Railnews Magazine June 2021 Edizione posteriore

THE June edition of Railnews reports that the greatest changes to the rail industry since privatisation have been unveiled by the government.

A new ‘guiding mind’ is to be created to take control of Network Rail, passenger operators, fares and timetables, as recommended in the Williams-Shapps review.

Railnews includes analysis and reactions from key industry figures and also has a special article from First Rail managing director Steve Montgomery who discusses the implications from the point of view of a major operator, and the changeover from franchises to concessions.

Meanwhile, Hot Topic highlights some of the apparent gaps and uncertainties in the plan, and warns that the ‘devil will be in the detail’.

In other news, journeys on National Rail in 2020-21 dropped to levels last seen at the start of the 1870s, but the latest available figures suggest a ‘bounce back’ has started, while test trains have started running every 15 minutes in the central section of London Crossrail.

An extension of financial support for Transport for London was agreed with the government on 1 June, after days of ‘extremely tough’ talks, Eurostar has reached agreement with its shareholders and banks, lifting the threat which had been hanging over the operator as a result of the pandemic, and Angel Trains has formed a partnership with Arcola Energy to work on the Scottish Hydrogen Train Project.

This month’s feature looks at the troubled Intercity Express project and the metal cracks which disrupted services on GWR and LNER, and we also meet the chief executive of Sustainable Transport Midlands, who is calling for widespread rail improvements. He is just 14 years old, but has already been talking to the rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris about a range of projects.

A busy month, and a busy issue. Railnews for June is out now.