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Some optimism is evident after a meeting between Mark Harper (SoS) and Mick Lynch (RMT) today. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63746412 ... I find it very odd that the biggest single problem confronting the railway, and at the top of every media outlet, is not allowed to be debated on...

With the launch of Iryo on November 25, there are now three high-speed operators on the Madrid-Barcelona run - Renfe, Ouigo and Iryo. Triple competition between these operators will also reach Valencia, Alacant, Malaga and Seville next year. Renfe is obviously the incumbent Spanish state-owned...

Yesterday I bought an e-ticket from the TfW web site, using my debit card details stored on their site. Having checked my bank statement today, the debit has been made by "SRT Virgin Trains Bicester Ti" So does this mean TfW is using some derivative of Virgin Trains for their e-ticket...

It's a critical week for government spending, and who knows how it will affect the railway - presumably Jeremy Hunt is about to tell us. However, there's a groundswell against HS2 for the alleged £100 billion it will cost over the next decade, and how that relates to the national "black hole"...

There was a burst of activity this morning about the project reviews in progress for Rishi Sunak's budgetary announcement on 17 November. Our old friend Grant Shapps is involved as Business Secretary, but clearly knows the rail situation. The BBC reports the debate as follows...

The report on the response of the emergency services to this dreadful event on 22 May 2017 makes sober reading. From the railway point of view, I was interested in the BTP element of this: the Victoria/Arena complex in Manchester is their patch, as the landowner is Network Rail. BTP officers...

The clearout of ministers at the DfT from the Boris Johnson and Liz Truss governments is pretty comprehensive. Only Baroness Vere remains, and she had aviation and local transport responsibility. Rail minister Kevin Foster was also replaced last week. The DfT has not yet replaced its...

On top of having a new ministerial team at the Department of Transport, we now have a sudden change in spending policy after the change of Chancellor and reversal of taxation plans. We are promised more detail on spending policy in the October 31 budget statement, but all departments have been...

https://www.railwaygazette.com/uk/test-centre-acquires-former-heathrow-connect-emus/62692.article This seems to be the first sign that the Welsh Government's GCRE at Onllwyn is going to be a viable industry facility.

From RTT, it's interesting to see some long-distance freight services operating on the WCML today, despite the general shut-down. They will be getting unusual priority for a change, with nothing else at all operating. 4Z43 Daventry-Mossend (the Tesco train) is one of these. After running...

According to the BBC, Avanti will begin to add trains to its current limited timetable next week, between London and Birmingham and Manchester. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-63000308 Further improvements will be made when newly-trained drivers are available.

I was caught up in disruption today on the WCML (quite apart from timetable variations and staff shortage) north of Preston northbound, due to a "freight train failure". Looking at RTT, it looks like 4S43, the Daventry-Mossend Tesco container service failed at or near Shap, and took 2 hours to...

So Liz Truss is to be the new Prime Minister, and we will know her cabinet ministers by the end of Tuesday perhaps, after the rituals at Balmoral. I know there is speculation about the future of Grant Shapps as Transport Secretary, but we will just have to wait and see. It is predicted that...

Trying to sort out a ticket for a family member next week, Telford-Heathrow T3 dep about 1200 so well off-peak. The Any Permitted/Any Operator single fare via London is £70.60 - no problem if that is the best fare. Is that fare valid on Heathrow Express? But I also spy a WMT-only fare of £38...

In speeches and interviews today, the Labour leadership (Kier Starmer and Rachel Reeves) have rowed back on the 2015/17 manifesto promises to renationalise the railways (and other national utilities such as energy and water). The "failed" manifestos have been formally dropped. The aim is to...

There are various reports of a Spanish government programme to discount rail travel in Spain until the end of the year. I haven't found a trustworthy source, but local and medium distance fares will be "free", with a discount on long-distance services. The reports all talk about "subscriptions"...

The BBC is reporting that HS2 minister Andrew Stephenson has moved from the Dept of Transport to be Minister Without Portfolio, a cabinet post. I thought he was doing a pretty good job, despite the axing of the Eastern leg and the Golborne link.

There are reports of a serious crash of a ČD Pendolino near Bohumin in Moravia. The Pendolino appears to have struck a locomotive soon after departure from Bohumin to Prague. Pictures show a virtually destroyed front end to the Pendolino. Sadly the driver was killed and there are several...

The Welsh government has scrapped the Valley-Cardiff air service, in favour of improving land-based north-south links. The air service has not operated since the start of the Covid emergency, but will not resume. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-61733850

Reports are coming in of a derailment of a DB Regio regional train* on the Munich-Garmisch line, just north of Garmisch itself. Pictures show several vehicles of a double-deck train derailed off the single track line. There are reportedly 3 deaths and a significant number of injuries. The link...