RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey is calling for urgent talks over the future structure of Great British Railways, following the Second Reading of the Railways Bill on 9 December. The RMT is particularly concerned about the implications for collective bargaining, because the Bill does not say who the employer or employers will be.

Northumberland County Council is bidding to improve the train service from Newcastle upon Tyne to Ashington, which opened a year ago, by continuing trains beyond Ashington to the line’s original terminus at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.