This year is going to be an important one for the railways. More former franchises are to be renationalised soon: the next will be West Midlands Trains on 1 February, to be followed by Govia Thameslink Railway on 31 May. Because WMT and GTR both had more than one brand, these

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey is calling for urgent talks over the future structure of Great British Railways, following the Second Reading of the Railways Bill on 9 December. Industry commentators have criticised the vague terms used in the Act, with many important decisions being delegated to ministers in Westminster, Cardiff

Northumberland County Council is bidding to improve the train service from Newcastle upon Tyne to Ashington, by continuing trains beyond Ashington to the line’s original terminus at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. Passenger services to Ashington and Newbiggin were withdrawn in 1964, having been included in the Beeching report, but freight traffic has continued beyond

The last High Speed Trains ran in England on Saturday, when GWR operated four-car ‘Castle Class’ sets in Cornwall between Plymouth and Penzance. The career of the HSTs has spanned almost half a century.HSTs began running on British Rail’s Western Region in 1976, and British Transport Films marked the event

The Mayor of Greater Manchester named the first railways which will join the region’s Bee Network next year, as he unveiled a Northern Class 323 electric unit in promotional Bee Network livery at Manchester Piccadilly. At the moment, the network consists of Metrolink trams and recently-franchised buses, and heavy rail routes

The results of a new four-weekly survey of passengers which has replaced the National Passenger Survey have been published by the Rail Delivery Group. The twice-yearly National Passenger Survey was launched in 1999 and ran until 2020, when work on it was halted by the Covid pandemic. The replacement Rail Customer Experience

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