Trains

ALL-NIGHT train services to a major UK airport will begin next month.

The roll out of a new rail timetable will connect travellers to the UK’s third busiest airport all through the night.

Eight overnight trains will go between Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly.

Beginning from May 17, night trains are expected to run roughly every hour between the city and the airport.

The TransPennine Express (TPE) services are being put in place as part of a timetable shakeup.

It’s hoped it will better connect passengers making journeys to and from Manchester Airport in the late night and early morning.

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Andrew McClements, customer experience and transformation director at TPE, said, “We’re pleased to be introducing services that give customers more choice, added flexibility, and an improved overall experience when travelling with us.”

Other changes to the TPE timetable will see an update to 08.05am weekday services between Leeds and Manchester Piccadilly come into place.

The regular service will begin to call at Dewsbury.

This is to help commuters and students with early morning commutes and to better connect them to the city.

TPE is also urging customers to check their usual routes to see if they have been impacted by the timetable changes.

It said, “Although most of our services are unchanged, we encourage customers to take a moment to check any journeys they make regularly.”

Host cities may have made a commitment to provide transport to games at the usual cost, but the prices in New Jersey and Foxborough go far beyond that.

Not all cities are the same, however.

Free shuttles, external are being offered in Arlington from Centerport Station, and Kansas is charging $15, external (£11) for a return bus to the stadium from four pick-up points.

Philadelphia has said the usual fare of $2.90, external (£2) will remain in place across the six games in the city.

Concannon added that as more high prices are announced, “this sort of stuff is starting to not surprise us”.

“Every single thing coming out of this tournament so far is just fans getting fleeced,” he added.

“With there being no concessionary prices that’s obviously going to impact families, senior concessions as well.

“Who knows what even a pint of beer is going to cost in the normal bars? What’s food going to be like? And then there’s obviously the tipping culture.

“Costs are just getting higher and higher and higher.”

The prices in New Jersey and Foxborough will hit both England and Scotland fans.

The Three Lions take on Ghana in Foxborough on 23 June, and then head to the MetLife to face Panama on 27 June.

Steve Clarke’s Scotland have two games in Foxborough, against Haiti on 13 June and Morocco on 19 June.

Scotland’s third match, against Brazil, is in Miami – and there is still no information on how fans are being transported to fixtures at Hard Rock Stadium.

The cost of parking at stadiums is also very high, with a space at the MetLife costing $225 (£166). Foxborough is priced at $175 (£129) for one car.

“We’ve already seen England fans putting buses on independently run to get to the game in Foxborough from Boston and Providence,” Concannon said.

“England fans are very, very good at looking after each other and working a way to get there as cheaply as they possibly can.

“But this just hasn’t been made easy – again. All this shouldn’t be something that England fans are having to worry about.

“It just goes to show that the organisation hasn’t been great.”

Last week, Fifa put on sale a new batch of tickets under ‘Front Category 1’ and ‘Front Category 2’.

The seats were in the first rows of lower sections and up to three times the price of a regular Category 1 ticket.

As has been the case throughout the sales process, there was no prior warning that these tickets existed or when they would go on sale. Fifa would not comment on its ticket sales policy.

“It’s not a surprise that these things are getting rolled out and ultimately trying to make as much money as possible,” Concannon added.

“And again, it’s just a shame. It’s a real shame to see.”

A FIRST look at an exciting new train station that will link two world-famous English cities has been revealed.

East West Rail (EWR) is behind the plans for the new station as well as the new line, which will connect Oxford and Cambridge.

According to EWR, a new entrance on Clifton Road will make the station both “more convenient to access” as well as “more attractive for residents and local businesses.”

It will also accommodate about 40 per cent of commuters, significantly reducing congestion in the station at peak times of travel.

A lot of consideration has gone into the project so far, with over 80 alterations already having been made to the plan’s initial proposal.

The new Cambridge station is just one part of broader project being undertaken which will cost a whopping £6.7billion.

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On Tuesday an eight-week consultation into the project shall begin as part of the final phases to obtain building permission.

Once granted, work shall officially be able to begin in 2027.

EWR estimate that the Cambridge station would then be up and running by the middle of 2030.

As well as the Cambridge station, EWR has proposed a new location for a station in Cambourne, Cambridgeshire.

This would allow for more development in the area, and would be located on St. Neots Road.

Councillor Judy Roberts, cabinet member for Place, Environment and Climate Action on Oxfordshire County Council, previously said: “We welcome the continued commitment from the government to progress East West Rail through to Cambridge.”

She added: “East West Rail effectively provides a ‘backbone’ for developing a wider regional integrated sustainable transport network.

“And it will be important that Oxfordshire works with those on the scheme to provide high-quality first mile/last mile connectivity from key stations along the route.

“It will also be important to maximise the benefits of development for East West Rail through delivering economic, social and environmental benefits, as well as onward rail connections, for example to Swindon and Bristol.”

ONE of Britain’s biggest airports is set to get new overnight trains that’ll provide transport for thousands of passengers a year.

The new service will connect late night arrivals and early morning departures from the airport to stations across the line, meaning more passengers can travel sustainably.

Great Western Railway (GWR) has announced it will be trialling overnight train services between Reading and Gatwick Airport.

Currently, over 20% of Gatwick passengers can’t use rail services from the Thames Valley due to the earliest and latest trains excluding many flight times.

But the trial will enable thousands of passengers to use rail transport on their journey to the airport.

Current services only run between 4:30am and 11:30pm, leaving a big gap for commuters and holidaymakers trying to get to the airport.

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GWR said: “We’re very pleased to announce that through partnering with Gatwick Airport, this summer we will trial overnight services between Reading and the airport along the North Downs Line.

“The trial will involve GWR running overnight services on Friday and Sunday nights from 5 June to 11 September 2026.

“Services will run approximately every 2 hours and will call at Reading, Wokingham, Guildford, Dorking Deepdene, Reigate, Redhill and Gatwick Airport.”

The trial means the rail company can measure passenger numbers and work out whether overnight services work operationally and commercially.

If it is successful, the new service hours will mean late night and early morning flight passengers across the network can travel by rail whilst making it easier for shift workers to commute.

THE North Norfolk Fryer is returning to the tracks this summer.

Onboard, passengers can enjoy chippy tea and ice cream dessert to make it feel like being at the seaside – but on a heritage steam train instead.

The Norfolk Fryer picks passengers up from Sheringham Station in Norfolk and embarks on a 90-minute return journey to Holt.

Onboard, guests will be served up local fish and chips – and to finish, a tub of Ronaldo’s ice cream.

There’s also a bar onboard for anyone wanting to enjoy a tipple.

The trains run from Sheringham to Holt and back with the return journey taking around 90 minutes.

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Diners will get to enjoy their chippy tea and countryside views in either the Gresley Buffet Car, which has been fully restored with a 1930s art deco interior or in one of the 1950s British Railways carriages.

A table for two in First Class starts from £87.50 while a table for two in regular seating is £79.50.

There are also options to sit in tables of three or four if you fancy gong as a group.

Seats are bound to go quickly and you’ll need to book in advance on their website.

The trains set off every Wednesday from April 1, 2026 at 6.30PM.

There are other experiences onboard too from sausage and mash dinners, to brunch, cream tea and even gin trains.

For even more fish and chips, fans of the seaside classic should head up to Whitby.

Here you’ll find Trenchers, which was awarded ‘Restaurant of the Year’ title at the National Fish and Chips Awards 2026.

The awards are considered the ‘Oscars’ of the fish and chip industry and at this spot you can eat in or take away their seaside fish suppers.

You can opt for plaice with chipped potatoes, lemon and homemade tartare sauce for £20.95.

Or try out the cod with chipped potatoes, lemon and homemade tartare sauce in three sizes: small for £15.95; medium for £19.95 and large for £21.95.

Then for takeaway, you could grab cod and chips, haddock and chips or scampi and chips all for £13.50 each.

There’s a children’s menu too.

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With a history of sailors and vampires, a dramatic coastal path, and the very best in pints and scampi, it takes a lot to beat Whitby. Pop in the amusements, eat award-winning fish and chips, and board the all-singing Captain Cook boat tour on the harbour. The Royal Hotel overlooks the harbour with stays from just £68 per room.

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Iran will play two friendly matches in Turkiye as they prepare for the FIFA World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.

Iran’s men’s football team have been training in southern Turkiye as they ⁠prepare for two ⁠upcoming friendly matches before the FIFA World Cup, where the squad are likely to attract heightened attention against the backdrop of the United States-Israel ⁠war on Iran.

Team Melli held a training session in Belek, a resort area near the Mediterranean city of Antalya, with tightly restricted media access as officials ⁠said they wanted to avoid distractions before the matches described as critical to their World Cup preparations.

Iran’s football federation is in discussions with world governing body FIFA about moving its World Cup matches to Mexico from the US due ‌to concerns over player safety, federation President Mehdi Taj said last week.

Iran’s camp has largely sought to keep a low public profile as the team builds towards the World Cup, where they are expected to face intense political and media scrutiny.

In Belek, no interviews with players or coaches were made available, and a team media representative said the squad were focused entirely ⁠on their immediate competitive programme.

Iran will play two matches ⁠in Antalya, against Nigeria on Friday and Costa Rica on Tuesday.

The friendlies were originally scheduled to take place in Jordan, but were moved to Turkiye following the outbreak of the war on Iran.

The ⁠players appeared relaxed during the session in sunny conditions, with staff and players at times chatting and joking.

Among those ⁠present was forward Mehdi Taremi, who has been ⁠in the spotlight in recent days after swapping shirts with an Israeli opponent while playing for his club Olympiacos in Greece.

Striker Sardar Azmoun was omitted from the squad after posting a picture on ‌his Instagram feed of a meeting with Dubai’s ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Iranian media reported that Azmoun, who has scored 57 goals in 91 internationals, ‌had ‌been expelled from the national team for a perceived act of disloyalty to the government.

TWO towns are back on the railway map for the first time in 60 years after new stations finally opened.

New stops have welcomed passengers again following a massive £185million project to restore long-lost rail links across the West Midlands.

Willenhall and Darlaston stations now sit on the line between Shrewsbury and Birmingham New Street via Wolverhampton — giving locals a direct route into the city.

The first train pulled in early on Thursday morning, marking the end of decades without rail services.

Both stations were shut in 1965 during the infamous Beeching cuts, when more than 2,000 stations across the UK were shut down.

Services will now run roughly every hour on weekdays and Saturdays, with no trains stopping there on Sundays.

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Commuters can expect to pay around £8.90 for a peak return from Willenhall to Birmingham, or £6.40 off-peak, while Darlaston passengers will pay slightly less.

From Darlaston, a peak return costs £8 and an off-peak ticket is £5.90.

The stations come with lifts, shelters, ticket machines and cycle racks, plus parking for 300 cars at Darlaston and 33 at Willenhall.

Pat McFadden, the MP for Wolverhampton South East which covers Willenhall, used the new trains recently, describing them as “clean, modern and easy to use”.

He added: “This is going to save people a massive amount of time. It’s going to enable people to take up jobs they probably couldn’t have taken up.

“It’s a transport boost, it’s a morale boost and it’s an economic boost to both towns.”

Walsall Council leader Mike Bird said the openings are “a major milestone for communities and a real boost for the borough’s future”.