Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Thursday, 6th October 2022
InTheNews: The latest rail news on Thursday, 6th October 2022
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has urged the Transport Secretary to increase Avanti West Coast train services between Manchester and London or remove its operating contract.
An article from the Manchester Evening News says the MP has written to the Transport Secretary to call for the operator to provide a consistent, two trains per hour service by the end of the month, calling the current service’s impact ‘profoundly negative’ for the regional and national economy’.
Avanti announced plans last month to restore three trains an hour between Manchester Piccadilly and London Euston from December 11, but Mr Burnham said the timetable would mean ‘two more months of chaos on the West Coast Mainline in the interim’.
Rail operator Serco is set to lose its contract to run the Caledonian Sleeper service, following a financial disagreement with the Scottish government.
An article from the BBC says company had tried to renegotiate its contract to put the loss-making service on “a more sustainable financial footing”.
But Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth said its proposals had been rejected because they did not represent value for money to the public.
Serco will stop operating the cross-border rail service in June 2023, seven years earlier than planned.
Associated British Ports (ABP) and Solent Stevedores have unveiled £17.5m plans to improve a rail terminal at the Port of Southampton in a bid to cut the city’s air pollution, the Southern Daily Echo reports.
The project, which involves a new 18-acre facility in the Western Docks, is due to be completed next year and will provide shipping lines with access to additional container handling services.
The work will extend the terminal’s existing loading pad by 150m and create 84 reefer plug points as well as introducing a new track design.
Finally, there’s just one day left to win a variety of prizes in the first-ever Women in Rail (WR) charity auction.
The host of items on offer range from railway tours and experiences to event tickets and weekend excursions, at the auction which supports Women in Rail’s work to improve diversity in the UK rail industry and provide support for women within the sector.
The online auction will close at 23:59 on Friday, October 7th 2022. Entrants are required to register prior to bidding and can do so using the link on the Rail Business Daily news article.
Read the full story here: https://news.railbusinessdaily.com/win-big-in-the-women-in-rail-online-charity-auction/
That’s it from today’s round-up. For the latest in rail news, visit news.railbusinessdaily.com.
