UK bank holiday: major rail disruptions, but for a good cause?
As usual during the UK’s summer bank holiday weekend, there are major rail works. And that, of course, means major disruptions. Services to and from London Kings Cross…
75-mile tailback on British East Coast Main Line
Britain’s prestige East Coast Main Line on a Wednesday night is normally the picture of chilled out efficiency. Except that’s not quite how it worked out this Wednesday.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…