Rail jobs, staff issues and training

RAIB to investigate LNER train which broke speed limit by 100mph

28.11.18: A LNER train travelling at 120mph on a section of track with an emergency speed restriction of 20mph is being investigated by the RAIB. The Aberdeen to London King’s Cross service went through the Sandy South Junction in Bedfordshire...

RAIB, ORR and BTP all launch investigations after rail worker is killed by train

22.11.18: The ORR, RAIB and the BTP have all launched investigations after a railway worker died when he was struck by a train at Stoats Nest Junction, Surrey, in the early hours of 6 November. The RAIB said it is trying to discover why the worker wa...

Rail minister launches strategy for grassroots community rail projects

16.11.18: Rail minister Andrew Jones has urged train operators to commit resources into new and existing community rail projects as he launched the 2018 Community Rail Strategy. Jones, who returned to the role of transport minister on Tuesday followi...

Talgo names Fife as the chosen site of its first UK train factory

14.11.18: Spanish train manufacturer Talgo has revealed that is new train-building factory will be built at Longannet in Fife, bringing more than 1,000 jobs to Scotland. Talgo will build its first UK manufacturing base at the site of a decommissioned...

Crossrail contractors in row over overtime pay

14.11.18: A pay row has broken out over overtime payments for contractors working on the Elizabeth Line as it raced to get the project finished on time. TfL and Crossrail are said to be questioning bills from contracts after workers undertook overnig...

‘Broken’ rail complaints system failing to deal with passengers effectively or even with ‘basic courtesy’

14.11.18: The rail complaints system is “broken” and train companies are failing to deal with passenger complaints effectively or even with “basic courtesy,” new analysis has revealed. An investigation by Which? found that les...

Challenging the perceptions of rail

13.11.18: Darren Caplan, chief executive of the Rail Industry Association (RIA) explains how the RIA Rail Fellowship Programme is challenging people’s view of rail.  We are living in an age of significant public cynicism about rail. The ti...

Crystal balls for Brexit

06.11.18: Neil Robertson, chief executive of NSAR, starts a frank conversation about Brexit. Have you noticed how it is almost impossible to have a sensible debate on the impacts of Brexit? The rules seem to be: take a firm, preferably dogmatic, posi...

HS2 engineering consultancy relocates to new £7m Birmingham headquarters

06.11.18: The engineering company responsible of the redesign and delivery of HS2’s Curzon Street Station has completed its relocation into its new £7m Birmingham headquarters. WSP, a global engineering consultancy, moved over 700 staff f...

RSSB appoints two new directors in bid to become more customer and business focused

06.11.18: Two new directors have joined the Rail Safety and Standards Board as the company says it wants to become more customer and business focused. Caroline Fawcett, who has over 25 years in marketing and customer experience roles, joins the board...

Watchdog forced to postpone closure of London Overground ticket offices after ‘unprecedented and overwhelming’ response

24.10.18: The closure of 51 London Overground ticket offices has been put on hold by London TravelWatch after a campaign by the RMT union. The watchdog was forced to temporarily suspended the plans after they received over 7,500 objections from passe...

Inclusive rail training guide to help remove barriers around learning

10.10.18: Network Rail have released a new guide to inclusivity in rail in a bid to establish best practice, standards, and guidelines to inclusive training. The ‘everyone matters guide to inclusive learning’ handbook looks at establishin...

Talgo announces shortlist for first UK base and 1,000 new jobs

09.10.18: Talgo has announced that a Welsh port is in the running to be the Spanish train manufacturer’s first UK base, potentially creating up to 1,000 jobs. Mostyn Port in Flintshire has been shortlisted, as reported by the BBC, alongside thr...

Role models need to promote rail careers ‘in an incredibly different way’

09.10.18: Everyone in the rail industry needs to be doing more to attract and inspire the next generation of professionals – and they all have to do it in an “incredibly different way.” Those are the views of the leaders who took pa...

ORR appoints interim chief executive to replace Whitehall-bound boss

03.10.18: The rail regulator has announced its interim chief executive to replace Joanna Whittington as she moves into a government role. The ORR has appointed John Larkinson, current director of Railway Markets and Economics, as interim chief execut...