Economy Class & Beyond

LNER taps CAF to build new trains for the East Coast Main Line

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There's movement in the rolling stock market as London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has tapped Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) for new trains. CAF was the successful bidder to deliver a fleet of 10 new tri-mode trains for LNER. Porterbrook has been chosen as the financier of the new fleet in a deal valued at £500 million. The trains will be able to … [Read more...]

Plans to close Rail ticket offices halted in England

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It seems that His Majesty's Government has done yet another U-Turn, with them pulling the plan to close Rail Ticket offices in England and redeploy staff onto the platforms.  Things that are staying - Ticket offices, rather than welcome points - Image, Economy Class and Beyond. If approved, it would have impacted over 1,000 ticket offices in England  The move comes … [Read more...]

Lufthansa annouces an Air-Rail tie-up with KORAIL

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The Air-Rail market is an important part of the multi-modal travel mix, as we continue to seek to reduce emissions - and yes, in some cases, reduce unrequired flying. Lufthansa has announced a tie-up with KORAIL- the national operator of South Korea. Lufthansa Group has partnered with KORAIL, the primary train operator in South Korea, to offer its passengers the … [Read more...]

Passenger Competition through the Channel Tunnel? Evolyn breaks cover

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Whilst in theory, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link is open to anyone, in practice - only a few companies have ever run on it.  Could a new operator be going into the Eurotunnel - With  Franco-British sreet artist YZ's artwork "I will always see you" - Image, Getlink Well, that seems to be changing with a start-up called Evolyn announcing its intention to run … [Read more...]

Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry awarded contract extensions

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It seems that performance has improved enough for both Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry Trains have managed to retain their operations, and have been awarded new operating contracts. Avanti West Coast (operated by a partnership of FirstGroup and Trenitalia) has a long-term contract which will enable them to deliver improved services for passengers, after dramatically … [Read more...]

Stansted Express to go back to four-trains-an hour from December

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There's good news for those travelling back and forth between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport, with the Stansted Express rail service increasing to four trains an hour. The full timetable will be resorted from the 10th of December 2023 as the new train timetable is introduced across the network. The move follows the scaling up of the services in May to four … [Read more...]

Eurostar to offer Winter Ski services to France

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After a break, Eurostar will be offering ski services from London to the French Alps, branded as Eurostar Snow. The service will operate from London St Pancras International, going via Lille, Moutiers and Bourg-Saint-Maurice, allowing connections to Chambéry, Albertville, Moutiers and Aime-La Plagne. Lead-in pricing starts at £99 one way in Standard, £149 in Standard … [Read more...]

Another weekend of no Piccadilly Line Trains to Heathrow

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Ah, it's summer. This means it's time for more engineering works on the Piccadilly Line connecting Heathrow to Central London. This weekend, the Piccadilly Line line will be shut between Hammersmith/Acton Town and Heathrow. Between 0045 and 0445 on Saturday 12th August there will be no service (night tube) between Hammersmith and Heathrow (all terminals).  Bus PL1 … [Read more...]

Siemens next-generation Underground train heads off for testing

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The first of the new trains for Transport for London has made it off the production line and is off to Germany for testing. This train - the first of 94 - will be used to replace the existing trains used on the Piccadilly Line under the New Tube for London programme. With it complete, it has been sent to the Siemens Test and Validation Centre in Wegberg-Wildenrath, … [Read more...]

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