Railnews Magazine April 2016 Back Issue

TWO new franchises were launched in Manchester on 1 April, the day the April edition of Railnews went to press. We lead with this story, and include the plans for new train fleets for both Northern and Transpennine Express. Unions, however, are resisting the idea that many trains in the north of England could become driver only operated. Further south, MPs at Westminster have voted in favour of the HS2 Hybrid Bill, authorising Phase 1 between London and Birmingham, and the Bill now goes to the Lords. Heathrow Express has returned to normal after safety checks had caused the entire Class 332 fleet to be temporarily withdrawn, while the heritage operator West Coast Railways is also back on the rails after the Office of Rail and Road accepted the company's assurances about improved safety management. Nicola Shaw has submitted her report about the future structure and financing of Network Rail, and privatisation has been ruled out. However greater devolution to route managing directors is now expected, as Railnews reported in January. An £800m investment in London Waterloo and its approaches has been given a formal welcome, with more new trains and extended platforms on the way to boost capacity on the busy South Western Main Line, where capacity is running out. Signallers in North Kent have bid a fond farewell to four boxes and panels, as migration of train control and regulation to Gillingham ROC is stepped up, while our feature discusses the knotty subject of greater devolution to the regions and how it affects railways. As we discover, not everyone is happy about the implications. And in a cheeky story appropriate for the first day in April, Virgin has announced that it will be recruiting the venerable Flying Scotsman to help run commuter services. (But we are not sure we believe that this classic steam locomotive will be painted red.) All this, and much more, is in Railnews for April.