Transport for London has begun accepting applications for 18+ Oyster photocards and several other cards, as it continues to restore computer systems following the cyber attack just over two months ago. Up to 5000 accounts were thought to have been affected in the attack on 1 September. TfL said it had ‘worked’ closely with the National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Security Centre and notified the Information Commissioner's Office.   The Lymington branch reopened today, after a possession lasting seven days in which 1500m of track was replaced. The rails have been treated by a road-rail Land Rover, known as a Sand Rover, which applied a sticky sand-like gel to help with adhesion. The rails have also been coated to reduce corrosion, which is a risk in the maritime atmosphere. There will be a second possession betweeh 21 December and 6 January, so that the viaduct over the Lymington River can be improved.   The East Coast Main Line will be closed between Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin on 30 November and 1 December so that further ERTMS testing can be carried out. LNER services will start or terminate at St Neots or Peterborough. Rail replacement coaches will run between St Neots and Bedford, where passengers can join Thameslink or EMR trains to London. Hull Trains will run two services, which will be diverted to London St Pancras. Lumo will terminate at Peterborough, and provide a non-stop coach from there to London King’s Cross. There will be no Grand Central services.

Last minute peace talks have averted several days of RMT strikes on London Underground this week. The union suspended its action on 1 November, hours before the first 24-hour stoppage. This only involved engineering staff but more widespread walkouts had been set to follow, and very few Underground trains would have run from tomorrow until Saturday. Chiltern Railways services would also have been cancelled between London and Great Missenden, because they use tracks controlled by the Underground between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Amersham. The last minute suspension came too late for Chiltern to amend its strike day timetables for tomorrow and Wednesday, but the normal timetable is being restored from Thursday. After Friday’s talks the RMT said: ‘Following intense negotiations with London Underground management and a significantly improved offer, we have suspended the strikes scheduled to start this evening. ‘London Underground have sensibly abandoned their proposed changes to pay structures which now means all our members will receive the same value in any pay award. ‘Further discussions will take place next week regarding the pay offer but progress has been made which would not have been possible without the fortitude and industrial strength of our 10,000 members on London Underground.’ No further details have been published about the improved offer. ASLEF members are still set to walk out on 7 and 12 November, when few Underground services are expected to run. ASLEF organiser Finn Brennan said: ‘We don’t want to go on strike – we don’t want to make travelling in and around the capital more difficult for passengers and we don’t want to lose a day’s pay – but we have been forced into this position because management won’t sit down properly and negotiate with us.’ Transport for London’s chief operating officer Claire Mann said: ‘We are pleased that the RMT has suspended its planned industrial action on the London Underground network to allow further talks. We believe that our offer is fair, affordable, good for our colleagues and good news for London. ‘We will continue to work closely with all our trade unions, and urge ASLEF to also call off its planned action. If it goes ahead, customers should check before they travel as during their strikes there will be little-to-no service.’

Transport for London is warning of serious disruption on London Underground over the next few days, because members of the RMT and ASLEF will be staging industrial action unless there is a last-minute settlement of disputes of over pay and bargaining.The first stoppage, today and tomorrow, affects RMT staff at Engineering Vehicles Operations and Maintenance, who are to walk out for 24 hours from 18.00 this evening.This walkout is not expected to cause significant disruption, but last trains will run earlier than usual on Sunday, and most Underground services will be cancelled from Tuesday to Friday next week. More disruption is expected on Tuesday 12 November.TfL said its other networks, including Overground, the DLR and trams, are not directly affected by the walkouts, but other trains may not be able to call stations which are managed by London Underground. It also warned that alternative services will be busier than usual on strike days, including buses.RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘London Underground’s pay offer falls short of what our members deserve. It threatens to remove collective bargaining for a growing portion of staff, pushing them into pay bands that are decided solely by management. This undermines our members’ rights and the core principles of fair negotiation.’TfL said it was ‘working hard’ to resolve the disputes. Chief operating officer Claire Mann said: ‘We are disappointed that the RMT and ASLEF unions have announced strike action, following our recent discussions over pay, terms and conditions. We are continuing to talk with all trade unions to discuss the issues and seek a resolution. Our offer is fair for our people and affordable for London.‘We urge the trade unions to call off this action, accept our offer, and avoid disruption.’

Autumn Budget 2024 The chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced that road fuel duty is to be frozen next year, and the 5p reduction for each litre introduced by the last government will continue. However, regulated rail fares will rise by 4.6 per cent on 2 March 2025, one percentage point above RPI. HS2 tunnelling to London Euston will be funded, and the Transpennine Route Upgrade is to go ahead in full, with further electrification including Church Fenton to York (Colton Junctions). East West Rail is confirmed in full between Oxford and Cambridge. There will be upgrades to stations at Bradford Forster Square and Manchester Victoria,.as well as funding for West Midlands Metro to Brierley Hill and upgrades for trams in Sheffield. Still in Yorkshire, Leeds trams are also going ahead. Subject to an industry proposal, the government will agree a £5 increase in the price of most rail cards (except the disabled person’s rail card). Industry reactions have started to come in. Rail Partners chief executive Andy Bagnall said: ‘Government should set fares at a level that will ultimately encourage more people to travel by train in the future, helping to secure the long-term financial sustainability of the sector and capture the wider economic and environmental benefits of rail for the nation as a whole. The focus must be on growing passenger numbers, not making current passengers pay more. ‘While today’s road fuel duty freeze will be welcome news for motorists, holding it flat since 2010 has made it more difficult for rail freight to compete with road haulage. ‘Rail Partners and its members welcome the rail investments announced in today’s budget including funding for tunnelling to Euston, which helps keep open options for HS2 in the North. ‘Filling the capacity gap left by the cancellation of the northern section of HS2 is still essential if we are to encourage more people to travel by by train and to unlock freight capacity to reduce congestion by moving goods off the roads and on to the railway.’ National Infrastructure Commission chair Sir John Armitt said: ‘We welcome the government’s plan to invest over £35 billion in economic infrastructure in 2025-26. ‘Linking Old Oak Common and Euston is fundamental to the viability of HS2 so we welcome funding for the tunnel connection, which should help secure the maximum economic benefit from the investment already made in the project. The question of how to boost connectivity and capacity beyond Birmingham remains to be answered, and the National Infrastructure Strategy should set out how government plans to address this long-term challenge.’

Budget 2024: updates … The chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced that road fuel duty is to be frozen next year. The 5p reduction introduced by the last government will continue. The Transpennine Route Upgrade is to go ahead in full, with further electrification including Church Fenton to York (Colton Junctions). East West Rail is confirmed in full between Oxford and Cambridge. Upgrades at Bradford Forster Square and Manchester Victoria. HS2 tunnelling to London Euston will be funded. Funding for West Midlands Metro to Brierley Hill; upgrades for trams in Sheffield. Leeds trams to go ahead. Annual regulated rail fares cap will rise by 4.6% on 2 March 2025, one percentage point above RPI.  Subject to an industry proposal, the government will also agree a £5 increase to the price of most rail cards (except the disabled person’s rail card).

Network Rail has taken action to improve London Euston station, where there have been complaints of dangerous congestion on the ramps leading to the platforms after departures had been announced almost at the last minute. A trial of ‘earlier boarding’ is being introduced on Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern trains, so that people will not be in such a hurry. The announcement comes after Network Rail and the Department for Transport had announced a five-point plan to improve the situation. Transport secretary Louise Haigh intervened after protests from passengers and claims that the overcrowding was dangerous. Around 40 per cent of Avanti West Coast departures are now being announced 20 minutes before departure, and the proportion will grow over the coming weeks, while ‘continuous boarding’ of London Northwestern Railway's Birmingham services was introduced on 21 October. Passengers are now invited to platforms to await their train as soon as the previous service has departed. Network Rail West Coast South route director Gary Walsh said: ‘Getting passengers to their services in good time is at the heart of our improvements at Euston, and today’s changes will tackle that issue head-on. Taking quick and effective action is at the core of our five-point plan which I’m pleased to say is starting to deliver for our passengers at London Euston.’ Network Rail has also convened its first rail industry summit to give passenger user groups and government an update on progress with Euston’s five-point improvement plan. Louise Haigh said: ‘For too long, Euston station simply has not been good enough. That’s why I have tasked Network Rail and operators with delivering a clear plan to alleviate some of the issues passengers are facing while we work on a long-term solution for the station.’

Cambrian line reopens after accident Train services have returned to the Cambrian line this moning after the collision between two passenger trains a week ago at Talerddig, in which one passenger died and 15 were injured, four seriously. Evidence from the scene is now being considered by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, which has said rail adhesion was ‘relatively low’. Signalling upgrade No trains are running in south London between Crystal Palace, Tulse Hill and Peckham Rye so that signalling can be upgraded. The possession began on Saturday and will continue until 1 November. Network Rail hopes that the upgrade will reduce the number of delays caused by signalling problems, following similar work between East Croydon and London Victoria in 2022 which it says reduced delays by more than half. World engineering Transport UK has become a commercial partner for UNESCO World Engineering Day 2025. Transport UK is the successor to Abellio in Britain, and currently owns several train operating companies as well as holding 11 per cent of London bus contracts. The UNESCO campaign recognises the role of science and engineering in sustainable development around the world.

Trains are expected to start running again on the Cambrian line between Machynlleth and Shrewsbury on Monday. Buses have been replacing trains since last Monday, when two Transport for Wales trains collided head-on near Talerddig passing loop. One man died and fifteen other passengers were injured, four of them seriously, when a westbound train overran the loop and collided with an eastbound train. It has been reported that the man who lost his life had suffered a heart attack. Initial investigations by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch have revealed that rail adhesion was ‘relatively low’, leading to speculation that the down train could not be stopped in the loop but slid beyond it. It has also been reported that the driver of the train left the cab in the last few seconds, and warned passengers to brace themselves because a collision was imminent. Network Rail has been working to separate and remove the damaged trains. Simultaneously, Network Rail engineers have been carrying out repairs, maintenance and safety inspections. Test trains will run through the area to make sure everything is operating normally before passenger services restart on Monday, but Network Rail has warned there could still be some disruption for a while. Network Rail’s Wales & Borders route director Nick Millington said: ‘Monday night’s tragic events will forever be etched in my memory and my thoughts remain with all those affected. Thankfully, incidents like this are extremely rare on the railway network. We continue to operate one of the safest railway networks in Europe. ‘Our engineers have been on site throughout and have conducted very thorough safety checks and we will run test trains through the area. ‘I am grateful to the local community who have been very accommodating throughout this last week while we have been managing this incident. ‘I would also like to thank passengers for their patience, understanding and support during the last few days as our teams have worked tirelessly to restore the railway as quickly as they could.’ TfW chief operating officer Jan Chaudhry van der Velde added: ‘The railways in Wales have a very good safety record, so when serious incidents like this happen, we at TfW, together with our partners at Network Rail, are determined to get to the bottom of what caused it. For that reason, we are co-operating fully with the authorities investigating the collision, and in particular, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch.  ‘Our condolences go to the family of the passenger who passed away, and we hope that those passengers and staff members injured in the collision make a speedy recovery.’

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has made its first statement about Monday evening’s head-on collision at Talerddig, in which one man was killed and 15 other passengers injured. RAIB inspectors have been gathering evidence in a bid to discover how the two passenger trains came to meet on a single line section, about 800m west of the passing loop at Talerdigg. The down train, which apparently ran through the loop without stopping, was the 18.31 Transport for Wales service from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth. The up train involved was the 19:09 from Machynlleth to Shrewsbury, also operated by TfW. The RAIB says initial evidence suggests that the collision occurred at approximately 24 km/h. Four of the 15 injured passengers are now known to have been seriously hurt. The information from the down train’s data recorder has been downloaded. The track has been inspected, witnesses interviewed and data from radio and signalling systems analysed. The RAIB’s initial inspection of the track near the collision point has found that wheel and rail adhesion was ‘relatively low’, suggesting that the train may have been affected by wheel slide when the driver applied the brakes to stop in the loop. The RAIB said it will be issuing a further update soon. The Office of Rail and Road has confirmed that HMRI inspectors are also at the scene. Meanwhile, a passenger on the down train told the BBC yesterday that the driver had tried to stop but the train still kept moving, which supports the RAIB’s suggestion that the wheels had lost at least some of their grip on the rails. Welsh cabinet transport secretary Ken Skates said: ‘I am extremely grateful to the emergency services who attended the scene and helped our passengers and staff. ‘The safety of our passengers and staff is, as always, our key priority. Transport for Wales are working closely with all agencies, including emergency services and Rail Accident Investigation Branch, to understand how this incident happened, and they will have my full support.’

A fatal head-on collision between two passenger trains in mid-Wales may have been caused by low rail adhesion due to fallen leaves. The trains collided last night at Talerddig at about 19.30. They were the 18.31 from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth and the 19.09 from Machynlleth to Shrewsbury. One man was killed and 15 others are reported to have needed hospital treatment, although their injuries are not thought to have been critical. The man who died was a passenger on one of the trains. Emergency services have been at the scene all night, and railway inspectors from the Office of Rail and Road have been gathering evidence. Transport for Wales has also launched its own inquiry. The Cambrian line is closed east of Machynlleth, and replacement buses are running today. The accident was close to the Talerddig passing loop. Early reports say one of the trains did not stop in the loop and then collided with the train approaching from the other direction. Anthony Hurford, a passenger on the down train, told the BBC he felt ‘pretty shellshocked’. He continued: ‘The word that keeps coming to my head is just brutal really. Just going from, I don't know how fast we were going, maybe 40, 50, 60 miles an hour, to nothing in the blink of an eye. ‘Somehow my body bent the leg of a table and ripped it off its bolts attached to the wall. Suddenly I was on the floor with my laptop strewn ahead of me, wondering what the hell had happened.’ He said the driver had tried to stop, but ‘for whatever reason the train wouldn't stop.’ Fallen leaves were blamed for a side collision between two trains on a junction at one portal of Salisbury tunnel on 31 October 2021, in which 14 people were hurt. The last fatal accident involving passengers on a British railway was the derailment of a ScotRail HST near Carmont in August 2020. A fatal head on collision also occurred on the Cambrian line near the former station of Abermule on 26 January 1921, in which 17 lives were lost. The accident was caused by a misunderstanding. The inquiry reported that one of the trains had been carrying the single line tablet for the previous section.