Major disruption is expected on West Midlands Trains later this week, as the TSSA says it is going ahead with its strikes over rest day payments. The union said roster clerks will strike from 00.01 on Thursday until Friday at 00.01hrs, while duty train crew managers and control grades will not

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander says HS2 should be the match of Japan’s Shinkansen network, which started to be developed in the 1960s. At the time, Japanese railways were mainly built to a narrower gauge of 1067mm rather than the 1435mm of standard gauge, but the new high speed lines used standard

HS2 Ltd has lost a case in the Court of Appeal, which has ruled that it extended Bromford tunnel in Birmingham without planning permission. The tunnel’s portals would originally have been within Birmingham City Council’s area, but the extension of the tunnel, which leads to Washwood Heath depot, placed the eastern

MPs have cast doubt on the plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail, saying they echo the same failures seen in HS2. The Public Accounts Committee is also doubtful how the full programme can be completed within its price cap of £45 billion. The Committee says it is not confident that the Department

The National Audit Office has warned that the cost of the ‘reset’ of the remaining section of HS2 will be about £153 million. Transport secretary Heidi Alexander announced last month that the line between London and Birmingham will now cost up to £107 billion, after chief executive Mark Wild had

picture: GBR AngliaCambridge South station opened for business yesterday morning, and an official opening follows today. The project is the university city’s third station, after Cambridge North was opened nine years ago. That station is now handling 1.5 million passengers a year, and Cambridge South is being served by up to 20

Train operators in England and Wales are urging passengers to only travel if they must, as the heatwave continues. Red and amber warnings of extreme heat are still in force, particularly in south east England, and there is also a risk of thunderstorms. There are also no trains between Luton and Bedford,

picture RAIBThe train from Corby which ran into the back of a stationary train south of Bedford, killing the driver and injuring more than 160 passengers, had passed a red signal a few moments before. The RAIB has issued its first report into the collision on 19 June, also revealing

Warnings of disruption to train services because of very high temperatures have spread to north west England. A red warning of extreme heat in southern England and the Midlands has already caused the railway to urge passengers not to travel in those areas unless they must, but Network Rail has said

Rail passengers are being urged not to travel, particularly in southern England or the Midlands, as temperatures threaten to exceed 35 degrees over the next few days. Train operators are warning that speed restrictions will be necessary as rail temperatures climb, and the Met Office has issued a red ‘extreme heat’