Suppliers
++

The
new
chancellor
Jeremy
Hunt
is
being
urged
not
to
cut
rail
investment
by
the
Railway
Industry
Association,
which
represents
suppliers.
It
wrote
to
him
as
pressure
grew
for
cuts
in
public
spending.
RIA
chief
executive
Darren
Caplan
said:
‘We
of
course
understand
that
there
are
incredibly
difficult
decisions
to
be
made
on
the
economy
in
the
coming
weeks
and
months.
We
wanted
to
point
out
to
you
and
your
officials
that
in
terms
of
public
spending,
rail
represents
impressive
value
for
money.
A
recent
study
published
last
year,
commissioned
by
RIA
and
conducted
by
Oxford
Economics,
shows
that
the
railway
industry
is
an
essential
generator
of
economic
growth,
jobs
and
investment.
In
the
UK,
rail
supports
710,000
jobs,
contributes
over
£43
billion
Gross
Value
Added,
provides
up
to
£800
million
in
exports,
and
for
every
£1
spent
on
rail,
£2.50
of
investment
is
generated
elsewhere
in
the
economy.’

Closure
++ The
viaduct
at
Barmouth
will
be
closed
again
in
mid-November,
as
work
to
upgrade
the
structure
is
resumed
by
Network
Rail.
The
bridge
reopened
for
trains
temporarily
on
15
October,
but
only
for
about
a
month. 
A
long-running
project
to
upgrade
the
mainly
wooden
structure
has
meant
a
series
of
closures,
the
last
of
which
was
from
12
September.
The
next
stage
of
work
from
November
will
include
additional
repairs
and
strengthening
work
as
well
as
further
metallic
restoration
and
track
renewal.
During
this
stage,
both
the
railway
and
the
parallel
pedestrian
footway
will
be
closed.
As
before,
buses
are
replacing
Transport
for
Wales
trains
from
15
November
until
10
December.

Free
rides
++


Transport
for
Wales
is
helping
families
and
friends
explore
Wales
and
the
Borders
for
less
with
a
‘Kids
Go
Free’
offer
this
half
term.
Up
to
two
children
under
the
age
of
11
can
travel
free
with
each
fare
paying
adult
on
TfW
services,
and
the
minimum
age
of
the
accompanying
adult
has
now
been
lowered
from
18
to
16.
Children
aged
11
to
15
can
travel
without
charge
between
the
hours
of
09.30
and
16.00
and
again
from
18.00,
Monday
to
Friday,
and
all
day
on
Saturday
and
Sunday.