3rd May 2013
- All major groups bid to run Crossrail trains
- High Speed 2 legislation in Queen’s speech
- First Rail Delivery Group associate members announced
Main stories this week
Every major transport group operating in Britain, alongside a number of contenders from abroad, is understood to be interested in running TfL’s Crossrail concession. The deadline for expressing initial interest passed this week. [Financial Times]
High Speed 2 is expected to be presented as a major boost to the economy in next week’s Queen’s speech. [Financial Times]
The Rail Delivery Group announced its first round of associate members, including MTR and Bond Dickinson LLP. [Railway Eye]
New services
Transport for London has submitted a Transport and Works Act Order application seeking powers to extend the London Underground Northern line to Battersea. [Transport Briefing]
Boris Johnson’s plans to take over suburban rail routes into London received a blow as the leader of Kent council ruled them “totally unacceptable”. [Evening Standard]
Other news
New figures reveal that the three least used rail stations across Britain are in Darlington, Manchester and Surrey, with Teesside Airport seeing just 14 passengers last year. [The Guardian]
- The number of London Underground journeys rose by five per cent to a record 1.2bn last year after the Olympics boosted passenger numbers. [Evening Standard]
London’s West End should have an extended weekend Underground service, a fleet of electric buses and more traffic-free days, says a report from the West End Commission. [BBC News]
- The report pressures transport bosses for round-the-clock Tube services. [Evening Standard]
Northern Rail staff are being balloted for industrial action, after a claim by their union the RMT that there has been a ‘breakdown in industrial relations’. [Railnews]
The shift from air to rail travel in the UK market is revealed by figures that show train use on domestic air routes has jumped almost 60 per cent in the past six years. [Financial Times]
Waitrose is to supply Eurostar with snacks, ready meals and drinks in its first large onboard catering deal. [The Guardian]
Archaeologists in Derbyshire have discovered a 220-year-old railway tunnel believed to be the oldest in the world. [Daily Mail]
A passenger train has used the Waterloo International platforms for the first time since the last Eurostar service departed more than five years ago. [Transport Briefing]
An irate Greater Anglia passenger’s angry response to his refused request for a refund has gone viral on the internet. [Metro]
Company and people news
Stagecoach has signalled it is on track to meet analysts’ profits forecasts when it delivers its full-year results on June 26. [The Herald]
Balfour Beatty, which holds several rail infrastructure contracts, has issued its second profit warning in six months, blaming poor management in its UK division and the downturn in the building industry. [Financial Times]
FirstGroup’s Richard Parry, who was lined up to become managing director for the aborted First West Coast main line franchise, is to swap trains for boats as he takes up the role of chief executive of the Canal & River Trust. [Railway Eye]
