Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Wednesday, 13th September 2023
InTheNews: The latest rail news on Wednesday, 13th September 2023
Derby City Council is seeking talks with train builder Alstom over reports it could be about to lay off workers.
An article on the BBC website says the firm’s Litchurch Lane site is the only UK train factory able to design, build, engineer and test trains for domestic and export markets.
About 2,000 people work at the factory but the firm says its current order book only runs until early 2024.
The council said it was “shocked” to see reports of potential job losses and wanted to give any support it could.
Newspaper reports said the company had been relying on existing orders from HS2 but as these have been pushed back it was now looking to reduce its workforce.
Major work has taken place to connect a new rail to road freight interchange with the West Coast main line.
For the last nine days, Network Rail engineers have worked day and night to allow future freight trains to travel from one of Europe’s busiest mixed-use passenger and freight routes to the new SEGRO logistics park in Northampton.
The work has seen new track, points and signalling systems installed to connect the existing railway to the new sidings at the under-construction freight facility.
Plans to reopen the second entrance to Salisbury Railway Station are being looked at by rail bosses.
An article in the Salisbury Journal says £30,000 has been allocated to the project from South Western Railway’s (SWR) Customer and Communities Improvement Fund with a £25,000 match from Wiltshire Council for a redesign in anticipation of a reopening.
The project was announced in a press release by SWR which also listed details for numerous projects across its service area, including improvements in Berkshire, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Greater London and Surrey.
A train has been named after Devon-born best-selling mystery author Dame Agatha Christie.
An article on the BBC website says the GWR Intercity Express train 802110 was officially named by her grandson Mathew Prichard in a ceremony at Paignton Railway Station.
The ceremony also celebrated the 70th anniversary of her famous play The Mousetrap.
Photo credit: Network Rail
