Railnews Magazine September 2021 Back Issue

More operators are unveiling plans to reduce commuter timetables but leisure traffic is healthy and growing, according to the Rail Delivery Group. However, the RMT is demanding a rethink over the planned reductions.

The September edition of Railnews also reports how changes proposed by LNER are being postponed until at least 2023.

Meanwhile, another leak has raised further concern that the eastern leg of HS2 is unlikely to be built in the foreseeable future, although a special train has made its first trip with invited guests on board between Newcastle and Morpeth, using a former route which is now a prime candidate for reopening.

In other news, an investigation has been launched into a collision between a tractor and a freight train at a level crossing in East Anglia, while an unusual train naming ceremony took place at Stafford, when a CrossCountry unit was named in memory of the Hixon accident in January 1968.
ScotRail conductors have voted again in favour of strikes and Sunday walkouts are set to continue, but the RMT suspended strikes of London Underground drivers in the Night Tube dispute after further progress in talks at ACAS. The Retail Prices Index for July rose by 3.8 per cent, but transport secretary Grant Shapps has postponed any decision about rail fare increases in January.

Councillors in Harlow are calling for an Underground link, saying they are examining ‘all possibilities for improving and modernising transport connections’, and Prince Charles was the guest at a ceremony in Sutherland, when the 150th anniversary of the Duke of Sutherland’s railway was celebrated with the unveiling of a plaque.

Finally, our special feature takes us high in the sky, as we find out about the work of Network Rail’s Air Operations team. This, and much more, is in Railnews for September.