News

The railway business is booming, but parts of the industry are also riven by industrial disputes over the wider use of driver-controlled operation. Paul Plummer of the Rail Delivery Group argues that the railway must invest in new technology and also develop new ways of working, to keep up with the soaring demand.

Customers desperately seeking possessions left behind on train journeys can find extra help from a new online lost property service.    

A £5.2bn regeneration of Britain’s railway stations is spearheading economic growth, according to new analysis published alongside a report on how communities can make the most of investment in their station.

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which brings together train operators and Network Rail to improve the railway, is at the forefront of the industry’s modernisation of Britain’s railway.

Rail passengers who have to take long journeys at short notice are benefiting as millions of cheaper train fares go on sale for longer - some up to just ten minutes before departure.

The rail industry can be an ‘anchor in stormy seas’, providing some surety and helping to deliver the prosperity needed post-Brexit, a leading figure has said in the first rail industry address following the election.

Paul Plummer, Rail Delivery Group (RDG) chief executive, has responded on behalf of RDG train company members to the General Election manifestos published this week.

• Biggest shift to rail from other transport of any railway in Europe since 2009
• One of Europe’s busiest railways – punctuality comparable with other countries
• Below-average running costs, train companies returning money to taxpayers
• Britain investing more than any country in Europe to improve rail

Train travellers are snapping up new mobile-friendly eTickets, with more than one million sold in the first six months.

Train travellers who forget to carry Railcards with their discount tickets and end up paying more will be given the chance to claim the money back.   

Britain’s rail companies have unveiled plans to run over 6,400 more passenger trains every week by 2021, running to more places more often, creating new opportunities and supporting jobs.

Thousands of new, state of the art trains will be rolling off production lines over the next 30 years, rail industry leaders have forecast.