Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Friday, 6th January 2023
InTheNews: The latest rail news on Friday, 6th January 2023
Pendle councillors have called for government clarity on prospects for reopening the Skipton to Colne railway line, which campaigners say could lead to faster travel right across the north and, in particular, boost east Lancashire towns.
An article in the Telegraph and Argus says the calls came at a full meeting of Pendle Borough Council against a wider context of regional projects and funds, including Levelling-Up schemes, being considered at Westminster.
The West Coast Mainline near Carstairs has reopened today after emergency engineering works to fix flood-damage were completed.
Engineers have been working around-the-clock to repair and reopen the line since heavy rain on December 30 caused a landslip beneath the tracks – destabilising the foundations of the railway.
Over the last week, work has been undertaken to remove hundreds of tonnes of loose material from beneath the line, regrade the slopes and install over 300 tonnes of new stone to stabilise the embankment.
An elderly man escaped certain death after getting trapped and almost falling onto the tracks.
An article in the Metro says the pensioner was saved by a quick-thinking rail worker after he made an unwise dash to board a moving train at Purnia Junction station in the eastern Indian state of Bihar.
Footage shows him rushing on to the platform and trying to jump on the carriage, which was already leaving the station.
Fellow passengers looked on in shock as he lost his balance and was dragged along the platform surface, at risk of toppling under the train on to the tracks.
Yet, just in time, the nearby rail worker hurtled over and hauled him to safety, before the train came to a stop.
While many rock stars have a penchant for dating models, Jools Holland prefers making them.
The article in The Mirror says that the former Squeeze star is so infatuated with his mini railway that he skips family holidays to spend time tinkering with it.
His extensive collection of Hornby trains and buildings has been 45 years in the making.
It consists of seven tracks and multiple layers, recreating 600 miles of Europe, and stretches 90 feet around the attic of his Kent mansion.
And Jools believes the best way to relax is with his first-class creation rather than in five-star lodgings.
Photo credit: Network Rail
