Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Monday, 17th May 2021
The latest rail news on Monday, 17th May 2021
Sweeping changes to bring track and trains together under a new Great British Railways will be set out this week – but reforms of fares will be limited, and the industry is braced to have its budget slashed.
The article in The Guardian says the Treasury is understood to be demanding cost cuts of between 10 per cent and 20 per cent after expanding its subsidy to the rail industry by £10 billion during the COVID pandemic, as fare revenue dropped away.
The long-delayed review of the industry, initially led by Keith Williams, is expected to be published as a white paper on Thursday. The article says control of the infrastructure and the contracting of train operations will be given to GBR, an arms-length public sector body, with private firms then bidding to run concessions.
The inquest into the deaths of seven people in the Croydon tram crash in 2016 is due to open today.
The article in The Daily Mirror says the inquest in the South London town was set to begin last year but was postponed due to COVID.
The article says the driver Alfred Dorris may have had a microsleep before the tram came off the tracks on a sharp bend at almost four times the speed limit, a probe found.
Mr Dorris, diagnosed as being unfit to attend the inquest, was arrested at the scene of the crash but charges were dropped.
Transport for London (TfL) has announced that the Waterloo & City line will reopen on 21 June, ready to play a vital role in the capital’s recovery from coronavirus.
The line, which connects Waterloo and Bank stations, is an important commuter link and has been closed since March last year when those who were able to do so were told to work from home.
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Photo credit: Transport for London
