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The Queen has officially reopened the transformed Birmingham New Street station.

Network Rail has today announced that it is halfway through the delivery of the £2.3bn investment programme to improve the existing railway for the Crossrail programme.

The vast majority of the rail network is up and running after Storm Barney swept across Britain on Tuesday, but scores of Network Rail’s orange army have worked throughout the night and into this morning to repair damage to overhead power lines caused by fallen trees.

New retail sales results from Network Rail’s managed stations revealed that 63.2 million people – almost equivalent to the entire UK population – visited a station retailer between July and September, pushing up sales by 4.47% compared to the same period last year.

With strong winds and heavy rain forecast across much of Britain over the coming days, Network Rail staff continue to work round the clock to keep Britain’s railway tracks clear and safe so passengers aren’t affected by unnecessary delays. 

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

The important role played by the railway and the women who helped keep it running during World War I is told in an exhibition which can be seen by visitors to Network Rail’s Manchester Piccadilly station until 11 December.