Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Friday, 29th October 2021
Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Friday, 29th October 2021
Crossrail is facing a “serious” funding gap and there is uncertainty over how loans will be repaid, MPs have warned.
An article in the Evening Standard says a report by the Commons’ Public Accounts Committee (PAC) stated that the estimated cost of completing London’s new east-west railway exceeds current available funding by £150 million.
Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild said: “The forecast cost of completing the project remains unchanged at £18.9 billion.”
Network Rail’s air operations team have successfully flown a drone Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) for 25km over dry land – believed to be the furthest such civilian drone flight in Britain.
The proof-of-concept flight – which took place on Wednesday along the East West Railway – is the culmination of 18 months of work.
It has been described as a significant step forward in terms of how drones can be used to inspect the railway safely, quickly and cost-effectively.
Towns and communities across England and Wales left isolated when their railways were closed are one step closer to having their connections restored, as part of the government’s Restoring Your Railway programme.
The Autumn Budget has confirmed that 13 more projects have been awarded up to £50,000 each to progress their plans to reinstate stations and restore lines.
Archaeologists in Buckinghamshire working on the HS2 project have uncovered a set of incredible rare Roman statues whilst excavating a Norman Church in Stoke Mandeville.
In the final stages of the excavation at the site of the old St Mary’s Norman church in Stoke Mandeville, archaeologists were excavating a circular ditch around what was thought to be the foundations of an Anglo-Saxon tower.
As they dug down, they uncovered three stone busts which are stylistically Roman.
Photo credit: Nagmar/Shutterstock
