Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Thursday, 14th May 2026.
InTheNews: The latest rail news on Thursday 14h May 2026
The rail regulator has said it will approve a direct daily rail service between Swindon and Oxford if some level crossings on the line are made safer, BBC News reports.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has green lit an application from Great Western Railway (GWR) to run a two-hourly service between Bristol, Swindon and Oxford on weekdays and Saturdays from 17 May.
An ORR spokesperson said the service had been approved on the condition that Network Rail brought in “reasonably practicable level crossing safety measures” on the route.
A GWR spokesperson added that the operator understood customers would be “disappointed” the service had not been “fully” reinstated, but would continue to work with Network Rail to “understand what more can be done”.
A new unified leadership team has been appointed to bring together c2c, Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia. Network Rail said the move would ensure track and train were more closely aligned, delivering a more joined-up and reliable railway for passengers in the East of England.
The new structure is reportedly designed to provide an even better service for customers and communities by enabling faster, more coordinated decision-making across the network, with benefits for both day-to-day service delivery and the long-term planning of customer improvements.
Northern has revealed that passengers using a dementia-friendly service will feature on this week’s episode of hit BBC One show Songs of Praise.
People living with dementia and their friends and family enjoyed snacks, live music, and relaxing hand massages on the Forget-Me-Not Train, which ran between Whitby and Middlesborough last month.
They were joined by Songs of Praise presenter Kate Bottley, who boarded the Northern service to discuss their experiences of living with the condition, as well as with their faith and their love of music.
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