Demonstrators stage Alstom protest in Westminster
Demonstrators calling for the Alstom works in Derby to be saved have been lobbying Parliament. One group was from the Unite union, while Derby councillors and business leaders were also in Westminster. The lobby of Parliament was timed to coincide with a meeting of the Transport Select Committee which was hearing evidence about the future of Britain’s trains. The threatened closure of the Alstom works at Litchurch Lane in Derby is said to have put at least 1300 jobs directly at risk, plus 900 or more in the East Midlands supply chain.
Engineers have been abseiling down the side of a railway cutting in Somerset, after a landslip blocked the line between Salisbury and Exeter. Network Rail and South Western Railway are warning passengers to avoid the route until Monday morning as a result of the slippage, which is at Crewkerne Tunnel. Network Rail completed inspections late on Monday night, and yesterday engineers assessing the damage used ropes to abseil down the cutting and start removing vegetation before beginning to excavate the debris.
TUESDAY BRIEFING: Cautious welcome for £3.9bn Transpennine upgrade ++ Mayors work together to improve railways ++ Network Rail unveils masterplan for Cardiff ++ Boastful TikTok fare evader fined ++
Efforts to save the train-building works at Litchurch Lane in Derby are being stepped up, following Alstom’s warning that work will soon run out. If the works close 2000 jobs will be lost, while many more will be at risk in the East Midlands supply chain. Councillors and business leaders in the region are planning to lobby Parliament in two days from now. The demonstration on 6 December will coincide with a Transport Select Committee evidence session about rolling stock. There are very few fleets being built or set to be ordered for the National Rail network at the moment, while the order of trains for HS2 will now be smaller because the Prime Minister has scrapped the high speed line north of Birmingham to Crewe and Manchester.
FRIDAY BRIEFING: Industry braces for week of strikes as drivers vote for more ++ Landslip near Woking ++ Limited services restored at Ayr ++ Rail replacement buses in spotlight ++ ORR probes Wales & Western region performance ++
The long series of strikes involving the RMT is over, after 18 months of walkouts. A new ballot of members has shown that a majority are in favour of accepting the latest pay offer. The results of the ballot, as published by the RMT, show that there was a majority in favour of a settlement of almost 90 per cent, with 13,454 at 14 train operators in England voting ‘yes’ and 1570 ’no’. However, industrial action by ASLEF drivers is still set to start tomorrow, and will continue at various operators until 9 December.
Transport for London says the number of passengers travelling on the Underground was 4.05 million on 23 November, which is the largest daily total recorded since the start of Covid restrictions in March 2020. The new figures have strengthened TfL’s case for a long term budget settlement with the Government. TfL said there was no commitment in the Autumn Statement, and that the situation is ‘now urgent’.