In The News | 10th April 2024 | Latest Rail News

Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Wednesday, 10th April 2024.

InTheNews: The latest rail news on Wednesday, 10th April 2024

From Carlisle to Brighton, Network Rail’s £4bn, 10-year signalling plan will change the face of Britain’s railway, with modern equipment bringing greater reliability across the country through a mixture of traditional signalling and digital control.

Six companies have been awarded contracts for the provision of conventional and digital signalling services under its Train Control Systems Framework. The framework runs from 2024 until 2034 and is worth £4bn (£3bn = digital signalling and £1bn = conventional signalling).

The contracts have been awarded over two lots:
Lot 1: Conventional signalling to Alstom, AtkinsRealis, Hitachi, Siemens
Lot 2 – Digital signalling (using European Train Control System technology) Alstom, AtkinsRealis and CAF, Siemens, Thales and VolkerRail

London Underground passengers today endured a fresh strike by customer service managers which could see stations across the network close at ‘very short notice’.

An article on the Mail Online says members of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) who are responsible for running the stations are walking out today and tomorrow in a dispute over pay.

The TSSA had threatened that ‘many’ stations could shut today due to staffing issues – and by 7am today, six were listed as closed due to staff unavailability: Bermondsey; Caledonian Road; Goodge Street; Manor House; Pimlico; and Russell Square.

A rare opportunity to carry out inspections and maintenance at Birmingham New Street while there were no trains running has meant passengers will have more reliable journeys in future.

While industrial action meant there were no trains through the station last Friday (5 April), Network Rail’s engineers utilised the time and train-free access to carry out inspections, repairs and maintenance.

Overhead power lines were inspected and assessed ahead of re-tensioning work later this month. With some of the overhead wires dating back to the mid-1960s it’s vital to maintain the equipment in advance of summer to help prevent sagging during spells of hot weather.

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A Derbyshire railway line will be restored after hundreds of donations from the public and an anonymous cash injection of £10,000.

An article on the BBC website says the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway has reached its £30,000 fundraising target which was set up to restore services to Duffield Station after a landslip.

The track near the southern end of the line will be moved three meters to the left to avoid the landslip and make it safe for trains to run on.

Chairman Neil Ferguson-Lee said “every one of those donations has counted, it’s absolutely fantastic”.

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