Improvements to rail services in the north of England will get a £589 million kick-start, the government has announced. The cash injection will go towards electrifying the line between Manchester and Leeds, and doubling the number of tracks on the most congested sections in and around Leeds and Huddersfield. The most congested

While many transport companies look to external agencies and specialists to develop and maintain their brand and image, some undertake the activity in-house. Virgin Trains was one of the companies that until recently had its own design unit. Steven Knight speaks with creative designer Sam Jessup, whose artistic talents were

THE Department for Transport has announced a budget of £589 million to launch work on upgrading the Transpennine main line between Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester. A Northern Transport Acceleration Council is being set up today, which will be ‘dedicated to accelerating vital infrastructure projects and better connecting communities’ in the north

ALSTOM and Eversholt Rail are investing another £1 million in the development of British hydrogen-fuelled trains, which will be produced at Alstom’s Transport Technology Centre in Widnes.   The trains, branded Breeze, are converted from ex-British Rail electric Class 321s, and will form a new Class 600 series. They will emit

THE price of Crossrail has risen by another £140 million, and rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris described the further increase as ‘very disappointing’. It also seems likely that completion of the project will be delayed yet again. The extra funding is needed to complete the surface sections in east and west London,

THE director of Network Rail’s Wales and Western region Mark Langman has announced his retirement. Mr Langman joined British Rail in 1986 as an apprentice on the Youth Training Scheme. During his career he managed stations and worked in control rooms, among other jobs, before becoming general manager for Wales and

THE RMT has reacted angrily to the government's review of Transport for London which has followed a grant of up to £1.9 billion to plug the gap in TfL's finances as a result of the pandemic. The review raises the possibility of driverless trains on the Underground once again. Boris Johnson

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY has confirmed reports that more flexible season tickets are being considered. A spokesman told Railnews that outline plans have been sent to the Rail Delivery Group for wider discussions within the industry, so that they can then be submitted to the Department for Transport, which is currently controlling

SCHEMES to improve the railway network in the south west of England costing a total of less than £1.2 billion are set out in a plan which has been sent to ministers today. The proposals build on upgrades in recent years, which have included the introduction of half-hourly services on the

The rule restricting use of public transport to ‘essential journeys’ only was suddenly lifted on 16 July, and new guidelines about returning to work are expected on 1 August. But Sim Harris suggests that this is not, to quote Sir Winston Churchill, even the beginning of the end, although it