In The News | 20th July 2022 | Latest Rail News

Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Tuesday, 19th July 2022

InTheNews: The latest rail news on Wednesday, 19th July 2022

In today’s news, commuters are facing further chaos in the wake of the UK’s hottest ever day as Britain’s East Coast Mainline remains closed to and from London while engineers repair damage caused by extreme heat.

A report from the Independent said the line remained closed south of Peterborough this morning, with operator LNER advising people do not travel to or from King’s Cross today.

Disruption on the West Coast Mainline is also widespread, with the Caledonian Sleeper service currently suspended and Avanti West Coast services heavily disrupted as the heatwave plays havoc on Britain’s rail network.

Maritime Transport Ltd. has announced the launch of a new intermodal service in partnership with P&O Ferries, that will connect the Port of Tilbury with the newly-refurbished Trafford Park Euroterminal in Manchester

The new service will provide carbon-reducing routes to and from the Northwest for the European short-sea and UK domestic markets, with Maritime signing a long-term lease with Associated British Ports (ABP) to operate the facility.

The Tilbury to Manchester service will run from Monday to Friday, with capability to move 45′ pallet-wide, 40′, and 20′ deep-sea containers in each direction, removing 20,000 lorries per year from the UK’s roads.

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Train operators are pushing to remove traditional rush hour ticket rules and replace them with airline-style surge pricing, according to a report from the Telegraph.

It says the rail industry wants to scrap peak and off-peak tickets and replace them with “demand-led pricing” for longer journeys, mirroring tactics used by airlines and Uber.

Andy Bagnall, the chief executive of the new train operator body Rail Partners, said operators were lobbying for “a more demand-led pricing approach that actually allows you to give better value tickets, but give a better customer experience.” 

Finally, Hitachi Rail has launched a six-month pilot in the Italian city of Genoa to test a new smart ticketing app, which provides hands-free ticketing using Bluetooth sensors installed across the urban transport network.

The 360Pass launch trial started on May 9 on the network of municipal operator AMT, which includes a metro line running for 6.5km from Brin to Brignole serving eight stations along the way.

The 360Pass provides “hands free” ticketing, as users do not have to take their mobile phone out of their pocket when travelling on public transport. The technology has been described as a “game changer” by AMT CEO, Marco Beltrami. 

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