Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Friday, 24th February 2023
InTheNews: The latest rail news on Friday, 24th February 2023
Passengers will be able to use a much-delayed driverless railway linked to an airport terminal from next month.
An article on the BBC website says the £290 million Luton Direct Air-Rail Transit (Dart) was due to open in 2020 but will now take its first customers on 10 March.
The 1.4-mile (2.2km) railway links Luton Airport Parkway station to London Luton Airport in about three minutes.
Luton Rising, which owns the airport, said it would initially operate on a restricted timetable.
The West Coast main line will close for 16 days in March as Network Rail engineers deliver a ‘vital’ programme of work to upgrade Carstairs Junction.
An article on The Cumberland News says the closure of the line, between March 4 and March 19, is the first phase of a three-month programme of work which will also see trains diverted and journey-times extended between March and June for all services between Glasgow/Edinburgh and Carlisle.
The work is part of a £164 million Scottish Government investment to modernise the key junction for passenger and freight services.
Northern has issued 10 per cent less penalty fares in the first month since the government increased the ‘fine’ to £100 compared to the same period last year.
3,831 people caught travelling without a valid ticket or ‘promise to pay’ notice were issued with a penalty fare, compared to 4,261 in the same period last year.
The train operator, which offers 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England, revealed adult passengers accounted for 81 per cent of the penalty fares issued, with under 18s making up the remaining 19 per cent.
The first new Tyne and Wear Metro train has arrived in the UK after travelling from Switzerland.
The five-carriage train, built by Stadler in Switzerland, is expected to reach the North East next week.
It will need to undergo testing and drivers will need to complete training before it enters service in the autumn.
Metro operator Nexus is spending £362 million on 46 new trains which will gradually be introduced on to the network.
Photo credit: Northern
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