The Rail Forum (RF) and the Railway Industry Association (RIA) have today (14 July) written a joint letter to Rail Minister Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill CBE, responding to the Government’s decision announced last week to ‘pause’ the Midland Main Line electrification upgrade. The letter highlights that the choice to keep this key rail enhancement […]
Category: Rail Projects
South Yorkshire’s Mayor responds to pause in Midland Main Line electrification
South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard has raised his concerns after the government announced it is pausing the electrification of the Midland Main Line – delaying faster, greener rail services between Sheffield, London, and the wider North. It is one of four major rail projects on hold, announced in the Government’s latest Plan for Change release […]
TRU electrification work hits another milestone
The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) has reached another milestone as engineers complete five consecutive weekends of critical work between Leeds and York, that will support the electrification of the railway. Following overhead line equipment (OLE) mast installation earlier in the year, 7.5km of wiring has now been completed between Micklefield and Church Fenton, which will […]
Government greenlights £92 billion investment in UK transport upgrades
The Government has given the green light to more than 50 road and rail upgrades with millions of commuters and businesses set to benefit. Along with major road schemes including the M54 to M6 link road in Staffordshire, the M60/M62/M66 Simister Island in Greater Manchester, and the A46 Newark Bypass in Nottinghamshire, the government has […]
Passengers reminded to check before they travel as Severn Estuary major resilience work takes place between Gloucester and Severn Tunnel Junction
Passengers travelling between Gloucester and Severn Tunnel Junction are advised to plan ahead as essential engineering work will close all railway lines through the Severn Estuary for three weeks, from 00:40 on Sunday 27 July until 08:40 on Sunday 17 August 2025. These latest improvement works includes: To allow engineers to work safely, no trains will run between Gloucester […]
Transformation of Wrexham to Liverpool line to begin
Work to transform the Wrexham to Liverpool line has been given the green light, with upgrades on the line at Padeswood confirmed as the first major step to realise more rail services between the two cities. Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales Ken Skates and Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens visited the […]
30-day closure of Huddersfield Station will transform rail travel across the North
As part of the multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU), Huddersfield Station will undergo a major transformation this autumn with a 30-day full station closure taking place from Saturday 30 August to Sunday 28 September 2025. This essential closure marks a significant step forward in delivering faster, greener and more reliable train services across the North, […]
HS2 completes excavation of 8.4 mile tunnel under the capital
Construction of Britain’s new high-speed railway has passed a major milestone with excavation of the 8.4-mile Northolt Tunnel under London. The fourth of four tunnel boring machines (TBMs) being used to dig the twin-bore tunnel – the second-longest on the HS2 route between London and the West Midlands – completed its work yesterday. The machine, […]
HS2 completes three-day Northants viaduct slide
HS2 has revealed new timelapse footage showing engineers carefully sliding a 1,300-tonne viaduct deck into position near the Northants village of Thorpe Mandeville. The steel and concrete deck of the Lower Thorpe viaduct – which stretches for 220 metres – was assembled to one side before being slid into position in just three days, reaching […]
A step closer to faster, greener services across the Pennines
On Friday 20 June, Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) engineers completed the latest series of upgrade work between Huddersfield and Leeds. Over 3km of track was renewed throughout the area, which will enable smoother, more reliable journeys, whilst vital drainage and tunnel work was also undertaken, allowing for further track work in the future. Fifty-five foundations […]