Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Friday, 3rd December 2021
Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Friday, 3rd December 2021
Chiltern Railways, part of the Arriva Group, has been awarded a new six-year contract that includes commitments to continue working towards decarbonising and modernising its fleet and customer experience.
The new contract starts on Friday 31 December and runs until the end of 2027. The contract builds on Chiltern’s track record of investing in trains and stations to attract millions more customers over its current 20 year franchise.
The new contract means Chiltern Railways will continue operating its existing services between London and Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and the West Midlands.
It’s been revealed that the Rail to Refuge programme has helped 2,265 survivors – including 650 children – reach safety.
The scheme offers free train travel to women, children and men fleeing domestic abuse, to get them to a place in refuge.
Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women’s Aid, has praised the industry saying: “It is a lifeline for survivors who would otherwise be trapped in abuse and at a huge increased risk.”
Rail Union RMT says that it has suspended East Midlands Railway strike action by Senior Conductors and Train Managers this weekend to allow for talks on new union proposals.
But it has warned of further action later this month if the dispute isn’t resolved.
Meanwhile strike action takes place on the Night Tube this weekend, with RMT TfL workers walking out for eight hours across Friday and Saturday over working arrangements.
HS2 CEO Mark Thurston pushed the button to start HS2’s tunnel boring machine on its one-mile journey under Long Itchington Wood in Warwickshire, marking the launch of the first TBM on the Midlands section of HS2.
Around 170 engineers have been working on the 2,000 tonne, 125m long TBM during its construction and assembly.
An expert tunnelling team will now work around the clock in shifts to operate the machine for around five months as it excavates the first bore of the one-mile tunnel.
Photo credit: HS2 Ltd
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