Consultants charged with proving the case for the MetroWest service to Henbury have settled for a simple turnback solution, failing to grasp the opportunities which a Henbury loop could create.

The first small steps in our programme to develop the Wealden Line from a sleepy Uckfield branch into a second main line to the Sussex Coast are underway.

Mockup of new Lea Bridge station

Plans for the re-opening of the Portishead railway line, as part of the first phase of the MetroWest transport project, are now open for public consultation - a major step forward for Railfuture campaigning.

Lancashire County Council is forging ahead with plans to connect Skelmersdale town centre to the rail network.

Buried in the budget papers today is the statement that the government will provide £100,000 for a further study into reopening the Lewes to Uckfield rail line. This is a major success for our campaign - we will work to steer the scope of the study to capture all the potential benefits.

Railfuture travelled on the first Javelin, glimpsed at Hastings on Friday with Amber Rudd and Rail Minister Claire Perry, to celebrate progress towards electrification of Marshlink and a high speed service between Bexhill, Hastings, Rye, Ashford and London St Pancras.

On the last day of the consultation period for the Network Rail Sussex Route Study Railfuture joined with local parliamentary candidates, councillors and rail campaigners in a Rail Rally at Crowborough station to press for better services and more investment for the Uckfield line.

Nus Ghani and Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative parliamentary candidates for Wealden and for Tonbridge and Malling, met with Chris Page and Roger Blake of Railfuture today, after visiting the Thameslink worksite at London Bridge.

The Portishead Railway Group has published this thermometer to show progress on reopening the line to Portishead as part of the MetroWest programme.

Hard-pressed commuters across northern England would get 44 modern Southern diesel carriages to relieve crowding as soon as two short routes in Kent and East Sussex are electrified. Photo from Twitter.

The East Anglia branch of Railfuture will fund a local leaflet drop later this year to win public support for reopening the railway line between Cambridge and Colchester via Haverhill.