Railnews Magazine June 2026 Back Issue

The maximum speed of trains on HS2 has been cut from 360km/h to 320km/h in a bid to save money. Railnews for June leads with the decision by the transport secretary, who said ‘taxpayers, passengers and communities along the route have been let down by years of mismanagement’.

Scheduled trains started running on First’s new open access Lumo route between Stirling and London on 25 May. However, the trains were cancelled on 1 June, because of a mechanical fault.

A ceremony to launch the modernised and enlarged station at Darlington was held on 15 May, two days before the new parts of the station were opened to passengers.

A level crossing which was temporarily closed by Network Rail on 23 April because of repeated incidents of dangerous behaviour was still out of use in early June.

Cambridge South station will open to passengers on 28 June, when trains will start calling then. There will be an official opening ceremony the following day.

Campaigners in Aylesbury are calling for a section of the former Great Central main line to be upgraded to passenger standards, so that their town will be connected to East West Rail.

The derailment of a wagon near Wolverhampton on 5 May caused so much damage that the line was closed for the rest of the week, disrupting trains between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury.

The next step towards Great British Railways was taken in May, when a single management team took charge of the railway in East Anglia, while Govia Thameslink Railway was returned to the public sector on 31 May.

The RMT suspended Underground strikes on 19 and 21 May, after talks with Transport for London about a four-day week had progressed. However new walkouts were held on 2 and 4 June.

Railnews for June is out now.