UK Department for Transport news
Independent and informed news about the UK's Department for Transport, from Rail Business UK.
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Rail Business UKAlex Hynes named next CEO of DfT Operator Ltd
UK: Alex Hynes has been named as the next Chief Executive of Department for Transport Operator Ltd, the state-owned holding company for passenger train operators which have passed into the public sector.
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Rail Business UKEligibility for Disabled Persons Railcard to be expanded
UK: The eligibility criteria for the Disabled Persons Railcard are to be expanded so that both visible and non-visible disabilities are better recognised.
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Rail Business UKMidland Main Line electrification to the north ‘not affordable’
UK: Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander says the government’s approach to rail investment ‘will be guided by securing value for taxpayers’ by ‘only supporting projects that are fully costed and affordable’.
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Rail Business UKRailways Bill to create Great British Railways and ‘open the door to reform’ laid before parliament
UK: Rail Business UK looks at what the government’s Railways Bill will do, how Great British Railways will be established and what the legislation means for the wider rail sector including freight operators, the supply chain and passengers.
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Rail Business UKOxford Cowley branch passenger train service funding announced
UK: The government has announced funding to introduce passenger train services on the currently freight-only branch serving BMW’s Cowley car factory in Oxford.
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Rail Business UKIntegrated rail leadership shows early promise
UK: Integrated leadership teams are being set up across publicly owned passenger train operators and Network Rail routes to increase collaboration and accountability.
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Rail Business UKDigital ticket trial goes live between Leeds and Harrogate
UK: The latest phase of the Department for Transport-sponsored digital pay-as-you-go ticketing trial programme has gone live on Northern Trains’ Harrogate to Leeds route.
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Rail Business UK‘See it. Say it. Sorted’ gets a refresh
UK: The ‘See it. Say it. Sorted’ security campaign which has become wearily familiar to rail travellers since being launched almost a decade ago has had its first major refresh.
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Rail Business UKReport sets out effective measures to prevent railway suicides
UK: The Department for Transport has published what it says is ‘landmark’ research into the most effective measures to prevent railway suicides.
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Rail Business UKFirst of a Kind funding awarded for 26 rail innovation projects
UK: The Department for Transport and Innovate UK have selected 26 rail projects to share £5m of government first-of-a-kind funding to support trials of innovative technology for the rail industry.
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Rail Business UKEast Midlands Railway begins digital pay-as-you-go ticketing trial
UK: The first of four Department for Transport sponsored trials of GPS-based digital pay-as-you-go ticketing using smart phones rather than dedicated smartcards or contactless bank cards is now underway.
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NewsTransport Secretary accepts recommendations of revenue protection review
UK: Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander has written to train operators saying that she has accepted in full the recommendations of the Office of Rail & Road’s review of revenue protection practices.
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Rail Business UKPlatform4 formed to develop brownfield railway land
UK: London & Continental Railways and Network Rail’s property development team have been merged to create Platform4, which will seek to develop unused railway land and reinvest the profits generated in the railways.
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Rail Business UKWest Midlands Trains nationalisation date confirmed
UK: West Midlands Trains is to transfer to the public sector on February 1 2026, the Department for Transport has confirmed.
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Rail Business UKNext stage of Midland Main Line electrification ‘paused’
UK: The next phase of electrification of the Midland Main Line has been ‘paused’, the government has announced.
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Rail Business UKBristol – Portishead railway reopening funding in place
UK: The government has confirmed it will provide the remaining funding needed to enable the reinstatement of passenger services between Bristol and Portishead.
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Rail Business UKGovernment backs Midlands Rail Hub
UK: The government is to provide capital funding for the Midlands Rail Hub programme, which the Department for Transport said would be the region’s ‘biggest and most ambitious rail improvement scheme to date’.
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Rail Business UKThree stations get the go-ahead
UK: Government funding has been confirmed for planned stations at Wellington and Cullompton in the southwest and at Haxby near York.
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NewsRegulator rejects West Coast Main Line open access train service plans
UK: Would-be operators have responded with disappointment to the rail regulator’s decision that there is insufficient capacity to launch three open access passenger train services on the West Coast Main Line.
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Rail Business UKOpen access must genuinely add value, says DfT
UK: The Department for Transport has written to the Office of Rail & Road to stress the ‘critical importance’ of considering the cumulative financial and performance impact when deciding whether to approve applications to run open access passenger services.