Click here to listen to the latest news on Tuesday, 16th June 2020
Passengers were agreeably obedient almost to a fault as face coverings became compulsory on public transport in England yesterday.
That’s according to an article in The Times that says most people turned up at railway stations covered up and ready to board.
Transport for London handed out about 30,000 free masks to about a fifth of commuters. Trestle tables with masks were put up at bigger Tube stations during rush hour and hand sanitiser was also available.
Stadler has appointed VolkerFitzpatrick to build a new depot for the Tyne and Wear Metro at Gosforth in Newcastle.
The £70 million facility will accommodate the new state-of-the-art trains which are set to enter passenger service from 2023.
The new Metro fleet, comprising 46 trains, is being manufactured and delivered by Stadler, who will maintain them for 35 years.
GB Railfreight and global building materials supplier CEMEX have unveiled a new service from Dove Holes Quarry, Buxton to Crawley.
The first train ran with 22 wagons and over 1,675 tonnes, exceeding previous deliveries to Crawley by about 350 tonnes.
Once business as usual has resumed, the new service is expected to run once a week.
Finally, and a programme of maintenance works on the Wessex route earmarked to take 18 months to carry out will now be completed in just nine days due to low passenger numbers as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
That’s according to an article in the New Civil Engineer about the section of railway in Templecombe in Somerset. Engineers will remove thousands of tonnes of earth left by landslip.
Reduced passenger numbers mean the works can be carried out by closing the line completely for nine days, removing the need for an alternative 18-month programme which would have been carried out gradually.
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