Rail jobs, staff issues and training

Northern Rail to be stripped of franchise

02 January 2020Transport secretary Grant Shapps has said Northern Rail is to be stripped of its franchise following its “unacceptable” performance. This comes off the back of a year of chaos and cancellations across the network, which runs Newcastle...

RMT puts forward settlement to end SWR strike

09 December 2019As the second week of South Western Railway’s safety strike commences, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) has set out a 6-point strategy to a settlement. The plan which was meant to be put forward at renewed AC...

Northamptonshire teens safety film transformed into comic

02 December 2019A new comic book has been produced by Network Rail, based on the safety film ‘18’ with the help of pupils from Kingswood Secondary Academy in Corby. The pupils were visited by Network Rail last summer and took part in safety workshops...

Nexus appoints new Chief Operating Officer

25 November 2019Martin Kearney has been appointed as the new chief operating officer for Nexus, the public body which owns the Tyne and Wear Metro, and wider public transport across the North East. Kearney has over 30 years of public transport experience and cur...

Virgin Trains helping homeless people into work through coffee partnership

22 November 2019Virgin Trains and Change Please has helped 30 homeless people become employed baristas. The train operator joined forces with Change Please back in October 2018 to offer a premium coffee range onboard, with Change Please’s profits from the...

Greater Anglia brings in extra support for busy periods

21 November 2019Office staff at Greater Anglia are being trained to help customers when stations are busy due to big events or disruption. Customer Action Teams, or CATS, are the support team that have been formulated. When needed team members make their way to...

Cardiffians asked for their view on new £120m Cardiff Parkway station

20 November 2019Following the release of new artist’s impressions a public consultation has been launched on the plans for a new mainline train station and buisness park at St Mellons.  The huge project, which could be home to 5,000 staff, takes a mom...

Hull Trains appoints new director ahead of £60m fleet arrival

19 November 2019Hull Trains has made a new appointment, as Anne Somers joins the team as commercial and customer experience director. The appointment comes as a way of strengthening its customer experience, with her roles focussing on listening and responding to...

Greater Anglia frontline staff become the first to receive accessibility awareness training

13 November 2019Greater Anglia has become the first operator in the country to implement accessibility courses that meet the rail regulator’s new standards in light of new rules that come in in 2021 requiring all train operators to undertake such training. ...

Rail Industry Ambassadors set to help shape the future of rail

11 November 2019Young Rail Professionals have announced in support of their mission to promote the rail industry as a great place to work, they’re recruiting Rail Industry Ambassadors to visit schools, colleges and universities and career fairs. In hope of...

Great Western Railway makes Jack’s railway dreams come true

08 November 2019Jack Thompson wished to be a ‘Station Master’ for the day and train operator Great Western Railway (GWR) made it a reality. GWR were approached by children’s charity Make-A-Wish UK, who told them about 12-year-old Jack who was b...

Railway Industry Association finds that more than half expect the rail industry to stagnate

07 November 2019A survey conducted by independent polling company ComRes, on behalf of RIA, the national trade body for rail suppliers, has highlighted concerns about the coming year, as the rail sector faces continued uncertainty. The poll of 174 businesses lea...

Network Rail apprenticeship scheme open

07 November 2019Network Rail is looking for its next generation of rail leaders with a Level 3 Engineering apprenticeship scheme. The three-year course is taking applications from now and will remain open until all places have been filled ready for March 2020 wh...

Network Rail charity partner says workforce mental health is paramount

06 November 2019The Health and Safety Executive’s annual figures for Great Britain, the Managing Director of Mates in Mind, has urged employers to ensure that they are investing in their work force following a recent report. Mates in Mind, who work in coll...

Railway workforce celebrated on #StationsDay today

15 October 2019Today (Oct 15) is #StationDay in the UK, dedicated to celebrating British railways, its stations and the hard-working staff and volunteers who keep it running day after day. A £48bn investment was announced by Government back in 2017 to upg...