Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Wednesday, 2nd September 2026.
InTheNews: The latest rail news on Wednesday, 2nd September 2026
Passenger trains have used digital in-cab signalling on the East Coast Main Line for the first time, marking what Network Rail called a “new era” for the route.
The 08.05 Great Northern service to Moorgate on Monday 31 August became the first passenger train to use the new system on the main line as it was signalled out of Welwyn Garden City station.
The milestone is part of the £1.4 billion Government-funded East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP), which will see traditional lineside signals replaced with a system that tells train drivers how far and how fast they can travel via an in-cab computer screen.
Ellie Burrows, Network Rail Regional Managing Director, said: “This is the start of a generational change in how the East Coast Main Line, which carries more than 20 million passengers each year, is operated.”
Construction of the new Saltley Viaduct has taken a step forward with HS2 engineers having installed the first section of the new bridge over the Birmingham to Derby railway lines.
An article on Insider Media says the original Saltley Viaduct, which spanned a 183‑metre section of the B4114, closed to vehicles and pedestrians in May 2026.
It was then demolished so that a new, taller structure could be built in its place, allowing high speed trains to safely pass below.
Passengers on Lumo’s new Stirling-London service have suffered cancelled services, no working toilets – and now a train which stopped for an hour to refuel.
An article on The Scotsman says in what’s thought to be a very rare incident on the railways, travellers heading for London on Sunday night were force to alight from their train at Crewe in Cheshire for more diesel, The Scotsman has learned.
Lumo, which is owned by Aberdeen-based FirstGroup, said it happened because a shortage of drivers had meant the 20-year-old, second-hand train – one of only five in its west coast fleet – had not been refuelled earlier in the day.
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