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.
London commuter slowdown dents growth at Great Western Railway and Heathrow Express operator December 3, 2024 Fewer London commuters slowed growth at the company behind Great Western Railway and the Heathrow Express, as delays and cancellations became more frequent during its latest financial year. First Great Western (FGW) has said that while the leisure market has “recovered strongly”, the number of commuters into London remain behind December 2019 levels despite have [...]
Avanti West Coast: Ticket sales pass £1bn despite operating troubles December 3, 2024 Turnover at Avanti West Coast jumped past £1bn last year, even as it was named as one of the least reliable rail operators in Britain, it has been revealed. The train operator, which is jointly owned by Firstgroup and Italian rail firm, Trenitalia, has posted a turnover of £1.01bn for the 12 months to 31 [...]
Storm Bert: Great Western Railway suspends London Paddington services November 25, 2024 Train services between London Paddington and both South West England and south Wales have been severely impacted by the effect of Storm Bert. Great Western Railway (GWR) has suspended services on ‘all key routes” due to flooding and fallen trees while other operators have cancelled services today while more than 180 flood warnings remain in [...]
Top court rejects metro operator’s pay case against Unite and Lynch’s RMT November 13, 2024 The Supreme Court dismissed a Northern rail operator case over transport workers pay against two unions, including one headed by Mick Lynch
Avanti West Coast boss insists ‘laser focus’ will help cut cancellations and delays November 11, 2024 Avanti West Coast needs to maintain a “laser focus” on cutting cancellations and delays to its train services, its boss has said. Managing director Andy Mellors also insisted that the operator is “making progress” in improving its performance but that there is “still more to do”. The MD was speaking to the PA news agency [...]
Plans for new £100m Liverpool train station submitted November 5, 2024 Proposals to build a £100m train station in Liverpool have been formally submitted. Construction work on the Liverpool Baltic station scheme would start next year, if plans are approved, with the site expected to be open by 2027. The station would be located on Merseyrail’s Northern Line and would come after the £80m Headbolt Lane [...]
Autumn Budget 2024: Train fares and price of railcards to rise October 30, 2024 The price of a train fare in England is to rise by up to 4.6 per cent in 2025, it has been announced. A Budget document published by the Treasury also revealed that the price of most railcards will also increase by £5. The increase in fares is one percentage point above July’s Retail Prices [...]
How Network Rail is planning to stop the ‘Euston rush’ October 29, 2024 A plan to reduce the number of passengers rushing to platforms at Euston station in London has been revealed by Network Rail. The Government-owned company is to allow passengers travelling on around 40 per cent of Avanti West Coast services from the London station to board trains 20 minutes before departure. Network Rail said this [...]