Network Rail and signaller fined for crossing death
A court has fined the signaller who lifted the barriers of his level crossing as a train approached, killing a woman in a car. Network Rail has also been fined after the collision at Moreton-in-Lugg level crossing near Hereford in January 2010.
The government has been warned that it must not bias its decision about Crossrail rolling stock in favour of a British builder. The competition to build 600 vehicles worth an estimated £1 billion starts tomorrow, amid warnings that the future of the British train building industry is in the balance.
A fleet of new electric multiple units is to be built for London Midland and First TransPennine Express. The trains will be the latest version of the Siemens Desiro UK series, and probably built at Krefeld in Germany.
The Manchester Metrolink concession has been taken over by the French transport operator RATP, but the outgoing concessionaire, Stagecoach Group, has only revealed its transfer of the contract in a notification required by Stock Exchange regulations.
Network Rail showed an operating profit of more than £2 billion last year, but fewer trains ran on time. The company said the fall in performance had been caused by the severe winter weather. Network Rail's debt also rose to a new record.
Eurostar has reported a rise in passenger numbers for the first quarter of 2010, and says the imminent Royal Wedding has produced a ‘surge’ in bookings to London.
Limitations in Network Rail’s information on its own costs are hampering the ability of the Office of Rail Regulation to judge the genuineness of cost savings, according to a new report from the National Audit Office, which is warning that comparable infrastructure operators in other countries are often more efficient. The Regulator also said that ‘substantial scope’ remains for Network Rail to do better.