What's in the news lately?
~Public revolt could derail plans to axe railway station ticket offices (
thetimes.co.uk/article/public-revolt-could-scupper-plans-to-axe-train-station-ticket-offices-wmkr5qnl5/) - Department for Transport also refuses to publish its own 'impact assessment' (
transportforall.org.uk/government-refuses-to-publish-impact-assessment-of-ticket-office-closures/)
~HST sets to be withdrawn, for real this time, probably, maybe, by May 2024 (
railmagazine.com/news/network/2023/08/23/the-last-bastion-of-the-hst-castles/)
~TPE to abandon their loco-hauled stock in December (
https://www.railwaygazette.com/uk/transpennine-express-to-stop-using-loco-hauled-push-pull-trains-in-december/64819.article)
~Office of Rail and Road newsletter (
orr.gov.uk/search-news/office-rail-and-road-august-2023-newsletter/) - in summary, passenger numbers are up to 'more than 80%' of pre-Covid figures; rail strikes continue; Network Rail doing well but need to improve; overall, the railway continues to be 'one of the safest in Europe'
~'This is Britain's new high-speed rail network' (
youtube.com/watch?v=M9q6bVY7YDA/)
Cool stuff to do?
~
lner.co.uk/our-destinations/popular-destinations/trains-to-york/things-to-do-in-york/ - take a trip at 125mph from Kings Cross to York. Make sure to spend an hour or two in the National Railway Museum near York station, and take in York Castle and the city's Viking history exhibits afterward
~
avantiwestcoast.co.uk/where-we-go/destination-guides/lake-district/ - journey through the Dales into Oxenholme, and go biking through the gorgeous natural scenery of the Lake District national park
~sleeper.scot/destination/ftw/ - take the Caledonian Sleeper to Fort William, then change onto the
westcoastrailways.co.uk/jacobite/steam-train-trip/ Jacobite steam train that'll take you over the Glenfinnan 'Harry Potter viaduct'
~
scenicrailbritain.com/lines/st-ives-bay-line/ - the St Ives Bay Line will take you to the sandy beaches of Cornwall.
