Railnews Magazine October 2023 Edizione posteriore

The scrapping of HS2 to Manchester and the East Midlands leads Railnews for October. The report includes reactions from around the industry as well as details of the alternative transport schemes which the government says will be financed by the released budget.

Our editorial expresses doubts about the small print of the Prime Minister’s proposals, partly because some of the projects mentioned were completed years ago.

The DfT has awarded new National Rail Contracts for Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry.

Strikes have been continuing, and operators have urged ASLEF to accept reforms. However, two Underground walkouts were cancelled by the RMT after talks at ASLEF had made progress.

Digital freight wagons able to alert operators to such faults as developing wheel flats have been launched, and will now be tested in service.

Bridges are in the news. Network Rail and contractor Story have completed a £34 million bridge repair and renewal programme in Scotland, a three-year overhaul of the Barmouth Bridge should be completed later this year, and Network Rail has built a bridge in two nights. It spans the railway in Newquay and will carry a road serving 4,000 new homes.

Now that autumn is here ‘leaf-busting’ trains are out and about, and are set to cover more than 100,000 kilometres between now and December.

The Edinburgh trams inquiry has uncovered a ‘litany of avoidable failures’, and a station has opened on Merseyrail at Headbolt Lane.

There is fresh concern about a growth in trespassing on level crossings, while a man and three boys have been charged with Modern Slavery offences by British Transport Police.

This month’s feature asks what might happen to heritage railways occupying lines which are to be reopened for National Rail services.

Finally, two centuries of railways will be celebrated by the industry in 2025.