Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Monday, 16th August 2021
The latest rail news on Monday, 16th August 2021
Demand for train travel will return to pre-pandemic levels – even though it is lagging behind the growth in car use, a minister has said.
That’s according to an article in the Daily Mail that says the number of journeys being made by train is 57 per cent of what it was before COVID, while car use has fully recovered, Department for Transport figures show.
Asked if train passenger numbers will return to normal, Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris replied: “I think we will, but I don’t think there’ll be the same numbers at the same times of day that there used to be.”
He said “rail has to compete for its market” with cars and virtual meetings.
Up to 800,000 jobs and £100 billion could be added to northern England’s economy over the next generation if transport links are improved, according to one of the region’s outgoing infrastructure bosses.
The Chronicle Life says the Government’s flagship ‘Levelling Up’ agenda has made much plans for big-ticket, big spending projects intended to shift the focus away from London.
And for John Cridland, who last month ended his term as chairman of Transport for the North, the promised investment will be vital in taking ‘Northern Powerhouse’ from buzzword to reality.
London’s Tube service should be extended to south Essex, as part of a 24-hour service to bring the capital’s party-goers to town, a campaigning councillor says.
An article in the Basildon Echo says a day and night Tube service would allow revellers to come to and from Basildon at will, “plugging the gap” between midnight and 4am when c2c do not run.
The prospect of extending the District Line to Basildon has been touted by business chiefs and council bosses, in response to plans in Harlow, which could see the Central Line extended to the Essex town.
The Department for Transport, Network Rail and the Office of Rail and Road are officially launching the Better Value Rail (BVR) Toolkit.
This is an online space that those sponsoring rail projects and their advisors can use to help make the right decisions early on in rail projects.
It aims to help deliver projects more quickly, save money and make sure that rail is the best fit for any given project.
Photo credit: Transport for London
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