Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Tuesday, 26th April 2022
InTheNews: The latest rail news on Tuesday, 26th April 2022
More than 40,000 railway workers will start voting today on whether to participate in strikes over jobs and pay.
An article in the Telegraph & Argus says the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said a yes vote among its members could lead to the biggest rail strike in modern history.
The union said Network Rail is planning to cut at least 2,500 safety-critical maintenance jobs as part of a £2 billion reduction in spending, while workers at train operators have been subject to pay freezes and changes to their terms and conditions.
Network Rail’s Tim Shoveller said: “Our railway has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and even as passenger numbers start to recover, we know travel habits and passenger demand have changed and the industry has to change too.”
The Railway Industry Association (RIA) has today published a new rail innovation strategy calling for the sector to be more radical and overcome barriers to innovation, ahead of the transition to Great British Railways (GBR).
The paper, A Railway Innovation Strategy, looks at the state of innovation and R&D in the sector and the barriers to get new products and services into the railways.
It stresses that further collaboration to help businesses get new ideas to market more rapidly, and a culture of innovation, will be key under GBR to make the industry more cost-efficient, sustainable and accessible to passengers.
VolkerFitzpatrick has been appointed by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) to build three railway stations on the Camp Hill line in south Birmingham.
An article on Insider Media Limited says the £61 million scheme will reintroduce passenger train services to Moseley, Kings Heath and Hazelwell for the first time in 80 years.
Design work has started and work on site will begin from November 2022. The stations are expected to be completed next autumn.
Transport for London (TfL) is asking people to give up their seats to those who might need them more, as it marks the fifth anniversary of its ‘Please Offer me a Seat’ badge and the start of Priority Seating Week.
TfL is running a series of events this week to raise awareness of priority seats across the public transport network, which are designed to make travelling easier and more comfortable for people with a range of conditions.
Almost 100,000 badges have been issued to disabled people and those with invisible conditions since its launch in 2017.
Photo credit: Transport for West Midlands
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