Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Monday, 6th February 2023
InTheNews: The latest rail news on Monday, 6th February 2023
Return train fares are to be scrapped in a planned shake-up of Britain’s rail system, expected to be announced by Rishi Sunak’s transport secretary within days.
An article in the Independent says Mark Harper will reportedly unveil plans this week to replace return fares with “single-leg pricing”, in which the price of two single tickets will be equal to a return.
He is also expected to commit to creating Great British Railways (GBR), a new public body which will seize responsibility for ticketing and timetabling from the Department of Transport and place the operation of tracks and trains in the same hands for the first time.
Improvements to a Lake District railway line could massively increase the number of services, a council has said.
An article on the BBC website says Cumbria County Council has submitted a bid to the government for a “dynamic passing loop” on the line between Oxenholme and Windermere stations.
It is currently single track, meaning only one round trip per hour is possible.
A second platform at Burneside and line speed and level crossing improvements are also included in the bid.
HS2’s commitment to creating ‘Skills for Life’ – the theme for this year’s National Apprenticeship Week – was reinforced today as it confirmed 300 more apprenticeship jobs will be created.
Over 1,100 people, of all ages and backgrounds, have already secured an HS2 apprenticeship and are on track to boost their career.
Today’s announcement, confirming 300 more jobs, puts HS2 within reach of its 2,000 apprenticeships target before civils works even begin on the northern extension of the network.
Runaway cat Mr Jingles must have used up a few of his nine lives after spending nearly two weeks trapped in a London Underground tunnel.
An article in The Mirror says the moggy spent his days dodging tube trains and live rails, only emerging at night to forage for food on the platform when the line was closed.
Refusing to give up on the two-year-old cat, station manager David Nobbs placed some fish in a special box, which was set to close gently once the animal was inside.
Mr Jingles took the bait, and was finally rescued, none the worse for his underground adventure, apart from a thick coating of dust and soot.
Photo credit: HS2 Ltd
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