Senior members of the All Party Parliamentary Rail Group (APPG) visited the ETCS (European Train Control System) National Integration Facility (ENIF) to learn about Network Rail’s Digital Railway Programme and test Hitachi’s ETCS driving simulator.

Trains between Manchester and Bolton will be travelling at full speed through Farnworth Tunnel this week after engineering work took place over the weekend, paving the way for an electrified railway.

Job seekers are encouraged to apply early as Network Rail’s popular and award-winning Advanced Apprenticeship scheme opens for applications.  Network Rail is looking to recruit 150 apprentices nationwide as it continues to deliver its £38bn Railway Upgrade Plan. Last year, it received more than 3,500 applications for the scheme. Apprentices will be part of the 20,000-strong orange army of front line engineers and technicians who fix and maintain the rail infrastructure, enabling 1.6 billion journeys every year.

With temperatures dropping across Britain and snow on the ground in many places this morning, Network Rail’s orange army are working round the clock to keep tracks clear of sleet, snow and ice so passengers aren’t affected by unnecessary delays.

Visitors to London King’s Cross and Liverpool Lime Street stations will be able to enjoy some of the classic images taken by renowned rock photographer, Denis O’Regan, as he brings his ‘Rock Through The Ages’ exhibition showcasing music legends of the 60s, 70s and 80s to the stations for a month from today (14 January 2016) .

• Christmas retail sales inside the new station were 63% higher than 2014
• Office construction in Birmingham is growing at the fastest rate in 13 years
• The station welcomed around 5m people during December, five times the population of the city

Network Rail has appointed Susan Cooklin as its new route services director and joins the company’s executive team.  Ms Cooklin was previously group chief information officer (CIO) and director shared services, leading the company’s 900-strong IT and shared services unit.

A new approach to railway engineering this Christmas has helped reduce delays for passengers and saved taxpayer-funded Network Rail hundreds of thousands of pounds by allowing trains to run at high speed after Network Rail’s recent £150m Christmas engineering programme.