THE government should cancel January’s rail fare rise, according to the Campaign for Better Transport. The Retail Price Index for July is set to be announced on 1 August, and if the existing formula is applied it will determine the extent of the New Year changes for regulated fares, which include

Following on from the government’s green light for construction, HS2 have begun the search for contractors to deliver the high voltage power supply systems. The systems will transfer electricity to the UK’s new high-speed rail link and allow millions of people to enjoy low carbon journeys between Birmingham, London and the

TWO 170m tunnel boring machines named after British women and built in Germany by specialist firm Herrenknecht are set to begin the three-year task of boring the 16km ‘Chiltern tunnels’ for the first phase of HS2 between London and Birmingham in the New Year. HS2 Ltd has published new pictures of

THIS year’s Rail Live has been cancelled. The rail industry event had been planned to take place at Long Marston in Warwickshire on 9 and 10 September. The organisers have blamed ‘the uncertainty surrounding Covid-19 restrictions’. Some media reports have been suggesting that a wider lockdown could return next month. Plans had

The government has just announced a new round of funding to support English tram, light rail and bus services outside London, but Sim Harris suggests that the final reckoning, along with the billions already allocated to National Rail, will be a high one. FINANCIAL support is needed because of the continuing

Mark Smithers reports on the West Lancashire Light Railway, a family-friendly operation which has just celebrated its 50th anniversary after starting from humble beginnings in 1967.  IN 1878, the standard-gauge West Lancashire Railway was opened from Southport to Hesketh Bank, with a through connection to Preston following in 1882. This line

TIMBER traffic is returning to Scottish railways this week, after a gap of more than a decade during which all timber was carried by road. The Scottish Government has allocated £195,000 to Victa Railfreight for a six-week trial of timber trains in the far north of Scotland. There will be up to

An 180-year-old viaduct designed by railway pioneer George Stephenson is undergoing a multi-million-pound restoration to improve passenger journeys and secure its future for generations to come. The £3.7m Great North Rail Project investment will see the Grade II listed Gauxholme viaduct grit blasted to its bare metal for structural repairs to

With lockdown restrictions easing slightly in UK, this is perhaps a time to reflect on the past months, and look forward to what a world could look like once the COVID-19 pandemic has gone, if ever. Life after COVID-19 investigates past epidemics and their aftermath, seeking to draw parallels with the

A BUSINESS case for improving train services between Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich is to be developed by consultants on behalf of the East West Rail Consortium, as an addition to the plans for reopening the former Varsity Line between Oxford, Bedford and Cambridge. Work to complete the section between Oxford and