Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Friday, 20th October 2023
InTheNews: The latest rail news on Friday, 20th October 2023
Uprooted trees and flooding are causing travel chaos by road and rail as storm Babet sweeps Britain.
ScotRail says that until early tomorrow there will be no trains or replacement buses on routes including Aberdeen and Elgin, Edinburgh and Aberdeen via Fife, Dunblane and Perth, Perth and Aviemore, and all Fife Circle services.
An article on the Swindon Advertiser says all of Swindon’s train lines have been blocked by flooding as a result of heavy overnight rainfall.
More details of all the affected journeys in Scotland and England can be found on the National Rail website.
Britain’s least reliable train firms have been named and shamed in the latest round of transport statistics – with one operator cancelling almost one in 10 journeys across four weeks.
An article in the Mail Online says official figures collated by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) show Grand Central cancelled 9.4 per cent of all journeys in the four weeks to September 16.
Sean English, chief operating officer for Grand Central said: “The period measured was a challenging time for us. We had a number of trains stood down for repair to defects, or damage caused by circumstances out of our control. This resulted in a number of short-term timetable changes.
“Going forward, the position is improving. We have reduced the level of cancellations through trains being repaired and back into service, and we have secured the lease of several additional trains, enhancing our overall availability, improving our performance and providing a more reliable timetable for our customers.”
Train passengers are facing another six months of potential strikes, after members of the RMT union voted for further industrial action.
An article on the BBC website says the dispute with rail companies has been going on for nearly 18 months already, with workers calling for better job security, pay and conditions.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said the vote provided a “decisive mandate”.
There was a 63.6 per cent turnout, with 89.9 per cent voting in favour.
Train operator TransPennine Express has announced it will cut services to improve punctuality and reliability.
The government-controlled firm said services between Leeds and Manchester would be reduced from four to three per hour during off-peak times.
It will mean the company runs 300 services a day instead of 320.
Managing director Chris Jackson said the temporary change would clear the backlog of driver training and put the firm on a more “stable” footing.
Photo credit: TransPennine Express
