Transport for London has awarded an eight-year concession for London Overground to FirstGroup, but the RMT has described the decision as ‘outrageous’. The original London Overground lines were launched by London’s first elected Mayor Ken Livingstone in 2007, and the new contract with First Rail London Ltd will replace Arriva’s concession

Amended from 15.11The Second Reading of the Bill to create Great British Railways has begun in the House of Commons. Key points from opening speech by transport secretary Heidi Alexander: (15.11) After years of spiralling costs this ‘landmark Bill’ means that the railway will be owned by the public (15.14) A rolling stock

The Bill which will create Great British Railways is being debated in the House of Commons, as the Railways Bill receives its Second Reading. The Government has announced that the GBR identity will start to appear on trains and stations in the spring. Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: ‘The future of

Rail unions are warning that staff and passengers are being put at risk by repeated budget reductions which have left fewer British Transport Police officers. The British Transport Police Authority meets in two days from now, when members will be told that the number of officers on patrol has fallen by

Strikes which had been called by the RMT on CrossCountry on all four Saturdays in December have been called off, after the union said its dispute over rest day working had been ‘resolved’. Near-normal services can now be provided, although engineering work in the East Midlands on 6 December will mean

Business leaders are losing faith in rail, according to the results of a survey published by the Railway Industry Association. A total of 125 companies were asked whether they thought the rail market would contract or grow in the coming year by independent pollsters Savanta, and almost two thirds thought it

Updated 09.15An open access application has been submitted again, after the Office of Rail and Road rejected it in July. Alstom’s Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway Company wants track access rights between Wrexham, Shrewsbury, Telford, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Nuneaton and London Euston. The revised plans include four daily services each way rather than

The Office of Rail and Road has changed its mind about making the 07.00 Avanti West Coast train from Manchester to London an empty stock working carrying only staff, following widespread protests. The ORR had instructed AWC to cease advertising the train after the 15th of this month, saying that its

The House of Commons is to debate railway reforms in full next week, when the Railways Bill is due to receive its Second Reading. The Bill was introduced last month and will set up the ‘directing mind’ Great British Railways, which will take over from Network Rail and also run the

The railway must prepare for increasing hazards as a result of climate change. The warning has come from the Met Office, three days before the start of ‘meteorological’ winter on Monday. The weather service says British winters are becoming generally wetter, meaning that storms, floods and landslides are becoming more likely. Most