Fares, rail policy and DfT news

Major station improvements and electric vehicle charging hubs

09 September 2020Following the announcement of Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR) programme to develop numerous stations, today (9 Sept) on World Electric Vehicle (EV) Day, GTR welcomed Secretary of State Grant Shapps to open rail’s largest dedicated EV...

DfT ‘Access for All’ programme has transformed Cadoxton station

02 September 2020As part of the Department for Transport’s ‘Access for All’ programme, a range of new multi-million-pound developments have been done at Cadoxton station in south Wales to improve accessibility for passengers. Any passenger visit...

FirstGroup granted extension of the EMA for Great Western Railway

01 September 2020The Department for Transport has reportedly extended financial help for Great Western Railway. The company FirstGroup, which runs the GWR trains Paddington to Wales and the likes of Cornwall and Devon, has said the Emergency Measures Agreement (E...

1.5 million lorries to be taken off the roads by HS2

26 August 2020HS2 have received the first rail freight delivery of aggregate arrive (25 Aug) at HS2’s Washwood Heath site in Birmingham, signifying the start of HS2’s major programme to take up to 1.5 million lorries off Britain’s roads to cut...

Second footbridge to be built at St Albans City station

24 August 2020Thameslink’s busiest station north of London, St Albans, is set to benefit from the launch of the Transport Secretary’s new Acceleration Unit. Grant Shapps has made £6.4m available to build a second footbridge at the station, to...

Welsh railways receive multi-million-pound UK government investment

21 August 2020Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced today that momentous progress has been made on moving forward upgrades to Wales’ railways following £343m of funding to help bring better journeys for passengers. The list of schemes to b...

New Acceleration Unit launched by Transport Secretary

21 August 2020Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, has today (Aug 21) announced the launch of a new Acceleration Unit to help bring essential rail and road upgrades that will create jobs, rise connectivity, and boost the economy coming out of the Covid-19 outbrea...

Transport Focus calls for ‘Head Out to Help Out’ scheme

18 August 2020Independent watchdog Transport Focus is asking the Government and train companies to work collaboratively, in order to reform the rail farers and ticketing system. This is hoped to give passengers better value for money, thereby encouraging them t...

£589m for rail upgrades across the North

23 July 2020A multi-million-pound investment has been confirmed today by Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, to kickstart work on the Transpennine main line between Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester. This announcement also comes from the newly established No...

Network Rail backing revolutionary rail ideas

08 July 2020Network Rail is supporting 11 of the 25 winning entrants of the Government’s £9.4m First of a Kind (FOAK) 2020 competition to deliver a better, more dependable and efficient railway for passengers and freight users. Funded by the Depa...

Calls from England and Wales to restore Beeching lines

30 June 2020Rail Minister, Chris Heaton-Harris, has today (June 30) announced fifty bids have been received from across England and Wales to build or reopen lines and stations closed by British Rail chief Dr Richard Beeching from 1963, with the potential to l...

£46m depot unveiled in Wigan

10 February 2020Officially opened on Friday (Feb 7th) the new £46m state-of-the-art train depot in Wigan has been built by Network Rail alongside Arriva Rail North. The depot will provide a home for many of Northern’s new trains that will be cleaned...

Transport for the South East welcomes new partners

10 February 2020Network Rail, Highways England and Transport for London (TfL) have agreed to join the board for Transport for the South East, whilst working together with civic and business leaders representing more than 7.5m people and 300,000 businesses to form...

Government action on poor West Midlands Trains

10 February 2020Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps has today (Feb 9th) called for West Midlands Trains to invest an extra £20m on improving services for passengers after consistent poor services. The funding is set to help passengers across the West Midland...

Birmingham Eastside Metro extension set for approval

07 February 2020The next development to the West Midlands Metro network is set to be given the go ahead by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) next week. When the extension from Birmingham Eastside is complete the line will run from the current Metro lin...