Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Friday, 12th January 2024. Sponsored by Petards Rail
InTheNews Sponsored by Petards Rail: The latest rail news on Friday, 12th January 2024
Sir Keir Starmer appears to have ended hopes of Labour resurrecting HS2’s northern leg after saying the party would not commit to taking the line to Manchester if it wins the next election.
An article in the i News says Rishi Sunak scrapped the project north of Birmingham in October last year, blaming spiraling costs and delays and promising to reinvest the £36bn it would save across the UK’s transport network.
There had been hopes Labour could revive the high speed line going further north if land bought by the Government for the route was not sold before the next general election.
However, in an interview with the Manchester Evening News, Sir Keir ruled out restarting work on the Manchester leg.
He said: “The Government has blown the budget, the contracts are being cancelled, the land may or may not be sold and I think that it’s not fair for me to commit to something that I don’t think is going to happen.”
A rail line has been partially closed after part of the track bed subsided.
An article on the BBC website says it followed a landslip near Bicester North station in Oxfordshire caused by recent heavy rainfall, the operator said.
It said the damage was still being assessed, although normal services would not resume until at least Monday.
Engineers this week began a delicate job that will see almost half a kilometre of bridge deck slid into position over the next year, high above the Misbourne Valley in Buckinghamshire, as HS2’s innovative Wendover Dean Viaduct enters a critical new stage of construction.
The 450m-long viaduct will be the first major railway bridge in the UK to be built with a ‘double composite’ approach, which uses significantly less carbon-intensive concrete and steel than a more traditional design – and has allowed HS2 to halve the amount of embedded carbon in the structure.
Two stars of the new Gladiators TV series have put their muscles to good use at Sheffield railway station.
An article on the BBC website says Giant and Steel surprised passengers on Thursday by helping to carry luggage on and off trains to promote the rebooted game show.
The hit 1990s show, in which contestants took on leotard-wearing stars in a series of physical challenges, will be back on screens on Saturday.
Photo credit: Siemens Mobility
