CANADIAN train and plane builder Bombardier is to be taken over by French train-builder Alstom. In a statement issued late this afternoon, Alstom says it has: ‘signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bombardier Inc. and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec in view of the acquisition of Bombardier Transportation. Post-transaction,

TRANSPORT secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed that traditional rail franchises based on a profit motive from collecting the ticket revenue, allied with a limited amount of commercial freedom, are about to come to an end. He said the details will be outlined in Keith Williams’ Rail Review, which has been delayed

Storm Dennis is continuing to cause transport chaos as train lines and roads are blocked by flooding and fallen trees. Network Rail is assessing the repairs needed to reopen parts of the railway damaged by torrential downpours and strong winds over the weekend. CrossCountry, Great Western Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southern, Thameslink and Transport for Wales

THE French train-builder Alstom has confirmed this morning that it is holding discussions about a possible acquisition of Canadian-based Bombardier Transportation, which has a number of sites in Britain including the Litchurch Lane works in Derby. Alstom has made only a brief statement, but it does suggest that an outright purchase

Scrap metal dealer visits February 2020. Photo: Network Rail Scrap yards in Greater Manchester are being visited by Network Rail and the British Transport Police to ensure dealers are not trading stolen metal. Latest figures reveal more than 400 incidents of metal theft on the railway between London Euston and Carlisle in the

TWO transport ministers have lost their posts at the Department for Transport in Boris Johnson’s cabinet reshuffle, in which the headline change was the unexpected departure of chancellor Sajid Javid. The two leaving the DfT are George Freeman and Nusrat Ghani, who may have been the last minister to allege in

Tree blocking all lines at Four Ashes in Staffordshire. Photo: Network Rail Following Storm Ciara last weekend, Storm Dennis is forecast to hit Britain this Saturday and Sunday. Dennis is likely to disrupt some rail journeys between London Euston, the West Midlands and Chilterns, Manchester, Liverpool, Lancashire and Cumbria. With river levels high,

GWR Saint class No. 2999 Lady of Legend will look the part at the head of the Severn Valley Railway’s GWR carriages. The 4-6-0 is seen here in action at the Didcot Railway Centre. Photo: Charlie Jackson The Severn Valley Railway has announced the debut appearance of GWR Saint class No.

It has taken nine years and 50 million man-hours to build and is the first major new railway in Great Britain for more than a century. ‘High-Speed 1’ opens throughout on November 14 and plugs the UK- at last! – firmly into the European high-speed network. Formerly known as the Channel

TRANSPORT for the North has given TransPennine Express new, strict public performance targets, after months of cancellations and other problems. The decision comes only a few days since rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris warned that the Department for Transport was prepared to take action. He told MPs on 4 February: ‘We have been