Trains return between Crosskeys and Newport

Trains are running again today between Crosskeys on the Ebbw Vale line and Newport for the first time since 1962. Services were restored between Cardiff Central and Ebbw Vale in 2008, but until now there had been no direct service to Newport, although it is the nearest city to the valley. The new service is part of wider timetable changes on National Rail as the result of the annual revisions which apply from the second Sunday in December. Other changes include more trains between Elgin and Inverness and additional trains calling at Kintore, where the station was reopened last year, while LNER has launched a new direct service between Middlesbrough and London. TransPennine Express has increased the number of trains running between Glasgow and Manchester, and London Northwestern Railway has introduced an additional fast service between Northampton and London Euston. ScotRail has also opened its new HST servicing depot at Cadder.

Brief funding breather for TfL

The government has extended its funding for Transport for London, but only for a few days. Mayor Sadiq Khan has warned that a lack of money into 2022 could mean the closure of an Underground line, along with other cutbacks. The new funding from the DfT lasts until the end of this week, while talks over a longer term deal continue. TfL said: 'There is no UK recovery from the pandemic without a London recovery and there is no London recovery without a properly funded transport network in the capital.' Meanwhile, it has been reported that passenger numbers on the Underground have fallen by 5 per cent since the start of tighter Covid restrictions and a renewed appeal for people to work from home where they can.