In the News- 12th March 2020

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Starting with the big announcements from yesterday’s budget where the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak made a firm commitment to get Britain moving and to build better railways.

£600 billion has been pledged to spend on roads, rail, broadband and housing by the middle of 2025 including a £100m investment to increase service frequency and reduce journey time on the Tyne and Wear Metro and a £20m budget for Midlands Rail Hub proposals.

The Daily Telegraph also reported that rail services in regional cities will be ‘revolutionised’ by a £4.2bn fund to hand mayors new powers to run transport networks.

The move was widely welcomed by metropolitan mayors on both sides of the political divide.

In other news Balfour Beatty’s CEO says that the green light for Hs2 will revitalise the firm by more than doubling its domestic order book.

Leo Quinn said the decision to go ahead with the new high speed rail link from London to Birmingham and the North would bring contracts worth £3 billion in the first half of this year.

Finally, and archaeologists working on the HS2 high-speed rail link have uncovered remains of a railway roundhouse designed by the Victorian engineer Robert Stephenson, builder of the steam locomotive Rocket.

The open-roofed 124ft-diameter building was discovered by excavators next to Curzon Street Station and is thought to be the oldest building of its kind to be found.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

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