Fares, rail policy and DfT news

Government gives ‘hugely important’ £208m Belfast Transport Hub the green light

22 March 2019A new £208m Belfast Transport Hub with major rail and bus connections has been granted planning permission by the Department of Infrastructure. The new proposed development, led by Translink, is set to replace the Great Victoria Street trai...

FirstGroup finalises £100m order for Hitachi trains as plans for London-Edinburgh rail link move forward

22 March 2019FirstGroup has finalised a £100m order for Hitachi AT300 electric trainsets in a partnership between the two companies to create a new London-to-Edinburgh rail link. FirstGroup said it had secured the rights to a new “open-access&rdqu...

New to-the-minute measures for train punctuality introduced to tackle delays

22 March 2019New measures of train punctuality are to be released by train operators and Network Rail next month in a bid to improve performance. The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) announced the new ‘on time’ standards which will record train times to...

Government’s role in new passenger-centric railway ‘will have to change’, says Williams Review lead

21 March 2019The man leading the Williams Rail Review has warned that the government’s role in the UK railways “will have to change” as the industry switches to a more passenger-centric railway. Keith Williams, the man leading the “roo...

Government promises to look ‘very carefully’ at £218m bid for second Chelmsford station

21 March 2019The government will look “very carefully” at a £218m funding bid for a new railway station in Chelmsford, Theresa May has said. Essex County Council has bid for £218m from the government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund...

‘Compelling case’ put forward for £4bn metro network for Cambridgeshire

20 March 2019There is a “compelling case” for a metro scheme for Greater Cambridge after a feasibility report has claimed it could create 100,000 jobs and 60,000 new homes, but could cost £4bn. The feasibility study was commissioned by the C...

RDG calls for new regulator to stop railway ‘being used as a political football’

19 March 2019The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) has called for a new organisation to regulate the railway and replace the ORR in order to stop the railway “being used as a political football.” Responding to the government’s call for submissions t...

Plans revealed for major redevelopment of Birmingham Moor Street station

19 March 2019Birmingham Moor Street station it set to undergo a major transformation to prepare it for HS2 services at Curzon Street and growing passenger demand as new designs are unveiled. Moor Street could be expanded to double its current size and see ano...

26-30 Railcard: taking advantage of opportunities

19 March 2019After a nine-month national trial, the rail industry launched its seventh National Railcard for 26-30-year-olds on 2 January 2019. Rail Delivery Group managing director of customer experience, Jacqueline Starr, reveals how the proposition came int...

WYCA calls for ‘significant reform’ to rail system in submission to Williams Review

18 March 2019The West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) has called for “significant reforms” to the current system for commissioning and operating rail services in its submission to the Williams Review. The combined authority has stated that the...

Ashington Blyth and Tyne line reopening mulled over in six ‘quick win’ rail projects for northern transport

18 March 2019A series of ‘quick wins’ have been identified to fix the “current crisis” in the north’s transport network in a report by the IPPR. Following the publication of Transport for the North’s (TfN) Strategic Transpo...

New Hitachi 385s to replace ScotRail’s ‘happy trains’

18 March 2019ScotRail has confirmed that it is withdrawing its Class 365 ‘happy trains’ fleet and replacing them with new Hitachi Class 385s. The train operator said the new Class 385s will be introduced on the newly electrified Central Belt, deli...

Rail industry urges government rethink to deliver rail electrification at half the costs

15 March 2019The cost of rail electrification projects could be slashed by as much as two-thirds, the Railway Industry Association (RIA) has revealed as it urges the government to review and renew its electrification programme. The RIA has called on ministers...

GTR fined record £5m for ‘persistent and prolonged failures’ in May timetable chaos

14 March 2019Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has been fined a record £5m for its role in last year’s May timetable chaos. The ORR criticised the train operator for “persistent and prolonged failures” in informing passengers as they suff...

Liverpool mayor announces commission into new high-speed city centre rail station

13 March 2019A commission to deliver a new station in Liverpool city centre to connect the region to HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) has been unveiled by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Metro mayor Steve Rotherham announced the creation of th...