Rail jobs, staff issues and training

‘Shocked’ Stagecoach disqualified from three rail franchise bids in row over pensions

10.04.19: Stagecoach has accused ministers of putting the future of the UK rail industry in doubt and said it is “extremely concerned” after the DfT has barred it from three rail franchise bids. The DfT said that Stagecoach’s bids f...

University buys land for ‘game-changing’ high-speed rail institute in Leeds

08.04.19: A 10-acre plot of land has been acquired by the University of Leeds in order to build a brand-new Institute for High Speed Rail and System Integration which will be co-located with HS2 eastern leg’s rolling stock depot. Aire Valley La...

RAIB to investigate lorry’s near miss with train at level crossing

04.04.19: The RAIB has launched an investigation after a passenger train came close to a collision with a lorry that had become trapped at a level crossing. The cement mixer lorry drove onto the crossing at Mucking in Essex just as the barriers began...

HS2 workers win £1m in back pay after ‘underpayment scandal’

02.04.19: A HS2 contractor has agreed to back pay over £1m to hundreds of its construction workers after Unite claimed they were being “systematically denied” their entitled holiday and agreed overtime pay. Last week it was reported...

‘Absolutely scandalous’: union claims HS2 workers denied holiday and overtime pay

29.03.19: Hundreds of staff working on the London Euston station for HS2 are being “systematically denied” their entitled holiday and agreed overtime pay, according to Unite union. Unite said it had received multiple payslips from employe...

Five Caledonian Sleeper staff quit after reporting for work following drinking sessions

29.03.19: Five Caledonian Sleeper staff have left the operator after they were caught turning up to work after drinking in two separate incidents. The staff, who worked on-board the new sleeper services between London and Scotland, were suspended fol...

Transport Select Committee chair Lilian Greenwood visits KeTech

29.03.19: KeTech had the pleasure of welcoming Lilian Greenwood, MP for Nottingham South and Chair of the Transport Select Committee to their Nottingham site last Friday. Greenwood has spent the past nine years as the chair of the Transport Select Co...

ORR could cut Network Rail managers’ bonuses as new regulatory policies introduced

28.03.19: The ORR is to introduce new regulations to hold Network Rail to account by targeting the areas that have the most serious impact on passengers and funders. The new regulatory policy will be introduced for the start of CP6, and could see sen...

Failings found as passengers on stranded train walk on live track in ‘potentially lethal’ incident, RAIB says

25.03.19: Dozens of passengers left “increasingly uncomfortable” on a stranded train at Lewisham left their train and walked along icy tracks still open to traffic, a “shocking” RAIB report has revealed. The RMT stated it was...

Crossrail delays to cost businesses £600m as TfL reports half a billion pound deficit

20.03.19: The delayed opening and financial chaos around Crossrail are to cost businesses and developers up to £600m, as TfL announces a budget deficit of £500m – nearly half that of original estimates. A levy on business rates is t...

RDG calls for new regulator to stop railway ‘being used as a political football’

19.03.19: The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) has called for a new organisation to regulate the railway and replace the ORR in order to stop the railway “being used as a political football.” Responding to the government’s call for submiss...

Safety warning issued after runaway road-rail vehicle raises concerns over brake maintenance and ‘inadequate supervision’

15.03.19: The RAIB has issued new safety recommendations after a road rail vehicle (RRV) ran downhill and out of control along a track for 340 metres. During works at Bradford Interchange station, a mobile elevating working platform ran away whilst i...

GTR fined record £5m for ‘persistent and prolonged failures’ in May timetable chaos

14.03.19: Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has been fined a record £5m for its role in last year’s May timetable chaos. The ORR criticised the train operator for “persistent and prolonged failures” in informing passengers as the...

DB Cargo fined £2.7m as electrocuted boy suffers ‘life-changing injuries’

13.03.19: DB Cargo UK has been fined £2.7m after a 13-year-old boy suffered “life-changing injuries” at a Tyneside depot, with the rail firm found guilty of “systematic failings.” The boy had to have both of his legs amp...

Are you an apprentice or provider in the rail industry? We want to hear from you…

13.03.19: Last week was National Apprenticeship Week (NAW), celebrating the positive impact apprenticeships make not just on the individual apprentices themselves, but also the companies and wider economy and industry they serve in. The theme this ye...