Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Friday, 15th September 2023
InTheNews: The latest rail news on Friday, 15th September 2023
The government has refused to guarantee the future of the HS2 rail line between Birmingham and Manchester.
An article on the BBC website says a Downing Street spokesperson instead suggested that ministers would need to balance the interests of “passengers and taxpayers”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt met on Wednesday and discussed the HS2 project.
Their primary concerns are said to be over spiralling costs and delays to the project.
Proposals to shut most rail ticket offices in England are a ‘dead duck’ and look set to be scaled back, according to insiders.
That’s according to an article on Mail Online that says opposition to the proposed closure of up to 974 offices by rail bosses has been growing, including among senior Tory MPs such as Dame Priti Patel.
Industry sources said they believe responses to a consultation on the closures may exceed one million, when replies to Transport Focus and London TravelWatch are combined.
The UK’s largest ever fleet upgrade has passed a major milestone with the refurbishment of its final 11 carriage Pendolino.
Work has now begun on the remaining 21 nine carriage trains which make up the 56 strong Avanti West Coast fleet.
Widely regarded as the UK’s hardest working trains, the Pendolinos have served towns and cities along the West Coast Main Line for over 20 years, clocking up more than 270 million miles – enough to go to the moon and back more than 500 times.
Govia Thameslink Railway announces that Angie Doll is to become its Chief Executive Officer at the end of November, replacing Patrick Verwer who is stepping away from day-to-day management of Britain’s largest rail network.
The appointment has been made by The Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, joint owners of GTR – which delivers a fifth of all UK passenger rail journeys through its Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express services.
Photo credit: Avanti West Coast
