Latest news with #LondonEuston
Daily Mirror
07-05-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mirror
130 days worth of train delays caused by floods last year in UK as thousands cancelled
Experts say the figures show how vulnerable Britain's Victorian rail infrastructure is to extreme weather caused by climate change. Almost 7,000 trains were cancelled last year as a result of floods, with passengers facing 130 days worth of delays new data reveals, highlighting the impact climate change is having on Britain's rail infrastructure. Travellers heading off from London Paddington were the worst hit, with the station recording 406 rain related cancellations in 2024, with Cardiff Central (249) and London Euston (242) close behind. Great Western Rail services were the worst affected with 2,068 cancellations and 53,303 minutes of flood related delays, followed by Northern Trains Ltd (1,046 cancellations, 22,457 minutes) and Transport for Wales Rail Ltd (855 cancellations, 20,091 minutes). The figures obtained via a Freedom of Information request to Network Rail confirmed there were 6,718 train cancellations (4,296 full and 2,422 part cancellations) across the UK in 2024. Those figures show a 15% rise with trains running a total of 187,475 minutes late, equivalent to a third of a year's worth of delays (130 days). Although this represents a 4% drop in the total number of cancellations compared to 2023, since 2014, flooding has caused 48,562 train cancellations and racked up more than 1.4 million minutes of delays. The data was revealed by Round Our Way, an organisation that supports people impacted by climate change in the UK. Co-Director Sofie Jenkinson,said: 'Climate change is a life and death issue for our rail system. These findings show the ongoing vulnerability of the UK's rail infrastructure to extreme weather caused by climate change. The significant rise in delays indicates the growing disruption and concerns about safety beneath the service of our creaking rail infrastructure and the impact of extreme weather caused by climate passengers and operators alike. 'With more than 48,000 cancellations due to flooding over the past decade, it's clear that long-term resilience planning and investments are essential if we want to keep the network moving.' Over the past decade, ScotRail has had the highest overall cancellation count (9,450), while Northern Trains Ltd. recorded the greatest number of delay minutes (198,657) in the same period. In 2020 a train derailed after hitting a landslip at Stonehaven, North East Scotland, three people died. Newcastle University Professor of Climate Change Impacts, Hayley Fowler, said: 'Our national transport networks are not resilient to current weather extremes, and will require increased investment to keep up with the projections of increasing summer heatwaves and winter flooding and windstorms. 'There is a need to think more strategically about hotspots where the risks of disruption are greatest as these growing extreme weather risks have the potential to have a major impact on people and on the economy. " She added: "There is no doubt that strategic investments in climate resilience now will significantly reduce the future costs of extreme weather.'
Time Out
30-04-2025
- Time Out
Major London train station Euston will be closed over the May Bank Holiday weekend: closure dates, service disruption and what you need to know
In the months since Euston was branded 'the worst station in London', the situation at the rail hub has undeniably improved – if only slightly. After a plan was unveiled to fix the station's chaos, these days London's 10th-busiest station allows passengers to board trains earlier and doesn't have those infamous massive advertising boards. And, as of last weekend, it even boasts flashy new loos. While Euston's general passenger experience has changed, the station remains hampered by closures. Following reduced services and closures over Easter, regular users of Euston will need to watch out for closures again this coming early May Bank Holiday weekend. This weekend Euston will close for two days and be unusually busy on one day. Here's everything you need to know about navigating the station during the closures. What dates will Euston be closed over the May Bank Holiday weekend? London Euston will be shut on Sunday May 4 and Monday May 5. Fewer services will be running on Saturday May 3, so expect the trains that do run to be much busier than usual. What routes will be affected? The route that'll be most impacted is Euston to Milton Keynes Central. There will be no trains on this route on Sunday or Monday, and all southbound trains will terminate at Milton Keynes. Any passengers using the West Coast Main Line are being advised to check before they travel. The Caledonian Sleeper will also instead depart from and arrive at King's Cross. What is official travel advice? Network Rail advises customers to 'travel either side of the Early May bank holiday weekend for the most straightforward journey'. However, if you must travel between Euston and MK on Sunday/Monday, you're advised to either get a rail replacement bus or get trains via the likes of Birmingham, Bedford, Luton and Watford. Why is Euston shutting? The station will close due to continuing major engineering works on the West Coast Mainline between London and Milton Keynes. Officially, the following works will take place. A new track and railway foundation stone is being installed between Queens Park and Kilburn in northwest London. There will be ongoing railway drainage improvements to prevent lines flooding near Tring station. Railway embankment strengthening near Harlesden. Maintenance work between London Euston and Willesden including: replacing track and ballast stones, upgrading overhead power lines, improving drainage systems, repairing bridge brickwork, renewing and refurbishing junctions where trains switch tracks, running new cables through tunnels and realigning tracks. The works are taking place over the early May Bank Holiday because, according to Network Rail, 'bank holidays remain the least busy time for carrying out complex upgrades'. Will Euston tube station be closed? Euston will still serve the London Underground's Piccadilly and Victoria lines throughout the weekend, as well as the Lioness line.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Businesses push government to extend HS2 line
The government is being urged to pay for the HS2 line to run all the way to Crewe in Cheshire by rail industry businesses as they say a shorter route would risk "squandering" its benefits. The High Speed Rail Group (HSRG) has put several requests to the Treasury's spending review and said the rail route needed to be "reset to an irreducible Euston-Crewe core". The high speed line north of Birmingham to Manchester was scrapped by the previous government. A spokesperson for the government said they were committed to "improving rail connectivity" across the Midlands and northern England. The HSRG is made up of businesses involved in the industry including Arup, Hitachi and Alstom. In its submission to the Treasury, the group makes six "key asks" of the government. These include to change HS2 to a "Euston-Crewe core" and fund the connection from the West Midlands to Crewe rather than the current plan to stop in Handsacre near Lichfield, Staffordshire, north of Birmingham. They also called for a more cost-effective approach to the London Euston plan by building to a "plain vanilla design". The group added that the government needed to extend the safeguarding restrictions on the land between Birmingham and Crewe. These were planning tools used to protect land from conflicting development but were lifted in January 2024. The group also suggested HS2 should be connected to the West Coast Mainline 10 miles (16km) south of Crewe, rather than on the approach to the town's station. They said this "yields the potential for a further substantial cost-saving" - although no estimate is currently available. In the submission, the HSRG further added: "There is currently a risk of overreaction and cutting HS2 short and, as a result, diminishing both the national economic growth stimulus HS2 provides, and short-changing the national account". Jim Steer, one of the directors of the group, told BBC Radio Stoke they felt HS2 had been cut back "in a way that we think makes it very hard to deliver real economic value". He added the line going to Crewe was significant because HS2 was always planned to join the existing railway and it was needed to bypass a "bottleneck" in Staffordshire. Otherwise he claimed the scheme would not lead to more capacity on railway lines. A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said they were committed to improving rail travel in the Midlands and northern England. "We are currently reviewing the position we have inherited on HS2 and will set out next steps in due course," they added. The spending review is set to be completed by the spring. Read more stories from Cheshire on the BBC and follow BBC North West on X. For more local politics coverage, BBC Politics North West is on BBC One on Sunday at 10:00am and on BBC iPlayer. HS2 Euston link funding announced in Budget Planning protection ends on scrapped HS2 route HS2 blew billions - here's how and why High Speed Rail Group HS2
BBC News
05-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Call to extend HS2 from London to Crewe by rail businesses
The government is being urged to pay for the HS2 line to run all the way to Crewe in Cheshire by rail industry businesses as they say a shorter route would risk "squandering" its High Speed Rail Group (HSRG) has put several requests to the Treasury's spending review and said the rail route needed to be "reset to an irreducible Euston-Crewe core".The high speed line north of Birmingham to Manchester was scrapped by the previous government.A spokesperson for the government said they were committed to "improving rail connectivity" across the Midlands and northern England. The HSRG is made up of businesses involved in the industry including Arup, Hitachi and its submission to the Treasury, the group makes six "key asks" of the include to change HS2 to a "Euston-Crewe core" and fund the connection from the West Midlands to Crewe rather than the current plan to stop in Handsacre near Lichfield, Staffordshire, north of also called for a more cost-effective approach to the London Euston plan by building to a "plain vanilla design".The group added that the government needed to extend the safeguarding restrictions on the land between Birmingham and were planning tools used to protect land from conflicting development but were lifted in January 2024. The group also suggested HS2 should be connected to the West Coast Mainline 10 miles (16km) south of Crewe, rather than on the approach to the town's said this "yields the potential for a further substantial cost-saving" - although no estimate is currently the submission, the HSRG further added: "There is currently a risk of overreaction and cutting HS2 short and, as a result, diminishing both the national economic growth stimulus HS2 provides, and short-changing the national account".Jim Steer, one of the directors of the group, told BBC Radio Stoke they felt HS2 had been cut back "in a way that we think makes it very hard to deliver real economic value".He added the line going to Crewe was significant because HS2 was always planned to join the existing railway and it was needed to bypass a "bottleneck" in he claimed the scheme would not lead to more capacity on railway lines. A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said they were committed to improving rail travel in the Midlands and northern England."We are currently reviewing the position we have inherited on HS2 and will set out next steps in due course," they spending review is set to be completed by the spring. Read more stories from Cheshire on the BBC and follow BBC North West on X. For more local politics coverage, BBC Politics North West is on BBC One on Sunday at 10:00am and on BBC iPlayer.
