Latest Rail News

Council pitches £375m light rail scheme linking south to Heathrow airport

16.08.18: Spelthorne Borough Council has submitted proposals for a light rail link from Staines-upon-Thames to Heathrow airport to provide “joined-up journeys” into the airport from the south. The council is actively promoting the transpo... more >

Go-ahead for Felixstowe branch line upgrade to boost freight capacity

16.08.18: Network Rail has been given permission to build a new bridleway bridge across the Felixstowe branch which will provide a safe public route across the railway and enable more goods to be moved by freight. Engineering works to upgrade the bra... more >

Plough about that! Severe disruption in Yorkshire as tractor crashes onto train tracks

16.08.18: Passengers travelling between Leeds and Doncaster, Sheffield, and London were advised to check before they set off this morning after a tractor damaged railway tracks and overhead equipment near Wakefield. The vehicle towing a trailer damag... more >

Staff scramble to safety from 125mph train in near-miss due to ‘unsafe and unofficial’ working practices

16.08.18: A group of track workers narrowly escaped a devastating incident after just moving clear of a 125mph train on the East Coast Main Line (ECML). The incident occurred on the morning of 5 October last year at Egmanton level crossing, between N... more >

Stadler announced as preferred bidder to supply 71 new Wales and Borders trains

15.08.18: Swiss rolling stock provider Stadler has been announced as the preferred bidder for a Welsh deal that will provide 71 trains to the lines. Franchise operator KeolisAmey has ordered 36 three-car Citylink tram-trains and 35 FLIRT trains from... more >

Rail fares set to rise by 3.2%, Grayling angers unions with calls for lower inflation

15.08.18: Train fares in the UK will rise 3.2% in January 2019, the government has confirmed – marginally below the expected 3.5%. This increase is less than the 3.6% rise introduced this January, which was the steepest in five years, but has s... more >

Peak District freight sidings get £18m Network Rail boost

14.08.18: An £18m rail investment in the Peak District will come as good news for the construction industry, benefitting the environment, economy and regional road network, Network Rail has said. As part of the Great North Project, the investme... more >

New access to York station as part of major brownfield redevelopment plans

14.08.18: New plans including a new access point to York station and the expansion of the National Railway Museum headline groundbreaking proposals of creating 6,500 jobs in the city. A collaborative partnership between Homes England, Network Rail, Y... more >

Talgo launches legal bid against HS2 ‘botched’ £2.8bn train procurement

14.08.18: HS2 Ltd is facing a fresh legal challenge from Spanish manufacturer Talgo over what it argues has been “botched” £2.8bn rolling stock procurement process. The Madrid-based company was shortlisted as one of the five supplie... more >

Up to 50 more battery-powered trams on the way for West Midlands

14.08.18: As many as 50 new battery-powered ‘Urbos 3’ model trams could be on the way for transport in the West Midlands as part of the combined authority’s £3.4bn investment in transport in the area. Transport for West Midlan... more >

Grayling gives green light to Network Rail ECML improvements

13.08.18: Plans to improve the East Coast Main Line (ECML) have been given the go-ahead by the transport secretary as part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan. The improvements include a new rail line running underneath the ECML— linki... more >

Rail fare rise on the way as mayors call for cost freeze in the north

13.08.18: Two north-west mayors have called for a freeze on rail fares in the north after national fees on networks are set to rise by 3.5% next year. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram wrote to trans... more >

Ex-Carillion boss to take over £2.5bn Balfour Beatty Vinci HS2 contracts

10.08.18: The former boss of Carillion’s UK infrastructure business is set to take over Balfour Beatty Vinci to lead its HS2 joint venture. Mark Davies will replace Mark Cutler—who taking up a job elsewhere after being at the helm of the... more >

Train at over 70mph almost collides with workers in near-miss

10.08.18: Two bridge workers narrowly avoided a devastating collision with a train travelling at more than 70mph in Dundee, an investigation has found. The staff members, who were working as part of a gang on a bridge approaching Dundee station, expe... more >

Rail industry to cut the jargon on confusing train tickets

10.08.18: Passengers will soon be reading clear and concise information on their train tickets as part of the industry’s drive to cut rail jargon. Following findings from KPMG that a fifth (22%) of people don’t think it is easy to underst... more >