East
West
Rail
uncertainty


The
National
Audit
Office
has
concluded
that
it
is
‘not
yet
clear’
how
the
benefits
of
the
£6.6
billion
East
West
Rail
scheme
will
be
achieved,
nor
how
it
fits
in
with
other
government
plans
for
growth
in
the
region.
A
new
report
says
that
‘as
with
many
transport
projects,
the
rationale
for
East
West
Rail
does
not
rest
on
the
strength
of
the
benefit–cost
ratio
for
the
project
alone
–
which
is
poor
–
but
on
its
wider
strategic
aim
of
overcoming
constraints
to
economic
growth
in
the
Oxford–Cambridge
region’.

Formal
opening
of
East
Linton



Scottish
transport
minister
Fiona
Hyslop
has
formally
opened
the
£15
million
station
at
East
Linton
on
the
East
Coast
Main
Line.
The
Minister
was
joined
on
the
platform
by
guests
who
included
representatives
from
the
rail
industry,
East
Lothian
Council,
RAGES
(Rail
Action
Group
East
of
Scotland)
and
people
from
the
local
community,
who
saw
her
unveil
a
plaque
to
mark
the
occasion.

Appointments


Chiltern
Railways
has
appointed
three
new
faces
to
its
management
team.
Tony
Baxter
is
operations
director,
having
joined
from
Northern,
Andy
Camp,
previously
with
West
Midlands
Trains,
has
been
named
as
permanent
commercial
and
customer
strategy
director,
and
Tim
Sayer
is
now
engineering
and
safety
director.
Tim
spent
part
of
his
early
career
at
Chiltern
from
2006
to
2009.

Screens


Northern
has
installed
new
information
screens
at
77
stations,
as
part
of
a
wider
upgrade
costing
£14
million.
The
format
is
clear
and
easy
to
read,
and
includes
more
information
about
delays.
The
screens
have
white
LEDs
which
can
be
seen
from
further
away,
and
the
higher
colour
contrast
makes
them
easier
to
read
for
passengers
with
limited
vision.
Northern
has
now
installed
a
total
of
387
screens
at
167
stations.

Glazing


Network
Rail
will
be
taking
advantage
of
the
Christmas
break
by
installing
new
glazing
in
the
25m
gable
ends
at
Stoke-on-Trent
station.
The
Grade
II*
listed
wooden
and
wrought
iron
frames
at
each
end
of
the
trainshed
contain
more
than
200
glass
panels,
but
they
have
started
to
deteriorate
and
some
of
the
glass
has
been
removed
recently.
The
work
has
been
planned
in
consultation
with
heritage
experts
and
needed
consent
from
Stoke-on-Trent
City
Council
because
of
the
structure’s
listed
status.