Railnews Magazine Mar 2020 Back Issue

THE long-running story of HS2 has reached a landmark, with confirmation that Phase 1 from London to Birmingham is going ahead and also that the next phase as far as Crewe will follow. It is not yet clear what will happen to the Manchester and Leeds extensions, and some more changes seem likely.

The Northern franchise has returned to public ownership, and the latest edition of Railnews also reports on developments in the world of rolling stock, with Alstom making an offer for Bombardier, CAF celebrating a Royal opening in Wales and Siemens unveiling detailed plans for its factory in Yorkshire.

Eurostar has been celebrating too following the launch of trains from Amsterdam to London, and we have pictures from the preview event. Public services begin at the end of April, and Eurostar’s CEO tells Railnews he is now setting his sights on Germany.

Although Eurostar is expanding its network on the continent, services to British cities beyond London seem unlikely, and our feature explains why.

Still in Britain, a new station on two levels opened in Worcestershire on 23 February, the Bexleyheath line reopened on 24 February, after a nine-day closure to allow major engineering work, and trains have returned to the full London Overground route between Gospel Oak and Barking, after repairs to track damaged by a derailment.

Another 124 stations are set to become more accessible, and Grand Central is investing £21 million in trains for its new services between London and Blackpool.

The industrial relations scene remains disturbed, with a ballot announced of 10,000 London Underground staff, and two more strikes called on South Western Railway.

Finally, charities have gained £2,000 from the profits made by volunteers running a tuck shop for staff at Machynlleth depot.

All this, and much more, is in Railnews for March