Signal passed in Bedford crash had no SPAD alarm
An interim report from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch has revealed that the red signal which was passed a few seconds before the rear-end collision south of Bedford on 19 June this year was not equipped with a SPAD alarm. The driver of the second train was killed, and more than 160 people were injured.
The arrival of autumn means that fleets of Network Rail’s special ‘leaf-busting’ trains are setting out on their journeys today. They will travel for a total of 6,200 hours -- the equivalent of 36 weeks -- in their annual bid to keep railheads clean, because fallen leaves create a black film, rather like dry ice, which can make it difficult for trains to stop and also cause damage to motors if the wheels slip.
East Midlands Railway has undertaken to restore more of the services which have been suspended since July because of rolling stock problems. Difficulties with its new Aurora fleet were compounded by delays in maintaining its Class 222 diesel units, but the operator improved its Intercity services from 87 per cent to 92 per cent of the full planned timetable on 1 September.
The RMT has announced that its members on Chiltern Railways will be taking two 24-hour strikes in October, as the dispute over the staffing of trains on East West Rail continues. The union is opposing proposals to run the trains between Oxford, Bletchley and Milton Keynes with drivers only. (2 comments)
The deputy chief inspector at the Rail Accident Investigation Branch Andy Lewis is being promoted to chief inspector from November. He will replace Andrew Hall, who is retiring.
New figures show crimes involving trespass, including cable theft, vandalism and obstruction, caused over 3,300 hours of delays for passengers -- equivalent to more than four months -- and cost the rail sector more than 10 million pounds in delay attribution minutes during 2025-26. In response, the industry has launched a new ‘Crime with Consequences’ campaign to make sure potential offenders are aware they will face the full force of the law if they commit crimes on the railway, and that the penalties include severe fines or prison sentences.
The plans, announced at the Labour Party conference in Manchester, could involve the state owning new trains directly rather than leasing them from private sector finance houses. The Government has calculated that more than 2.5 billion pounds has been paid in dividends by the ROSCos over the past ten years, and the companies have sometimes been accused of charging excessive amounts for older rolling stock, the capital cost of which would have been largely written off.