Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Monday, 9th December 2024.
InTheNews: The latest rail news on Monday, 9th December 2024
Hundreds of train building jobs have been secured thanks to a £500 million deal.
An article on Bdaily says Hitachi will make 14 “award-winning, British-built” trains at its County Durham plant.
The agreement – between Hitachi, FirstGroup and Angel Trains – eases fears of job losses at the Newton Aycliffe base, with about 700 workers’ futures said to have been in the balance after a gap in orders.
Rail services across the West Midlands will continue to be disrupted after Storm Darragh damaged lines.
An article on The Business Desk says West Midlands Railway is warning passengers to expect disruption on Birmingham’s Cross City Line, which runs from Lichfield via Birmingham to Redditch and Bromsgrove. The line remained entirely closed on Sunday following significant storm damage sustained on Saturday.
Engineers from Network Rail are working at multiple locations on the route to repair damaged overhead wires caused by fallen trees. The line is expected to remain closed for much of Monday to enable the repairs to be carried out safely.
Mayor Andy Burnham is urging the Transport Secretary to back the next phase of Greater Manchester’s Bee Network – expanding it to include eight commuter rail lines to create the first fully-integrated transport system outside London by 2028.
In a letter to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, Mayor Burnham will make the case for the city-region to oversee eight vital rail lines in order to improve services and support continuing growth of the city-region’s economy.
He will say that Greater Manchester is ready to apply the same focus, momentum and pace to bringing rail into the Bee Network as it has done with buses, calling for a firm timeline to be published in January setting out the necessary steps to make it happen.
A two-year research project by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) has led to creation of an ambitious new strategy to help the rail industry improve workforce health and wellbeing through data insights and evidence. A data-driven, evidence-based approach is being used, informed by a comprehensive strategy outlining short, medium, and long-term objectives.
Evidence shows the rail industry’s sickness absence is double the national average, costing millions in lost workdays every year. In response, RSSB piloted the collection of employee health and wellbeing data with 21 companies across England and Wales, covering over 100,000 rail workers (approximately half the workforce).
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