Rail jobs, staff issues and training

Mother of girl killed by ‘silent’ train suing Network Rail for breaching its duty of care

15 April 2019Network Rail is being sued by the mother of a teenager who was killed by a ‘silent’ midnight train in Halifax. Milena Gagic, 16, died instantly when she was hit by a night train travelling at 55mph at a level crossing in December 2014...

RAIB launches investigation after ‘vulnerable’ man fell on Metrolink tracks as tram departed

15 April 2019An investigation has been launched after a “vulnerable” passenger fell onto the track on the Manchester Metrolink after the tram he was leaning on pulled away, the RAIB has said. The man, described by the RAIB as “in a vulnerabl...

Unions and MPs protest TOC’s potential £7.5bn funding gap in ‘deadly serious’ rail pensions row

12 April 2019The Pensions Regulator has warned that train operators face a black hole of up to £7.5bn and the RMT has threatened national strike action as the row over rail pensions comes to a head after the DfT blocked Stagecoach’s franchise bids....

Cornwall train with 14 passengers onboard derailed after track jumped to wrong position, RAIB finds

12 April 2019A train with 14 passengers on board derailed at a Cornish station after the points which allow trains to switch between tracks jumped into the wrong position, the RAIB has found. The passenger train was left straddling between two lines as it ent...

Train ‘fortunate’ to avoid collision after breaking through barriers at a level crossing, RAIB reports

11 April 2019The RAIB has published a raft of safety measures after a train ran onto a level crossing and broke through the barriers in what could have been a fatal incident. The engineering train was approaching a level crossing at Penrhyn in Wales on 6 Janu...

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

10 April 2019Stagecoach 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 for the...

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

08 April 2019A 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 Land, a...

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

04 April 2019The 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 lower...

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

02 April 2019A 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 that...

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

29 March 2019Hundreds 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 employees of...

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

29 March 2019Five 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 following...

Transport Select Committee chair Lilian Greenwood visits KeTech

29 March 2019KeTech 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 Committe...

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

28 March 2019The 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 senior ma...

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

25 March 2019Dozens 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 &ldquo...

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

20 March 2019The 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 to be e...