Latest news with #trains
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Telegraph
Thousands of state-run trains cancelled
Thousands of state-run trains have been cancelled because too many drivers are off on holiday. South Western Railway (SWR) has cancelled about 2,500 trains over the next four weeks because of staff shortages, it said. The company, which was taken into Government ownership in May, has slashed 5 per cent of its 1,600 daily services over the next month because 'large numbers of our drivers are on annual leave or cannot work due to sickness', it said. Jeremy Varns, the co-ordinator of the SWR Watch group, said: 'It's increasingly evident that passengers are no longer a priority. With operators now financially supported by the Treasury, there's little motivation left to provide a reliable, quality service. 'Time and again, the industry's default response to challenges is to reduce timetables, not improve them. Meanwhile, passengers are paying record fares for turn-up-and-go travel, only to face declining reliability and longer gaps between services,' he continued. 'Rather than using the summer holiday period as an opportunity to promote rail travel with affordable fares, and extra services to tourist destinations, the focus appears to be on charging more while delivering less.' DfT blames private sector Officials from the Department for Transport (DfT), which now owns SWR, blamed 'previous private sector ownership' for August's spate of planned cancellations. It comes after the Labour government handed train drivers a 15 per cent pay rise last year as one of its first acts in office. About 80 trains per day will not run between July 28 and August 28 as a result of the summer holiday surge. Passengers using South Western Railway (SWR) may feel especially aggrieved by the latest batch of cancellations because they come after repeated signal failures at London Waterloo, SWR's main London station, earlier this month. The latest failure on Monday was so bad that bosses were forced to issue a 'do not travel' warning, leaving hundreds of thousands unable to commute to work. Off-peak services mainly affected A company spokesman insisted that the August cancellations are being made to prevent disruption caused by short-notice staff absences, and that they would mainly affect 'quieter, off-peak services'. 'The summer timetable sees a small reduction in services – less than 5 per cent of our 1,600 daily services – at a time when fewer customers are travelling with us,' said the spokesman. 'Over the summer holiday period, customer numbers drop by 12-17 per cent and the services we have removed are those with the lowest forecast demand.' None of the cancellations are included in downloadable copies of timetables, although it is understood that online journey planners have been revised. Referring to the delayed and over-budget £1billion fleet of new Arterio trains being introduced by SWR, the spokesman continued: 'Since the transfer to public ownership we have unlocked our new trains programme and now have 14 Arterios in daily service, enhancing capacity, comfort and reliability for customers across our suburban network. 'This timetable reduction will help protect the driver training programme so we can roll out even more Arterios in the coming months, while also and minimising the risk of on-the-day cancellations due to colleagues taking their annual leave during the school holidays' A DfT spokesman said: 'We are driving high standards for operators, ensuring they put passengers first by protecting as many services as possible while making improvements for the whole network, and making sure more trains show up when they should. 'The issues causing these reductions were inherited from previous private sector ownership under the flawed franchise system, which is exactly the sort of thing we hope to eradicate through Great British Railways. 'The new Managing Director will be setting out a plan to drive up performance and is already ensuring these issues have as little impact on passengers as possible.'
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Train disruption expected by GWR due to crew shortages
Train passengers in the West of England have been warned to expect disruption on the railways on Sunday due to "crew availability".Great Western Railway (GWR) said fewer trains would run on a number of routes and that those that do run are likely to be travelling between Bristol Temple Meads and Gloucester or Bristol Temple Meads and Taunton should check their journeys before they between Westbury and Portsmouth or Weymouth may also be cancelled, and also those between Reading and Gatwick and Reading and Basingstoke. GWR apologised for the disruption and said it would run a limited rail replacement bus service "where possible", along some of the routes company added that due to the complexity of updating timetable systems, journey planning apps are unlikely to show the changes until Sunday who have already booked a ticket but decide not to travel can claim a full refund from the GWR website.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Newcastle train depot manager's memory kept trains on track
A man who has helped keep trains on track for more than 40 years, thanks to his encyclopaedic knowledge, is about to hang up his Milligan's impressive memory meant he memorised the names, suppliers and catalogue numbers for thousands of items at Heaton Train Care Centre in Newcastle, helping engineers find what they need to keep trains in the North East 59-year-old manages the storeroom which contains everything staff from Northern Rail need to clean and repair started work at the depot as a cleaner, aged 16, and spent his lunch breaks learning catalogue numbers for different parts and inputting them into the database. He later got a job in the storeroom and worked his way up to a management role."I've been here all my working life and the people here have been like a family over the years," Mr Milligan said."It's about being able to find the part for the train quickly, so they can get it fixed and get it out for passengers."He added a challenge of the job was keeping on top of new parts for trains, as many others become testing his knowledge is something is colleagues take great pleasure Bendelow, a materials controller at the depot, said: "Someone will mention in conversation a part that we have not used for 10 plus years and Darren will give you the catalogue number and the company that supplied it."He's unique, a one off, and he will be massively missed when he goes." Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
New ‘trains of the future' revealed with cinema-style screens and onboard nap pods
FANCY whizzing through the countryside with 360-degree views of the landscape through glass-to-ceiling windows? Or perhaps, getting your10,000 steps in as you travel from London to Penzance? 5 5 Well, these things could appear on trains in the UK in the future, according to LNER. As part of the Railway 200 celebrations, which celebrate 200 years of modern railways, LNER and applied futurist Tom Cheesewright have predicted what we could see from trains in 2075. According to Cheesewright, in 2075 train carriages will have a focus on maximum comfort, entertainment and wellness. Instead of just transporting passengers from A to B as most trains do now, train travel could be an experience that promotes passenger health and wellbeing. As such, trains could feature floor-to-ceiling windows, with 360-degree views of the landscape. Of 2,000 people asked, 57 per cent expressed how they would like this, commenting that gazing out at the countryside is often their favourite thing to do whilst on a train. And 60 per cent said they need constant entertainment whilst travelling. As a result, carriages could feature augmented reality with surreal scenes and gamification options, in the future as well as cinema-style screens - which 22 per cent said they would like. 'Nap pods' might feature too - which 22 per cent expressed they wanted as well. Speed remains a top priority for travellers, with 66 per cent declaring this is why they opt for train travel. Cheesewright predicts that new technologies could help trains to become faster, slashing travel times considerably. This would start by making trains more aerodynamic, with complicated things like quantum computing and AI being used together to test thousands of designs at the same time. New materials could also help, with laboratories creating 'super-stiff' composites that can be made to a specific shape. And 3D technology could be used to print metals for the trains. Cheesewright added that the customer experience of getting to and on the train could improve as well. This could include facial recognition replacing ticket barriers. 5 5 Many travellers who were asked (44 per cent) shared how sitting back and relaxing is one of the main selling points of train travel. As such, 'smart' seats could be introduced in the future - where the seats would adjust to the customers' microenvironment, with temperature options and different seat firmness levels to choose from. The seats could also pre-save customer preferences. And for those who hate to sit still, there could be the option to book a 'treadmill seat' where passengers can get their steps in on long journeys. All of Cheesewright's predictions have been brought to life in a first-of-its-kind train from LNER called the 'Train of the Future'. The futuristic train will be on show at London King's Cross Station for three days between July 30 and August 1. The top 10 future train advancements Brits would most like to see on trains LNER asked 2,000 people what they wanted to see on trains in the future, and here is what they said. Rachel Pope, head of digital experience strategy for LNER, said: "It's a very special year for the railway industry, we're participating in nationwide festivities, including various exhibitions showcasing the impact of the railways on society and celebrating the past, present, and future of rail travel." Tom Cheesewright, applied futurist said: "The train journey of the future will be smooth from start to finish, aided by AI planning, ticketless travel, and floor to ceiling windows. "The train of the future will look like a science-fiction marvel: swooping and organic, powerful and quiet, and with an onboard experience that connects us to the countryside around us, or the digital world, or even a seamless combination of the two." The LNER 'Train of the Future' will be open from 9am to 5pm in London's King's Cross Station from July 30 to August 1. Railway 200 started in January and celebrates 200 years of the modern railway. Across 2025, the celebration will see a number of different events and activities for the public to get involved in. There is also a £5 scenic train journey in the UK right along the coastline – where waves crash against the windows. Plus, 12 of Europe's most beautiful train journeys are in Britain – with Victorian carriages and stargazing.
Times of Oman
5 days ago
- Business
- Times of Oman
India's first hydrogen-powered train coach successfully tested at ICF Chennai: Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw
New Delhi: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday announced that the Indian Railways has successfully tested the country's First hydrogen-powered coach at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai. According to the minister's social media X post, the country is working on a 1,200 horsepower hydrogen train, which will help India to place itself amongst the leaders in hydrogen-powered train technology. "First Hydrogen powered coach (Driving Power Car) successfully tested at ICF, Chennai. India is developing 1,200 HP Hydrogen train. This will place India among the leaders in Hydrogen powered train technology," Vaishnaw posted on 'X'. In 2023, Vaishnaw informed Rajya Sabha that Indian Railways has envisaged running 35 Hydrogen trains under "Hydrogen for Heritage" at an estimated cost of Rs 80 crore per train and ground infrastructure of Rs 70 crore per route on various heritage and hill routes. Additionally, the Indian Railways has also awarded a pilot project for retrofitment of a Hydrogen Fuel cell on an existing Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) rake along with ground infrastructure at the cost of Rs 111.83 crores, which is planned to be run on the Jind -Sonipat section of Northern Railway. The running cost of a Hydrogen fuel-based train is not established in IR scenario. It is estimated that the initial running cost of the Hydrogen fuel train set will be higher, which will subsequently reduce with an increase in the number of trains. Further, the use of Hydrogen as fuel provides larger benefits in the direction of green transportation technology to support zero carbon emission goals as a clean energy source. Last year, in a significant step towards promoting sustainable transportation solutions, Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, showcased India's advancements in green hydrogen mobility by demonstrating a hydrogen-fuelled bus powered by India's oil PSU Indian Oil to the Prime Minister of Bhutan, Shri Tshering Tobgay and his delegation.
