Eurostar tells rivals to put their money where their mouths are Transport and infrastructure Eurostar has called on its rivals to invest in the UK’s capacity for international rail as it insisted it welcomed increased competition. The Temple Mills depot in East London is currently the only place in the UK that can host high-speed, cross-channel trains to and from Europe. It has become a central part of the [...]
Avanti West Coast co-owner to launch €1bn Eurostar rival Transport and infrastructure A co-owner of Avanti West Coast has confirmed plans to launch a €1bn (£856.6m) rival Eurostar which would run services between London and Paris. FS Italiane Group is looking to run a high-speed rail service between the two capitals by 2029. The group, which co-owns Avanti West Coast alongside FirstGroup, has put aside €1bn for [...]
Trainline shares tumble as further rail ticketing plans unveiled Transport and infrastructure Trainline shares tumbled almost nine per cent on Wednesday as the government unveiled more details on how sweeping railway reforms will impact the ticketing sector. Great British Railway (GBR), the arms-length body that will oversee the UK’s railway system, is set to bring together individual train operator’s onto a single website. The Department for Transport [...]
Trainline on track for European expansion as state-backed rival nears January 28, 2025 The boss of Trainline has outlined his European expansion plans as the online ticket giant faces government-backed competition at home.
Firstgroup and Virgin push back against state clampdown on open-access rail firms January 20, 2025 Firstgroup and Virgin are combining to push back against a government clampdown on some of the last private train firms operating the UK’s railway tracks. So-called open access is a lesser-used model in which firms shoulder commercial risk but take the entire share of any profit. It is viewed as a success story by many [...]
RMT union boss Mick Lynch to step down January 9, 2025 Mick Lynch, the RMT general secretary who gained national notoriety during a series of train strikes in recent years, is to retire. Lynch, 63, was elected general secretary in 2021 after previously serving two terms as assistant general secretary and another two on the union’s national executive committee executive. The union boss has become a [...]
Southeastern boss: Success is not about public or private ownership December 18, 2024 City AM chats with Southeastern Railway's chief Steve White on Covid-19, Labour's reforms and his plans to bring down costs.
HS2 chair to step down as cost swells to £66bn December 17, 2024 The chair of the company behind High Speed Two (HS2) is to stop down next year, it has been announced. Sir Jon Thompson has served on the board of HS2 Ltd for almost four years after first joining as a non-executive director in April 2021. He was appointed as the company’s chair in February 2023 [...]
HS2: Costs for London Euston section reach over £7.5bn December 10, 2024 Rachel Reeves confirmed in the Autumn Budget HS2 will terminate at Euston station, following a political kerfuffle over how to find the necessary funding.
South Western Railway, C2C and Greater Anglia to be nationalised in 2025 December 4, 2024 SWR will come under state ownership in May, followed by C2C and Greater Anglia in July and autumn 2025, respectively.