Battery
trains
++


Great
Western
Railway
has
bought
equipment
from
battery
train
manufacturer
Vivarail,
which
went
into
administration
in
December.
The
purchase
has
included
rolling
stock,
FastCharge
systems
and
other
items.
Nine
former
Vivarail
staff
have
also
joined
GWR,
as
it
continues
to
prepare
for
using
a
battery
unit
on
the
West
Ealing
to
Greenford
branch.
GWR
engineering
director
Simon
Green
said:
‘There
have
clearly
been
some
setbacks
that
mean
we
will
need
to
review
the
existing
plans
and
timescales,
but
we
will
continue
to
work
with
Network
Rail
and
the
Department
for
Transport
to
get
the
project
back
on
track.’

Cheaper
tickets
++
Govia
Thameslink
Railway
has
launched
two
initiatives
in
a
bid
to
attract
more
passengers
during
the
traditional
rush
hours
on
Mondays
and
Fridays.
GTR’s
division
Southern
is
offering
peak
hour
Advance
tickets
on
these
two
days
discounted
by
up
to
15
per
cent
between
East
Croydon
and
London
Victoria,
and
also
from
the
Eastbourne
and
Chichester
lines
as
far
as
Three
Bridges.
GTR
said
that
on
Monday
mornings
around
40,000
fewer
people
(210,000
in
all)
catch
rush
hour
trains
compared
with
the
middle
three
days
of
Tuesday
(250,000),
Wednesday
(230,000)
and
Thursday
(240,000).
The
new
tickets
can
be
bought
up
to
the
day
before
travel,
but
the
number
is
limited.
GTR
has
also
launched
a
loyalty
scheme,
which
will
provide
points
for
every
pound
spent
on
fares
which
can
be
used
for
various
rewards,
such
as
cinema
tickets.
On
average,
travel
by
Southern
commuters
remains
at
70
per
cent
of
the
total
before
the
Covid
pandemic.

Modal
shift
++

Midlands
Connect
has
unveiled
new
research
about
railway
improvements
which
it
says
would
boost
rail
travel
in
the
Midlands
by
48
million
kilometres
a
year.
The
scheme,
to
improve
connections
from
Birmingham
to
the
east
Midlands,
the
south
west
and
south
Wales,
could
reduce
car
travel
by
almost
the
same
amount.
The
Outline
Business
Case
for
the
Midlands
Rail
Hub
was
sent
to
the
government
by
Midlands
Connect
and
Network
Rail
towards
the
end
of
last
year.
The
£1.5
billion
project
would
include
two
new
chords
in
Bordesley
and
the
reinstatement
of
platform
4
at
Snow
Hill,
which
is
no
longer
needed
for
trams.
There
would
also
be
new
freight
loops
between
Nuneaton
and
Leicester
to
increase
the
capacity
of
that
route.