In The News | 20th January 2023 | Latest Rail News

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InTheNews: The latest rail news on Friday, 20th January 2023

Train operating companies have made a ‘best and final offer’ to the RMT union in a bid to end strikes.

An article in the Metro says the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said it included a minimum pay rise of nine per cent over two years and no compulsory redundancies until at least the end of December 2024.

Voluntary working arrangements on Sundays would be formalised under the offer, which does not mention the contentious issue of expanding driver-only trains.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said the union’s executive will consider the offer and decide its next steps ‘in due course’.

The UK’s first electric-only rail freight operator has started moving parcels between Scotland and the Midlands.

An article in the Evening Standard says Varamis Rail is using fully electric former passenger trains converted to carry freight in response to the growing demand for next day deliveries of goods bought online.

Varamis Rail said its trains can reach 100mph, with journeys between Mossend freight terminal, near Glasgow and Birmingham International scheduled to take just under five hours.

Work to repair a landslip in north Hampshire that’s left the train line suspended in mid-air will take place this weekend.

An article on Greatest Hits Radio says South Western Railway (SWR) say they hope that will mean the return of some services from Weymouth and through Dorset, direct to London, albeit with severely reduced frequency.

Track and signalling changes will take place over the weekend, to increase the capacity of the lines that are still intact there.

More than 60 national and international rail industry professionals have been treated to a sneak preview of some of the new technology Northern has been pioneering as part of its Intelligent Trains programme.

Representatives from Network Rail, Jacobs, Atkins, Porterbrook, Angel and Eversholt were among those that joined Northern for a special return trip from Manchester Victoria to Bradford Interchange on Monday (16 January).

The journey took place on a Class 150 train that has been kitted out with LIDAR horizon scanning cameras – the same used by NASA to map the surface of the moon – a radar dome, 180-degree thermal imaging software, acoustic monitors, a G-Shock Bogie and an AI camera.

Photo credit: Network Rail

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