Category Archives: Rail transport

‘First taste of winter’ snow in UK brings school closures and travel disruptions

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Severe weather alerts in northern Scotland, Northern Ireland, central and southern Wales and eastern English counties

Large parts of the UK were blanketed with snow as the country got its “first taste of winter”, which brought school closures, train delays, difficult driving conditions and an appeal to check in on vulnerable people.

Met Office yellow severe weather alerts for snow and ice were in place across northern Scotland, Northern Ireland, central and southern Wales, and eastern counties from the Scottish Borders to Norfolk, with forecasters warning of potential hazards through this week.

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Green signal given for first UK co-operatively owned railway service

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Regulator approves bid by open-access operator Go-op to run trains in south-west England from late next year

The UK’s first co-operatively owned railway service could begin running trains in the south-west of England late next year.

The Office of Road and Rail (ORR) has approved a bid from open-access operator Go-op to run several new services between Swindon, Taunton and Weston-super-Mare, and compete with Great Western Railway on the line.

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Investigation under way to establish cause of fatal train crash in Wales

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A man in his 60s died and 15 others were injured after a head-on collision between Talerddig and Llanbrynmair

Rail investigators are working to establish the cause of the first head-on train crash in the UK this century, which killed a passenger in his 60s on Monday evening.

A further 15 people were treated in hospital after the collision between the Welsh villages of Talerddig and Llanbrynmair on the largely single-track Cambrian line.

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‘Best-in-class’ seats and no bog-standard loos: first look at HS2 train interiors

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Carriages for controversial high-speed line focus on passenger comfort, innovations and headroom, mock-ups reveal

For now, it remains unclear quite how far any passenger will travel on future HS2 services – whether reaching Euston or on high-speed tracks all the way to Crewe. But however short the journey, an exclusive peek at HS2’s embryonic carriages reveals travellers will be enthroned in “the best seats of any UK trains” – even, arguably, in the toilets.

Conscious of discontent with the “ironing board” seats in some of the newest trains introduced to Britain’s railways, HS2 are putting passengers’ backs and bottoms centre stage.

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Families lay wreaths to mark 25 years since Ladbroke Grove rail crash

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Collision of two trains in west London killed 31 people and was one of worst rail disasters in recent UK history

Families bereaved by the Ladbroke Grove rail disaster have laid flowers to remember those killed, and to recognise those who came to their aid, 25 years since the crash that killed 31 people.

The disaster, one of the most catastrophic rail incidents in recent UK history, also left more than 220 injured. A rush-hour train collided almost head-on with a high-speed train about 2 miles from Paddington station in west London, shortly after 8am on 5 October 1999.

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UK weather: strong wind warning issued as England and Wales cope with floods

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Transport disrupted and more than 60 flood warnings still in place, with more downpours to come

The Met Office has issued a weather warning for strong winds on Sunday as parts of the country recovered from heavy rain and flooding. Flooding disrupted rail services in England and Wales on Friday morning and led to the closure of the M5 motorway in both directions in Gloucestershire.

The Environment Agency told drivers their cars could be swept away in as little as 30cm (12in) of water as more than 60 flood warnings were issued in England after heavy rain overnight, with further downpours to come.

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At least three dead as two passenger trains collide in Egypt’s Nile delta

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More than 40 others were injured in crash in the city of Zagazig, according to the country’s health ministry

Two passenger trains have collided in Egypt’s Nile delta, killing at least three people, two of them children, authorities have said.

The crash happened on Saturday in the city of Zagazig, the capital of Sharqiya province, the country’s railway authority said. Egypt’s health ministry said the collision injured at least 40 others.

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LNER train driver strikes called off after successful union talks

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Planned 22 days of disrupted weekend services suspended with Aslef stating it has resolved a longstanding dispute

A series of weekend strikes by train drivers on LNER from Saturday has been called off, their trade union Aslef has announced.

Passengers travelling between London and Edinburgh had faced the prospect of months of disruption after LNER drivers earlier this month announced 22 days of industrial action from the start of September until early November.

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Thrush hour: study suggests birdsong can ease commuter stress

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Research for South Western Railway finds passengers who listened to natural soundscapes reported 35% reduction in stress levels

At the end of summer even adults suffer that “back to school” feeling as they resume stressful commutes on packed trains. But instead of listening to a podcast or music, opting for a nature soundtrack of birdsong or waterfalls could be the key to a “zen” commute, according to a study.

The research, undertaken by South Western Railway (SWR) on one of its trains and analysed by Charles Spence, a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford, measured the impact of listening to nature soundscapes on passengers’ stress levels and relaxation.

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Union dispute shuts down Canadian freight rail amid fears for US trade

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Nearly 10,000 workers locked out at Canada’s two major rail freight firms in dispute over working conditions

Both of Canada’s major rail freight companies have shut down their rail networks in the country and locked out nearly 10,000 workers after unsuccessful negotiations with a major union.

The decision, confirmed by the Teamsters union, sets the stage for an unprecedented rail stoppage that could badly damage the Canadian economy and have a significant effect on cross-border trade with the US.

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Ex-rail minister says he understands Labour deal with unions

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Huw Merriman called for end to ‘demonisation’ of train drivers and apologised for failing to bring reforms

A former Conservative minister has called for an end to the demonisation of train drivers and said he understood why the new Labour government had “decided to cut a deal” with unions.

Huw Merriman, who served as the rail minister for the entirety of Rishi Sunak’s premiership, apologised for failing to bring in workplace reforms and his inability to reach an agreement to end the strikes.

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London City airport: 54% of journeys take under six hours by train, data shows

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Exclusive: Most popular routes can be reached quickly by train, as government mulls expansion proposal

More than half of the journeys taken from London City airport last year can be reached in six hours or less by train, data reveals.

The Labour government is preparing to make the final call on the airport’s application to significantly increase its passenger numbers. The airport wants to increase capacity from 6.5 million to 9 million passengers a year by putting on more weekend and early morning flights.

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Tens of thousands of train fare fines to be quashed in England and Wales

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Four firms including Northern and Greater Anglia unlawfully prosecuted more than 74,000 alleged fare dodgers

Tens of thousands of prosecutions for alleged fare dodging brought by train companies are to be quashed after a court ruling.

Four companies including Northern Trains and Greater Anglia unlawfully prosecuted more than 74,000 passengers in England and Wales using the single justice procedure (SJP), which allowed fast-track magistrates hearings on fare evasion cases to be held behind closed doors.

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Far left behind rail sabotage before Olympics, French minister suggests

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Gérald Darmanin says activists may have been encouraged to carry out arson attacks that caused disruption

France’s interior minister has suggested that far-left activists were behind the attacks on the high-speed rail system on the eve of the Olympics opening ceremony, as a fresh wave of vandalism targeted internet cables.

Four days after the attacks, Gérald Darmanin said the investigation into the arson attacks had “identified a certain number of profiles who could have committed it”.

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Further Eurostar cancellations hold up Paris 2024 passengers

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The rail operator has pulled four of 15 trains from its Saturday schedule, affecting more than 3,000 people

Eurostar passengers hoping to catch the start of the Paris Olympics have continued to face difficulties after an arson attack in France caused train cancellations.

People travelling by Eurostar from London to Paris on Friday were asked to postpone trips if possible after the rail operator cancelled one in four trains over the weekend as a result of arson attacks that lead to widespread disruption to France’s high-speed rail network hours before the start of the Olympics.

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Who launched attack on the French rail network – and why?

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Arsonists used crude methods but disruption to opening of the Olympic Games in Paris was severe

It was about 1.15am when the SNCF maintenance workers, carrying out repairs by moonlight, spotted the group of people a little further down the railway line near a signal box outside the sleepy village of Vergigny, in the northern French department of Yonne.

They were concerned enough by the unlikely sight at such an hour to approach the intruders, and then to make a call to the local police as those they had interrupted ran off into the dark.

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French rail network hit by arson attacks before Olympics opening ceremony

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‘Massive’ coordinated attacks on TGV bring severe disruption to France’s busiest rail lines

France’s high-speed rail network has been hit by coordinated “malicious acts” including arson attacks that have brought major disruption to many of the country’s busiest rail lines hours before the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

The state-owned railway operator, SNCF, said arsonists had targeted installations along the lines connecting Paris with the country’s west, north and east and that traffic would be severely disrupted across the country during the weekend.

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‘Bedlam’ in UK as air and rail travel hit by global IT outage

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More than 3,000 flights cancelled worldwide after problem affecting Microsoft Windows

Passengers have described “bedlam” at UK airport check-ins after a global IT outage on what was due to be the busiest day for flying since the start of the Covid pandemic, while train networks have also been disrupted.

More than 3,000 flights have been cancelled worldwide after Microsoft Windows operating systems used by airlines, airports and some air traffic systems were affected.

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Slow recovery from IT outage begins as experts warn of future risks

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Fault in CrowdStrike caused airports, businesses and healthcare services to languish in ‘largest outage in history’

Services began to come back online on Friday evening after an IT failure that wreaked havoc worldwide. But full recovery could take weeks, experts have said, after airports, healthcare services and businesses were hit by the “largest outage in history”.

Flights and hospital appointments were cancelled, payroll systems seized up and TV channels went off air after a botched software upgrade hit Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

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Labour summons bosses of worst-performing train operators to meetings

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Network Rail route directors will also attend next week as UK government aims to reform railways quickly

Labour has summoned the bosses of some of the worst-performing train operators, including Avanti West Coast and TransPennine, for meetings next week as it seeks to rapidly reform the railways and reset industrial relations.

The transport secretary, Louise Haigh, will bring in Network Rail route directors to attend all talks with the train companies, signalling the move towards an integrated railway.

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