In The News: 26th August

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Network Rail has launched two independent task forces in response to the Stonehaven crash.

The news is in several of the national newspapers, including The Scotsman, that says former Met Office chief scientist Dame Julia Slingo will lead a review into the impact of heavy rainfall on the railway.

The article says this will consider how data can be used to ensure future engineering decisions take local weather factors into account, as well as Network Rail’s use of forecasting and weather monitoring technology.

Lord Robert Mair will also spearhead an earthworks taskforce investigating the management of railway cuttings and embankments.

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Rail timetables will return close to pre-Covid levels next month, but trains will be able to carry only half the usual numbers of passengers to maintain social distancing.

An article in The Times says operators are set to introduce a near-full service from September 7, to coincide with the reopening of schools and the return to work for many people following the summer holidays.

It is hoped that the increase will encourage more people to travel by train following an unprecedented drop in passenger numbers since March.

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Transport chiefs in the West Midlands are on the hunt for a contractor for a £26 million brief to build two railway stations in the region.

That’s according to an article on Business Live that says a new tender has been launched by the West Midlands Combined Authority to find a company to construct the stations in Willenhall and Darlaston whose predecessors closed in the 1960s.

Planning permission has not yet been granted for the projects on the Walsall to Wolverhampton line, which are due to be debated by Walsall Council’s planning committee in October.

Finally, and Biffa has saved 6,600 tonnes of CO2 emissions by switching to the usage of rail links for the transportation of predominantly inert waste materials to its facilities.

This follows the announcement in 2018 of the group’s strategic rail partnership with GB Railfreight to increase its capacity for transportation via rail, reducing its reliance on road haulage.

Since 2019, the Group has successfully transported over 600,000 tonnes of inert waste by rail.

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Photo credit: Network Rail

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