In The News: 7th July

Click here to listen to the latest news on Tuesday, 7th July 2020

The Prime Minister has stoked tensions with the rail unions when he declared that driverless trains should be a condition of the future bailout of Transport for London.

That’s according to an article in the i paper which writes on a visit to East Yorkshire, the Prime Minister said the technology would free the sector and Government from being the ‘prisoners of the unions’.

Boris Johnson was visiting the site of a Siemens rail manufacturing facility which will open in 2023 to build new trains for the Piccadilly line.

But Finn Brennan from Aslef accused the PM of ‘talking nonsense’, saying TfL ‘cannot afford the signalling upgrade and other technology needed for driverless trains’.

The Railway Industry Association has launched the next stage of its SURE campaign, calling on the Government to ‘Speed up Rail Enhancements’.

A letter has been written to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak calling for the Government to fast track and fund rail projects.

In the letter it says doing this means rail suppliers can plan and build their project teams, and ultimately enable them to deliver a world-class rail network in the months and years ahead.

It comes ahead of the Chancellor’s speech tomorrow, where he will set out the UK Government’s economic response following the coronavirus outbreak.

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Changes to the way we travel through the Scottish capital could be introduced through the reform of Edinburgh’s transport companies.

Recommendations in the Reform of Transport Arm’s Length External Organisation report will be considered by the council on Thursday.

The report recognises the need to encourage the use of public transport to and around the city and region by making it as accessible and joined-up as possible.

Among the proposals includes creating a single company to deliver an integrated transport system.

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Finally, and Network Rail will start vital track replacement work at Clapton at weekends throughout July, starting this weekend.

Four points, which allow trains to switch from one track to another, will be replaced where the track splits between Tottenham Hale and Chingford.

This part of the track allows services to change to either of these lines. Nearly half a mile of track will also be replaced as part of the work.

Photo credit: Network Rail

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