Rail compensation to be paid in vouchers

Compensation for people affected by the building of the High Speed 2 railway line from London to Birmingham are to be paid in railway vouchers rather than cash. Moreover, the total compensation will be issued in one voucher for which change will not be given. For instance, someone compensated £100,000 because they cannot sell their home could use the voucher to enjoy a £66.20 cheap day return from London to Manchester but would have to forego the £99,933.80 change. This is in line with existing railway compensation policy.

New trains to use electronic livery

The new trains being planned as part of the Intercity Express Programme to replace existing Intercity 125 (HST, Class 43) and 225 (Class 91) fleets on the British rail network will be fitted with an electronic skin instead of conventional paint or transfers. The system, similar to the electronic paper used on Amazon's Kindle or electronic billboards, is being implemented in order to make large financial savings on the East Coast Main Line route. It will remove the necessity for the train operating companies (TOCs) to partially re-paint the fleet each time an operator goes bust and is replaced. Instead, the train driver will be able to start the train in the morning, check the day's roster to see what company he or she is working for that morning, and change the logo and livery accordingly. It can even be changed mid-journey: a new system of signals is being piloted at York station to update drivers if the franchise has been transferred since they left London or Edinburgh.