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Doesn't being Transport Secretary for a year count? She also allegedly solved the then (2024) industrial relations issues on the railway by allowing an above-inflation pay deal (which seems to have been repeated with the recent Avanti drivers' deal).

You may have noticed Louise Haigh (former Transport Secretary who tabled the TOC nationalisation Bill after the election) sitting at the right hand of Andy Burnham in the Commons since parliament has resumed. She is said to be Andy's minder and enforcer of policy, as Minister for the Cabinet...

TfW already runs the TrawsCymru bus network which contracts scheduled services to a collection of local operators, similar to TfL bus operations I think. I imagine "in-house" means within the wider TfW operation, not specifically the rail business.

Euston-Chester/Holyhead and Paddington-Oxford/Worcester/Hereford are two services that seem to work well with 5-car trains, doubled up in the peaks from Chester/Oxford. There's not the money to replace all the 5-car trains with 9/10-cars instead. Foreign experience isn't valid when their...

Another new alignment, though not high speed, is taking shape in Romania between Sighișoara and Brașov, notably the middle section south of Rupea which was winding and slow along the river Olt. It involves several new tunnels and will shorten the route quite a bit, and be fit for 160km/h. It's a...

On Google Maps you can follow about 150km of the route of the new Edirne-Istanbul line as far as Çerkezköy and a bit beyond. It actually starts just east of Kapikule on the Bulgarian border, with a break through Edirne itself. This section is due to open soon, and will radically reduce journey...

The prior/following hour will have the 2nd and 3rd trains north from Preston (Glasgow/Edinburgh) services reversed (ie the Avanti running to Edinburgh and the TPE to Glasgow), and the Glasgow TPE is then the more likely to be delayed as the last one in the flight. So I don't think Edinburgh...

My memory of BR/Virgin HSTs used on the Holyhead-Euston run in the 90s (trains taken from the ICGW fleet at OOC) was the repeated vertical bounce even at modest 90mph speeds, not unlike being in an LMR 304. I use 802s on Liverpool-York TPE runs and find the seats irritable after an hour...

And no doubt reducing the overtime bill for the project - just as HS2 has to do. The TRU pay bill for the repeated possessions must be horrendous.

As far as I can see from the Engineering Access Statement, there is lots of work planned between Watford and Birmingham over Christmas 2026, but it mostly appears to be scheduled in the passenger closure period from 25-27 December, finishing by about 0800 on the 27th (a Sunday). One block...

Where were the Lancs senior players who didn't have any other work? This year's captain (Jimmy) wasn't in the team either. An embarrassing loss at home.

By leaving the EU, and insisting on being a "third country" in the Brexit negotiations. Before that, not joining the Schengen zone put us on the wrong side of easy EU travel.

DRS is part of the nationalised Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and runs nuclear trains as part of that remit, with additional commercial traffic to complement its core business. It operates as an open access FOC like all the others, and does not report to the DfT except via the regulator (ORR).

Another HS2 update on the Euston TBMs, for Aug 11 (just 4 days from Aug 7): Madelaine is at 5071m to go, Karen at 5533m, both about +40m so about 10m/day. https://www.hs2.org.uk/route-and-communities/interactive-route-map/?mapView=17_51.5324_-0.2100&pointType=tbm&activePoint=tbm_89122

Drax traffic itself has an uncertain future. The plant is already on a standby contract, and it's not obvious wood pellets as fuel have a long-term future. A lot depends on its carbon capture initiative to reduce emissions.

They still need to get access approval from the Eurotunnel and continental regulators. With Trenitalia France bidding for access too, along with incumbent Eurostar, this might not be straightforward, especially for slots at Paris Gare du Nord. If cross-channel capacity is trebled with these...

Won't it be for demolition of old bridge/opening of new, plus OHL wiring through the station linking already-wired sections north and west? It should be the last bit of work to allow energisation of the OHL through the station.

If the two 387s are both 4-car units, and only the rear three cars derailed/overturned, the rear unit must have split/parted between the first and second car. Have I got that right?

I think Amey are entitled to promote their contribution to the TRU project, but it does need Network Rail to confirm the project is now running early and under budget as a result. NR has been having difficulty with electrification estimates and costs since they got the go-ahead (nationally) 17...

Stalybridge to Huddersfield will be the last bit of the jigsaw to complete the TRU job. The project plan is still out for consultation, so it won't start for a couple of years at least. They have resignalled the route (and removed the box at Diggle). Rolling stock other than the 802s is still...