Railnews Magazine November 2014 Back Issue

Devolution to the English regions and the progress of High Speed rail projects are two of the lead topics in the latest edition of Railnews. The keynote report by Sir David Higgins which suggests a new line across the Pennines was published just before we went to press, and we have a full report. The other hot topic of the month is franchising, with the ScotRail franchise being awarded to Abellio, while although FirstGroup has lost ScotRail it appears to have won a further extension on Great Western. Longer term Network Rail plans for the Great Western route include some bold measures to increase capacity, including possible four-tracking between Didcot and Oxford, as we explain. Other stories include the revelation that certain ticket machines seem to be concealing the lowest fares from passengers, the unveiling of a new design of tube train for London and the controversy over the proposed sale of the British stake in Eurostar. We mark the sad passing of that doyen of railway writers and publishers, David St John Thomas, while with the imminent start of two new franchises north of the border our feature discusses the origin and development of the classic ScotRail brand. Incidentally, we also tell the story of Chris Green, some dirty windows and an elusive broom. What's the truth of the matter? Read the November edition of Railnews to find out.