Railnews Magazine February 2024 Back Issue

The Government has said that the first stage of a law to create Great British Railways will be scrutinised in the current session of Parliament, which may be the last before the next General Election.

HS2 costs are continuing to rise. The cost of building Phase 1 could now be as much as £66.6 billion, according to HS2’s executive chairman Sir Jon Thompson.

ASLEF staged more strikes in England, while the RMT is calling out its members at London Overground in a pay dispute with operator Arriva Rail London.

Storms caused two early shutdowns on ScotRail and disrupted services in England, while services in the Scottish central belt were restored on 2 February, after work to protect the Edinburgh-Glasgow Queen Street line from falling rocks had been completed. South of the border, major repairs to shore up a landslip on the Chiltern main line were completed on 16 January.

A new service has been launched in south Wales between Ebbw Vale and Newport, the first part of a £56 million upgrade of railways in Cornwall is due in May 2025, when the frequency of services on the Newquay branch will be doubled as part of the new Mid Cornwall Metro, and the new buildings at University station in Birmingham opened to passengers on 28 January. Open access services may return to Shropshire and north Wales next year, which would bring open access trains back to the area for the first time since 2011.

The contract to run Manchester Metrolink has been extended for three years, and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has asked Transport for London to suspend peak fares on Fridays as a trial.

TransPennine Express celebrated a ‘Week of Inclusion’ during late January, when it celebrated the achievements of its employees.

Railnews for February is out now.