Hope
Valley


The
£150
million
project
to
increase
capacity
on
the
Hope
Valley
line
between
Manchester
and
Sheffield
has
been
completed.
Rail
minister
Huw
Merriman
is
visiting
Dore
&
Totley
station
today,
where
he
will
open
a
second
platform,
reversing
British
Rail
cutbacks
in
the
1980s.
The
existing
platform
has
also
been
lengthened,
and
new
loops
laid
elsewhere
on
the
route
so
that
faster
trains
can
pass
slower
ones.

Strike



Train
services
are
seriously
disrupted
on
c2c,
Greater
Anglia,
Govia
Thameslink
Railway,
Southeastern
and
South
Western
Railway
today
because
of
a
24-hour
strike
by
ASLEF
drivers
in
their
continuing
pay
dispute.
Many
stations
in
south
east
England
are
closed.
There
has
already
been
a
new
series
of
strikes
at
other
operators,
which
were
staged
on
Friday
and
Saturday.
An
associated
ban
on
overtime
and
rest
day
working,
which
can
also
affect
services,
is
continuing
at
most
National
Rail
operators
in
England
until
tomorrow. A
further
ASLEF
walkout
is
planned
on
LNER
on
20
April,
with
an
overtime
ban
from
19
to
21
April,
in
a
separate dispute
over
bargaining
procedures.

Probe


A
major
investigation
of
ground
conditions
by
geological
specialists
is
under
way
at
Grand-over-Sands
on
the
Cumbrian
Coast
line,
where
a
Northern
train
was
derailed
on
22
March.
No
one
was
hurt,
but
the
track
was
damaged.
Engineers
found
a
void
in
the
ground
150m
away
from
the
crash
site.
The
six
coach
train
has
now
been
removed
by
crane,
and
engineers
have
been
drilling
test
bore
holes
to
gather
information
about
the
conditions
of
the
underlying
soil
and
rock.
Network
Rail
said
the
line
is
likely
to
be
closed
for
the
rest
of
April.

Doors


Heritage
train
operator
West
Coast
Railways
has
enlisted
the
support
of
MPs
in
its
continuing
campaign
to
allow
the
use
of
hinged
doors
without
full
central
locking
on
its
fleets
of
Mk1
and
Mk2
coaches.
The
steam-hauled
Jacobite
service
between
Fort
William
and
Mallaig
has
been
cancelled
because
the
Office
of
Rail
and
Road
refused
to
renew
an
exemption
which
had
allowed
the
trains
to
run.
WCR
is
asking
rail
minister
Huw
Merriman
to
intervene,
while
a
petition
opposing
the
ban
has
been
launched
by
a
shopkeeper
in
Mallaig.