UK railways prepare for 2m passenger slump as budget cuts loom October 13, 2021 UK railways are preparing for a 2 million passenger fall as, post-Covid commuting patterns have changed, prompting rail companies to start swinging the axe on jobs. Forecasts prepared by the railway industry’s Covid forecasting group for Network Rail highlighted that, in the worst case scenario, numbers will only go up to 60 per cent of [...]
East Coast rail upgrade set for at least a year’s delay August 24, 2021 One of the biggest upgrades to the UK rail network in recent years will be delayed for at least a year due to the emergence of a number of issues. The £1.2bn East Coast upgrade, which will add nearly 40 services a day to the London-Edinburgh network, is due to open in May 2022. But [...]
More staff yearn for their pre-pandemic commutes as return to looms July 12, 2021 More staff yearn for their pre-pandemic commutes as return to looms
Government should ‘rip up the rule’ book on rail fares June 23, 2021 The government needs to go further when it comes to rail ticketing reform and “rip up the rulebook”, or else businesses will suffer, a trade body has warned today. Jane Gratton, head of people policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, welcomed the newly announced flexible season tickets, but said the whole fares system needed [...]
London to Glasgow train record attempt falls short by… 21 seconds June 17, 2021 An attempt to break the 37-year-old record for London to Glasgow by train ended with the Pendolino 39004 arriving at Glasgow Central Station 21 seconds over time. The previous record was set at 3 hours 52 minutes and 40 seconds in 1984 by a BR Advanced Passenger Train (APT). Pendoli-nope Officials said the attempt missed [...]
Rail industry puts service and job cuts on the line amid warnings that government support ‘not unlimited’ June 15, 2021 The rail industry is taking steps to trim services and cut jobs in a bid to save £2bn a year as it warned that the government’s current support for the sector was “not unlimited”. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March last year, ministers have spent over £10bn – £800m per month – propping [...]
Rail reforms: the Fat Controller, new fares, and a ‘farewell’ to franchising May 20, 2021 After years of anticipation, and not a few false starts, the government today announced its much-lauded plan to reform the UK’s railways. Complete with pledges to “fix the broken system” and deliver a better service “for the passenger”, the white paper presents a vision of the country’s rail network that is a clear break from [...]
Flexible season tickets on sale from 21 June under new rail plan May 20, 2021 Flexible season tickets will go on sale from 21 June as part of newly announced reforms that represent the most comprehensive overhaul of the UK’s railways in decades. The long-awaited Williams-Shapps review, which was first mooted nearly four years ago, has finally been published by the Department for Transport (DfT). The paper proposes a number [...]
Passenger shortage set to hammer Network Rail finances April 25, 2021 The UK’s railways are facing a drop in usage that could see up to 2m passengers fewer use trains every day as working patterns shift due to Covid-19. According to a worst-case estimate prepared for rail authorities, passenger numbers may be no higher than 60 per cent of pre-Covid levels for the next four years. [...]
Rail firms to launch flexible season tickets to lure commuters back to city centres April 16, 2021 Ministers and rail chiefs are finalising a new system of flexible season tickets designed to entice commuters back to city centres as the shift to hybrid working takes off. Cost concerns mean the discounts will be much less generous than for traditional season tickets, to spare the taxpayer from further expenses, the Telegraph has revealed. [...]