Work is now underway to build a station at East Linton, near Dunbar on the East Coast Main Line, where engineers building the £15 million station are about to begin piling to create the foundations for the platforms. The station will also offer 125 parking spaces and have a fully accessible footbridge. It is expected to open next year. East Linton's previous station was closed in May 1964, having been listed in the Beeching report just over a year earlier.

More train cleaners to strike over pay

Train cleaners on Avanti West Coast are set to stage two 48-hour strikes this month and next in a dispute over pay. The cleaners are employed by contractor Atalian Servest Ltd, and they will not be reporting for shifts which start at or after 19.30 on 24 February for 48 hours, and again from 19.30 on 10 March. This is the second round of industrial action involving cleaners announced by the union this week. Cleaners employed by Churchill at four other rail operators are already set to walk out on 23 February.

ScotRail must 'reflect ambition not austerity'

The Campaign for Borders Rail has welcomed ScotRail’s decision to restore Borders Railway services to their former half-hourly frequency as a trial. The CBR said that before the pandemic 'the Borders Railway saw around two million journeys a year, far more than predictions made before the line opened in 2015. We believe that given appropriate support, ridership will reach similar levels. Our message is that if you want passenger numbers to return to normal then you need to run a full service.' Meanwhile, Transport Scotland confirmed two days ago that ScotRail will be renationalised on 1 April, when the Abellio operating contract will end.

More trains to start running again as Covid fears recede

South Western Railway said it will be introducing a new timetable from 21 February in which train services can return to pre-Omicron patterns. More rail staff are now returning to work, and so SWR said it can advertise more trains without risking reliability. The timetable will be almost identical to that in December 2021, and will include through trains between London and Exeter and also to Weymouth. There will also be a more frequent service on the Shepperton branch.

Siemens in Lincoln celebrates 1000th bogie overhaul

Siemens Bogie Service Centre in Lincoln has completed its 1000th bogie overhaul, just 15 months since reaching overhaul no.500. The 1000th bogie is from a Class 700 Thameslink unit, because overhauls of the fleet are now starting following the launch of the 700s in May 2016. The Centre has tripled its workforce since it opened in 2018 and recruitment is continuing.