More than a hundred trains have been cancelled or delayed after a fire in an electrical substation near London Heathrow Airport left the terminals in darkness. About 150 homes in Hayes have been evacuated and nearly 5000 are without power. More than 1000 flights have been diverted. London Fire Brigade said it has now brought the fire under control, and that 70 firefighters had been called to the scene. The effects of the power cut have disrupted train services in west London. Elizabeth Line trains are not running between Hayes & Harlington and the airport, and Transport for London said: ‘Please do not travel to Heathrow Airport as it is expected to remain closed all day.’ Heathrow Express services have been halved to every 30 minutes, and although trains are carrying passengers out of the airport the operator is not allowing anyone to travel to the airport from London Paddington. However, Piccadilly Line trains are reported to be running, although again passengers have been warned not to travel to any airport terminal station. An investigation has been started into the cause of the blaze in a transformer, which also affected back-up systems. Do you have a comment on this story? Please click here  to send an email to Platform at Railnews. Moderated comments will be published on this site, and may also be used in the next print edition.

MPs on the Commons Transport Committee are calling for transport to be made more accessible for people with disabilities, saying that accessibility for disabled people must be recognised as a human right rather than ‘nice to have’. Failures should be seen as discrimination, not merely as a customer service problem, and a change of approach is needed by operators, regulators and enforcers. A new report is spelling out the gaps in provision, from accounts of wheelchair users left on planes for hours, to taxi drivers refusing lifts to people because they have an assistance dog, and street clutter causing obstructions. The Committee considered 825 responses to a survey, finding that 67 per cent of disabled people, or those who assist them, encounter problems ‘always’ or ‘most of the time’, with only 1.7 per cent saying they never experienced problemss when travelling. A further 50.8 per cent said that they would decide against making a journey at least once a month because they expected to face difficulties. The report makes several recommendations, including the need to reform regulations, legal duties and enforcement bodies, because at the moment the position is far too fragmented and complex. The law should work in theory but the reality is very different, and a review of all relevant legislation and the powers and resources of enforcement bodies is needed, for all transport modes. It said this review should assess whether a single enforcement body would be more effective. Committee xhair Ruth Cadbury said: ‘It should be a source of national embarrassment that our country’s transport services effectively treat disabled people as second class citizens, denying them access to jobs, leisure, support networks and essential services – denying them their rights. ‘This inquiry worked on the premise that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their condition or difference, and that services should be designed to enable disabled people to travel independently, not reliant on others. After all, services that work for disabled people also work better for everyone. ‘And yet, those who have been let down and want redress or compensation face a spaghetti junction of complaints processes that either fob them off or lead them on a road to nowhere. Even when complaints are resolved, lessons aren’t learnt, changes aren’t put in place, and it’s tempting to think that the small and occasional penalties for failure are accepted by providers as a mere cost of doing business.   ‘Failures must go from being an everyday occurrence to vanishingly rare. In its reforms to transport services over this Parliament, the Government must ensure people with access needs no longer go unseen, unheard and unacknowledged. This should be underpinned with a new inclusive transport strategy, backed by long-term funding. ‘We would like to thank the many charities, experts, campaigners – including disabled people who have lived with inadequate services – for giving evidence to this Committee and its predecessor before the general election. We look forward to working constructively with the Government and tracking its progress over the coming years.’ Do you have a comment on this story? Please click here  to send an email to Platform at Railnews. Moderated comments will be published on this site, and may also be used in the next print edition.

Network Rail has discovered that 23 per cent of people in Britain don’t know that fly-tipping is illegal, according to the results of a new survey of 2,000 people. Fly-tipping is classed as a form of vandalism because it is not only unsightly but can also delay trains or even cause accidents. The new figures have been released to mark Gobal Recycling Day, and they vary according to the age of those who responded to the survey, which was carried out by One Poll last month. The youngest respondents were the least well-informed, with 46 per cent of Generation Z – adults born since 1996 – unaware that fly-tipping is a criminal offence. That figure falls to 18 per cent for people born between 1965 and 1980, and to 8 per cent for people born in 1964 or earlier. The research also suggests that more than one in five people (22 per cent) do not believe fly-tipping damages the environment. Despite their reputation as the most environmentally-friendly generation, 42 per cent of Generation Z wrongly believe this, compared with 1 in 10 (or 11 per cent) of people born before 1965. Network Rail has unveiled a demonstration pile of mattresses, white goods and other electrical items at London King’s Cross station today, because such things are among those most commonly dumped on railway property. Waste can attract rats that chew on cables, leading to signal failures and even accidents, while metal cans and foil can affect signalling by damaging the cables. Tipping is also a source of pollution, a potential danger to public health and a hazard to wildlife. The Kent route has recorded 316 reports of fly-tipping from members of the public over the four years to 31 March last year, while the Southern region as a whole has logged 797 incidents during the same period. Altogether, there were almost 4,000 reports on the network nationwide. One in five people (22 per cent) have seen someone fly-tipping and a quarter (23 per cent) had witnessed it on or near a railway. Yet only a third (36 per cent) of such people had reported the incident to their local council, Crimestoppers, or a transport authority. Network Rail cleans up the rubbish, and works with British Transport Police to identify and prosecute the people who dump it. It also tries to prevent dumping in the first place by keeping an eye on problem areas with CCTV and strengthening the fencing at such ‘hotspots’. It also uses tyre-puncturing ‘nobblers’ at gates which lead to railway land. Paul Langley is Network Rail’s head of security, crime and resilience in the Southern region. He said: ‘We’re committed to running a safe, reliable and efficient railway and we work extremely hard throughout the year cleaning up after fly-tippers, and we urge everyone to report any incidents of fly-tipping on the railway.’ Do you have a comment on this story? Please click here  to send an email to Platform at Railnews. Moderated comments will be published on this site, and may also be used in the next print edition.

The Northumberland Line connecting Ashington and Newcastle gained a third station this morning, when Newsham opened to passengers. A local councillor has predicted that the demand will be so great that Northern will have to lengthen its trains. Trains are now calling at Newsham every half hour, and the journey time to Newcastle is 22 minutes. The station should have opened with the 29km line in December, but the site was described as ‘complex’. It includes a new road bridge, which alone cost £30 million. The first two stations to open were Ashington and Seaton Delaval, and three more are still under construction. Councillor Daniel Carr, who represents the South Blyth ward for the Conservatives, told the BBC: ‘It was promised all those years ago and finally it's here. ‘I think the station will be used even more than Blyth Bebside which will hopefully open later this year. ‘These kind of transport hubs are really needed and I think we'll see a reduction in the number of cars leaving Blyth. I think Northern will need to put on extra coaches.’ Do you have a comment on this story? Please click here  to send an email to Platform at Railnews. Moderated comments will be published on this site, and may also be used in the next print edition.

The RMT has called off industrial action on Avanti West Coast, which had involved train managers and threatened to disrupt services on Sundays until May. The dispute had been about payments for rest day working. Nine out of ten members voted, and 86.5 per cent accepted a proposed settlement. Rates for rest day working are increasing to time plus a quarter, and time plus a half for Saturdays and Sundays. Minimum shift payments go up from six hours to seven and a half, and there will a fairer ‘Order of Call’ process, meaning that train managers will have priority for rest day and spare shifts before senior managers step in. The settlement will be backdated to 10 February. The uniion said AWC has also promised to review the effect of the changes before the December 2025 timetable starts, and make ‘further improvements if needed’. The RMT’s new general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: ‘Our members have stood firm, taking significant industrial action, and have won a deal that delivers real improvements to pay, and working conditions. ‘This result shows through a strong industrial campaign and robust negotiation we can and do win improvements at work for our members.’ Avanti said: ‘We’ve worked together to find a resolution that is right for our train managers as well as the company and are now looking forward to continuing to grow our business. ‘This is a significant step in the right direction providing certainty for both colleagues and customers, as we head into what is traditionally one of our busier periods as leisure travel increases during the spring and summer.’ Do you have a comment on this story? Please click here  to send an email to Platform at Railnews. Moderated comments will be published on this site, and may also be used in the next print edition.

Questions unanswered The private sector lobby group Rail Partners will close its doors in a week from now, and has published a final paper which looks at devolution, entitled Great Local Railways. The DfT has launched a consultation about Great British Railways which runs until April, and Rail Partners chief executive Andy Bagnall said: ‘The consultation seeks to address some of the questions about the future of the sector, but there remain some challenging questions about how the railway will be organised. For example, it does not explain how the Department for Transport Operator, and later Great British Railways, will deliver essential growth, to secure the railway’s financial future.’ Open access Research from Virgin Group claims that most consumers welcome competition on the railways and think there are benefits from having nationalised and private operators working alongside each other. In a survey of 2,000 passengers, 70 per cent agreed that people travelling by train should have a choice of operators, while 67 per cent think that passengers would benefit from such a choice. A third of those questioned favoured complete nationalisation. Virgin has applied for track access rights for several routes from London Euston, but the Department for Transport has declined to support the proposal, pointing to congestion on the West Coast Main Line. Midlands survey Nearly three quarters of people surveyed in Kings Norton believe Midlands Rail Hub will help fulfil the Government’s policy of encouraging growth. Polling carried out in Redditch and Kings Norton by Censuswide for Midlands Connect, showed 58 per cent of respondents agree the 5.8 million extra seats are required, and 46 per cent believe the proposed upgrades at Kings Norton station are ‘necessary’. When asked, 50 per cent of those taking part also welcomed the extra trains. Fuel trials ScotRail has revealed that it has been using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil as an alternative to diesel fuel in one of its Class 156 units. The trial, at Corkerhill depot, began on 19 February and will run for 12 weeks, with the co-operation of the unit’s owner Angel Trains and Crown Oil. If the trial is successful, HVO could offer a step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions on railways in Scotland by acting as a ‘transition fuel’ while carbon-neutral fuels such green hydrogen become more available. Bats and birds Dozens of bird and bat boxes have been installed at nine TransPennine Express stations to provide additional habitats for native wildlife. A total of 50 boxes have been installed on buildings, walls and trees at stations for bats and birds at Yarm, Northallerton, Thirsk, Hull, Cleethorpes, Grimsby Town, Barnetby, Scunthorpe and Stalybridge. Different types of boxes have been used to encourage various species, including a variety of bats as well as birds such as robins, blackbirds, wrens, wagtails, swallows and swifts. Do you have a comment on any of these stories? Please click here  to send an email to Platform at Railnews. Moderated comments will be published on this site, and may also be used in the next print edition.

A revised business case for completing Phase 1 of HS2 will not be ready before next year, the Department for Transport has warned. The project’s recently-appointed chief executive Mark Wild had previously conceded that ‘the programme is in a very serious situation that requires a fundamental reset to enable it to be delivered to the lowest feasible cost’. In a letter to the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, DfT permanent secretary Dame Bernadette Kelly says the new business case for the London-Birmingham section will not be available until ‘early 2026’. She continues: ‘Officials and HS2 Ltd have prepared plans to remediate the works started on the former Phase 2a section and part of 2b, subject to decisions on the overall policy approach. Therefore, while this work is ongoing, the Department has been unable to meet the Spring 2024 target implementation date.’ In its latest report, the Committee had said the problems of delay and cost overruns on HS2 were risking damage to the country’s reputation. Sir Geoffrey had commented: ‘We are sceptical of Government’s ability to successfully deliver even a curtailed scheme, one which we already know will on its face bring very poor value for money. The question has instead become: what possible benefit can the Government now salvage for the taxpayer?’ The Committee had reported that the cost of HS2 is now expected to be ‘close to £80 billion’,  continuing that it was ‘not convinced that DfT has sufficiently considered how it can bring fresh thinking to its own leadership of HS2, or whether it has the right skills and capabilitie to lead the programme effectively and credibly’. Ms Kelly’s letter is dated 27 February but has only now been published. She says: ‘Before producing an updated business case, the programme needs to be reset and the Secretary of State has tasked the new Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd, Mark Wild, to review the remaining scope, the cost and schedule needed to complete phase 1 and advise the government on what is required. The department is planning to publish an updated programme business case in early 2026 after an agreed cost estimate is produced following the programme reset. The updated programme business case will include information related to the benefits realisation and evaluation.’ Ms Kelly adds ‘HS2 Ltd is also continuing to work with the principal suppliers to ensure focus on the cost-effective delivery of the remainder of the civil works. The Department will provide an update on that work in forthcoming reports to Parliament, subject to commercially sensitive details.’ She concludes: ‘Throughout 2024, HS2 Ltd undertook a comprehensive change programme to reshape the organisation to deliver the revised programme. However as mentioned above the department has commissioned Mark Wild to undertake a comprehensive review of the project, including capability. The outcome of this review may result in further changes, which the Department will provide details on in any subsequent parliamentary reports.’ Do you have a comment on this story? Please click here  to send an email to Platform at Railnews. Moderated comments will be published on this site, and may also be used in the next print edition.

Planning permission for a major freight hub in Leicestershire catering for 775m trains has been refused by the transport secretary. Tritax Symmetry was proposing to build the £750 million Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange on a 268-hectare site near junction 2 of the M69 and the Leicester–Nuneaton line, which would provide a rail freight link with Felixstowe. The developer said the interchange would create 8,000 jobs. Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said the expected benefits of the scheme were outweighed by potential negative factors, although she did accept that there was a ‘compelling need’ for the development. But she was concerned about the effect of 775m trains using the level crossing at Narborough, and also that nearby motorway junctions would not be able to cope with the additional lorries, along with a ‘potential highways safety risk’ in Sapcote. The scheme had been opposed locally. Leicestershire County Council cabinet member for highways and transport Ozzy O’Shea said: ‘This is a landmark day. Whilst we are not against the principle of a rail freight interchange, any proposal must be supported by appropriate infrastructure to mitigate its impacts on our communities and highway and transport network. Unfortunately, this was not the case with this proposal.’ Tritax, which is ‘disappointed’ by the transport secretary’s decision, said: ‘We are seeking legal advice on the next steps available to us and will review our position when that advice is received. ‘We remain committed to delivering critical supply chain infrastructure that is key to the UK economy, with rail freight connectivity a key driver of the modal shift in the sector.’ Do you have a comment on this story? Please click here  to send an email to Platform at Railnews. Moderated comments will be published on this site, and may also be used in the next print edition.

Virgin is reported to be making another bid to stay in the rail industry. This time, it is looking at international trains through the Channel Tunnel, and seeking to raise £700 million for potential routes between London and cities like Paris and Brussels, in competition with Eurostar. Richard Branson’s Virgin Group won two franchises at the start of privatisation in 1997, but lost the CrossCountry franchise to Arriva in 2007 and Intercity West Coast to FirstGroup and Trenitalia in 2019. In the meantime, it acquired 10 per cent of the Intercity East Coast franchise in 2015 in partnership with majority holder Stagecoach, but lost that franchise in 2018 when it failed and was renationalised as LNER. Virgin has since launched a separate business as a third-party ticket retailer, and has also submitted an application for up to five open access routes from London Euston. These applications have yet to be decided by the Office of Rail and Road, but the Department for Transport has declined to support them, saying that ‘We do not believe that the quantum of paths sought is feasible or realistic and note that the WCML already operates at close to capacity, particularly into/out of London Euston. ‘This application is also at odds with work already underway as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.’ International routes like the line to the Channel Tunnel have been open access since 2010, but a competitor for Eurostar has yet to be launched, although Deutsche Bahn toyed with the idea before the 2012 Olympics, and more recently Spanish Evolyn has unveiled a proposal to start services linking London and Paris, using Alstom rolling stock. Virgin Group wants to raise £300 million in equity and £400 million in debt, according to the Financial Times. Virgin is quoted as saying: ‘The cross-Channel route is ripe for change and would benefit from competition. While Virgin is not committing to launching a service just yet, we are seeking investment from like-minded partners to invest alongside Virgin and we are delighted with the progress made so far.’ The owners of the HS1 concession, which has been renamed London St Pancras Highspeed, signed a memorandum of understanding with Eurotunnel’s parent company Getlink last month, in what is being described as a ‘landmark partnership’ intended to increase the growth of cross-Channel traffic, possibly adding services to Germany and Switzerland. The number of international passengers through St Pancras could be tripled. There is one problem, which concerns depot capacity. Any further international operator would need to use Temple Mills in east London, but Eurostar is opposing this, telling the ORR last September that an application for depot access from Evolyn was ‘presumptive and lacked essential detail’. The ORR has commissioned an independent study. Temple Mills, opened on 2 October 2007, was the successor to the original Eurostar depot at Old Oak Common, which was needed for domestic purposes. Do you have a comment on this story? Please click here  to send an email to Platform at Railnews. Moderated comments will be published on this site, and may also be used in the next print edition.

An unexploded bomb from World War Two has been unearthed near Paris Gare du Nord station, and all Eurostar services between London and Paris have been cancelled, along with many domestic train services in the Paris region. Eurostars are continuing to run from London to Brussels and Amsterdam, but trains between Amsterdam and Paris have also been cancelled. The discovery of the bomb near Saint-Denis was made during work overnight. Eurostar has apologised for the disruption.