A bridge in Rutland was so seriously damaged by a lorry on 5 November that the railway may be closed between Leicester and Peterborough for the next three weeks, Replacement buses are running and freight trains carrying essential goods are being diverted via London. Fosters Bridge at Ketton crosses the A6121, which will also be closed until repairs can be completed. Trains return ++ More trains are running today after the cancellation of three 24-hour RMT strikes at the eleventh hour on Friday afternoon. Train operators were unable to change the rosters for thousands of drivers and other train crew immediately, and timetables are slowly returning to normal day by day. The strikes would have been staged on Saturday, Monday and tomorrow, and ‘intense negotiations’ between the RMT, Network Rail and train operators are now underway. The union has also warned that more strikes may be called unless there is a settlement, and a ballot of its members authorising fresh walkouts until April closes a week today. Metro expansion ++ Transport North East has set out a business case for an extension of the Tyne & Wear Metro which would give Washington a rail connection and also be the start of reinstating the Leamside line. The Washington Metro Loop would include new stations at Follingsby, Washington North and Washington South. The scheme would cost £745 million, and TNE said the trains would replace 1.7 million car journeys a year.

Many train operators are running more trains today, after their timetables were slashed in expectation of strikes on Saturday, today and Wednesday. But others are warning that service reductions will continue for now. The RMT cancelled the walkouts on Friday afternoon because talks with Network Rail and the operators are now said to be progressing. However, it is taking several days to restore all normal services, which some operators say is mainly because of the complexity of rearranging rosters. Among individual operators, Transport for Wales is expecting to run most services from this morning, although some local disruption has not been ruled out. Greater Anglia is promising a full timetable from today, and so is Merseyrail, while ScotRail is expecting to restore all services from tomorrow. Govia Thameslink is not expecting to be back to normal until Wednesday, while the recovery is slower on Northern, which said: ‘We are working up a plan to run a fuller service on Wednesday.’ TransPennine Express is also hoping to run more trains from Wednesday, and so is Chiltern Railways. GWR has been unable to say when all its trains will run again, but warned disruption will be continuing today. West Midlands Railway services are also still reduced, and WMR has not yet said when full timetables will be restored. LNER said that its reduced timetables will continue, saying only: ‘Due to the late notice of these cancelled strikes, there will be limited changes to the planned reduced timetables.’ Southeastern said its strike-day timetables will continue to apply, along with ‘limited changes to the planned reduced timetables’. South Western Railway services will also be limited today, but SWR said it could confirm that full services would be restored from Wednesday. Avanti West Coast had been running a reduced service in any case, and it has also been unable to predict details of its service levels, saying only that it will still be providing only a limited ‘strike day’ timetable today and on Wednesday. Avanti told its passengers: ‘We’re currently working hard to rebuild our timetable in a resilient and sustainable way that will allow us to gradually increase services without being reliant on traincrew overtime, which has fallen dramatically in recent weeks. ‘As a result, our upcoming timetables are being amended on a rolling basis and will be confirmed at shorter notice than usual. While the timetable is available on our website and app, some services are still subject to change or will not operate at all. We know we’re not delivering the service you rightly expect and we're sorry for the enormous frustration and inconvenience this is causing. We’d like to thank you for your continued patience and understanding.’ After the strikes had been called off, the Rail Delivery Group had said: ‘It is positive that the RMT leadership have stepped back from the brink and called off their strike action. Unfortunately, the late notice means that while train companies are working hard to reinstate services, they will remain severely disrupted for our passengers tomorrow and into the early part of next week.’

The RMT has performed a sudden u-turn by cancelling three imminent national strikes. The unexpected change of heart, just before a weekend, has come too late to save train services during the next few days which had been cut back sharply by operators expecting mass walkouts, with the first set for today (5 November). It was also too late to avoid a strike on West Midlands Railway yesterday (4 November). A separate walkout is still due on London Underground on 10 November. More strikes had been called on Network Rail on the 7th and at Network Rail and the operators on the 9th. These have also been cancelled, but train services may still be disrupted. The RMT said its change of heart was because it had secured ‘unconditional’ talks with Network Rail and the promise of an offer from the operators ‘who up until this point, have made no offer of any kind’. It also emphasised the dispute remained ‘very much alive’. General secretary Mick Lynch added: ‘The threat of strike action and our strongly supported industrial campaign has made the employers see sense. ‘We have always wanted to secure a negotiated settlement and that is what we will continue to push for in this next phase of intensive talks.’ In contradiction, railway employers and the government have been telling journalists that their position is unchanged. Meanwhile, members of the RMT are still being asked to vote on whether to continue industrial action until April. The ballot closes on 15 November. Mr Lynch continued: ‘The re-ballot remains live and if we have to take strike action during the next six months to secure a deal, we will.’ The Rail Delivery Group, speaking for the operators, said: ’It is positive that the RMT leadership have stepped back from the brink. We remain committed to intensive negotiations to agree the reforms needed to improve reliability, deliver a pay rise for our people and get the industry back on a sustainable financial footing.’

The number of people travelling on National Rail and the London Underground is continuing to rise, with the demand over some weekends greater than it was before the Covid lockdowns. The quietest day of the week is Monday, with more commuters travelling on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. There are also fewer commuters on Fridays, but their absence is offset by the increasing number of people travelling for leisure purposes on a day which is increasingly seen as the start of the weekend. On London Underground there were 78 per cent of pre-Covid passengers in the week ending 28 October, reports the Times. The figures for the start of September were 71 per cent, compared with 45 per cent in January. At the weekends passenger travel is back to more than 90 per cent and sometimes more than before the lockdowns. On National Rail the recovery is also continuing, and as on the Underground the quietest days of the week for commuters are Mondays and Fridays. Network Rail says the number of National Rail passengers in the London area is back to 99 per cent of pre-Covid levels. Again, Fridays are busy, but mainly because of the large numbers of leisure travellers rather than commuters. The news on revenue is not quite so rosy, because fewer passengers are travelling on First Class tickets or buying classic seasons. It is not clear how successful the new ‘flexible’ seasons have proved to be. Southeastern reported recently that the number of its passengers now holding full-time seasons has fallen back to 15 per cent of commuters. It is also abolishing First Class on its mainline trains, reflecting the change in travel habits and releasing more seats for other passengers. The increases are being recorded in spite of repeated industrial action this year. A strike is disrupting West Midlands Railway services today, and it will be followed by a series of more general strikes from tomorrow.

Planned 24-hour strikes by 40,000 RMT members at Network Rail and National Rail operators in England which had been called for today have been postponed until 9 November because today is Poppy Day in London. It’s the second time time this year that the RMT has changed industrial action to avoid disrupting an important event. The first was in September, when three strikes were cancelled during the period of Royal Mourning to show respect for the late Queen. The postponement of action on National Rail today also means there will be no disruption on Transport for London services, which would have been affected. However the London Underground will still be affected by an RMT strike on 10 November, while RMT strikes will be staged at Network Rail on 5 and 7 and 9 November, with train operators in England also involved on the 5th and the 9th. The walkouts of Network Rail staff will also disrupt train services throughout Britain, including some on TfL, because many signallers will be absent.

The long-running programme of upgrades on the Hope Valley line between Manchester and Sheffield is continuing. Two possessions on the eastern end of the route have been arranged for two Sundays this month so that a new loop can be laid and a railway underbridge extended, widening the formation for future double track. Dore & Totley station will also become more accessible. Trains will not run between Sheffield and Edale on 13 and 20 November so that the work can go ahead. Network Rail will lay new track at Bamford in preparation for a new four-track loop between there and Hathersage, while the underbridge will be widened at Dore & Totley so that the line through the station can be doubled in future. Principal programme sponsor Hannah Lomas said: ‘The next phase of construction work has started on the Hope Valley line, continuing the essential upgrade to make Dore & Totley station more accessible and train services between Manchester and Sheffield more reliable.’

Strikes ++ Train operators are urging passengers to only attempt to travel if they must on the forthcoming strike days of 5, 7 and 9 November. The first and third will affect Network Rail and most  operators, while the strike on the 7th will involve Network Rail staff only. Even so, most lines will have limited services at best on that day because the walkout will include signallers. Many routes will close entirely. Another strike on 10 November will affect London Underground and Overground. Merseyrail said it will be will be running a limited hourly service on 5, 7 and November. Its staff are not striking, but the system will be affected by the absence of many Network Rail staff. New chair ++ The chair of the House of Commons Transport Committee is to be replaced, because the present chairman Huw Merriman is becoming a transport minister. Rules of the Select Committees do not allow members of the government to take part, as the committees are intended exclusively for backbenchers from all sides of the house, although the chair must be from the ruling party. Nominations are now open and will close at noon on 15 November. If there is only one candidate, the Speaker is likely to announce the result that day.  If more than one nomination is received, a ballot will take place on 16 November and the Speaker would announce the results in the House of Commons later that day. Finance director ++ Greater Anglia has appointed a new finance director. Michael Robertson joins the operator from its majority shareholder Abellio Group, where he was group financial controller. Previously he was ScotRail’s head of finance after spending several years with Grant Thornton UK.

The future of HS2 could be at risk, after levelling-up minister Michael Gove warned that ‘everything will be reviewed’ when he was asked about the gap in government funds. He then named the high speed project as a possible candidate for savings, describing it as ‘a significant investment’, but gave no other details. Some backbenchers have already been calling for HS2 to be abandoned. Mr Gove told Times Radio: ‘As a result of different factors, including mistakes that were made at the mini-budget, we have got to make some decisions which will be painful. When we face the particularly economic problems that we have at the moment, I’m sure that some capital spending will be cut.’ Meanwhile, the mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin is calling for an update on the £100 million Leeds Area Study which is examining ‘the most effective way’ to bring HS2 trains from East Midlands Parkway to Leeds, using the conventional network. Although the study was set up almost eleven months ago, it appears to be on hold. The mayor said: ‘We’ve not heard a thing and it’s so disrespectful. It just shows the government’s commitment to the North that we still have no information at all on the study, even the terms of reference.’ The government has not commented on the Leeds study delay or Mr Gove’s remarks, saying only: ‘HS2 is under way, within budget, and supporting 28,000 jobs. The government remains committed to delivering it on time and to budget. ‘As the latest report to parliament sets out, current cost pressures are covered within the existing budget and we continue to identify areas where savings and efficiencies can be made.’

Dismissed ++ Torbay MP Kevin Foster has been dismissed from his job as minister of state at the Department for Transport. He had only been at the DfT for seven weeks, having been appointed on 7 September. His departure is the latest in a series of replacements of Liz Truss’s ministers by her successor Rishi Sunak. Mr Foster was first elected to Parliament in May 2015. Born in Plymouth, he grew up in south Devon and was given his previous ministerial role by Boris Johnson, who appointed him as the minister for future borders and immigration in February 2020. Before he had held several other government posts, including minister for Wales and assistant government whip. In his departure letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Foster pledged his unwavering support for Mr Sunak’s administration. Strike ++ An RMT strike will take place on ScotRail tomorrow. The RMT’s company council and national executive committee had rejected ScotRail’s latest offer, which ScotRail said would have seen the lowest paid staff receive a basic pay increase of almost 7.5 per cent. ScotRail also said its latest offer had depended on tomorrow’s strike being called off, as well as a vote by staff on whether to accept the increase, which the union refused to do. Before a previous ScotRail strike on 10 October, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch had said: ‘Our members refuse to be made poorer and will exercise their industrial strength to let ScotRail know that they will not rest until they are paid what they deserve.’

Suppliers ++ The new chancellor Jeremy Hunt is being urged not to cut rail investment by the Railway Industry Association, which represents suppliers. It wrote to him as pressure grew for cuts in public spending. RIA chief executive Darren Caplan said: ‘We of course understand that there are incredibly difficult decisions to be made on the economy in the coming weeks and months. We wanted to point out to you and your officials that in terms of public spending, rail represents impressive value for money. A recent study published last year, commissioned by RIA and conducted by Oxford Economics, shows that the railway industry is an essential generator of economic growth, jobs and investment. In the UK, rail supports 710,000 jobs, contributes over £43 billion Gross Value Added, provides up to £800 million in exports, and for every £1 spent on rail, £2.50 of investment is generated elsewhere in the economy.’ Closure ++ The viaduct at Barmouth will be closed again in mid-November, as work to upgrade the structure is resumed by Network Rail. The bridge reopened for trains temporarily on 15 October, but only for about a month.  A long-running project to upgrade the mainly wooden structure has meant a series of closures, the last of which was from 12 September. The next stage of work from November will include additional repairs and strengthening work as well as further metallic restoration and track renewal. During this stage, both the railway and the parallel pedestrian footway will be closed. As before, buses are replacing Transport for Wales trains from 15 November until 10 December. Free rides ++ Transport for Wales is helping families and friends explore Wales and the Borders for less with a ‘Kids Go Free’ offer this half term. Up to two children under the age of 11 can travel free with each fare paying adult on TfW services, and the minimum age of the accompanying adult has now been lowered from 18 to 16. Children aged 11 to 15 can travel without charge between the hours of 09.30 and 16.00 and again from 18.00, Monday to Friday, and all day on Saturday and Sunday.