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.

Arriva UK Trains, which is owned by Deutsche Bahn and was the last private sector operator of Northern, has called for an industry summit about the future of open access. Arriva’s move has followed the George Bradshaw Address last week, in which transport secretary Mark Harper spoke of the government’s commitment to reform, including the possibility of more open access services. Arriva UK Trains managing director David Brown said: ‘We have long called for reform which builds on the very best of what the rail industry does and delivers cost-effective, modernised services for customers and communities. ‘It is welcome news that the focus has moved from diagnosing well-understood challenges to delivering action for the post-pandemic age, including through change that doesn’t require legislation and ensures customers quickly experience improvements and the taxpayer benefits. Arriva are ready and willing to help the railways grow and generate revenue to reduce taxpayer subsidy through our commercial expertise and understanding of what customers want. ‘It is particularly pleasing to see government commitment to supporting more open access services where it benefits passengers and taxpayers. We know through our stewardship of Grand Central and by watching other open access operations, the innovation and customer-focused improvements that can be delivered through such services. ‘We are calling for an Open Access Summit bringing together government, the regulator, industry, Network Rail and the Great British Railways Transition Team to collectively work through the barriers and blockers and agree practical steps for unleashing more of these innovative services, including through making best use of unused capacity on the network.’ The original plan for railway privatisation in the 1990s had envisaged a ‘right of access’ which could have meant almost unlimited open access, but this idea was abandoned at a very early stage in favour of ‘moderation of competition’ to protect those operators who had a government franchise. Arriva UK Trains owns open access operator Grand Central. It also currently operates Chiltern Railways and CrossCountry under risk-free contracts with the government after franchises were abolished in September 2020, during the Covid pandemic.

Test run ++ The bi-mode replacement for Avanti West Coast’s diesel Voyager fleet has made its first test run between Wolverhampton and Glasgow. The Class 805 is a new variant of Hitachi’s established A-Train series, and will replace the Bombardier Class 221s on routes between London, Shrewsbury, Crewe, Chester and Holyhead. The 805’s trial journey covered 901km from Oxley depot in Wolverhampton to Glasgow Central and back. Transport appeal ++ A coalition of 15 charities, business and transport groups has written to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, urging him to ‘show public transport some love’ by protecting and investing in trains and other public transport in the forthcoming Budget on 15 March. The letter, which has been signed by Bus Users UK, the Campaign for Better Transport, the Clean Cities Campaign, Client Earth, rural England charity CPRE, Cycling UK, Greener Vision, Greenpeace UK, the Institute for Public Policy Research, the Intergenerational Foundation, Living Streets, the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Possible, the Transport Action Network and the Urban Transport Group, calls on the Chancellor to protect passengers from the funding squeeze and the cost-of-living crisis that they fear is threatening public transport. Preston closed ++ Trains will not be calling at Preston over four weekends so that Network Rail can upgrade track on the West Coast Main Line. NR said it would be investing £1.5 million in upgrading track foundations and six sets of points and crossings. The closure dates are 18-19 and 25-26 February, followed by 4,5 and 12 March. Passengers using the West Coast Main Line elsewhere on these dates are being warned that fewer trains will be running, journeys will take longer and those trains which do run are expected to be busy. More information will be available on www.nationarail.co.uk. Transpennine progress ++ Morley station between Leeds and Huddersfield has reopened after a nine-day possession, while engineers laid the foundations for longer platforms, realigned the track and completed work on drainage. The old station is set to be demolished in June and a new station will open later this year. The project is part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.

The RMT is preparing to reballot its members for more strikes after it refused the latest pay offers from train operators and Network Rail on Friday afternoon. The union said its National Executive Committee had decided to reject both offers on the basis that ‘they do not meet members’ expectations on pay, job security or working conditions’. The RMT is seeking further discussions, but general secretary Mick Lynch is also preparing for the dispute to continue, because the union is preparing a fresh mambers’ ballot when the existing mandate runs out in May. He said: ‘We have carried out an in-depth consultation of our 40,000 members and the message we have received loud and clear is to reject these dreadful offers. ‘Our members cannot accept the ripping up of their terms and conditions or to have safety standards on the railway put into jeopardy under the guise of so-called modernisation. ‘If our union did accept these offers, we would see a severe reduction in scheduled maintenance tasks, making the railways less safe, the closure of all ticket offices and thousands of jobs stripped out of the industry when the railways need more investment not less. ‘We have carried out an extensive listening exercise and our members have spoken. ‘It is now time for the employers and the government to listen to railway workers in their tens of thousands. ’Our industrial campaign will continue for as long as it takes to get a negotiated settlement that meets our members reasonable expectations on jobs, pay and working conditions.’ The Rail Delivery Group responded that not only passengers but ‘many hard-working RMT members’ will be ‘deeply dismayed’ by the failure of negotiations. It said: ‘We removed driver-only operation and gave an improved job security offer. The railway's financial crisis is not going away. ‘The RMT leadership must now accept the urgent need to make the railway fit for the future for both our people, and the communities the railway serves.’

The National Rail Contract possessed by South Western Railway has been extended by two years. SWR is owned by FirstGroup and MTR, which have 70 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. It began as a franchise, replacing Stagecoach’s South West Trains, on 20 August 2017, and would have run for seven years to August 2024, with an option for a one-year extension at the discretion of the Department for Transport. However, the franchise began to run into trouble in 2018, when the accounts recorded a loss of almost £137 million in the year to March 2019. The directors also warned that cash support of £146 million from FirstGroup and MTR would probably run out. In January 2020, transport secretary Grant Shapps admitted that the franchise was ‘no longer sustainable’, but the Covid-19 pandemic caused franchises to be suspended in March. After a period of Emergency Measures, the DfT granted a new SWR National Rail Contract to start from March 2021 and run until May this year. This will now continue until May 2025. The terms of the contract mean that revenue is collected and costs are paid by the DfT, which gives the operator a performance fee, and FirstGroup said that ‘current contractual arrangements’ will continue. First’s CEO Graham Sutherland said: ‘We welcome the contract extension for South Western Railway, which enables us to build on the achievements of the first two years of the contract and continue improving the customer offering. We are committed to working closely with government and our partners to deliver a successful railway network that provides vital connections for customers and communities along the SWR route.’ The decision follows transport secretary Mark Harper’s announcement three days ago that the new ‘guiding mind’ to be known as Great British Railways is to go ahead, and that new-style Passenger Service Contracts managed by GBR will ‘balance the right performance incentives with simple, commercially driven targets’. He added that ‘risk will sit where it is best managed’.

Transport secretary Mark Harper last night promised to continue setting up the railway’s new ‘guiding mind’, Great British Railways. The process seemed to have stalled last year when plans to introduce the necessary legislation were put on hold, with the government saying that there was not enough Parliamentary time this session. However, in the 2023 Bradshaw address, the transport secretary said he would be announcing the winner of the competition to host GBR’s headquarters before Easter, and then respond to the consultation on GBR’s legislative powers by the summer. He also promised a major role for the private sector in the future railway, after the collapse of franchising during the Covid pandemic: ‘We will create a more customer focused and joined up railway. But we want to go further, I want to go further, and actually enhance the role of the private sector. Not just in running services but in maximising competition, innovation, and revenue growth right across the industry.’ He added: ‘I want the private sector to play its most important role in our railways yet. To reinvigorate the sector, drive innovation and most importantly, attract more customers to the railway. It will do so in partnership with GBR. GBR will help set the right commercial conditions across several key areas. ‘There will be new Passenger Service Contracts that will balance the right performance incentives with simple, commercially driven targets. But they won’t be a one-size fits all approach. In the past, we know some operators took on more financial risk than they could handle. So, now that risk will sit where it is best managed and that includes with operators, but only where it drives the best outcomes for passengers and taxpayers. We shouldn’t be afraid to let managing directors of train operating companies actually manage and direct their operations. Which is not what they’re able to do at the moment. ‘We’ll also open up railway data and systems, whilst lowering barriers to entry for the industry. For ticketing, that means a more competitive retail market and I will welcome new players to spur more innovation and give passengers the services they need. ‘We will expand commercial opportunities around land and property near stations. In Japan, rail companies take full advantage of these investments, generating even more income for the railways and we should look to do the same.’ His plans to simplify ticketing have mainly concerned the abolition of return fares, to be replaced by ‘single leg’ tariffs, which has been tried on LNER and will be extended this spring. But he also wants fares to vary according to how busy each train is. He said: ‘We’re also going to learn from the aviation sector and better manage capacity as well as raise revenue by trialling demand-based pricing on some LNER services too.’  There was encouraging news for open access operators, because Mr Harper will support more of them ‘where it benefits passengers and taxpayers’. Reaction was coming in barely before Mr Harper had finished his speech. The Railway Industry Association’s CEO Darren Caplan said: ‘The Railway Industry Association and our members will welcome the clarity on rail reform provided by transport secretary Mark Harper. The clarity around GBR, which the secretary of state was clear will be a strategic guiding mind rather than a controlling mind, is essential to ensuring that rail projects are delivered cost-effectively and efficiently by the rail supply chain, providing value for money to both the fare payer and the tax payer.’ The Campaign for Better Transport was also in favour. The CBT’s Norman Baker said: ‘This was a very encouraging speech from the transport tecretary. It’s particularly encouraging to see a way forward for growing passenger and freight business, as opposed to making cuts to save money. ‘The challenge now is for the transport secretary and rail minister to make this happen.’

Reports say transport secretary Mark Harper is set to announce that plans to create a ‘guiding mind’ for the railway industry are back on track, although the timetable for setting up Great British Railways has slipped. There had been fears that GBR, which had been recommended by former British Airways chief executive Keith Williams, had been set aside. His report into the railway industry’s structure was commissioned after the May 2018 timetable changes had proved chaotic. When he had investigated, he concluded that the major changes planned for that month on Northern and Thameslink had resulted in confusion because ‘nobody took charge’. His report, which was published in conjunction with transport secretary Grant Shapps in 2021, had explained: ‘Services across the north and south east of England were disrupted for many weeks after the late delivery of infrastructure improvements by Network Rail, miscalculations by both it and operators in preparing timetable changes, and a failure of accountability and oversight throughout the process, led to a collapse in the national timetable.’ The answer was seen to be a new ‘guiding mind’, but progress towards creating GBR, which will need new legislation, had apparently stalled during the high-level confusion in government itself last year, which involved the departure of Boris Johnson as prime minister, followed by the brief appointment of Liz Truss before she was also forced to resign, in favour of Rishi Sunak. Grant Shapps was dislodged as transport secretary during the period of uncertainty in Downing Street, and it is his successor Mark Harper who is expected to say tomorrow that GBR is starting to move forward again. A competition for towns that wish to host the headquarters of GBR had also been delayed. If the plans have remained essentially unchanged, GBR will absorb Network Rail and take responsibility for awarding passenger operating contracts in England, which have replaced the former franchises. The part played by the Department for Transport will be greatly reduced. Mark Harper is also expected to reveal major changes to ticketing, which are thought to include the abolition of return tickets in favour of ‘single leg’ alternatives, following trials on LNER.

Airport station ++ Trains are calling at the new station serving Inverness Airport from today, after the Scottish Government’s transport minister Jenny Gilruth opened the station yesterday. The station at Dalcross is part of a £42 million Scottish Government investment which has also paid for a 950m passing loop to improve capacity north of Inverness on the line towards Aberdeen. Transport Scotland said the new station will also improve transport links to the new town of Tornagrain and to the growing Inverness Airport Business Park. Welsh upgrade study ++ The Welsh Government and the Department for Transport have announced a £2.7 million study into improving the main line in South Wales, and adding five more stations to attract people away from the congested M4. Although the DfT has not named the potential station sites, the contenders could be Newport Road (Cardiff), Cardiff Parkway (St Mellons), Newport West, Newport East (Somerton), Llanwern and Magor. Cardiff Parkway is already planned. Wales secretary David T.C. Davies said: ‘Good transport connections between south Wales and western England are essential for the economy in Wales, enabling businesses to grow and flourish. I’m pleased to work with the Welsh Government on plans that could have a huge impact on the many thousands of people who use the transport network in south Wales every day.‘ Free TfL travel ++ The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has agreed to provide free travel to the cleaning staff employed by firms who have contracts with Transport for London. Their union the RMT had been campaigning for years on behalf of the 5,800 cleaners, and RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘This is another step in the right direction by the Mayor of London and we’re calling on him to extend it to all TfL sub-contracted workers. Sadiq Khan’s welcome action stands in stark contrast to the Tories who earlier in the week forced legislation through the House of Commons that would remove these workers’ right to strike. Instead of attacking cleaners, the Tories should be following the Mayor’s lead and ensuring all rail cleaners have free travel.’ 

Vandals sentenced ++ Members of a graffiti gang who repeatedly sprayed trains at Northern’s Heaton depot in Newcastle have been sentenced, although the trial was delayed by the Covid pandemic. Adam Smith, 28, of Hedgeley Road in Hebburn, was described as the ‘ringleader’, and he has been jailed for 18 months by Newcastle Crown Court. His accomplices were Jordan Shone, 26, of Lumley Court in Hebburn, Mark Marshall, 28, of Greenbank in Jarrow and Colin Bell, 47, of St Vincent Street in South Shields. They all received suspended sentences between nine and 18 months and were also ordered to undertake unpaid work. A further offender, David McGuire, 28, of Winskill Road in Simonside, South Shields, was given a community order and ordered to undertake 18 months’ unpaid work. The five all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause criminal damage between January 2018 and June 2019. Northern said it welcomed the sentences, and that the damage had cost thousands of pounds. Passenger landmark ++ More than 100 million journeys have been made on the Elizabeth Line since the central section opened in May last year. Transport for London said the number of passengers had reached 600,000 a day, and that the new route is ‘on track to break even by the end of the 2023/24 financial year’. TfL also said it will introduce ‘the final version’ of the Elizabeth Line timetable as planned on 21 May, and that headways between Paddington and Whitechapel will then be shortened to 2.5 mins in the peaks. Leaves battle ++ The Rail Safety and Standards Board is collaborating with the University of Sheffield to use artificial intelligence to help predict slippery rails. The new project is investigating how more detailed information on local conditions can be used to tackle the seasonal challenge associated with ‘leaves on the line’. Low adhesion track is a serious problem, which costs £350 million a year and can threaten safety if a train fails to stop as intended. The RSSB said temperature, humidity and the presence of leaves or other contaminants can all affect the adhesion between wheels and rails.

The first of two 24-hour walkouts by drivers this week has closed most of the passenger railway system in Britain. Trains are running where their operators are not in dispute with the unions, so that services are normal on c2c, Caledonian Sleeper, Merseyrail, South Western Railway (apart from Island Line) and Transport for Wales. ScotRail drivers are also booking on as usual, although there is disruption between Ladybank and Kirkcaldy because of a signal fault. There are limited services on GWR, Greater Anglia (including Stansted Express) and LNER, but not all stations are being served and services are starting later and finishing earlier than usual. Urban services such as London Overground, London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, Tyne & Wear Metro and Merseyrail are unaffected, while Eurostar and other open access operators are also working normally. Members of the drivers’ union ASLEF are staging pickets at stations and depots, while the relatively few driver members of the RMT are also joining the walkouts. ASLEF had rejected the most recent pay proposal on 17 January, after a meeting with the new rail minister Huw Merriman eight days earlier. General secretary Mick Whelan said: ‘It’s now clear to our members, and to the public, that this was never about reform or modernisation but an attempt to get hundreds of millions of pounds of productivity for a 20 per cent pay cut while taking away any hope of the union having any say in the future. Irreparable harm has been done to the integrity of the negotiating process and the future ability to negotiate an appropriate way forward, but we make ourselves available anyway. ‘Not only is the offer a real-terms pay cut, with inflation running north of 10 per cent, but it came with so many conditions attached that it was clearly unacceptable. They want to rip up our terms and conditions in return for a real-terms pay cut. It was clearly a rushed offer, made just before our meeting with the minister, and not one, it seems to me, that was designed to be accepted.’ The Rail Delivery Group said: ‘Having made an initial offer which would have taken average driver salaries from £60,000 to nearly £65,000, we had hoped the ASLEF leadership would engage constructively to move talks forward, rather than staging more unnecessary strikes. We can only apologise for the disruption.’ A second walkout has been called for Friday.