The National Cyber Security Centre and the National Crime Agency have been called in to help Transport for London deal with a cyber attack, less than two weeks before the BBC launches a drama which depicts chaos on the railways after computer systems have been penetrated. Transport for London says transport services have not been affected, and it believes details of customers held on systems like the Oystercard database are safe. This morning the TfL website says: ‘We are currently dealing with an ongoing cyber security incident. At present, there is no evidence that any customer data has been compromised and there has been no impact on TfL services. ‘The security of our systems and customer data is very important to us, and we have taken immediate action to prevent any further access to our systems. ‘We are working closely with the relevant government agencies to respond to the incident. ‘We will update you further when the incident has been resolved.’ Earlier, TfL’s chief technology officer Shashi Verma had said:‘ We have introduced a number of measures to our internal systems to deal with an ongoing cyber security incident. The security of our systems and customer data is very important to us and we will continue to assess the situation throughout and after the incident. ‘Although we’ll need to complete our full assessment, at present, there is currently no evidence that any customer data has been compromised. There is currently no impact to TfL services and we are working closely with the National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Security Centre to respond to the incident.’ The drama Night Sleeper tells the story of an overnight train from Glasgow to London which is sabotaged by a device inserted in the Train Management System, and becomes out of control. The series starts on BBC1 on 15 September.

Transport secretary Louise Haigh has launched a shadow version of the future ‘directing mind’ Great British Railways, as the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill reaches its Third Reading in the House of Commons today. When the Passenger Railway Services Bill becomes law, the ownership of train operators will be in the public sector by default, ruling out any return to the former franchising system. The Bill was created because more complicated legislation will be needed to give GBR legal authority and to allow it to take over many of the functions of the Department for Transport as well as the infrastructure responsibilities of Network Rail. Louise Haigh said: ‘Today, I am firing the starting gun on the biggest reforms to our railways in a generation. I am determined to end the chaos, delay and disruption faced by people on train journeys every day. ‘Establishing Shadow Great British Railways marks a significant step towards delivering a unified railway with passengers at its heart by bringing together track and train, and by progressing the Passenger Railways Services Bill we’re one step closer to public ownership which will help put our railways back on track. ‘This Government will direct every penny into creating a stronger, more reliable rail network that works for everyone. ‘This is about making the railways work for the people that use them – putting passengers first and driving up performance.’ The private sector lobby group Rail Partners has sounded a note of caution. Rail Partners chief executive Andy Bagnall said: ‘Train companies have been calling for the establishment of Great British Railways for many years but rushing to ban the use of contracted operators, before working out the details of this wider reform, is a political decision that offers few practical benefits for passengers. ‘When the government is facing huge financial challenges, it is counter-intuitive to remove the only part of the rail system with a track record of driving growth and reducing subsidy for taxpayers – nationalisation could be costing taxpayers £1 billion per year by the end of this Parliament.’ Meanwhile, a new Rail Sale has been announced for early next year, to coincide with celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of the railways. The sale will be intended to encourage more people to travel by train by offering discounts of up to 50 per cent off fares for a limited period.

The Scottish Government is to replace its High Speed Train fleet, which is used on the intercity routes between Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Inverness. The fleet of InterCity 125s, consisting of 26 four- or five-car sets, was cascaded to Scotland from Great Western Railway in 2018 and branded ‘Inter7city’. The Mk3 coaches were refurbished and fitted with plug doors, although some entered service at first with their original hinged doors. One set was lost in the fatal derailment at Carmont in August 2020. Transport secretary Fiona Hyslop said: ‘Resilient, reliable ScotRail services are key to encouraging more people to choose to travel by train rather than car, to cutting our transport emissions and to helping to move people around Scotland for work, leisure and learning. That is why we must build on our investment in Scotland’s railway infrastructure by investing in the services and trains which connect our key cities. ‘Over four million passenger journeys were made on intercity trains in the last year. We want to maintain and where possible increase that number. We want to replace the current fleet with trains which provide more comfort and accessibility for passengers. ‘This planned investment will ensure the reliability of our intercity routes for the long-term, will reduce emissions and support our efforts to decarbonise Scotland’s railways.’ The procurement will be led by ScotRail on behalf of Transport Scotland. Further details will be provided when the contract notice is published ‘in the coming weeks’.

Arriva is applying for an extension to the track access agreement for Grand Central, which would take its open access licence to 2038. The application to the Office of Rail and Road for another 15 years on its East Coast Main Line routes includes proposals for a new fleet of bi-mode trains to replace the Class 180 Alstom diesels, which were built at the start of this century. Arriva said a new fleet would mean that it could offer 20 per cent more seats on Grand Central between London and Sunderland, and London and Bradford. It has started a consultation with stakeholders about its ambitions. Arriva UK Trains managing director David Brown said: ‘Grand Central plays an important role within Arriva Group’s rail portfolio and securing long-term access will allow us to invest and grow, supporting the Government’s ambitions for Britain’s railways to thrive. Grand Central provides reliable and efficient journeys to passengers who would otherwise not have access to services and therefore plays an essential role in economic growth by connecting communities across the north of England.’ It is Arriva’s second application to the ORR for an expansion of Grand Central this year. On 20 May Arriva proposed to run up to two more daily return services between London and Bradford, provide an additional early morning departure from York to London King’s Cross and a late-evening return service, four daily calls at Seaham on the Sunderland route and more calls at Peterborough. However, Network Rail replied on 28 June that it ‘cannot currently support the additional rights … because they would potentially interact with other known applications … Grand Central at present does not call at Seaham and so Network Rail would need to understand the operational risk assessment for such calls.’ Arriva is currently the holder of National Rail contracts for CrossCountry and Chiltern Railways, but these are due to be terminated as part of the government’s plans to renationalise the remaining former passenger franchises over the next three years. It also holds the Transport for London concession to operate London Overground.

The discounts available for travel on most railcards are set to be trimmed on 15 September, according to reports. The effective rises in fares will be small, because the present discounts of 34 per cent are said to be coming down to 33.4 per cent, which is just over the ‘third off’ which is normally advertised. The result would be that a fare of £100 would be reduced to £66.60 instead of £66 exactly. The main exception would be the 16-17 Railcard, which would continue to offer a 50 per cent discount. Although the rise amounts to 60p for every £100, transport campaigners are protesting. Railcard, the organisation run by the Rail Delivery Group, said: ‘The cost of a Railcard hasn't increased for over 10 years and will continue to provide customers with a third off their rail fare for just £30 a year – a cost that can be made back in just one or two journeys.’ If the reduction in discounts does go ahead, it will not benefit train operators. The Treasury or the devolved governments already collect all the income from rail fares, while paying the industry’s costs and a management fee to those English operators which have not yet been nationalised by transferring them from a private sector company to DOHL – the Department for Transport’s operator of last resort. The government’s Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill, which would allow the remaining National Rail Contracts to be terminated at the next break point – usually the ‘core expiry date’ – is due to receive its Third Reading in the House of Commons tomorrow and be in force by the end of the year.

A series of weekend strikes which had been called by ASLEF on LNER has been called off, after a resolution was reported by the union. Drivers belonging to ASLEF had been set to walk out every weekend between now and mid-November, in a dispute about agreements which the union said had been broken. The dispute is not connected with the national pay dispute on which drivers are currently being balloted, with a recommendation to accept. LNER had already published a reduced timetable for this weekend but said it would now see how it could strengthen its service. The operator said the latest talks with ASLEF had been ‘constructive’ and that it was pleased the strikes had been suspended. ASLEF general secretary Mick Whelan said: ‘Once again we have demonstrated that by sitting round the table and negotiating, issues on the railway can be resolved in a way that means better workplace practices for rail workers and a better service for the travelling public. ASLEF will continue to campaign for a fully-staffed railway that doesn’t rely on excessive use of driver overtime. ‘We continue to operate in good faith and we are pleased to have finally resolved this long-standing issue with LNER of abuse of our agreements. We look forward to normal working resuming.’

Rail freight has been given a boost with the scrapping of track access charges for the first six months of a new flow. Network Rail said the cost of TACs is about £1000 for each round trip, depending on the motive power, length and weight of the train. As Network Rail is state-owned, the concession amounts to a government subsidy of rail freight, although two grants were already available. These are the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme and Freight Facilities Grants. The Modal Scheme evens out the cost of moving freight by road or rail, and the Department for Transport estimates that it removes 900,000 heavy lorry movements from the roads each year. Freight Facilities Grants only exist in Scotland and Wales, and help with the costs of rail freight terminals. The 600 freight trains which run on an average day save more than a million tonnes of carbon emissions a year, and ambitious targets have been set by the governments in London and Edinburgh encourage the sector to grow. Network Rail says the reason for scrapping track access charges until a new flow can become established is its commitment to support the growth of rail freight. Rail minister Lord Hendy said: ‘The rail freight sector plays a crucial role in keeping the country moving, providing a faster, greener and more efficient way of transporting goods. The Government’s policy is to promote and grow the use of freight services across the country and make moving goods by rail the obvious choice for businesses, and this initiative will do just that.’ Rail Freight Group director general Maggie Simpson has welcomed the new discount. She continued: ‘Many businesses are looking to move more freight by rail, but it can be a big step to start new services. This scheme provides welcome support for the first six months of operation, helping customers and operators to open up new routes.’

Most train services have been restored on the Heart of Wales Line between Shrewsbury and Swansea, after a derailment blocked the line between Llanwrtyd and Shrewsbury. Network Rail said the incident had happened at about 07.30 yesterday, when one bogie of the 05.22 from Shrewsbury left the rails just outside Llandrindod station. It added that the derailment had been at low speed, and that an investigation had been launched. The train had been running about 25 minutes late when the derailment occurred. There were no reports of injuries or significant damage, but trains on the route were limited to the section between Swansea and Llanwyrtd, while buses replaced trains between Llanwyrtd and Craven Arms. National Rail has warned that some disruption will continue today (Wednesday). The 04.20 from Shrewsbury to Llandrindod and the return working from Llandrindod at 05.50 were both cancelled, while the 15.17 from Shrewsbury to Swansea and the 17.01 from Llandrindod to Shrewsbury will also be replaced by buses.

A Paralympian who missed her booked assistance on LNER and had to ‘crawl off’ a train at London King’s Cross has described how there was no one at the station who could help her. LNER has launched an investigation. Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson said she had booked assistance on the 19.15 LNER service from Leeds to London last night, on her way to Paris for the Paralympics, which start tomorrow. However, she missed her train and travelled on the following 19.45. When she arrived in London she waited for 20 minutes, but no one arrived to help her. Cleaners on the train said they could not give her any assistance because they were not insured to do so. She told the BBC this morning how she had to manage for herself. The athlete, who has won 11 golds, four silvers and a bronze medal at five Paralympics, said: ‘There was no one there to meet me and I waited five minutes before putting anything on social media because you're meant to leave five minutes. After 16 minutes of waiting at King's Cross, there was no one in sight. ‘There were a couple of cleaners but they're not insured or able to help me off. So I decided that I would crawl off the train. ‘I'm going to Paris later today, I've got a few bags. I chucked them on the platform, I had to get out of my chair, sit on the floor by the door which is not pleasant and then crawl off.’ ‘Legally I am allowed to turn up and ask to get on a train. We were meant to have level boarding in the UK on 1 January 2020 under the Disability and Discrimination Act but government has kicked the can down the road. ‘I can just about get off the train if I need to, but there are loads of people that can't. I can't really crawl but sit on the floor and drag my legs. There was no one around and I was very angry last night. ‘If the train manager hadn't seen me crawling off, I would have had to pull the emergency cord and I would have delayed the train going north.’ LNER responded: ‘We are sorry to understand there has been an issue at London King’s Cross station on Monday evening. ‘We are in the process of investigating this and are in contact with the customer directly.’