THE Island Line timetable was suspended on Monday morning, after the only serviceable train on the route was sprayed with graffiti. Passengers were being diverted to buses until the graffiti could be removed. The Island Line was already hampered by a fault on a second train, and passengers had been warned

HS2 LTD says 22,000 jobs will be created by the construction of Phase 1 of the high speed line between London and Birmingham. Enabling works and other preparations at a number of sites have been underway for some time, but HS2 says it is now marking the ‘formal’ start of construction. Transport

EUROSTAR has axed Ashford and Ebbsfleet from its timetables, and says its trains are unlikely to call again at the international stations in Kent before 2022. Eurostar stopped serving the two stations as lockdown started in March, but said: ‘We have experienced an unprecedented fall in demand, with bookings down by

HS2 is strengthening its partnership with the Social Mobility Foundation (SMF) to provide work experience places and 1:1 mentoring to ensure young people can access professional support. The rail company has been working with SMF for the last five years, though this year HS2 has adapted its traditional summer work experience

Photo: Network Rail Bristol’s Temple Meads marked 180 years since the station was built with a special celebration. Isambard Kingdom Brunel built the station in 1840 and to mark the occasion Network Rail and GWR celebrated its historic past and looked forward to a bright future as Bristol Temple Meads is set

A NUMBER of train operators have announced increased services to coincide with the reopening of schools to all children and also to carry more commuters. Greater Anglia said it is now running a ’near normal’ timetable, and that from 7 September more than 93 per cent of Greater Anglia’s pre-pandemic services

THE Department for Transport has extended the Emergency Measures Agreement on Great Western Railway from 20 September to at least 26 June next year. The EMAs protect franchises from the financial impact of the pandemic, because all costs and revenues are handled directly by the DfT, with a management fee paid

Network Rail is reminding passengers to plan ahead if they are travelling by rail over the August Bank Holiday weekend as it prepares to carry out 520 projects. While the majority of the network will be open for business as usual, those planning to travel are advised to check in advance

It’s almost 200 years since the small town of Darlington emerged as the cradle for a rail industry that transformed travel around the globe. When Locomotion made its pioneering run in 1825, no one could have envisaged that, 200 years later, countries from all around the world would have embraced this

Dave Richardson recalls more than 40 years of connecting railways with beer festivals and brewery visits, organised by former Salisbury area BR manager Gerald Daniels. REAL ale and rail travel somehow go together, especially with heritage railways, which often hold beer festivals at stations or on board trains. Both interests appeal