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.
Rail News
Rail News – Late August 2025
WH Davis, the UK’s sole remaining independent railway wagon manufacturer – and part of Buckland Rail – has secured a €44m export deal to supply 150 freight wagons to Ireland with support from the UK’s export credit agency. The contract represents the first order under a ten-year framework agreement that could see the number of…
Rail News – Early July 2025
The cost for a major expansion of a Midland Metro tram depot in Wednesbury has reportedly risen by close to £8m. The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has agreed to raise the budget for the scheme at the Wednesbury depot, which was planned to increase tram services, by £7.65m. This will bring the total cost…
Rail News – Early June 2025
Train maker Alstom has signed a £50m deal with FirstGroup and Eversholt Rail for the refresh and maintenance of five, six-car Class 222 Meridian trains. The contract comes ahead of open access passenger services being launched between Stirling and London under FirstGroup’s Lumo brand. The contract, which will support 50 jobs, includes a Train Services…
Rail News – Early May 2025
Transport for Greater Manchester begins procurement of new multi-year Metrolink contract worth up to £1.6bn. Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has started the procurement process for the next operating and maintenance contract for Metrolink, the UK’s largest light-rail network. A key part of the Bee Network – Greater Manchester’s integrated public transport and active travel…
Rail News – Early April 2025
Siemens Mobility has officially broken ground on its £100 million state-of-the-art facility in Chippenham, Wiltshire. This milestone marks the start of construction on a state-of-the art innovation hub that will shape the future of rail technology in the UK. Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy joined members of Siemens Mobility’s leadership team, Chippenham MP Sarah Gibson,…
Rail News – Late February 2025
A new specialist infrastructure and rail training centre has opened in Aston, aiming to help fill the skills gap in the region’s construction and rail sectors. The Transport, Rail, and Infrastructure Academy (TRIA) was launched by NIS Group in partnership with the city of Wolverhampton College, with employers pledging over 500 new jobs for trainees.…
Rail News – Early February 2025
A new Trans Pennine rail freight link operating between Teesport and Manchester’s Trafford Park has completed its first service. The new service could see up to 40 heavy vehicle movements removed from the congested Trans Pennine road network for each one-way service, with the aim of helping customers from both the North East and the…
Rail News – Late January 2025
The Secretary of State for Wales said that rail was her “number one priority” for Wales, in an appearance before the Welsh Affairs Committee earlier this week. A release on the UK Parliament website said that speaking to the Committee, Jo Stevens said: “I am going into the Spending Review with rail as a number…
Rail News – Early January 2025
A milestone has been reached in plans for a rail innovation and training centre in Barrow Hill, Staveley. The Derbyshire Rail Industry Innovation Vehicle (DRIIVe), part of the Staveley Town Deal, will provide skills training, research facilities and space for rail businesses. Chesterfield Borough Council has appointed Stepnell as the contractor, with work set to…
Rail News – December 2024
Annual survey of rail business leaders: confidence in the rail supply industry still low. New polling of 250 rail business leaders has been published by Savanta and shows that almost half – 48% – believe the industry will contract in the next year. The survey was conducted between September and October on behalf of the…
Rail News – Late November 2024
British Steel has opened a £10m rail stocking facility in Scunthorpe, the largest of its kind in the country. The new hub, at British Steel’s HQ, is where the vast majority of rail laid in the UK is made. The investment is part of British Steel’s strategy to support the supply of rails to Network…
Rail News – Early November 2024
Investment in public transport and more regional control over money have both been promised to Yorkshire in today’s Budget. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the Government will increase the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements, which are funding projects such as the renewal of Sheffield’s Supertram system and continued development of a West Yorkshire Mass Transit network.…
Rail News – Late October 2024
Network Rail and its key suppliers will be hosting a networking event for SMEs keen to learn more about work available across Scotland’s Railway over the next five years. The event will be held at The Studio, on Glasgow’s Hope Street, on Wednesday November 13 and is open to any company interested in increasing their…
Rail News – Early October 2024
Siemens Mobility’s Goole Train Manufacturing Facility has been officially opened and is being hailed as a significant milestone in the future of rail transportation in the region. Alongside the opening, Siemens Mobility has also confirmed an investment of up to £40m in a Bogie Assembly and Service Centre. The centre will incorporate and expand the…
Rail News – Late July 2024
The cancellation of HS2’s northern leg might force the government to discourage rail travel between Birmingham and Manchester due to reduced passenger capacity on trains. A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) indicates that new HS2 trains on existing tracks will have fewer seats than current services, potentially reducing capacity between these cities by…
Rail News – Late June 2024
Avanti West Coast has concluded the £117 million refurbishment of its iconic Pendolino fleet after the final completed train went into service this week. The departure of the last Pendolino from rail manufacturer Alstom’s Widnes facility marked the end of the project – the UK’s biggest ever fleet upgrade. It has seen 574 refurbished carriages…
Rail News – Early June 2024
Train-maker Alstom has signed a contract worth £370m to build trains for London’s Elizabeth line. The announcement comes after the firm began a redundancy consultation at its Litchurch Lane factory in Derby due to a gap in orders. The contract with Transport for London will see the firm provide 10 new nine-car Aventra trains for…
Rail News – Late April 2024
Companies interested in delivering the infrastructure behind HS2’s elevated transport system – designed to boost the high-speed railway’s connectivity in the West Midlands – are being invited to take part in a new market engagement exercise. Ahead of the formal procurement process, which is expected to launch in early 2026, HS2 is assessing the capacity…
Rail News – Early April 2024
Network Rail has announced the start of its five-year, £45.4bn rail improvement plan aimed at delivering a simpler, better, greener railway that provides the best level of train performance possible and that’s more geared-up than ever before to cope with the extremes of climate change. Over the five years to 2029, Network Rail will invest…
Rail News – Late March 2024
The Government has confirmed £12bn towards delivering Northern Powerhouse Rail “as previously set out”, including a new Liverpool to Manchester link. It pledged to engage with local leaders and MPs to hear their views on the use of this funding and consider any alternative proposals they had to improve connections. Local leaders and MPs expressed support…
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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