In The News: 15th April

Click here to listen to the latest news on Wednesday, 15th April 2020

The Government has issued a ‘Notice to proceed’ to the companies that will undertake construction on HS2, Britain’s new railway.

The plans were given the go-ahead by the Prime Minister in February, with the announcement this morning marking the formal approval for the project to begin the construction phase.

HS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson says this next step will provide thousands of construction workers and businesses across the country with certainty and means work can truly begin.

Three track workers jumped clear of a 125mph train with less than a second to spare after a miscommunication, an investigation has found.

That’s according to an article in The Times Scotland, which says they were inspecting part of the west coast main line in Dumfries and Galloway when the near-miss occurred.

The train driver sounded the horn and applied the emergency brake as the trio jumped clear, according to the Rail Accident Investigation Branch.

There were no injuries.

Finally and despite the challenging circumstances surrounding the coronavirus crisis, Network Rail has managed to complete 13 major projects over the Easter weekend.

Chief Executive Andrew Haines said four to six weeks out they were faced with the challenge of how much work could be resourced still and delivered safely.

He has spoken exclusively to railbusinessdaily.com. You can read the full interview by clicking here.

Photo credit: HS2 Ltd

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