Central trains News

Private companies have been invited to bid for the East Coast rail franchise by the Department for Transport. The line has been run in the public sector since 2009.

• UK
• Transport
• Rail

Shadow Transport Secretary Maria Eagle has told Daybreak that the Government's plan to prioritise a new ownership deal for the East Coast mainline is "a bit of an odd choice".

"Competition has failed twice in spectacular fashion" on the East Coast franchise, she said, "now that [they] are putting that right, returning money to the treasury, returning money to the taxpayer, improving services... why is it a priority?"

• UK
• Labour
• Transport

Today the government will announce plans to re-open the rail franchising process, six months after the collapse of the West Coast Mainline deal.

It is thought that the priority will be to agree a new ownership deal for the East Coast mainline.

Read: Has Britain's rail system gone off the rails?

The rail route will be put back into private ownership after a long period under state control.

The decision is expected to reignite the rivalry between Virgin Trains and FirstGroup, who competed for the west coast franchise last year.

Read: Virgin Trains continue to run West Coast Mainline

• UK
• Virgin Trains
• Transport

The East Coast rail route will be put back into private ownership after a long period under state control, the government will confirm this week.

Patrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, will unveil plains to seek tenders for the London to Edinburgh service over three years after it was nationalised.

The decision to put one of Britain's most used rail routes back into private sector hands is expected to reignite the rivalry between Virgin Trains and FirstGroup, who competed for the West Coast franchise last year.

• UK
• Transport
• Rail

The jury serving the case of a railway signalman on trial over the death of a woman in Herefordshire have retired for the weekend.

Jane Harding was killed when a train ploughed into her car on a level crossing at Moreton on Lugg near Hereford in January 2010.

Her husband Mark, who was driving, survived the accident.

During the trial at Birmingham Crown Court, a jury was told how signalman Adrian Maund was distracted at the time by a phone call from a farmer who wanted to move sheep across the line at another crossing.

He told police in an interview that he believed the Manchester to Milford Haven train had already passed when he raised the barriers.

The case has been adjourned.

Mr Maund denies the charge against him.

The jury will continue its deliberation next week.

• UK
• trains
• Herefordshire

Chesterfield Canal Trust says it 'welcomes' news that discussions have been taking place between HS2 Ltd. and local authorities over the route of the new line between London and Leeds, but has warned the proposals 'serve to blight' further regeneration of the waterway.

It comes after concerns were raised over the impact the line would have on the 300-year-old canal and amid claims the route was drawn up using out of date maps.

HS2 Ltd. said the route is 'the Government's initial preferred route' and it is now able to 'address concerns about specific sites'.

Members of the Trust have now requested discussions with HS2 officials before a full public consultation is launched later this year.

The Chesterfield Canal Trust very much welcomes HS2 discussions with Chesterfield Borough Council. The issues raised by the proposals for HS2, however, go well beyond the boundaries of Chesterfield Borough.

We regret that the proposals serve to blight, at one fell swoop, half a billion pounds of regeneration work associated with the Chesterfield Canal regeneration area; they devalue hundreds of thousands of hours of volunteer work put in over a thirty year period, and potentially trash years of partnership restoration planning and delivery.

• UK
• HS2
• Chesterfield Canal

Officials planning the route the high speed rail line between London and Leeds have said they are 'now able to address concerns about specific sites' amid fears the route jeopardise further restoration of the Chesterfield Canal.

"The route north of Birmingham that was recently published is the Government’s initial preferred route and we are now able to address concerns about specific sites such as the Chesterfield canal in more detail with local authorities.

We have recently met with Chesterfield council and discussions will continue.

A full public consultation will also open later this year and information gathered through the consultation will help inform the decision on the final route, which will include how the line can cross existing infrastructure such as canals."

• UK
• HS2
• trains

The MP for Chesterfield, Toby Perkins has dubbed the decision over where to build the high speed rail link 'amateurish'. It's after claims the maps used to choose the route were out of date.

The track, which links London to Leeds cuts across parts of Chesterfield canal.

But documents regarding the construction of the link, which were submitted to the government in March 2012, included maps which are missing nearby Staveley Basin which was built more than a year ago.

• Politics
• Chesterfield
• Derbyshire

It's claimed the maps used to draw up the route for the new high speed rail link could be out of date.

The track, which links London to Leeds, cuts over stretches of the Chesterfield Canal.

But documents regarding the construction of the link, which were submitted to the government in March 2012, failed to include Staveley Town Basin that was completed more than a year ago.

It has also been claimed a 600 metre stretch of restored waterway is missing from the map.

Robin Stonebridge is from the Chesterfield Canal Trust.

• UK
• Chesterfield
• Derbyshire