As ministers, in the light of taxpayers supporting banks to the tune of £850 billion, look at ways of cutting public spending, the RAC Foundation has launched a salvo against the rail industry claiming that rail travel is the preserve of the wealthy and increases social exclusion.  Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, paints a doomsday scenario saying "By diverting...

The new footbridge to link the new section of the Midland Railway – Butterley Country Park was officially opened at 1115 on Tuesday 16th February 2010 by Amber Valley MP Judy Mallaber. The bridge was closed straight after the ceremony for final finishing work to be completed. The extension to the country Park and the footbridge have been made possible with...

The Manchester Transport Museum Society has saved 4 Blackpool trams from being cut up for scrap. They have acquired Brush car 623, Railcoach 680 and double deck balloons 702 and 704. The vehicles are needed to allow the Heaton Park Tramway, where they will be based, to extend and increase the number of open days. The ultimate aim is to introduce tram...

London Midland has been working with pupils from schools in Wyre Forest to promote safe behaviour on the railways. Wyre Forest District Council and London Midland challenged young artists from secondary schools to create images around rail safety. The competition also aimed to create awareness about rail travel – its convenience and reliability and its low carbon footprint – and London Midland’s...

The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has approved track access applications from East Coast, Grand Central and Hull Trains. This will allow the train operators to run additional and/or amended passenger services along the East Coast Main Line. The new contracts allow East Coast to operate the proposed enhanced Service Level Commitment 2 standard pattern timetable. Grand Central has the rights...

  A cross-party working group is to be set up  to consider if bikes can be transported safely on Manchester trams. Once evidence has been gathered the group will report back to Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority. As part of the review the cost implications, including any modifications needed to the trams, will be taken into consideration. The report will also explore...

 On the run up to Valentine's day Chiltern Railways conducted a survey to find out how romantic their passengers are. The results showed that there is a 1 in 5 chance of meeting a partner on a Chiltern train, with almost 20% of those surveyed saying that they had found love this way. The survey also showed that travelling on the train...

After weeks of effort through the worst winter for three decades, the replacement of a bridge on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway has taken a big step towards completion. The original 145-year-old structure, crossing the Murk Esk just north of Goathland, was dismantled last month. Now 36-tonne twin girders span the gap between the abutments to form the deck support...

Northern Rail and Eureka, the National Children’s Museum in Halifax, joined forces to refurbish a 1969 built carriage and turn it into a multifunctional educational and lunch space.   Last October a £30,000 project commenced to transform the carriage into a welcoming place for school children to not only eat their lunch, but to learn about rail safety. Speaking at the carriage’s...

Systems integration specialist Hima-Sella is to supply components for the European Train Control System (ETCS) signalling system trial that Hitachi Rail Europe is currently running in collaboration with Network Rail in the UK. As sole UK distributor for Deuta-Werke rail components, Hima-Sella will supply MFT_L11 driver displays and DRS05 Doppler speed radar equipment. The display will indicate speed and ETCS related...

A special one day conference at the London Transport Museum, Covent Garden, heralds this year’s Stations Focus special feature in the May edition of RailStaff. Longer franchises of between 10 and 22 years, as announced by transport secretary Andrew Adonis, presage a massive investment in Britain’s railway stations. Station design, development and construction is set to attract fresh capital as...