the fleet in service for longer than expected cost half a million pounds.
Two operators with National Rail Contracts reached their core expiry dates yesterday, but they seem set to remain in the private sector for now. Greater Anglia and West Midlands Trains could both theoretically have been terminated, but in practice the Government is waiting for the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill to become law. It received its Third Reading in the House of Commons on 3 September, and had its First Reading in the House of Lords the following day. When law, this Bill will make operation of the former franchises public by default, and is intended to pave the way for the ‘directing mind’, Great British Railways, although GBR will need separate legislation.
A plan for a new railway to replace the axed sections of HS2 to Crewe and Manchester is being published today by the mayors of the West Midlands and Greater Manchester. The proposal is for an 80km line between Lichfield and High Legh, which is near Warrington and just south of the M56 motorway. At this point it would join the Northern Powerhouse network. The scheme is the result of work chaired by former Network Rail chief executive Sir David Higgins, led by Arup and also involving a private sector consortium. The mayors say the new line would cost 60 to 75 per cent of HS2, and allow speeds of up to 300km/h.
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