Rail

Department for Transport ( DFT) Rail Group responsibility is to provide strategic direction and to procure rail services and projects that only it can specify. Responsibility for day-to-day delivery of railway services rests with the industry.

Their work also covers improving operational and financial performance, and safety; and developing a sustainable strategy for the railway that supports wider transport objectives. Key partners include the infrastructure provider Network Rail, the passenger train operators, the independent economic and safety regulator, the Office of Rail Regulation; and the rail freight industry. DFT also ensures the effective alignment between UK and EU rail strategies.

Transport Scotland is the agency for Scotland. www.transportscotland.gov.uk/rail

Key rail projects are listed on their site and general issues on the rail link at www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/

Welsh Assembly – Transport

The Assembly has responsibility to develop new rail passenger services and to fund rail freight improvement schemes.

https://gov.wales/

Rail News

Rail News – Early March 2024

HS2 welcomes Schedule 17 planning permission from Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council for the design of the green tunnel at Burton Green. The designs respond to community feedback, focusing on bigger and better green spaces around the railway, following public engagement events in October 2019 and March 2022. The plans for the southern end of the…

Rail News – Late February 2024

Passengers in South Wales could soon benefit from better connectivity as the Transport Secretary visits the Vale of Glamorgan today (19 February 2024) to announce the UK government’s support for plans to improve rail links in the region. As part of his visit, he will join local people including Vale of Glamorgan MP Alun Cairns…

Rail News – Early February 2024

The mayors of the West Midlands and Greater Manchester have unveiled options to improve transport connectivity between the two regions, following the scrap of the HS2 line. Andy Street and Andy Burnham are working with former HS2 boss Sir David Higgins alongside a private sector consortium consisting of Arup, Arcadis, EY, Skanska, Dragados, Addleshaw Goddard…

Rail News – Late January 2024

Construction of the Birmingham HS2 Curzon Street Station has begun today, which will be the first brand new intercity terminus station built in Britain since the 19th Century. HS2’s contractor Mace Dragados Joint Venture (MDJV) will now deliver major earthworks to prepare the site for foundation work in the Spring. The construction of the main…

Rail News – Early January 2024

Even more vital goods will be transported across the UK by rail, following an ambitious target announced by Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, today (20 December 2023) to grow rail freight by at least 75%. From delivering food to supermarkets, to transporting building materials to construction sites, rail freight is a vital part of everyday life…

Rail News – December 2023

The UK boss of train-maker Alstom has told a lobby of Parliament that there could be only a matter of weeks left to save nearly 180 years of train manufacturing in Derby. Nick Crossfield, managing director of Alstom in the UK & Ireland, made the grim prediction at the lobby, which took place on Wednesday…

Rail News – Late November 2023

More than 1,300 jobs have been put at risk at the UK’s largest rail assembly factory. Alstom is consulting on job losses at its Litchurch Lane site in Derby, which has no confirmed workload beyond the first quarter of 2024. Work on trains for HS2 is scheduled to start at the plant in late 2026,…

Rail News – Early November 2023

Alstom and CrossCountry has signed a £825m eight-year extension to its train services agreement.  The deal will see the global transport firm continue to maintain, overhaul, service and clean 252 vehicles of the CrossCountry fleet (34 Class 220 Voyagers and 24 Class 221 Super Voyagers) at its primary depot – Central Rivers in Burton upon…

Rail News – Late October 2023

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been urged to “switch on” the East Midlands rail network as fast as possible by accelerating work to electrify the region’s main link to London. The Midland Mainline carries 3.75 million passenger journeys a year between Chesterfield, Derby, Nottingham, Leicester and London, but trains still have to travel on diesel…

Rail News – Late July 2023

The Government has launched a study to look at options for running HS2 trains to Leeds that will shunt any decisions down the track onto the next government. It is already more than 600 days after the HS2 to Leeds study was announced as part of the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands…

Rail News – Late June 2023

Improving a rail junction would take about 100,000 lorry journeys off the road per year, a report said. Keeping Trade on Track said an upgrade to Ely junction in Cambridgeshire would also double passenger services on the Ely-Kings Lynn and Ipswich-Peterborough routes. England’s Economic Heartland and Transport East’s report said changes were of “national significance”.…
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