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Three Network Rail employees have been recognised in the New Year’s Honours list, published on 31 December.

• Vast majority of the rail network – over 95% – will be open for business as usual for passengers looking to travel by train over Christmas and New Year
• Most upgrade works planned for when passenger trains aren’t running – such as overnight, Christmas Day and Boxing Day – to minimise disruption. But some routes will be affected by the essential works taking place, so passengers should plan ahead
• Passengers – who must wear a face covering in busy indoor settings unless they are exempt – can continue to travel with confidence this Christmas

Network Rail is unveiling the nation’s most breath-taking landscapes from this year’s prestigious Landscape Photographer of the Year competition, in a free exhibition that will tour Britain’s biggest and busiest stations.

Network Rail has produced a guide to help autistic people confidently and independently travel by train. It’s been developed in partnership with the National Autistic Society, after research was conducted with groups that represent passengers with specific needs, to look into additional ways the railway could be made more accessible for everyone.

Network Rail has been announced as the winner of this year’s Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) Disability Confident Award, demonstrating its commitment to becoming a more diverse and inclusive employer for all.

Network Rail’s leaders have pledged to increase the number of disabled people they employ after figures showed that less than 3% of their 44,000-strong workforce has declared a disability or long-term health condition.

• New rail industry safety educational programme – Switched On - for children aged from 3 to 16 years launched.
• Full of interactive, age-targeted resources, Switched On aims to educate children and young people to use the railway safely and avoid risky behaviour.
• Programme launches as shocking new CCTV footage is released showing young girls doing handstands on a level crossing in Nottinghamshire.

• Over 16,000 people from 600 organisations took part in Rail Wellbeing Live 2021, the rail industry’s biggest event dedicated to health and wellbeing
• Fearne Cotton, Jason Fox, Rebecca Adlington and Paul Merson were among this year’s celebrity speakers
• All sessions are free to view online on-demand until Thursday 2 December.