Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Friday, 5th April 2024.
InTheNews: The latest rail news on Friday, 5th April 2024
London Underground strikes due to start on Monday have been called off, a union has announced.
An article on City A.M. says Aslef, which represents train and tube drivers in the UK, had planned two rolling 24 hour strikes on Monday 8 April and Saturday 4 May.
But after intense backroom discussions with Transport for London officials this week, both days of action will no longer go ahead.
Meanwhile, a major round of industrial action has begun today and will cause disruption on National Rail services over the next month, as train drivers strike in a dispute over pay and conditions.
Commuters are facing rush hour travel disruption after a freight train derailed between Reading and London Paddington, with services cancelled or delayed.
An article on The Independent says the freight train was derailed around West Ealing, west London, on the line running westward to Reading, reportedly before 6.30am.
A statement from Great Western Railway read: “Due to a derailed train between Reading and London Paddington some lines are blocked.”
Talks between politicians on the future of the Hitachi plant in Newton Aycliffe are set to continue in the coming weeks as the rail manufacturer faces uncertainty due to a lack of orders.
An article on The Northern Echo says despite being hailed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as a “fantastic example of world-class manufacturing” in 2023, the company has orders left for just 56 trains and no current solution to plug a manufacturing gap.
A Hitachi Rail spokesperson said in the paper: “We have been engaged in discussions at all levels of UK Government for two years, in an attempt to find a solution to the production gap at our Newton Aycliffe manufacturing facility.
“Disappointingly these discussions have not resulted in a positive resolution. We are now reviewing all remaining options available to us in order to keep our manufacturing teams building rolling stock to support the UK rail industry.”
Plans for the final two major structures to bring HS2 into Birmingham have been approved by local councils, marking another significant milestone for the project.
An article on Coventry Live says approval has been granted for the design of two new viaducts, meaning eight “Key Design Elements” (KDEs) on the West Midlands section of the route have now passed the Schedule 17 process.
KDEs are structures on the HS2 project identified as being significant because of their size, proximity to communities, or location within sensitive areas.
