Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Wednesday, 22nd March 2023
InTheNews: The latest rail news on Wednesday, 22nd March 2023
The Transport Secretary has said that Great British Railways will remove the “blame culture” in the rail industry as he unveiled Derby as the host city of the body’s new headquarters.
In an article in the Evening Standard Mark Harper said that the new body will be “shaped by, delivering for, and a reflection of the whole country” while speaking at The Roundhouse at Derby College, next to the city’s railway station, on Tuesday.
The East Midlands city was announced as the new home of GBR earlier in the day – an announcement delayed from last autumn – beating bids from Birmingham, York, Crewe, Doncaster and Newcastle, who were shortlisted from a longlist of 42 entries.
Train services in Greece resumed Wednesday for the first time since a deadly rail disaster three weeks ago, and just a day after the embattled conservative prime minister announced early elections for May.
The article in the Mail Online says the Feb. 28 head-on collision, the deadliest in the country’s history, killed 57 people and left dozens injured, with nine still hospitalised.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whose centre-right government has been struggling to regain its footing after the crash, said late Tuesday said he would hold elections in May – a month later than initially expected – but did not give an exact date.
A major railway line in south Wales will close for at least eight months for improvement works.
An article on the BBC website says travellers hoping to use trains between Pontypridd and Treherbert in Rhondda Cynon Taf will have to use a rail replacement bus from the end of April until the start of 2024.
The line’s mid-19th Century signalling technology will be replaced, as well as other work carried out.
Northern has begun a trial with a company called BattPoint to provide power packs at stations for those travelling without their phone charger or power cable.
It comes as the train operator is urging customers using digital tickets on their services to ensure they always have sufficient battery power to present their ticket for inspection – or face a £100 penalty fare.
“I’ve got a ticket but my phone has died” is an increasingly popular excuse given by those unable to satisfy ticket checks.
Unable to distinguish between genuine customers caught ‘power short’ and those deliberately attempting to fare-evade, the train operator’s conductors and revenue officers have no option but to issue the national penalty fare, which has recently increased to £100.
Photo credit: Northern
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