Railnews Magazine October 2021 Back Issue

THE termination of the Southeastern contract and the return to public control of the operator leads Railnews for October. Southeastern’s majority shareholder Go-Ahead Group has apologised to the Department for Transport and refunded £25 million which the government said had been improperly retained, amounting to a ‘breach of trust’.

HS2 is staying in the headlines, with the Commons Public Accounts Committee warning that the project’s crisis is deepening, with ‘no clear end in sight’.

There is better news for passengers on the Isle of Wight, who have been without trains this year, because the upgraded Island Line is set to reopen on 1 November. The modernised trains have been supplied by Vivarail, which will be unveiling a next generation battery train at the COP26 Climate Change summit in Glasgow the end of this month.

The changing climate is also an important issue in south Devon, where stormy seas have repeatedly damaged the railway through Dawlish. Network Rail has completed the ‘finishing touches’ to the first section of the stronger sea wall at Dawlish, where new low-energy LED lighting and seats have been installed.

From rails to air, because materials to repair a ventilation shaft in one of the country’s deepest railway tunnels have been arriving by helicopter, because of the remoteness of the site.

London gained two new Underground stations on 20 September, when trains on the Northern Line started running to Battersea Power Station, while a fatal accident on a curved tube platform has been described by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch as highlighting inadequate risk assessment.

Finally, a new book published this month sheds light on British Rail in the 1980s, when the man often known as ‘Bob Reid Mk 1’ was the chairman of the BR Board.

Railnews for October is out now.