In The News | 2nd December 2021 | Latest Rail News

Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Thursday, 2nd December 2021

Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Thursday, 2nd December 2021

A new era of transformed train travel in Wales is being heralded with the arrival of brand-new trains that will provide more capacity and improved services for Transport for Wales (TfW) passengers.

TfW is investing £800 million in new trains for the Wales and borders network – with the first two brand new trains from leading train manufacturer Stadler being delivered to the TfW depot at Canton, in Cardiff, for testing.

The new Class 231 FLIRT trains arrived in Wales from Switzerland and are the first of 35 to be delivered over the next 24 months from Stadler.

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Damage is “far worse” than engineers anticipated on Barmouth Viaduct.

Network Rail has apologised to the local community after extending a £30 million restoration of the timber viaduct.

The rail owner and manager says that the work on the Grade II viaduct is like nothing that has gone before – with a three-year programme setting out to replace 1,000 timber and metal parts on the bridge found to be rotting and decaying.

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A new direct rail service between Hull and Liverpool could be introduced next year.

An article on Hull Live says proposals announced today by operator TransPennine Express (TPE) envisage direct services between the two cities starting in December 2022.

If approved, the move would mark a significant victory for campaigners in the city who have been lobbying for improved rail services for Hull.

A new survey shows increasing confidence in rail as an innovative sector, but more has to be done.

That’s according to the Railway Industry Association report which compares the results of two surveys of rail professionals conducted in 2019 and 2021.

62 per cent of respondents in 2021 believed rail is ‘extremely, very or quite innovative’, a 12 per cent increase from 2019.

However rail was seen as less innovative than the automotive, transport, finance and defence sectors, but had seen the largest swing of those sectors in the two years.

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Photo credit: Transport for Wales

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