Government moves to end 'cancellation limbo'
New rules about the rights of passengers whose trains are cancelled have come into force, affecting nearly all English train operators. Passengers whose trains are cancelled can now use other services without any further charge or the need to rebook.
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.
A new target for increasing rail freight has been published by the Government. The aim is to see the volume of freight carried by train to be increased by at least 40 per cent by 2040, and at least 75 per cent within the following ten years. It said the new targets were intended to give the industry confidence to invest.
Stratford International in east London could be set to justify its title at last, 17 years after the station was opened. Channel Tunnel trains have never called there, even during the 2012 Olympics. However, Virgin has now opened the door to the possibility of calling at Stratford, after the Office of Rail and Road granted preliminary approval for a new framework track access agreement through the Channel Tunnel.
A number of GWR stopping trains between Penzance, Plymouth and Exeter have been suspended from today, as the operator continues to struggle with the problems it has been experiencing with 26 ex-Transport for Wales Class 175 units. The Alstom-built 175s, which entered service more than two decades ago on the North Wales main line, were intended to replace GWR's short-formed ‘Castle’ class HSTs, which were becoming increasingly unreliable.