Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Tuesday, 26th January 2021
The latest rail news on Tuesday, 26th January 2021
Ministers could demand that Britain gets back at least part of its equity stake in Eurostar in return for a financial rescue of the high-speed train passenger service.
That is according to an article in The Times that says that while loans and credit guarantees are under discussion, it is understood that as part of a package to reboot Eurostar, a British taxpayer equity stake in the train company could be on the table.
The papers writes that David Cameron’s Conservative-led government sold the UK’s 40 per cent stake in Eurostar for £750 million in 2015.
The article continues that industry sources do not expect Boris Johnson’s government to abandon Eurostar, which is currently operating at 1 per cent of its capacity because of lockdowns and travel restrictions.
An 11,000 tonne curved concrete box has been successfully pushed under the East Coast Main Line near Peterborough.
Over the past nine days, Network Rail teams reached this major milestone in the project to build a new tunnel at Werrington, north of Peterborough, which will enable slower moving freight trains to dive underneath the famous passenger route and use an adjacent line northwards.
Newly released time-lapse footage shows the 155-metre curved concrete box tunnel, which is heavier than the Eiffel Tower, being pushed into place at just 150cm per hour, using four hydraulic jacks.
Transport bosses have revived hopes for a new rail connection between Kent and Cambridge after receiving “overwhelming support” from residents.
An article on KentLive says Kent County Council has lobbied the government to introduce a Thameslink service from Maidstone East to Cambridgeshire via London.
The article says, pursuing it further, the council’s cabinet met yesterday and approved a new rail strategy from 2021 to 2030.
Finally, and a team of Network Rail volunteers dubbed The Orange Angels have set up a vaccination hub that has opened today.
The article in The Sun says the staff, with colleagues from Great Western Railway, helped fit it out in five days.
The paper says the volunteer Nick Millington said a colleague and his son died of COVID last week, saying “we have dedicated our efforts to him. This is going to start saving lives”.
Photo credit: Network Rail
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