Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Wednesday, 7th February 2024.
InTheNews: The latest rail news on Wednesday, 7 February 2024
MPs have warned that HS2 will be “very poor value for money” following the cancellation of its northern leg, said an article on the BBC website.
The report from the Public Accounts Committee also cast doubt on the government’s ability to attract enough private investment for a new station at Euston.
Disagreeing with the report, the Department for Transport stated that HS2 would be built at “the lowest reasonable cost.”
Network Rail has issued a statement following its purchase of a disused stretch of Leeds railway at the end of January.
An article from the Yorkshire Evening Post said that Network Rail purchased the Wortley Curve at auction for £47,000.
The three-acre strip once connected the Wakefield to Leeds line to the Bradford to Leeds line, and closed in 1985.
A spokesperson confirmed that Network Rail had purchased the land, and that plans for its future usage were being discussed.
A passenger train has struck a large tree and derailed near Thetford, leaving one person with minor injuries.
BBC News reported that the East Midlands service went partly off the tracks on the evening of Tuesday 6 February, while travelling between Thetford and Harling Road.
Ambulance, fire, and police crews attended, and one person with minor injuries was looked after at the scene. Other passengers and staff were safely evacuated, and there was no damage to the track.
Network Rail warned that there would be disruption until the end of the day (Wednesday 7).
An abandoned west London train line may be brought back to life, according to TimeOut.
The line, which stopped carrying passengers in 1902, could become part of a new overground line, the West London Orbital.
The Orbital would rely solely on existing train lines, using tracks like the Dudding Hill loop (which currently carries freight trains).
According to Transport for London, over 11 million people would use the new service, with new stations built along the line.
