Railnews Magazine August 2021 Back Issue

THE relaxation of Covid rules on 19 July has caused some confusion on the railways, particularly as face coverings remain compulsory on trains in Scotland and Wales but are a matter of choice in England, with the exception of Transport for London and some other services such as Manchester Metrolink. The high number of railway staff being ‘pinged’ has caused disruption, and many operators have cut some trains from their timetables.

Meanwhile, Network Rail has revealed that extensive scientific tests at four large stations, including London Euston, have not shown any traces of Covid.

More disruption to trains is likely in August because of several industrial disputes, including a series of strikes on ScotRail. Still in Scotland, a mystery blaze badly damaged a building and overhead wires at Troon station on the Glasgow to Ayr line on 17 July.

The government is to be lobbied by Buckinghamshire councillors over the postponement of a plan to include Aylesbury in East West Rail. They are also calling for the line between Aylesbury and Princes Risborough to be doubled.

In other news, Alstom celebrated 20 years of the ‘Voyager’ and ‘SuperVoyager’ fleets on 27 July, high-speed parcels deliveries are set to be made by train between the Midlands and Scotland later this year, a ‘deluge’ of rain in north London on 12 July wreaked havoc to services on the West Coast Main Line, when a sub station caught fire, and a new survey suggests that a third of British adults are prepared to risk their lives to retrieve an everyday object such as a mobile phone or a bunch of keys from the track.

Finally, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has warned that Transport for London will need more government support in the financial year to March 2022.