Railway

Plymouth railway station murderer sentenced to life in prison

A 29-year-old man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after he murdered a father. Wayne Fenton, 49, a father of five, was murdered by Jamie Skinner on 8 August this year at Plymouth railway station. On 4 December, Skinner of Bodmin Road, Plymouth, appeared before Plymouth Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to murder. Skinner will serve a life sentence with a minimum of 22 years and six...

Rail line disruption faces dramatic increase

Rail services to and from the South West of England could be disrupted for more than 10 per cent of each year by 2040 and almost a third by 2100, a new study suggests.

The cost of maintaining tracks and sea defences could also soar as predicted sea level rises, coupled with coastal storms and floods, pose major challenges for rail operators and governments.

The research,...

Stay safe when using level crossings

British Transport Police (BTP) officers in the South West are urging the public to do their level best to stay safe when using crossings.

The call comes as they take part in the latest phase of Operation Look, a week of action (5–10 October), which will see extra patrols at a number of crossings.

BTP recorded more than 100 offences at crossings in the region during 2014/15,...

Rail strike ballot underway

Members of the rail union have started to vote in a ballot on both strike action and action short of a strike of all First Great Western members over the threat to jobs and safety from the introduction of the new Hitachi Inter-City trains.

At the end of May the union confirmed that it had entered into dispute with First Great Western over the introduction of Super Express Trains on...

Council highlights Tavistock to Bere Alston rail line reinstatement plan

Devon County Council has submitted a report to the Planning Inspectorate setting out the environmental surveys that are planned to assess the re-instatement of the railway between Tavistock and Bere Alston, and development of a network of multi-use trails.

The County Council is progressing the project to re-open the rail line and provide multi-use trails in the Tavistock area. Due to...

Five Alternative routes considered to Dawlish

Network Rail has said they will consider five alternative routes as a long term response to the destroyed line at Dawlish.

Options include creating a new passenger route using the existing freight train lines at Alphington and Heathfield near Newton Abbot.

Another option is to reinstate the closed Okehampton line which is expected to cost up to £700m.

Three new routes...

Dawlish Line could re-open early

Work on to re-open the railway line could be completed earlier than expected, according to Network Rail.

The work to repair the area of track destroyed during the recent heavy storms was initially expected to be completed by mid-March but was pushed back to mid-April after further storm damage frustrated repairs.

However the Rail Minister, Steve Hammond, said the rail company...

Dawlish work delayed by two weeks

Network Rail will lay more concrete foundations in Dawlish today after additional damage to the sea wall caused by Friday' nights storm could delay the track’s restoration by up to two weeks.

The track, initially damaged by storms at the beginning of February, was originally expected to be completed by mid-march.

However this Friday saw the temporary flood defences, made of...

£31.1 million for rail resilience will be found

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has confirmed that the £31.1m promised to improve the resilience of the South West’s rail network will be found.

Ten projects to improve the rail networks resilience against flooding will be funded with the money including for work in Honiton, Cowley Bridge Junction, Crewkerne and several other areas of rail vulnerable to potential flooding.

...

Prime Minister visits Plymouth after storm damage

Prime Minister David Cameron has given his personal assurances in Plymouth today that all options for a fast, resilient, 21st Century rail network to serve the South West would be looked at.

At a private meeting attended by Plymouth City Council's Chief Executive Tracey Lee and Chief Executive of Plymouth's Chamber of Commerce David Parlby, the Prime Minister promised a study of all...

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