Department for Transport - Page 4

LOUISE HAIGH, Secretary of State for Transport, arrives at 10 Downing Street as cabinet meet. ALAMY

News

Transport Secretary launches rail reform era

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has unveiled the first steps to setting up the new body responsible for the country’s rail network - Great British Railways (GBR).

Department for Transport 3 Sept

GB Railfreight 66307 passes Milepost 100, between Gainsborough and Beckingham, with a Felixstowe-Doncaster Hexthorpe container train on March 30.

News

Track access charges waived for new rail freight traffic

In a move designed to encourage further modal shift to rail freight, Network Rail and the Department for Transport have waived track access charges for new freight flows the next six months in a bid to bring new business onto the nation’s tracks.

Rail freight 28 Aug

News

DfT considers changes to investment rules

The way in which rail schemes are financially assessed could change.

Policy 22 Aug

03/06/23 photo of members of the Aslef union on a picket line near to Leeds train station. ALAMY

News

ASLEF to vote on new deal for train drivers

ASLEF, the train drivers’ union, has secured a pay offer that it will recommend its members accept.

Strikes 15 Aug

News

TfL to push forward with DLR extension after consultation

Transport for London (TfL) has announced plans to move forward with a Docklands Light Railway extension from Gallions Reach to Thamesmead, via Beckton Riverside, following overwhelming public support for the project.

Docklands Light Railway 5 Aug

Northern and TPE train sitting at Manchester Railway Station

News

Challenging year for nationalised DOHL operators

DfT OLR Holdings Limited (DOHL) the company which runs the nationalised train operators on behalf of the Department for Transport has released its annual report, showing it was a challenging year for performance as well as showing slow progress in cutting the subsidies paid for each of the four operators that it currently runs.

Department for Transport 30 Jul

The new DfT team (from left): Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood; Local Transport Minister Simon Lightwood; Transport Secretary Louise Haigh; Rail Minister Lord Hendy; and Aviation, Maritime and Security Minister Mike Kane. DfT.

News

Labour’s new team at DfT packed with railway experience

Labour’s new team at the Department for Transport is a mixture of the familiar and the unknown.

Department for Transport 23 Jul

DB cargo operated Royal Mail class 325 postal trains passing the countryside at Brock on the west coast mainline in Lancashire. ALAMY

News

Royal Mail’s switch to road a body blow for rail freight sector

To some, Royal Mail’s decision to move its postal deliveries from rail to road, and in turn decommission its remaining fleet of trains (which currently stands at a fleet of six Class 325 electrics), was a long time coming.

Freight 22 Jul

Mike Putnam, new acting chair of Network Rail

News

New acting chair appointed at Network Rail

Mike Putnam succeeds Lord Hendy as Network Rail Chair

Network Rail 19 Jul

Avanti West Coast is the principal operator on the West Coast Main Line, and has submitted five different bids for extra train paths as it seeks to return services that were withdrawn during COVID. But it faces competition from a posse of open access operators. AWC 805005 approaches Rugeley Trent Valley on May 10, during a Class 805 ‘Evero’ test run. ALAMY.

News

Further details on rail reform emerge

More detail and reaction on what to expect from the government’s rail reform has emerged. The King set out planned reform to the railways in the state opening of parliament yesterday (July 17) with many of Labour’s manifesto pledges for rail reform included.

Rail reform 18 Jul

10 new Class 345 Aventra's have been agreed between Alstom and the DfT

News

Details released of funding settlement for Elizabeth Line new trains

The additonal trains for the Elizabeth line, to be ordered to stave off closure of Alstom’s Derby Litchurch Lane Works, are to cost £2.45m per vehicle, according to a newly-released letter.

Elizabeth Line 16 Jul

News

DfT ministerial team now all in place

The Department for Transport now has a full complement of ministers as Sir Keir Starmer puts his new government in place.

Department for Transport 10 Jul

Lord Peter Hendy of Richmond Hill, appointed as transport minister, July 2024

News

PM appoints Network Rail chair Lord Hendy as a transport minister

Current Network Rail Chairman, Lord Peter Hendy has been appointed as a minister of state for transport in the most recent government appointments made by 10 Downing Street.

Lord Peter Hendy 8 Jul

News

RAIL Live 2024 - Government has been deceitful, Mick Whelan says

ASLEF General Secretary Mick Whelan has reiterated his desire for the strikes to end and hopes they will end in the coming months, if, as expected, Labour gains power in the general election on July 4.

Rail Live 20 Jun

News

Alstom signs deal for vital Aventra order after DfT confirms funding

There was a sigh of relief in some circles late on Friday 14 June as Alstom and the Department for Transport (DfT) announced a £370 million pound deal for the construction and maintenance of 10 new nine-car Aventra trains for the Elizabeth Line.

Aventra 17 Jun

Tricia Williams and Matt Rice - Northern leadership team take up new roles

News

Northern’s new leadership team take up roles

Northern’s new managing director and chief operating officer have officially started their new roles this week.

Northern 8 May

Comment

Private sector involvement in Rail Reform Draft Bill

It will be interesting to see how far the current Rail Minister gets with his invitation to his shadow to work together to get the Draft Bill through Parliament before the election. The general consensus seems to be that timings remain challenging.

Policy 30 Apr

News