In The News | 24th January 2022 | Latest Rail News

Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Monday, 24th January 2022

InTheNews: The latest rail news on Monday, 24th January 2022

A “landmark moment” in improving the North West’s rail connections is happening today when the Bill to extend HS2 to Manchester is laid in Parliament, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said.

The article features on the GB News website, saying that Phase 2b of the high-speed railway will cut travel times by around 55 minutes for journeys between London and Manchester, and up to 45 minutes for trips between Birmingham and Manchester, according to the Department for Transport.

Extending HS2 from Crewe to Manchester was included in the Government’s £96 billion Integrated Rail Plan, although it has been part of the project since it was given the go-ahead by the coalition government in January 2012.

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Transport for Wales (TfW) is celebrating the completion of work to refurbish its fleet of Class 175 long-distance trains.

Train manufacturer Alstom has been working to refurbish the 27 Coradia trains at their Technology Centre in Widnes, Cheshire, as part of TfW’s £40 million investment in its current fleet of trains.

Since the first train re-entered service in the summer of 2019, customers have been benefiting from improved facilities, including USB and electric charging points, brand new toilet seats, re-covered seats, new carpets and new interior fittings.

Work has commenced on a £100 million track dualling scheme on the Tyne and Wear Metro.

The ambition behind the project is to increase service frequency, reduce journey times, and improve reliability.

Known as the Metro Flow Project, it will see an existing freight line upgraded and electrified in South Tyneside, making it capable of carrying Metro services and boosting capacity by an extra 24,000 customer journeys every day.

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Fare dodgers and fraudsters paid more than £4 million to train operator Greater Anglia in 2021.

Those that got caught either tried to make a journey without paying, or tried to claim money – as compensation or a refund – on a trip they didn’t make.

In all, the business’s ticket inspectors issued more than 54,000 penalty fares in 2021, to the value of £1.63 million.

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Photo credit: HS2 Ltd

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