In The News | 19th January 2024 | Latest Rail News

Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Friday, 19th January 2024. Sponsored by Petards Rail

InTheNews Sponsored by Petards Rail: The latest rail news on Friday, 19th January 2024

Tube and rail fares will be frozen until March 2025 after Mayor Sadiq Khan drummed up an extra £123m in funding for Transport for London (TfL).

An article on City A.M. says the new fare levels will be 14 per cent lower than if they had risen in line with National Rail fares, with potential savings of up to £90 per year.

National rail fares are rising 4.9 per cent this year. Some fares could still increase, such as travelcards and a number of routes outside Zone 6, which are set by the Department for Transport (DfT) as a result of historical agreements.

Planning protection along the scrapped HS2 route has been lifted by the transport secretary.

An article on The Business Desk says people can now apply to build on land between Birmingham and Crewe and councils no longer need to consult with HS2 on planning applications within the safeguarded area.

The HS2 line between Birmingham and Manchester was axed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in his keynote speech at the Tory Party conference in Manchester in October.

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Hull Trains has announced it is now running extended 10 carriage trains on a number of its services from Wednesday to Sunday due to growing passenger numbers, bringing an extra 4,000 available seats per week for customers.

Introducing this extra capacity, especially on a Sunday, has been an aspiration of the operator for some time now and it is delighted to finally be able to launch these longer train services. The change will bring additional seats and offers to Hull Trains’ services for customers.

To support these additional services the local operator has recruited three On Board Managers and On Board hosts to deliver the enhancement to the timetable.

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A one-hundred-year-old icon of travel is expected to remain in mainline service and will be stationed in York for the first part of 2024.

An article on The York Press website says Flying Scotsman will be on static display at the National Railway Museum (NRM) before resuming rail tours later in the year after a search for a new ‘custodian’ is completed.

A statement from NRM said a tender will be launched in the coming weeks to operate and maintain the locomotive with an award expected in the spring.

An NRM spokesperson said the one-hundred year-old machine will be displayed in the Flying Scotsman exhibition at the NRM and visitors will be able to see the locomotive for free and access the footplate.

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