News

The DfT has published (9 June) consultation on the legislation that will be required to enable the rail transformation as set out in the William-Shapps Plan for Rail published in May 2021. This includes the creation of Great British Rail as “the guiding mind for the railways”. The consultation document can be found on the […]

The legislation required to build Phase 2b of High Speed 2 was introduced to Parliament today. When passed, the High Speed Rail (Crewe to Manchester) Bill will enable the new line between London and Birmingham / Crewe currently under construction to be extended to Manchester. The Government has also announced four changes from the original

The £2 billion contract to build the 225 mph trains for High Speed 2 has been awarded to a joint venture between Hitachi and Alstom. Whilst the majority of the work will be undertaken at plants in Newton Aycliffe and Derby, the West Coast economy will benefit from the assembly and maintenance of the train

The final report of the Government’s Union Connectivity Review, led by Sir Peter Hendy, was published today, and can be found at Union Connectivity Review (publishing.service.gov.uk). The report recognises the important role of rail, and includes the recommendation that the Government should “upgrade the West Coast Main Line north of Crewe to improve journey times

The long-awaited Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands was launched today by the Department for Transport. It has key implications for the West Coast Main Line corridor through setting out revisions to the High Speed 2 network and the approach to Northern Powerhouse Rail. The latter will have interfaces with the West Coast

The Government’s long-awaited Rail White Paper was published yesterday. It sets out proposals to create a new public body called Great British Railways, which will oversee a new passenger rail structure based on concessions instead of franchises. The White Paper also sets out plans for a major overhaul of the fares and ticketing system. Further

The importance of the West Coast Main Line to the UK’s transport network is recognised in the interim report of the Union Connectivity Review, which is being led by Sir Peter Hendy. The full report, which was published today, can be found at Union Connectivity Review Interim Report – March 2021 (publishing.service.gov.uk) The interim report

Avanti West Coast rolled out its final upgraded Voyager train on 17 December marking the end of a six-month overhaul programme. The £8.3m investment was completed at Bombardier’s depot in Ilford, east London, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, with customers already benefitting from the trains’ revitalised interiors. The refresh of the 20 trains

A stunning new mural has been unveiled in Glasgow Central station to raise awareness of mental health support services across Scotland. Network Rail has joined forces with the Samaritans and Breathing Space to commission local contemporary street artist Sam Bates, aka ‘Smug’, to design and spray paint the major new work on a prominent platform

Avanti West Coast has removed Friday morning peak restrictions on long distance journeys to and from London Euston starting from today, 20 November. The trial, which will run into the New Year, means customers can take advantage of the full range of Off Peak and Advance tickets throughout the day and make a much earlier