Contents:

(click a title below to go direct to that section)
Consultations
DfT contracted passenger services
Network Rail Control Period 7 planning
Publications
Route improvement works
Various

Consultations

20 January 2025. Monday. Close of Brighton & Hove City Council consultation on Key Issues for City Plan 2041.


24 January 2025. Friday. Close of East West Rail non-statutory consultation.


24 January 2025. Friday. Close of Wiltshire Council's consultation on Local Transport Plan 4 (LTP4) 2025-39.


26 January 2025. Sunday. Close of North East Mayor consultation on Local Transport Plan for NE Combined Authority.


30 January 2025. Thursday. Close of DfT Call for Ideas to support the development of an Integrated National Transport Strategy for England.


2 February 2025. Sunday. Close of Western Gateway consultation on priorities for the Transport Strategy's Strategic Investment Plan.


6 February 2025. Thursday. Close of Exeter City Council consultation on final, pre-submission draft of Exeter Plan.


7 February 2025. Friday. Close of House of Commons Transport Committee's Call for Evidence for inquiry Rail investment pipelines: ending boom and bust.


14 February 2025. Friday. Close (at 17.00) of ORR consultation on Rail Passenger Assistance: Benchmarking Operators’ Performance.


28 February 2025. Friday. Close (at 17.00) of Lewes District Council's Local Plan Regulation 18 phase 1 consultation: Defining our policies and early site allocation proposals. More info: LDC-LP2040


7 March 2025. Friday. Close of 12-week public consultation Your Voices by Transport for the South East on their refreshed Transport Strategy.

Consultation responses to date, by organisation, can be viewed or downloaded here.

DfT contracted passenger services

Summary of current re-contracting

28 October 2021 / last updated 7 May 2024. See Public register of rail passenger contracts including updates.
See also National Rail Contracts expiry dates as at June 2024.
See 4 December 2024 Transport Secretary's Statement to Parliament and press release confirming first three operators to start new contracts with DfT Operator Ltd. Note "Following Greater Anglia, the programme will continue with the transfer of one operator’s services roughly every 3 months. We expect these to follow the order in which operators’ current contractual minimum terms expire" from the Transport Secretary's Statement to Parliament.

2018

16 May 2018. Virgin Trains East Coast franchise termination announced.
24 June 2018. London North Eastern Railway became new East Coast Main Line operator under DfT Operator of Last Resort Holdings Ltd.
20 September 2018. CrossCountry refranchising was halted, pending rail review.

2019

8 December 2019. Sunday. Virgin Trains West Coast franchise ended; West Coast Rail: in August a new First/Trenitalia West Coast Partnership franchise was announced, commencing December 2019 until December 2031, extendable to December 2034. Contract replaced in September 2023 (see below) with a core term to October 2026 and full term to October 3032.

2020

24 February 2020. Arriva CrossCountry contract extended to October 2020, with funding for longer trains starting May 2020.


1 March 2020. Sunday. Northern Trains Ltd began operation of former Northern franchise as part of DfT OLR Holdings Ltd, until 1 March 2025.


23 March 2020. Monday. All DfT franchise operators transferred to Emergency Measures Agreements for six months.


30 March 2020. Monday. First Group's Great Western Railway was granted a new Direct Award for three years, extendable to four.

30 March 2020. Monday. Govia's Southeastern granted a new Direct Award until 16 October 2021, extendable to 31 March 2022.

28 June 2020. Sunday. Expiry of London North Eastern Railway's first Direct Award from 24 June 2018. start of second Direct Award to June 2023. On 26 June LNER was given a second Direct Award, for three years to June 2023 and extendable by up to two years, to continue operations beyond its first expiry date on Sunday 28 June 2020.


21 September 2020. Monday. Emergency Measures Agreements were replaced with Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements (ERMAs) for up to a further 18 months.


October 2020. Arriva CrossCountry contract extended again to 15 October 2023.

2021

7 February 2021. Sunday. Transport for Wales Rail Ltd, a subsidiary of Transport for Wales, began operation of former Wales & Borders franchise by previous operator KeolisAmey Wales.


10 September 2021. Greater Anglia direct award contract awarded.


28 September 2021. Southeastern extension option was foregone in favour of DfT's Operator of Last Resort Holdings Ltd, from 17 October 2021.


16 October 2021. New Southeastern Direct Award due to end, extendable to 31 March 2022. See new SE Direct Award. Instead, DfT's Operator of Last Resort Holdings Ltd takes over from 17 October 2021, until 13 October 2024.


31 December 2021. Chiltern Railways franchise due to end. New National Rail Contract, awarded 2 December, commenced 31 December, initially until 31 March 2025, extendable to 31 December 2027. Business Plan for 2023/24 added 11 December 2023.

2022

31 March 2022. Thursday. ScotRail franchise due to end (was eligible for up to three years extension). See Transport Scotland.


1 April 2022. Friday. ScotRail Trains Limited, owned and overseen by Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd (SRH Ltd), which is wholly owned by the Scottish Government, starts new ScotRail franchise.


14 June 2022. Tuesday. First Group's Great Western Railway was awarded a replacement contract with a core term to 22 June 2025, expiring 25 June 2028.


4 October 2022. East Midlands Railway new contract awarded, expiring in October 2030.

2023

28 May 2023. Sunday. TransPennine Trains Ltd takes over from First TransPennine Express Ltd as part of DfT's Operator of Last Resort Holdings Ltd, for 2 years extendable to 4 years.


28 May 2023. Sunday. First/MTR South Western contract renewal, for 2 years.


May 2023. Transport for London 8-year concession for MTR Elizabeth line (potential for 2-year extension) due to end/start of next concession expected.


2 June 2023. Sunday. London North Eastern Railway expiry of second Direct Award, notice of variation added extending by a further 2 years. Business Plan for 2023/24 added 11 December 2023.


23 June 2023. Friday. Caledonian Sleeper 15-year Serco franchise terminated, 7 years early. Transport Scotland to become Operator of Last Resort.


25 June 2023. Sunday. ScotRail Trains Limited, owned and overseen by Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd (SRH Ltd), which is wholly owned by the Scottish Government, starts new Caledonian Sleeper franchise.


23 July 2023. Sunday. Essex Thameside contract expiry; notice of variation extended the contract until 20 July 2025.


18 September 2023. Monday. New First / Trenitalia West Coast Partnership contract awarded, core term to October 2026, full term to October 2032.


15 October 2023. Sunday. Arriva CrossCountry operating contract due to end. Award on 19 September of a new National Rail Contract for minimum of four years, extendable to eight.


15 October 2023. Sunday. Avanti West Coast awarded on 19 September a new National Rail Contract for minimum of three years, extendable to nine.

2024

Transport for London 7.5-year concession for London Overground with option for 2-year extension to May 2026 confirmed.


15 September 2024. Greater Anglia contract core term expires.


15 September 2024. West Midlands Trains National Rail Contract core term expires.


13 October 2024. Southeastern direct award contract expires.

2025

1 March 2025. Sunday. Northern Trains Ltd direct award services contract expires.


31 March 2025. Arriva Group's National Rail Contract for Chiltern Railways, awarded in December 2021, ends guaranteed term, extendable to 31 December 2027.


1 April 2025. Govia Thameslink Railway's Thameslink / Southern / Great Northern direct award core term due to expire.


1 April 2025. KeolisAmey's DLR contract expires.


25 May 2025. Sunday. First/MTR South Western Trains 2023 contract variation expires.


25 May 2025. Sunday. Transport for London Elizabeth line operating concession expires. New GTS Rail Operations Ltd concession starts - see TfL announcement.


25 May 2025. Sunday. TransPennine Trains Ltd OLR contract for initial 2 years due to expire, extendable by a further 2 years.


22 June 2025. Sunday. London North Eastern Railway expiry of extended second Direct Award.


22 June 2025. Tuesday. First Group's Great Western Railway contract core term expires, extendable to 25 June 2028.


20 July 2025. Sunday. Trenitalia c2c Ltd July 2023 contract variation due to expire.

2026

3 May 2026. Latest possible end/start of Transport for London extended operating concession for London Overground.


20 September 2026. West Midlands Trains National Rail Contract due to expire.


20 September 2026. Greater Anglia direct award contract due to expire.


18 October 2026. First / Trenitalia West Coast Partnership contract core term expires, may run to October 2032.


18 October 2026. East Midlands Railway core contract term expires, full term expires October 2030.

2027

30 May 2027. Sunday. TransPennine Trains Ltd OLR contract for up to 4 years expires.


17 October 2027. Sunday. Arriva CrossCountry National Rail Contract core term expires.


31 December 2027. Arriva Group's National Rail Contract for Chiltern Railways, awarded in December 2021 to March 2025, expires if extended.

2028

Merseyrail concession due for renewal.


1 April 2028. Govia Thameslink Railway's Thameslink / Southern / Great Northern direct award due to expire.


25 June 2028. Great Western Railway contract awarded in June 2022 due to expire.


25 June 2028. Access rights for Heathrow Express into London Heathrow Airport (operated by Great Western Railway) due to expire.

2030

March 2030. Caledonian Sleeper 15-year franchise was due to end but terminated in June 2023.


13 October 2030. East Midlands Railway new contract, awarded in October 2022, due to expire.

2031

12 October 2031. Sunday. Arriva CrossCountry National Rail Contract due to expire.

2032

May 2032. Transport for London Elizabeth line operating concession expires, unless up to 2-year extension option exercised.


17 October 2032. First / Trenitalia West Coast Partnership contract, awarded September 2023, due to expire.

2033

October 2033. Wales & Borders and new South Wales Metro franchise due to expire.

2034

May 2034. Sunday. Transport for London Elizabeth line operating concession due to expire after full 9 years.

Network Rail Control Period 7 planning

Rail infrastructure investment planning for 2024-29, Control Period 7.
Office of Rail & Road's 2023 Periodic Review (PR23) for Control Period 7 (CP7) 2024-29 started on 17 June 2021 with consultation on Review of the Schedule 8 train performance regime (17 June - 10 September) and then on Review of Network Rail's access charges (15 July - 24 September 2021). PR23 policy framework initial consultations began with a policy consultation on outcomes, infrastructure performance and managing change (28 July - 30 September 2022).
The Transport Secretary issued a Written Statement to Parliament on 1 December 2022 when publishing the High Level Output Specification (HLOS) and Statement of Funds Available (SoFA) for CP7.
Network Rail published their Strategic Business Plan for Control Period 7 (2024-29) on 19 May 2023.
The Office of Rail and Road published their draft Determination on Network Rail's Strategic Business Plan on 15th June for consultation.
The ORR published their Final Determination for England & Wales on 31st October 2023, and Network Rail responded. Also published was the Final Determination for Scotland.
Network Rail published its Delivery Plan for Control Period 7 (2024-29), on 3 April 2024. More details here.
See PR23 timeline.

Publications

Click for Publications including the 4-weekly Rail User Survey.


Click for Publication dates for statistics.

2024

July

18 July 2024. Thursday. Rail Fares Index 2024 published. More info: Fares

30 July 2024. Thursday. Train Operating Company Key Statistics 2023/24 published. More info: TOCs

August

8 August 2024. Thursday. Passenger satisfaction with complaints handling 2023/24 published. More info: Complaints

September

26 September 2024. Thursday. Rail safety statistics 2023/24 published. More info: Safety

October

10 October 2024. Thursday. Rail infrastructure and assets 2023/24 published. More info: Assets

29 October 2024. Tuesday. Rail Environment (previously Emissions) 2023/24 published. More info: Environment

November

21 November 2024. Thursday. Station usage estimates for 2023/24 published. More info: Stations

21 November 2024. Thursday. Regional rail usage estimates for 2023/24 published. More info: Regions

28 November 2024. Thursday. Rail industry finance (UK) 2023/24 to be published. More info: Finance

Route improvement works

Planned improvement works in 2024 - but why do it at weekends and over bank holidays?
Mind how you go, or you'll NOT enjoy your 'trip': watch THIS!
~ 6 January 2018 onwards - Great North Rail Project works, including Transpennine Route Upgrade. Enjoy the highlights; buy the book.

Various

2019

December

31 December 2019. Tuesday. Final date for rail vehicles to comply with accessibility regulations. More info: ORR and DfT

2021

September

20 September 2021. Monday. Start of extended services on Northern line to Battersea Power Station, via Kennington and Nine Elms. More info: NLE

November

20 November 2021. Saturday. Start of regular Exeter-Okehampton services on The Dartmoor Line.

December

12 December 2021. Sunday. Start of regular services for re-opened Soham station.

2022

May

24 May 2022. Tuesday. Start of Elizabeth line services between Paddington Low Level and Abbey Wood.

July

18 July 2022. Start of scheduled London Overground services between Gospel Oak and Barking Riverside.

October

24 October 2022. Monday. Elizabeth line's Bond Street station opens.

November

6 November 2022. Sunday. Start of Elizabeth line through services between Paddington and Shenfield, and between Reading / Heathrow Airport and Abbey Wood.

2023

May

21 May 2023. Sunday. Completion of full Elizabeth line through services between Reading / Heathrow Airport and Abbey Wood / Shenfield.

2024

April

1 April 2024. Control Period 7 (2024-29) started.

June

2 June 2024. Sunday. Levenmouth line passenger services started, to Leven via Cameron Bridge

December

15 December 2024. Sunday. Northumberland Line passenger services started, initially serving two of six planned new stations.

2025

March

26 March 2025. Wednesday. Chancellor of the Exchequer presents Spring Forecast which is expected to be accompanied by results of Comprehensive Spending review and Transport Secretary's review of Restoring Your Railway and other projects.

May

1 May 2025. Thursday. UK local elections.


18 May 2025. Sunday. National rail timetable change.


18 May 2025. Sunday. East West Rail services due to start between Oxford and Milton Keynes via Bletchley.

December

14 December 2025. Sunday. National rail timetable change.

2026

May

7 May 2026. Thursday. UK local elections.


17 May 2026. Sunday. National rail timetable change.

17 May 2026. Okehampton Interchange station due to open.

December

13 December 2026. Sunday. National rail timetable change.

2027

May

6 May 2027. Thursday. UK local elections.


16 May 2027. Sunday. National rail timetable change.

December

12 December 2027. Sunday. National rail timetable change.

2028

May

4 May 2028. Thursday. UK local elections.


21 May 2028. Sunday. National rail timetable change.

December

10 December 2028. Sunday. National rail timetable change.


10 December 2028. Sunday. East West Rail services due to start between Bedford and Oxford.

2029

April

1 April 2029. Control Period 8 (2029-34) starts.

May

3 May 2029. Thursday. UK local elections.


20 May 2029. Sunday. National rail timetable change.

December

9 December 2029. Sunday. National rail timetable change.


9 December 2029. Sunday. HS2 'preview' services start between Old Oak Common and
~ Birmingham Curzon Street via Birmingham Interchange (3tph)
~ Liverpool Lime Street via Crewe and Runcorn (1tph)
~ Manchester Piccadilly via Wilmslow and Stockport (1tph)
~ Glasgow Central via Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Preston, and Carlisle (1tph).

2030

May

2 May 2030. Thursday. UK local elections.


19 May 2030. Sunday. National rail timetable change.

December

8 December 2030. Sunday. National rail timetable change.


8 December 2030. Sunday. East West Rail services due to start between Cambridge and Oxford.

2031

May

1 May 2031. Thursday. UK local elections.


18 May 2031. Sunday. National rail timetable change.

December

14 December 2031. Sunday. National rail timetable change.


14 December 2031. Sunday. HS2 services start between London Euston, Old Oak Common and
~ Birmingham Curzon Street via Birmingham Interchange (3tph)
~ Liverpool Lime Street via Crewe and Runcorn, and Lancaster via Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, and Preston (1tph, dividing northbound/joining southbound at Crewe)
~ Liverpool Lime Street via Crewe and Runcorn (1tph)
~ Manchester Piccadilly via Stockport (3tph, of which 1tph also Wilmslow)
~ Glasgow Central via Preston and Carlisle (1tph)
~ Macclesfield via Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent (1tph).