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• Biggest package of improvements for passengers travelling to and from London Waterloo for decades
• Better station, extra seats and a fleet of new trains
• 30% increase in peak time passenger capacity by 2019
• Infrastructure investment includes longer platforms for longer trains
• Improved depots for this railway’s biggest ever fleet of trains

Network Rail Consulting, the international consultancy arm of Network Rail, is pleased to announce that Thomas Downs has been appointed as a non-executive director of Network Rail Consulting Ltd and chair of its North American business, Network Rail Consulting Inc.

A 17-year-old schoolgirl from Northamptonshire will have her first year’s university tuition fees paid after landing the top prize in a national competition to encourage more young women to consider a career in IT.

Hundreds of thousands of passengers and freight users are set to benefit from one of the biggest Easter investment programmes ever carried out on Britain’s rail network.

Passengers travelling to the Cheltenham Festival from Birmingham New Street are being urged to allow plenty of time to catch their train - to avoid long faces before the races have even started.

• Apprenticeships fast-track people towards personal and professional goals, Network Rail research shows

• Network Rail boss urges employers, teachers and parents to work together to educate young people about apprenticeships

Network Rail, the owner and operator of Britain’s railway infrastructure, will be assessing interest in its electrical power assets from potential global investors and electricity network operators.