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3 weeks ago | 
railmagazine.com | Andy Comfort
The leader of Hull City Council says the city cannot afford to be left out of plans for the Transpennine Route Upgrade.
Councillor Mike Ross spoke to RAIL after the Prime Minister’s announcement of an extra £415 million failed to mention the promised electrification of the line via Selby to Hull.
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Oct 23, 2024 | 
railmagazine.com | Andy Comfort
Much of south London’s suburban network will be out of action for seven days from the end of this month, as Network Rail implements the next stage of its £400 million area resignalling programme.
NR has selected the less-busy school half-term period of October 26-November 1, but the disruption will still seriously affect around 30 stations, some of which will close completely.
The work, known as Victoria Stage 4, has been postponed from earlier this year.
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Oct 17, 2024 | 
railmagazine.com | Andy Comfort
Part of the main Leeds to Manchester railway in West Yorkshire is to close on weekdays for 5 weeks from October 21, with some through trains diverted and replacement buses running.
The work is part of the multi-billion-pound TransPennine Route Upgrade, which will eventually see the line from York electrified all the way across the Pennines to Manchester.
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Oct 17, 2024 | 
railmagazine.com | Andy Comfort
Part two of Andy Comforts’s focus on Hull Trains looks at the company’s recovery from the pandemic, and at its ambitions to run more services.
In this article:
Hull Trains faced severe financial challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, suspending services three times without government support. Refocused on leisure travel and returned to recovery, running longer trains and increasing weekly services.
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Oct 16, 2024 | 
railmagazine.com | Andy Comfort
A record number of people used public transport at this year’s Great North Run on September 8.
There were 146,000 customer journeys made on the Tyne and Wear Metro, local buses and the Shields Ferry - an increase of almost 20% in the past two years.
Passengers were able to take advantage of a £6 Great North Run Rover wristband, giving unlimited all-day travel.
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Oct 16, 2024 | 
railmagazine.com | Andy Comfort
Passengers in the south-east of England will benefit from 220 new train services a week from the December timetable change.
Southeastern is boosting its timetable from Sunday December 15, introducing an additional 44 services each weekday.
The improvements include the introduction of 12 more Cannon Street Rounder services each weekday along the Woolwich and Sidcup lines, which the operator says have proved popular.
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Oct 15, 2024 | 
railmagazine.com | Andy Comfort
Northern Trains has been working with data scientists to save thousands of litres of diesel fuel a year by changing the way trains are driven.
Working in partnership with Chrome Angel Solutions and auticon, the operator has developed a model that calculates the optimal train speed and braking patterns for routes on its network across the North of England.
That information is then used to coach train drivers on their driving styles to use less fuel, while still keeping the trains on time.
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Oct 15, 2024 | 
railmagazine.com | Andy Comfort
A Japanese bullet train nose cone has gone on display in London, to mark 60 years since the first-generation Shinkansen entered service.
Japan House is marking the anniversary with events including an exhibition (running from October 2) which features a window display of ‘eki-ben’ bento boxes - lunch boxes which are sold at railway stations in Japan.
It’s the first time this nose cone has been displayed outside Japan.
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Oct 15, 2024 | 
railmagazine.com | Andy Comfort
Northern Trains has confirmed to RAIL that it is halting all current cases of passengers prosecuted for using 16-25 Railcards to claim discounts at the wrong time of day.
The operator is also reviewing up to 25 previous similar prosecutions.
The BBC reported that Sam Williamson, 22, from Glossop, was threatened with prosecution by Northern after he mistakenly bought an invalid £3.65 ticket from Broadbottom to Manchester using his 16-25 railcard on September 5.
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Oct 13, 2024 | 
railmagazine.com | Andy Comfort
Heathrow Express is offering passengers a chance to brush up on their foreign language skills and learn 15 phrases in just 15 minutes - the time it takes the train from Heathrow Airport from London Paddington.
The operator commissioned research which found that 23% of Britons would love to learn a local language while travelling, but don’t out of fear they’ll embarrass themselves.
The company has teamed up with Wouter Corduwener, who speaks 29 languages, to host 15-minute masterclasses.
