Spending Review: Colossal £25bn for HS2 eclipses other transport pledges June 11, 2025 HS2’s colossal funding package eclipses all other railway investment pledges that Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in her Spending Review. Reeves pledged £3.5bn investment into the Transpennine route upgrade and £2.5bn for East-West rail as part of the Spending Review. The Chancellor also set out plans to “take forward” the UK’s ambitions for Northern Powerhouse Rail, [...]
Eurostar to launch direct services from London to Frankfurt and Geneva June 10, 2025 Eurostar has announced plans to launch direct services from London to Germany and Switzerland for the first time. The cross-channel operator is looking to purchase 50 new trains at a cost of £1.7bn to service the routes, which are expected to run from the “early 2030s”. Journey times are expected to last around five hours [...]
Thameslink operator slumps into the red ahead of Elizabeth Line takeover June 9, 2025 The operator of London’s Thameslink and Gatwick Express slumped into the red before taking over the Elizabeth Line, it has been revealed. Go-Ahead has reported a pre-tax loss of $36.9m for 2024, having posted a pre-tax profit of $9.7m for the prior 15 months. However, the group pointed to it making a profit after tax [...]
Trainline: CEO’s pay more than doubles as profit jumps May 29, 2025 Trainline has more than doubled the pay packet of its chief executive after its profit surged during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. Jody Ford has taken home £5.6m, having been remunerated to the tune of £2.4m for the prior 12 months. According to Trainline’s annual report, Ford’s pay packet was significantly boosted [...]
Network Rail faces extra £213m National Insurance hit May 7, 2025 Network Rail will take an additional £213m hit over the next few years from the National Insurance tax hikes announced in Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget, it has been revealed. The figure marks a 16 per cent increase on a previously expected payout of £1.26bn over the remaining four years of its current financial control period. [...]
Trainline to take on Labour as shares plunge May 7, 2025 Trainline shares fell nearly eight per cent in early deals on Wednesday despite ticket sales reaching almost £6bn across its platform. The London-listed ticketing app’s stock price has fallen by more than a third this year due to concerns over government plans to launch a rival state-owned service. Trainline said it was taking an “increasingly [...]
Eurostar tells rivals to put their money where their mouths are April 28, 2025 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 [...]
Plans for new £100m train station approved April 22, 2025 Plans to build a new £100m train station in Liverpool have been given the green light in a major upgrade to the city’s transport infrastructure. The station has been earmarked for the city’s Baltic Triangle district and was backed by Liverpool City Council’s planning committee. The proposals are the first of four new stations planned [...]
Trainline has ‘growth potential’ despite national rival, says UBS April 15, 2025 Trainline will continue to grow despite concerns surrounding the government’s rail policy, according to UBS. Plans for a rival national rail ticket website have caused shares in Trainline to dip more than 30 per cent this year to date – despite continuing strong demand. UBS said that although “market concerns” remained, recent data indicated “continued [...]
Avanti West Coast co-owner to launch €1bn Eurostar rival April 8, 2025 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 [...]