Avanti train managers plan Christmas walkouts
Train managers on Avanti West Coast who belong to the RMT are set to strike on three days over the Christmas period, in a dispute over rest day working. The union said the company’s proposals had been ‘inadequate’, and that staff had rejected them in a vote by 92.8 per cent, on a turnout of 81 per cent.
TUESDAY BRIEFING: Controversial London Euston screen to be used again ::: Lord Hendy faces grilling by MPs ::: Operators prepare for timetable changes ::: Fourth platform restored at Lincolnshire station ::: Search is on for longest-serving railway family
Some train services are still disrupted today after a weekend of wild weather which caused damage to railways in many places, as Storm Darragh swept across Britain. The Met Office issued a rare ‘red’ warning for South Wales and the Bristol Channel on Saturday, which meant the weather posed a threat to life.
Train services on many routes are being disrupted this morning because of a fault with the GSM-R system, which allows train drivers to talk to signallers on a radio link.
FirstGroup is stepping up its open access ambitions by completing the buyout of Grand Union Trains and bidding for a new route to Somerset and Devon. The move is the latest in a series of open access operations from the private sector, which have been made as the Government moves ahead with nationalising all remaining contracted passenger operators.
South Western Railway will be the first private passenger operator to be renationalised in May 2025 under the new Passenger Railway Services Act, the Government has confirmed. The next in the queue will be Trenitalia’s c2c, where the contract ends in July, followed by Greater Anglia in the autumn.
The restored Northumberland Line between Newcastle upon Tyne and Ashington will welcome its first passengers for 60 years on 15 December. The route is opening later in the year than had been hoped, and four stations are unfinished.