Vivarail
trains
running
between
Bedford
and
Bletchley
on
London
Northwestern
Railway
were
withdrawn
last
night
and
the
rail
service
has
been
replaced
by
buses,
following
the
news
that
Vivarail
has
been
placed
in
administration.
Grant
Thornton
is
understood
to
be
taking
responsibility
for
managing
the
company’s
financial
affairs.
LNR
engineering
director
John
Doughty
apologised,
and
continued:
‘Following
the
news
that
Vivarail
is
to
enter
administration,
we
have
been
left
with
no
alternative
but
to
pause
the
service
as
we
can
no
longer
guarantee
the
required
level
of
maintenance
for
the
trains
on
the
route
will
be
available.’
Rail
services
using
Vivarail
units
on
the
Isle
of
Wight
are
not
reported
to
have
been
affected.

Rail
funding
welcomed
++


The
Department
for
Transport
has
published
the
High-Level
Output
Specification
(HLOS)
and
Statement
of
Funds
Available
(SoFA)
for
the
railway
in
England
and
Wales
from
April
2024
to
March
2029,
and
the
funding
of
£44
billion
has
been
welcomed
by
railway
suppliers.
Railway
Industry
Association
chief
executive
Darren
Caplan
said:
‘RIA
welcomes
this
commitment
from
the
UK
Government,
which
in
difficult
economic
times
appears
to
mean
Network
Rail
can
continue
maintaining
and
renewing
the
railway
in
CP7
with
similar
funding
levels
to
today’s.‘

RMT
talks
++


Scottish
transport
minister
Jenny
Gilruth
has
held
talks
in
London
with
RMT
general
secretary
Mick
Lynch.
Transport
Scotland
said
they
have
agreed
to
work
together
to
urge
the
UK
government
to
find
solutions
to
the
Network
Rail
pay
dispute
and
avoid
strikes
during
the
weeks
up
to
Christmas.
In
addition
to
discussing
the
dispute,
Ms
Gilruth
repeated
her
opposition
to
the
Minimum
Service
Level
Bill.

HS2
journey
++


Transport
secretary
Mark
Harper
has
made
a
first
trip
through
a
completed
HS2
tunnel.
He
was
joined
by
HS2
chief
executive
Mark
Thurston,
and
they
both
made
the
historic
journey
33
metres
below
ground
level
at
Long
Itchington
in
Warwickshire.
The
HS2
project
was
safeguarded
in
the
Autumn
Statement
made
by
chancellor
Jeremy
Hunt,
who
told
the
Commons
that
funding
would
be
available
to
continue
building
HS2
to
Manchester
as
well
as
East
West
Rail
and
the
‘core’
elements
of
Northern
Powerhouse
Rail.