Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Wednesday, 22nd November 2023
InTheNews: The latest rail news on Wednesday, 22nd November 2023
A railway which closed more than 60 years ago could be brought back for an estimated £900 million, according to a new council study.
An article on the BBC website says the report looked at the feasibility of a route connecting Carterton, Witney and Eynsham to Oxford.
It was commissioned by Oxfordshire County Council after the Witney Oxford Transport Group proposed the 14.2-mile (22.9km) railway line n 2021.
The first phase of the project could be delivered by 2033.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper has been told he should not release land safeguarded for HS2 until a clear plan to improve rail connections between the Midlands and the North is in place.
An article in The Yorkshire Post says Transport for the North, which advises the government on transport policy, has told Mr Harper it is “essential” that land earmarked for the high-speed line is kept until there are “alternative proposals that would deliver a similar improvement”.
“We need to understand what is the alternative way of connecting those areas,” said Martin Tugwell, Chief Executive of Transport for the North.
Residential landlord Grainger has announced a new build-to-rent partnership with Network Rail and the property developer Bloc Group to deliver 2,000 homes across Britain.
An article in City A.M. says the UK’s largest listed residential landlord said in a statement that the collaboration would develop purpose-built rental homes at sites across six major cities.
The scheme forms a part of the group’s wider ‘blocwork’ joint venture, which regenerates underutilised brownfield sites adjacent to railway infrastructure, with the purpose of boosting local economies.
Network Rail will bring forward potential build-to-rent sites from its property portfolio, with the blocwork venture taking the schemes through the planning process.
Sophie Allison has been appointed Managing Director of Midland Metro Limited (MML) after carrying out the role on an interim basis for the last two years.
With more than two decades of valuable transport experience, Sophie has already steered the tram operator through a major period of change and the expansion of the network – including the opening of two extensions and the growth of the fleet.
She joined Centro, the predecessor of Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), in 2006 and moved to MML, as Head of Business Transformation, when it took over West Midlands Metro operations in 2018.
Photo credit: Midland Metro Alliance
