A LEAKED letter from Network Rail is said to be warning the Government that abandoning HS2 would mean that expensive upgrades would be needed on existing classic lines, some of which could take almost 30 years to achieve. The letter from Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines adds that without HS2

Swiss manufacturer Stadler has beaten rivals CAF and Hitachi to secure a £362m contract to build a fleet of 42 new trains for the Tyne & Wear Metro. The Department for Transport will be providing £337m in funding for the trains. Unveiling the new designs, Nexus, which operates the metro system

The East Midlands is a large and varied area, and its contribution to railway preservation is equally eclectic. The premier preserved steam railway is undoubtedly the Great Central Railway, with its length of double-track mainline. The line should one day connect with the GCR Nottingham to give a heritage line from

Photo: PA Wire The Government is going ahead with plans to reverse historical rail cuts, despite critics warning its £500 million budget is not sufficient. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is visiting Fleetwood today with a pledge £100,000 towards a feasibility study into reopening the train line linking the Lancashire town to Poulton-le-Fylde. The Fleetwood line

A FUND of £500 million has been promised by the Government as the first step in reopening railways around the country, although only £21.9 million has been allocated so far. Transport secretary Grant Shapps visited the Fleetwood area, where the line from Fleetwood to Poulton-le-Fylde lost its passenger services in 1970,

As one of Britain’s longest distance trains prepares for the arrival of new rolling stock, Ben Jones takes a trip on LNER’s ‘Highland Chieftain’ to experience the changing atmosphere onboard as it speeds north. The Up ‘Highland Chieftain’ is seen shortly after passing Dalwhinnie on July 10. The usual stacks of

Photo: Keith Fender/The Railway Magazine Today marks Holocaust Memorial Day, 75 years since 27 January 1945, when Soviet troops entered and liberated the Auschwitz death camp. The darkest episode in the history of world railways undoubtedly centres around the role they were forced to play in the transport of civilians to Nazi death

TRANSPORT SECRETARY Grant Shapps is reported to be preparing an announcement about the ending of the Northern franchise, which seems likely to be made on Thursday. The chances of the present Arriva Trains North contract being replaced by a shorter-term alternative are now being discounted in favour of a complete return

Minister has ‘gut feeling’ HS2 will go ahead A GOVERNMENT minister says he has a ‘gut feeling’ that HS2 will go ahead. Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay told the BBC that the project was essential because it would ‘level up’ the transport network in Britain. Meanwhile, speculation is growing that the Government

Photo: HS2/PA Wire HS2 is over budget and behind schedule because its complexity and risks were under-estimated, according to the Whitehall spending watchdog. The National Audit Office (NAO) warned that it is impossible to “estimate with certainty what the final cost could be”. It published a report urging the Government and HS2 Ltd