Thameslink bids farewell to ‘ironing board’ seats
The ‘ironing board’ seats which were installed on Thameslink’s Class 700 fleet more than ten years ago are reaching the end of their lives, after years of criticism by uncomfortable passengers. The seats, which were specified by the Department for Transport along with the rest of the trains, have given commuters a rigid welcome, but now new, more yielding seats have been unveiled by Greater Thameslink Railway, which became publicly-owned at the end of May.
The government has announced that 29 battery-electric trains for TransPennine Express worth a billion pounds are to be built by Alstom in Derby. Construction of the fleet of Adessia Stream units is set to begin in 2028, and they should enter service from 2034.
Hundreds of thousands of people are reported to have been delayed by flight cancellations and delays, caused by a technical problem at air traffic control yesterday. National Rail has announced that ticket restrictions are being eased, to help stranded airline passengers.
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