In The News | 12th May 2022 | Latest Rail News

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InTheNews: The latest rail news on Thursday, 12th May 2022

Andy Burnham has called for ‘full nationalisation’ of the railways as he backs a union campaign demanding investment in the industry to improve services.

An article in the Manchester Evening News says the Greater Manchester mayor spoke in support of the Invest in Rail campaign by train drivers’ union ASLEF at the People’s History Museum yesterday.

The campaign, which was first launched in January, calls for more investment in rail infrastructure, better train services and a railway network fit for the future. But the Labour mayor went further, saying the railways should be nationalised.

He said: “As far as I’m concerned, we need to go towards full nationalisation and then regional devolution. That has got to be our call – invest in this industry.”

Rail passengers in Scotland could face weeks of disruption on Sundays in a union pay dispute.

An article on the BBC website says ScotRail, which was nationalised last month, had been relying on overtime working on Sundays due to delays in training new drivers.

Last Sunday driver shortages affected 110 services across the country.

Aslef denied suggestions that drivers had staged unofficial strike action but it has now balloted its members after rejecting a 2.2 per cent pay offer.

A train journey departing from Glasgow has been named among the ‘world’s most incredible rail journeys’ by CNN Travel.

An article on Glasgow Live says the multi-national broadcaster has published a new list of amazing trips every rail adventurer needs to cross off their to-do list – with the West Highland Line, which runs from Glasgow Queen Street to Mallaig, featuring in their top 10.

About the train route, CNN travel wrote: “Regularly topping the charts as the world’s favourite scenic rail journey, the outstanding West Highland Railway Line is a ‘greatest hits’ of the best landscapes Scotland has to offer.”

A new railway freight carriage has been unveiled, from an unlikely of creators.

An article in i news features an article about songwriter Bob Dylan’s largest ever sculpture – a railway freight carriage, created from a staggering seven tonnes of iron.

The sculpture, named Rail Car, is the latest in Dylan’s catalogue of welded metal artworks and was created from iron wheels, cycle parts and tools.

Photo credit: Danny Longhorn

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