Railnews - Latest News

Northern staff vote for industrial action (Mon, 20 May 2013)
A strike ballot at Northern Rail organised by the RMT union has resulted in a majority voting in favour of action. The ballot follows a dispute over the use of agency staff, particularly on revenue protection duties. Northern said it was 'disappointed' at the outcome, and repeated its denials that it was intent on 'casualising the workforce’.
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New station opens in West Midlands (Mon, 20 May 2013)
Trains have started to call at a new station in the West Midlands, which opened yesterday (Sunday 19 May) with the launch of the summer timetables. Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway, between Wilmcote and Stratford, has a generally hourly service to Birmingham Snow Hill operated by London Midland.
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Franchise logjam begins to ease (Fri, 17 May 2013)
The first franchise extension – announced in principle in late March – has been confirmed by the Department for Transport with just ten days to spare. The National Express contract to run c2c between London Fenchurch Street, Tilbury, Southend and Shoeburyness would have expired on 26 May, but will now run until September 2014 at least. The DfT said 'a long term partner is expected to take over' in September next year, but it has included a buffer zone of eight further railway periods, which could add up to another 32 weeks.
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Richard Brown to step down from Eurostar (Thu, 16 May 2013)
Eurostar chairman Richard Brown has announced that he will be stepping down at the end of June. He became chief executive in 2002 and then chairman in April 2010, when he was succeeded as chief executive by Nicolas Petrovic. He also recently advised the Department for Transport on its future franchising programme and is now the chairman of its Franchise Advisory Panel.
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Transport secretary hits out at HS2 report (Thu, 16 May 2013)
A new report from the National Audit Office published today has criticised the Department for Transport for failing to prepare an adequate business case for building HS2, but the transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said he did not accept the report's core conclusion and that the case for the project was clear.
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Union leader calls for level crossing safety inquiry (Wed, 15 May 2013)
A rail union is calling for the House of Commons Transport Committee to investigate Network Rail's level crossing safety policy, after several fatal accidents at crossings which had previously been reported to be dangerous. The general secretary of TSSA, Manuel Cortes, made the call at his union's conference after claiming that there had been warnings before a 13-year old girl was killed on a tramway crossing south of Hucknall near Nottingham, four years after a previous fatal accident on the adjacent National Rail track.
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Consultation launched on Crossrail 2 (Wed, 15 May 2013)
A consultation has been launched by Network Rail and Transport for London on the possible routes and destinations which could be served by Crossrail 2. Crossrail 2 is based on proposals for a new Underground line linking Chelsea and Hackney which were first aired more than 20 years ago. The draft route map now published includes Cheshunt in the north and several places in the south western suburbs including Hampton Court, Chessington South, Shepperton and Epsom.
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DfT urged to consider national High Speed rail plan (Sat, 11 May 2013)
A leading High Speed rail campaigning group has called for a greater national network of High Speed lines to be considered by the Department for Transport, after the Government confirmed its intention to go ahead with HS2 in the Queen's Speech. Jim Steer of Greengauge21 claimed there was a need for a 'genuinely national plan', which would add new routes – including some travelling broadly east-west – to the currently planned lines from London to Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester.
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Network Rail to examine Uckfield–Lewes proposals (Fri, 10 May 2013)
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has given a boost to the hopes of people who have been calling for the railway to be reopened between Uckfield and Lewes in East Sussex. On a visit to Lewes, he revealed that he has commissioned a study from Network Rail which will consider the future of rail services between London and the south coast, and re-examine the case for restoring the line. But one group has dismissed the idea as inadequate, arguing that a new main line is needed to London rather than the restoration of a local link.
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New First Capital Connect MD named (Thu, 09 May 2013)
FirstGroup has named the managing director who will take over at First Capital Connect later this month, when incumbent Neal Lawson moves to Network Rail. FirstGroup is currently shortlisted for the next Thameslink franchise, which is due to start in September 2014.
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