In The News | 30th October 2023 | Latest Rail News

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InTheNews: The latest rail news on Monday, 30th October 2023

Train services between central Scotland and Aberdeen and Inverness are back to normal after a weekend of heavy rain, ScotRail says.

An article on the BBC website says a Met Office yellow weather warning was in place across north east Scotland from Thursday until Sunday.

It covered areas badly hit by Storm Babet flooding last week, which claimed three lives in Scotland.

ScotRail said most speed restrictions had been removed and work was ongoing to make sure trains run as normal.

Avanti is quietly axing hundreds of services before the new year, just over a month after the much-scrutinised train operator was gifted a lucrative new contract by the government.

According to an article in City AM ministers have reportedly signed off reductions to its Saturday timetable due to driver shortages, according to reports in The Times.

But the operator has now convinced the Department for Transport (DfT) to allow similar reductions on every Saturday, from now until the end of 2023.

An Avanti West Coast spokesperson said: “We have been seeing some short-notice cancellations on our network and would like to apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused.”

Somerset’s newest railway station could help regenerate land north of Wellington, it has been claimed.

An article on the BBC website says the Beeching rail cuts meant that Wellington has not had a rail station since 1964.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has now said that £15m will be spent on the proposed station, which would be built near Nynehead Road.

The council is expected to make its final decisions on the rail plans by the end of this year so the station can be opened by September 2025.

Military personnel and veterans attending services of remembrance next month can travel to and from the events by train for free.

The offer will benefit people travelling to and from services anywhere in Britain on Remembrance Sunday, 12 November. Veterans and serving personnel attending the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph can travel to any London terminal for free on Saturday 11 November or on the day – and be able to return home for free afterwards.

Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents train companies, said the offer is open to serving military personnel in uniform or who show a current Ministry of Defence-issued identity card. Veterans can show a Veterans Railcard, a Veterans Oyster card or other proof of service – such as a Ministry of Defence-issued Veterans ID card.

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