Local children have come together with community volunteers and railway staff, to fill new planters outside Milton Keynes station. Great Linford Scouts were joined by Milton Keynes Model Railway Society and London Northwestern Railway staff on Saturday (26 January), to put the display together outside the main station entrance.
Railway station volunteers from across the country will be recognised at a special awards ceremony in Shropshire, later this year. The Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) ‘Community Rail Awards’ dinner will be hosted at The International Centre in Telford, on 3 October 2019. West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway will be headline sponsors at this year's event.
Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, has been praising the work of railway station volunteers across the region. He recently met with a group of local station adopters at Stechford, to learn about their work and encourage more groups to get involved in their local area.
West Midlands Railway has been clamping down on ticketless travel and antisocial behaviour on the Chase line. On Friday (18 January), a total of 25 revenue protection managers were stationed at six locations on the line between Bloxwich and Rugeley Town from 1500 until 1830.
Samaritans volunteers will be at railway stations across the network today, to raise awareness of Brew Monday. The annual campaign encourages railway staff and customers to take time out for a cup of tea and a chat. Brew Monday coincides with ‘Blue Monday’, which is considered to be the most difficult day of the year.
Adderley Park station has reopened, following an incident at the station earlier today (16 Jan). The station was closed for a number of hours and reopened at around 1730.
Adderley Park station will be closed until further notice, following an incident at the station this afternoon. Trains between Birmingham New Street, Northampton and London Euston are also being delayed or cancelled as a result.
Passengers travelling on routes via Birmingham Snow Hill are being advised to check their train times before they travel this afternoon. There have been two incidents on the route today – a signalling problem at Old Hill and a separate incident elsewhere on the line.
West Midlands Railway is looking for the region’s Cross City Heroes. The train operator has opened a competition to find deserving community groups near to stations along the line between Redditch/Bromsgrove, Birmingham New Street and Lichfield.
Rail passengers on the Abbey Line had a significantly more reliable service during autumn 2018, compared to previous years. The number of seasonal-related cancellations between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey was nearly 80% lower in 2018, compared to the same period in 2017.
London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway customers have donated over £7000 of delay repay claims to support life saving work across the rail network. The train operators set up the ‘Donate your Delay Repay’ scheme in December 2017 and the initiative has raised £7,186 for Samaritans in its first year.
London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway are advising passengers to plan ahead and check before they travel this Christmas. Services are expected to be particularly busy over this weekend (21 – 23 December), as many people travel home and festive events across the network come to a close.