THE Office of Rail and Road says 134 million journeys were made in the second quarter of the year, an increase of almost 100 million on the previous three months, when the first lockdowns began. Even so, the number in Q2 was less than a third of the ‘normal’ total

THE former Avanti West Coast and South Western Railway franchises will become management contracts when the present Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements come to an end. The move marks a further step towards abolishing the old-style franchises. FirstGroup, which is the majority shareholder in both contracts, said the changeover would come for

A STRIKE ballot held by the RMT on ScotRail has failed to attract enough votes in favour, and the union is blaming ‘ScotRail tactics’ and ‘prohibitive anti-union laws’ for the result.  The ballot produced 756 votes in favour of strikes and 631 against. This meant that 31 per cent of those

We’ve teamed up with one of the UK’s leading railway artist James Green GRA to offer you an outstanding prize worth £330! The winner will receive a collection of SIX mounted limited edition prints of their choice from the artist. Each hand signed and numbered limited edition print will be double mounted

THE RMT union has called off strikes which had been under way at two Alstom maintenance sites in north west England – but only for now. The sites affected are Longsight in Manchester, where Alstom maintains Avanti West Coast Pendolinos, and Chester, which takes care of the Class 175 fleet used

THE first two tunnelling machines for HS2 have arrived in Britain, and HS2 Ltd said they will start work in the New Year. The 2,000 tonne machines – built in Germany and named Florence and Cecilia after women associated with Buckinghamshire – will now be reassembled, tested and commissioned. They have

Britain’s best-selling rail title The Railway Magazine is back for another month of award-winning photos, news, features and exclusives from the rail industry, past and present. This month’s The Railway Magazine covers first Vivarail train arriving on the Isle of Wight, plus Eurostar and HS1 warn their futures are at risk.

You may have seen reports that Prince William and his wife the Duchess of Cambridge are touring the country in the Royal Train to thank community workers and frontline staff for their efforts during the pandemic. Sim Harris suggests one small aspect of this tour is rather out of date. THE

Birmingham New Street’s highly successful Christmas Eve meal for the city’s homeless is returning this year – but with a difference. For the third year running Network Rail is teaming up with award-winning charity Midland Langar Seva Society (MLSS) to provide hot food and festive cheer for those who are struggling

THE Office of Rail and Road has praised Network Rail’s timetable planners for their extraordinary work in making four major timetable changes over six months, during ‘a very challenging time’. Rail schedules were adjusted repeatedly during 2020 to align as much as possible with the various states of lockdowns and other