About 2.6 miles (4.2km) of the route is to be underground, with northbound and southbound tunnels running next to each other beneath the Thames

A project involving a repurposed Pacer train to use as a classroom for children with specialist needs is nearing completion.

Volunteers from Northern's Heaton TrainCare Centre fixed leaks in the train's roof and its power supply after the train was donated to the Dales School in Blyth by company Porterbrook in 2020.

The second part of the initiative involved engineers repairing the wipers, headlights, signal buzzer and fan in the driver's cab which has recently been finished.

The volunteers also restored the train's public address system, which the school's therapists said would be a "valuable resource" for pupils to make announcements and develop their speech and language skills.

The engineers and apprentices also installed a walkway over a section of track, which was donated by Network Rail.

The school, near the new Northumberland Line at Blyth, said the new driver's cab would give children opportunities to learn about rail safety and the hazards of trespassing.

The project was featured on George Clark's Channel 4 show Amazing Spaces in 2023 and it also received last year's Love Northumberland award.

Pupil Leo said: "I love the train as I'm going to be a train driver when I grow up and I get to practice on the train controls and tell everyone where the train is going."

Meanwhile Lennie said: "My favourite time of the week is when we go on the train, I like the train driving simulator, it's like I'm driving a real train."

James Groundwater, outdoor learning teacher at the school, said the volunteers had "made the train come to life" and now it was watertight for future use.

Heaton TrainCare Centre's manager, Garry Roseby, said he was "extremely proud" of the engineers who spent their weekends and holidays restoring the train.



"It has also given the apprentices an opportunity to work on the legacy fleet which has served the North East so well over the years, allowing them to develop their skills on a different electrical and mechanical system," he said.

The engineers said they would return in July to fit guttering to the train roof.

From the BBC:

The fact that the landing gear was not retracted suggests two possibilities to me.
Firstly a major loss of auxiliary power, including that required to retract the gear. Possible but unlikely.

Secondly, that the crew realised that there was a problem, and left the gear down in the hope of returning to the airport for an emergency landing. or perhaps making an emergency landing elsewhere.

Rail passengers were being urged to plan ahead for engineering work which will affect weekend journeys.

Network Rail said the work on the Midland Mainline, which takes place on six consecutive weekends from 21 June, will result in "significant improvements".

Intercity services will be diverted between Kettering in Northamptonshire, and Leicester, extending journey times by 45 minutes.

The project involved work to make progress on a new phase of electrification, which would allow greener "bi-mode" trains to be introduced. There would also be upgrades to the track, signal and communications equipment and drainage systems.

The firm, which owns most of the UK's rail network, added that the project's benefits would include "making the line more resilient and benefitting train performance". The work programme included lowering sections of track to accommodate overhead line equipment without the need to demolish and rebuild bridges.

Network Rail said this would enable a new phase of electrification to take place between Wigston in Leicestershire and East Midlands Parkway, paving the way for a greener fleet of bi-mode trains to be introduced.

East Midlands Railway, which runs through Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough, will operate an amended timetable and trains will not call at Market Harborough. A connecting rail replacement bus service will operate between Kettering and Leicester, calling at Market Harborough. Additional services will be provided on Sundays for passengers travelling by Grantham.

Philippa Cresswell, the customer experience director for East Midlands Railway, said: "We recommend customers planning to travel to or from London over six weekends between Saturday 21 June and Sunday 27 July to check their journey in advance of travelling. We would like to thank our customers for their patience whilst Network Rail upgrade the overhead power lines to enable our bi-mode trains to run on our Intercity route in the future. This work will greatly benefit our customers with more reliable journeys to and from London."

From the BBC:

UK's largest road tunnel project awarded £590m



A project to build the UK's largest road tunnel has been granted £590m by the government.

Constructing the Lower Thames Crossing, linking Tilbury in Essex and Gravesend in Kent, will cost an estimated £10bn. Plans for the 14.5-mile (23km) route were approved in March after a 16-year process that has already cost £1.2bn.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the crossing would aid "smoother, less congested passage of vital goods from Europe to our regions". It came as part of a £1bn package to improve transport infrastructure across England, announced on Monday.

The government said it was looking to source private finance to build the Lower Thames Crossing, branding it a "national priority".

National Highways hoped the road would reduce traffic at the Dartford Crossing by 20%.

Construction was expected to begin in 2026 ahead of an expected opening by 2032.



"This is a turning point for our national infrastructure, and we're backing it with funding to support thousands of jobs and connect communities," Reeves said.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander added: "This project is essential for improving the resilience of a key freight route and is critical to our long term trade with Europe."

The road will link the A2 and M2 in Kent with the A13 and M25 in Thurrock. About 2.6 miles (4.2km) of the route is to be underground, with northbound and southbound tunnels running next to each other beneath the Thames.

The funding announcement was welcomed by Logistics UK, which represents the transport and logistics sector.

"Efficient logistics with minimal delays is critical to the delivery of the government's growth agenda, and our members are delighted to hear that funding has been made available to start work on the long-planned Lower Thames Crossing, after a decade of holdups at this vital interchange," said policy director Kevin Green. "It is imperative that the government also sets out a plan for providing and securing the full funding required to complete the project – our members deserve to be able to deliver efficiently for the industry they support, so that the economy can benefit."

However, campaigners have raised concerns about ancient woodland being impacted by the works.

Chris Todd, director of Transport Action Network, previously said the decision was "absolute madness". He added: "The only way that the government can afford this white elephant would be to take money from all the other nations and regions in the UK."

Shows a pretty shocking level of entitlement and lack of managerial oversight though doesn't it? If he's breaching the rules like that, what else is he not doing properly? Definitely adds to the argument for installing platform edge doors and automating the lot.

Almost beyond belief, but thankfully no longer employed on the railway........

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/tube-driver-caught-knitting-and-watching-video-on-his-phone-while-operating-northern-line-train/ar-AA1GH8in?ocid=socialshare

Indeed - and here's another comment I heard - think it related to Coombe Junction but it could have been Bere Alston - that there are staff members not strong enough to work the points, so that restricts who can be rotaed. If someone can answer to / talk to me on that rumour it would be appreciated.

It’s definitely not the easiest to bustitute.
Coombe Junction, st keyne wishing well, and Causeland are completely inaccessible to a bus. Especially the ones that GWR have on standby for Cornwall mainline and branches today (a 15m triaxle coach)

There is a very long list of "stakeholders consulted with" - over 500 of them - which I presume were actively contacted. It does not include the operators of any of the railway services relevant here, nor Network Rail (station owners and managers). (Abellio is named but that will be for buses.) ASLEF and RMT are, however in the list, as is National Grid. It's enough to start people muttering about judicial reviews!

It is on or very near chalk.
Somewhere near Mid Hants Railway, there had the Retro Wheels and Rails event this weekend

20:38 Westbury to Swindon due 21:23

20:38 Westbury to Swindon due 21:23 has been cancelled.
This is due to a late running train being in front of this one.
Further Information

If you arrive at your destination 15 or more minutes late because your GWR train was delayed or cancelled, you can claim Delay Repay compensation. Please keep your ticket and visit GWR.com/DelayRepay
Last Updated:15/06/2025 20:46

21:34 Swindon to Westbury due 22:16

21:34 Swindon to Westbury due 22:16 will be cancelled.
This is due to a late running train being in front of this one.

I'm unsure as to the travel possibilities on a greyhound (bus, maybe?)

We're straying into politics here methinks. It's a travel board.

That is probably because Eurostar didn't want to respond. They would have seen the consultation

HS2 reports subcontractor over alleged fraud

The company building the HS2 rail line between London and Birmingham has reported one of its subcontractors to the tax authorities over possible fraud.

Whistleblowers made allegations over the way pay was handled for some construction staff on the high-speed line.

HS2 Ltd said last month it was conducting its own investigation, looking into two firms who supplied it with workers. The company has now also referred the matter to HMRC.

The firms in question were providing workers to Balfour Beatty Vinci (BBV), a contractor for HS2.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is expected to raise the issue in Parliament this week. It is the latest difficulty to beset the troubled giant rail infrastructure project.

HS2 has faced myriad challenges and spiralling costs since it was first announced in 2009.

It was originally designed to boost capacity on the railways between the north and south of England but the last, Conservative, government decided to scrap the second phase of the project, which included building lines to Manchester and Leeds.

Earlier this year whistleblowers flagged concerns over the way some subcontracted staff were being paid. They said self-employed workers had been falsely declared as salaried staff, with "fake" payslips submitted at a higher payrate. The allegations were first published in the i newspaper in May.

One of the labour suppliers is understood to remain suspended from new contracts while inquiries continue.

An HS2 spokesperson said: "We treat all whistleblower allegations seriously and are continuing to conduct our own investigation."

The firm said it encouraged anyone with relevant information to report it via confidential internal channels.

The Department for Transport said last month it had "a zero-tolerance attitude towards fraud, bribery, and corruption" and would ensure any claims of wrongdoing were thoroughly investigated.