No trains are running between Reading and Didcot Parkway today, because of a gas leak in Didcot. The obstruction is affecting Great Western Railway and CrossCountry services, which are being replaced by road transport between Reading and Oxford. However, Great Western Railway is advising passengers to avoid the route entirely.

The RMT has staged a demonstration outside Marylebone station in London this morning, on the first full day of the renationalisation of Chiltern Railways. The RMT is opposing driver-only operation on the line, and the union's members are currently being balloted for a strike as part of its campaign,

The renationalisation of Chiltern Railways will provide ‘a fresh opportunity to deliver East West Rail and its benefits’, according to the Government. Chiltern is now controlled by DfT Operator, having changed ownership at 02.00 on Sunday, and it has already been nominated as the future operator of East West Rail. However, although the reconstructed section beween Bicester and Bletchley has been able to carry scheduled services for the past two years, a dispute with the RMT has prevented trains running.

The dispute over driver-only operation on East West Rail is being stepped up by the RMT. Its members are being balloted for a strike, and the union is planning to stage a demonstration outside Marylebone station in London on Monday.

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.

The MP for Corby Lee Barron says his constituents are being 'stranded and left out of pocket' by cancelled services on East Midlands Railway, which he says should be renationalised as soon as possible. The operator has been struggling with problems on its new Class 810 Aurora fleet, and the RMT has called industrial action in protest, saying that on-board safety systems are prone to failures.

Ashford Borough Council and Kent County Council have stepped up their campaign to secure international trains at Ashford by launching a survey, and almost 14,000 people have already responded. Eurostars have not called at Ebbsfleet or Ashford since 2020, but the councils say direct trains to mainland Europe are a 'top priority'.

The first train in public service controlled by ETCS has run on the East Coast Main Line between Welwyn Garden City and Moorgate. Network Rail has revealed that the 08.05 Great Northern service on 31 August used in-cab signalling throughout.

At 06.40 this morning a rather special train left Bewdley in Worcestershire, destination Kidderminster. This was special because it was carrying 'normal' National Rail passengers, who can change at Kidderminster and travel on to Birmingham on West Midlands Railway. It was one of two morning departures, with two return workings in the evening, and they form part of an eight-week experiment to see if there is demand for such a service.

The driver of a Greater Anglia train which derailed at Wickford on 14 August has reported seeing a 'kink' in the track.

The rolling stock leasing companies should be paying a levy, according to the RMT. The union was responding to news that the dividends of companies like Porterbrook and Eversholt have risen sharply.

Trains are running again on the CrossCountry network after a power cut caused nearly all trains to be withdrawn yesterday. The loss of power blacked out CrossCountry’s national control centre in Birmingham.

The section of line between Haywards Heath and Lewes which has been closed by the derailment of a Southern train to Eastbourne since 13 August will reopen on 1 September, Network Rail has announced. Thirty people on board the train were injured, two of them seriously, and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch is continuing to analyse the evidence. Work is currently underway removing the three overturned coaches, using rail-mounted cranes.

Rough riding had been reported at the site near Lewes where a train from London to Eastbourne became derailed on 13 August. The last three vehicles left the rails and overturned in a field by the line. Thirty people were injured, and of these 20 required hospital treatment. Two of them were seriously hurt.