Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Friday, 7th May 2021
The latest rail news on Friday, 7th May 2021
Train firms see light at the end of the tunnel with a recovery in passenger numbers for commuters and cross-Channel journeys as lockdowns lift.
That’s according to an article in the Evening Standard, that says ticket-selling app Trainline saw pre-tax losses widen by more than £20 million to £106.8 million for the year to February 28 after net ticket sales fell 79 per cent to £548 million, compared with £3.2 billion a year earlier.
The article says the group was burning through around £5 million cash a month on average, lower than initial fears of £8 million to £9 million.
But it said the first quarter of its new financial year has seen the “first signs of recovery” with an uptick in net ticket sales and is optimistic for demand in coming months.
Multi-billion-pound plans for roads and railways in the UK are being reviewed, as travel patterns shift in response to the COVID pandemic.
That is according to an article on the BBC website that comes as its research suggests 43 of the UK’s biggest employers won’t bring workers back to the office full-time.
The BBC says it has learned that civil servants are studying transport expansion plans to see which are still viable with traffic expected to be below the long-term average.
Avanti West Coast has rolled out a new service across its UK network where customers can have food and drink delivered to their seat.
Introduced on trains operating across the West Coast Main Line, this new feature follows a successful trial onboard last year.
Customers can log on to the onboard Wi-Fi using their mobile phone, tablet or laptop and then visit the dedicated page in their browser to choose their items.
Finally, a Second World War pilot who played a vital part in the ‘Great Escape’ from a German prisoner-of-war camp will today have a train named in his honour by Great Western Railway.
Wing Commander Ken Rees, from Wales, was imprisoned in Stalag Luft III and helped to dig the tunnel from which a daring escape was made in March 1944.
Photo credit: Avanti West Coast
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