Data from the Association of Train Operating Companies suggests that travelling by rail between major UK cities could soon become more popular than flying. (more…)
Boris Johnson has outlined his new business plan for Transport for London but unions are angry at his proposed cost saving measures. (more…)
George Osborne’s budget brought some welcome news for the rail industry. The Chancellor announced that the government could now afford to invest an additional £200 million in the UK’s regional railways.
The £85 million Ordsall Chord scheme, which links the two Manchester mainline stations of Piccadilly and Victoria, will now go ahead. This will reduce considerably the journey times between Leeds and Liverpool. (more…)
Rail travellers often suffer during bad weather and last December’s cold snap was no exception. A study carried out by the Office of Rail Regulation found that both Network Rail and the train operators performed badly over the period.
The problem was made worse by train companies adopting different approaches to passenger information even though they were using the same lines. Operators also failed to coordinate emergency timetables, adding yet more confusion to passengers.
At stations, passengers faced a confusing array of information, from destination boards to tannoy announcements, which left them with no idea when, or even if, trains were running. The report claimed that wildly inaccurate information was being given in some instances because the latest train timetables were not fed into the information system which stations rely on. (more…)
London Waterloo was the busiest rail station in the year up to March 2010 with 86,397,666 users according to the latest station footfall tables from the Office of Rail Regulation. Although these figures are based on ticket sales, they try to estimate all people using entrances and exits rather than just people using trains. (more…)
The British public have resumed their love affair with rail travel if the latest figures from the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) are to be believed.
Last year, passengers made a total of 1.32 billion journeys, covering around 33.5 billion miles, on the National Rail network. That’s an increase in journeys of 6.9% on the year before and 37% on 2000. (more…)
Luckily, the rail industry escaped the worst of the government cuts and projects such as Crossrail and electrification, which had seemed to be in jeopardy, will now go ahead. In fact it looks as if there’ll be plenty of projects to keep skilled rail workers busy for at least the next ten years. (more…)
A rail industry report says that removing carriages outside rush hour would conserve energy and reinforce rail’s reputation as one of the greenest modes of transport. Network Rail and the (AOTLS)Association of Train Operating Companies argue they can help reduce carbon emissions by 20% by 2020 by running shorter trains off-peak. (more…)
Train operators have warned of an urgent need to build extra lines to cope with a forecast passenger boom. British railways must double their capacity over the next 30 years if they are to cope with demand from passengers, train operators have warned. (more…)
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