In The News | 23rd August 2021 | Latest Rail News

Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Monday, 23rd August 2021

The latest rail news on Monday, 23rd August 2021

An article in The Guardian says all summer, leaks from Whitehall have suggested the government is likely to ditch plans to extend the high-speed rail to Leeds.

The latest, in the Sunday Mirror, quoted an anonymous source as saying that halting the eastern leg would save £40 billion.

The Department for Transport denied a decision had been made, saying the much-delayed integrated rail plan will “soon” outline the way ahead for major rail projects.

Transport for Wales (TfW) is continuing to push ahead with transformational plans for the South Wales Metro with major work to be undertaken in the Cynon Valley in late summer.

The railway line between Aberdare and Pontypridd will be closed between Saturday 28 August and Sunday 12 September to allow heavy engineering work to take place, as part of preparations for the introduction of brand new electric tram-trains.

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The rail union RMT has said it will consider strike action over the threat of legionella bacteria found on Thameslink trains.

That’s according to an article on the BBC website that says trace amount of legionella were found in seven toilets on four trains.

Thameslink said the toilets had been drained and bleached out and said there was “no recorded case of anyone, ever, contracting legionella from a train”.

The rail industry is today launching a national campaign across Britain, in partnership with the charity Crimestoppers and British Transport Police, to tackle sexual harassment by ensuring people understand what constitutes such behaviour.

The campaign will also inform people of the action they can take to report sexual harassment if they witness it and thereby help to combat it.

Jacqueline Starr, Chief Executive of the Rail Delivery Group, said: “Every form of sexual harassment is serious and actions like leering, sitting unnecessarily close or making sexual comments are unacceptable on our railway and in wider society.”

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Photo credit: Transport for Wales

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