Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Friday, 29th July 2022
InTheNews: The latest rail news on Friday, 29th July 2022
Network Rail has started a legal consultation with unions on maintenance reforms it says are needed to modernise the rail industry, one of the issues at the centre of the current strikes.
Around 1,900 fewer jobs would be needed under the proposed reforms.
An article on the BBC website says the company said the plans will also save money that is “necessary for the future of our railway”.
But the RMT union, which has staged strikes over pay and reform proposals, criticised the move.
The reforms have been a key part of the ongoing dispute with the RMT, and this step represents an attempt to push through the changes whether or not the union agrees.
Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have both committed to reversing parts of a watered down plan for rail improvements in the North after the government faced a backlash from regional leaders.
An article on the ITV website says it came as the two Conservative leadership hopefuls travelled to Leeds to face questions from party members at a hustings event last night.
Speaking before the event, Ms Truss said she was committed to building Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) – a new high speed link across the north – if she becomes prime minister.
Meanwhile, Mr Sunak said he wanted to see high-speed trains brought all the way to Leeds under the HS2 project linking London and the North. He also said he would look again at plans for a new station in Bradford.
HS2 Ltd continues to make progress at Euston, as work carries on behind hoardings to make way for Britain’s new high-speed railway.
To create space for the new HS2 station, HS2’s station contractor, Mace Dragados JV (MDjv), has excavated a 20-metre deep ‘box’ that will be home to a new Traction Substation (TSS).
Traction substations are used to convert electrical power to a form suitable for a rail system.
A man from Liverpool has been nominated for a national rail industry award for his life saving response to a customer who had attempted to take their own life at Southport station.
Vinnie O’Brien works as a train presentation operative for Northern at the station and intervened to save the life of the customer – administering first aid until paramedics arrived.
And now, he has been shortlisted in the Outstanding Personal Contribution category of the prestigious National Rail Awards – a scheme which recognises outstanding achievements across Great Britain and rewards individuals and initiatives which demonstrate innovation, measurable improvements and exceptional leadership.
Photo credit: HS2 Ltd
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