TransPennine Express is warning passengers not to try to travel between north west England and the Scottish central belt tomorrow, after an amber weather warning of gale force winds gusting at up to 150km/h. Storm Éowyn is expected to make landfall early tomorrow, after an unrelated weather front has brought strong winds to western Wales and parts of England later today. TPE is also advising would-be travellers to avoid the route between York and Edinburgh. Passengers on other lines are being urged to check travel updates before they leave home, and to be prepared for the possibility of major disruption. TPE director Andrew McClements said: ‘Our top priority is the safety of our customers and colleagues. We will do everything possible to keep people moving under difficult conditions, however due to the weather warnings this Friday, we are having to issue advice not to travel on two of our routes. ‘We urge anyone travelling on the affected routes to reconsider their plans and to follow the guidance provided.’ Do you have a comment on this story? Please click here to send an email to Platform at Railnews. Moderated comments will be published on this site, and may also be used in the next print edition RN336, published 13 February.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has revealed a three-phase plan to bring rail services and stations into the region’s Bee Network, integrating commuter rail routes with trams and buses. The plans envisage simple fares using contactless smartcards, permitting ‘tap in, tap out’ travel on all public transport. The first phase, covering trains between Manchester, Glossop and Stalybridge, is expected to be completed by the end of next year. The second phase would follow two years later, with the third in 2030. By that time, the network would cover eight commuter lines and 64 stations. The Bee Network branding would also be extended to trains, while Transport for Greater Manchester said it will work with the rail industry to make more suburban stations step-free. More than 60 per cent of stations will have step-free access by 2028, compared with 43 per cent at the end of last year. Work at Irlam and Daisy Hill stations is set to be completed this year, and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority will be considering funding allocations for more stations at a meeting next week. Alongside this project plans for a new station at Golborne have also moved ahead, because the government has approved the outline business case. The £32 million station will bring trains back to Golborne for the first time in more than 60 years, and the full business case will now be developed this year. It is hoped that the new station will open in 2027. Andy Burnham said: ‘Our rail system today is acting as a brake on growth and, as the UK’s fastest growing city-region, Greater Manchester deserves better. We need a railway that is reliable and fully integrated with the rest of the Bee Network to drive growth and deliver new homes with public transport connections on the doorstep. ‘Building on the success of bringing our buses back under local control, we’re planning a phased approach to bringing eight commuter lines and their stations into the Bee Network. It will start with lines between the city centre and Glossop and Stalybridge and then expand each year between now and 2028. ‘Our plan puts passengers first by delivering a simplified, joined-up public transport network, with better services, stations and overall experience. Only by making travel by train more reliable, simpler, flexible and accessible to everyone, will we convince more people to leave the car at home and make the switch to the Bee Network. ‘Delivering change on the railways is notoriously complex, but our phased plan has been drawn up with and has the backing of the rail industry. We’ll continue to work with government as Great British Railways is established, to support them on the national reform of the railways, enacting the rail powers outlined in the English Devolution White Paper and supporting the Government’s agenda.’

Open access operator FirstGroup is considering running trains elsewhere in Europe, where more routes are being opened up to competition, but it signalled last night that it is still planning to stay on the rails in Britaiin, in spite of nationalisation. First has published a report which emphasises the benefits of open access, and this was already being prepared when transport secretary Heidi Alexander sent a letter to the Office of Rail and Road on 6 January, in which she raised the problem of limited capacity and also implied that open access operators are not paying their fair share of track access charges. Several applications are being considered by the ORR at the moment, including some from First. These include a new route from London to Bristol, Taunton and Torbay, and First already possesses open access licences to run from London to Carmarthen and Stirling. First Rail managing director Steve Montgomery told Railnews: ‘We are here to work with government, we are here to work with the regulator, who has a role to play which is naturally important, to act as an independent authority. So anything we bring forward has to be robust. We accept that and we understand that, and those are the rules you play within. ‘We don’t believe there needs to be legilsation to curtail open access – we should encourage it. The success of Hull Trains is a classic example of where we have operated since 2000, and we have grown that service, and look at how the community of Hull has prospered since we brought in those trains.’

FirstGroup has published a vigorous response to a warning over open access from the transport secretary, who has expressed doubts about the financial and operational case for more open access passenger services. In a document to be published formally at an event in London this evening, First argues the case for more open access services. The report was being prepared before transport secretary Heidi Alexander warned the Office of Rail and Road earlier this month that she was ‘aware of the additional pressures new services can create on already constrained network capacity and their impact on the value secured from public investment in infrastructure. While Open Access operators pay variable access charges to Network Rail to cover the direct costs incurred running their trains on the network, unlike government contracted operators they do not fully cover the costs…’ In the face of this ministerial doubt, First has made the case for adding routes, saying that competition can reduce fares and also provide under-served towns and cities with new links. It points to places like Hull, which began to be served by open access Hull Trains 25 years ago and now has up to eight trains to London each day, compared with just one in the 1990s. The report highlights First’s plans to run new services between London and Stirling and London and Carmarthen, which have already gained ORR approval, and further applications for new routes between London and Rochdale, London and Torbay and London and Sheffield. The group has unveiled plans to acquire new rolling stock from Hitachi, which would be mainly manufactured at Newton Aycliffe in County Durham. First Rail managing director Steve Montgomery said: ‘Open access has a strong and successful history over the past 25 years, delivering millions of reliable and affordable passenger journeys, offering choice and competition, investing in new rolling stock and supporting the running costs of the rail network. ‘Data demonstrates open access grows the railway overall. By offering competitive fares at alternative times and stopping at under-served destinations, open access inspires more people to use trains rather than cars and planes. ‘Since Lumo launched in 2021, an increase of more than six million more passenger journeys has taken place on the East Coast Main Line than when it was operated by LNER alone. ‘As the Government delivers its rail policy over the coming years, I am proud First Rail is making the case for open access, investment and innovation on the British rail network.’

FirstGroup will publish a report today which sets out its support for open access passenger services, as the fight to protect them ramps up. The report and the event in London at which it will be unveiled had been planned before transport secretary Heidi Alexander published a letter to the Office of Rail and Road about open access licences two weeks ago. In it she signalled the likelihood that open access licences will be harder to obtain in the future, saying: ‘I am … aware of the additional pressures new services can create on already constrained network capacity and their impact on the value secured from public investment in infrastructure. While Open Access operators pay variable access charges to Network Rail to cover the direct costs incurred running their trains on the network, unlike government contracted operators they do not fully cover the costs of fixed track access charges.’ She also warned that the formal guidance which the ORR is given by the transport secretary could be changed. Open access licences will be the only way that the private sector can continue to run passenger trains when the last of the old franchises is renationalised, probably in 2027. The first National Rail Contract to be terminated is set to be South Western Railway in May, owned by FirstGroup and MTR (which has a minority stake). Other FirstGroup contracts for Great Western Railway and Avanti West Coast will follow. First’s TransPennine Express contract was terminated by the previous government in May 2023 because of poor performance, and has been nationalised since then.

Walkouts by Avanti West Coast train managers planned for the next two Sundays have been suspended, to allow what their union the RMT is describing as ‘intensive talks’. Strikes were originally called on 22, 23 and 29 December in a dispute over pay for rest day working, but after Avanti made a new offer those strikes had been suspended while a ballot was held. However,  83 per cent of those voting rejected the operator’s revised offer, and new strikes were called on New Year’s Eve and 2 January, and also on every Sunday from 12 January to 25 May. The RMT had said ‘sustained’ action was now ‘the only way to focus management’s minds on reaching a negotiated settlement’, but the strikes on 19 and 26 January have now been called off for the new talks, although strikes are still on the agenda from 2 February to 25 May. The RMT said: ‘This suspension reflects our good will and commitment to finding a resolution to this rest day working dispute. ‘We are responding to overtures from Avanti and hope meaningful progress towards a negotiated settlement can be made during these talks.’ Avanti West Coast said: ‘We’re pleased that the RMT has called off its strike action for Avanti West Coast on Sundays 19 and 26 January. Due to the short notice, it’s not possible to fully restore our timetable for 19 January, so a reduced service will still run. We’re working hard to run as many additional trains as possible, so please check before you travel on the day itself. ‘On 26 January, we’ll now run our planned timetable – though this is still reduced due to engineering work.’ 

The passenger watchdog Transport Focus has called for a rethink by operators over how they deal with passengers who have made a mistake when buying a ticket. The watchdog says it wants operators to ‘play fair’ with passengers who have made a mistake for the first time. They would be identified, informed of the reason for their error and the facts recorded so that they could be checked if problems occurred again. Some operators already do this but TF says it should be the national standard. TF has also named some of the difficulties which exist, such as the lack of a national database of railcard holders which can be checked by revenue protection staff. The watchdog says operators need to demonstrate that they do care about collecting revenue, and that there will be ticket checks during a journey. But a major improvement would be a simpler ticketing system which would make it easier for passengers to choose the right fare, with important facts and conditions not buried in small print. Transport Focus rail director Natasha Grice said: ‘Transport Focus has long been concerned about the complexity of rail fares and ticketing, particularly for passengers who find it hard to buy the right ticket for their journey. We understand and support the principle that all users of rail should be paying for their ticket, but we want to make sure that passengers who make an innocent mistake aren’t punished unfairly  ‘There are some things that the industry could do now to make things better and our research tells us that if the railway is to build trust and confidence, an improved approach to revenue protection is needed. Recouping this money could help boost investment in services, making things better for passengers.’ The Office of Rail and Road launched a review of revenue protection practices in December, including the use of penalty fares and prosecutions. It said passengers who have been charged a penalty fare or prosecuted for not having the correct ticket are being asked to tell the rail regulator what happened. Transport Focus will be sharing its views as part of the review and is urging passengers to do the same. The call for evidence will close on 31 January and is open to anyone who has received penalties or faced prosecution.

Northumberland Line More than 50,000 journeys have been made on the Northumberland Line in its first month. Operator Northern said Saturdays have been particularly popular. More than 3,500 journeys were made on the opening day alone, 15 December, and more than 16,000 journeys were then recorded in the first week. Trains run every 30 minutes during the day and every hour during weekday evenings and on Sundays. Toilet project Class 707 City Beam trains running on Southeastern are to be fitted with toilets. The 707s were originally ordered for South Western Railway, but SWR decided that their lease costs were too high. Contracts are expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks, when detailed final designs can get underway. Once complete, accessible toilets will be fitted on all 30 trains. The toilets are expected to be the larger accessible version with a wide electric sliding door, suitable for wheelchair users. Bridge upgrade Work to restore a classic railway bridge which spans the River Thames in central London is due to start in three days from now. Hungerford Bridge, which connects Charing Cross station on the north bank of the Thames with the south London network, was opened 161 years ago. Its spans consist of wrought iron lattice girders, and it also has a pedestrian footway. Network Rail engineers will prepare and paint the bridge, test the truss pins and replace the pin end caps on the girders. All the original metalwork will be retained and refurbished.

Northumberland Line More than 50,000 journeys have been made on the Northumberland Line in its first month. Operator Northern said Saturdays have been particularly popular. More than 3,500 journeys were made on the opening day alone, 15 December, and more than 16,000 journeys were then recorded in the first week. Trains run every 30 minutes during the day and every hour during weekday evenings and on Sundays. Toilet project Class 707 City Beam trains running on Southeastern are to be fitted with toilets. The 707s were originally ordered for South Western Railway, but SWR decided that their lease costs were too high. Contracts are expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks, when detailed final designs can get underway. Once complete, accessible toilets will be fitted on all 30 trains. The toilets are expected to be the larger accessible version with a wide electric sliding door, suitable for wheelchair users. Bridge upgrade Work to restore a classic railway bridge which spans the River Thames in central London is due to start in three days from now. Hungerford Bridge, which connects Charing Cross station on the north bank of the Thames with the south London network, was opened 161 years ago. Its spans consist of wrought iron lattice girders, and it also has a pedestrian footway. Network Rail engineers will prepare and paint the bridge, test the truss pins and replace the pin end caps on the girders. All the original metalwork will be retained and refurbished.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch is to retire in the spring. Mr Lynch, who is 63, will step down in May when his successor has been chosen. An electrician by trade, his railway industry career began when he joined Eurostar in 1993, having previously helped to run the Electrical and Plumbing Industries Union, which had been expelled from the TUC for making unofficial agreements which were not endorsed by other TUC unions. He said he was ‘incredibly proud’ to have served the RMT both as a rank-and-file member and an elected officer. Before he became general secretary in May 2021 as successor to Mick Cash, he had served two terms as assistant general secretary and two terms on the national executive committee. Since then he has overseen several years of troubled industrial relations, when his union staged numerous strikes over pay. He said: ‘It has been a privilege to serve this union for over 30 years in all capacities, but now it is time for change. ‘This union has been through a lot of struggles in recent years, and I believe that it has only made it stronger despite all the odds. ‘There has never been a more urgent need for a strong union for all transport and energy workers of all grades, but we can only maintain and build a robust organisation for these workers if there is renewal and change. ‘We can all be proud that our union stood up against the wholesale attacks on the rail industry by the previous Tory government and the union defeated them. ’RMT will always need a new generation of workers to take up the fight for its members and for a fairer society for all and I am immensely proud to have been part of that struggle.’