Labour plans to nationalise industries will cause ‘profound harm’ to UK economy, says CBI chief March 28, 2019 Labour party plans to renationalise key industries such as rail would cause "profound harm to the economy", the UK's largest business group has said. Carolyn Fairbairn, the head of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said the party's plans to bring rail, utilities and public services would "hurt the very people they are intended to help and [...]
Network Rail to spend £42bn on railway improvements after year of chaos March 28, 2019 Network Rail is to spend £42bn on the railways over the next five years after passengers endured a torrid year of delays and cancellations. Network Rail, which owns Britain's rail infrastructure, has said the funds will increase reliability and improve performance for the benefit of passengers during its next control period, CP6, which starts on 1 April this [...]
Network Rail bosses could be fined out of their own pockets to pay for delays March 27, 2019 Top bosses at Network Rail could be forced to fund fines for poor performance through their bonuses under tough new measures proposed by the rail regulator. From 1 April, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) will push through a new policy to hold Network Rail, which owns the UK's rail infrastructure, to account. The [...]
Sadiq Khan calls for TfL to take over from Network Rail as London’s railway manager March 26, 2019 Sadiq Khan has said Transport for London (TfL) should replace Network Rail as the UK's rail infrastructure manager to improve the reliability of services for London's commuters. The London mayor wants responsibility and funding for key rail assets such as tracks and stations to be transferred to the transport body so it is able to plug the communication gap [...]
Interserve cleaning staff to vote on strike action amid union complaints of ‘culture of fear’ at Network Rail stations March 26, 2019 Interserve cleaning staff at Network Rail stations are preparing to vote on strike action after the firm allegedly imposed a “culture of fear,” according to the RMT union. The rail union said this morning it would ballot around 300 facilities management workers for strike action after it received complaints of bullying from its members. Read [...]
Waterloo station disruption: Commuters warned travel chaos will hit Friday rush hour March 22, 2019 Travel chaos at Waterloo this morning is set to drag on into this evening’s rush hour, causing more misery for commuters, National Rail has now warned. Tens of thousands of London workers were hit by travel disruption coming into Waterloo train station this morning after overrunning engineering works forced rail operators to halt all lines. [...]
Rail review head Keith Williams says government role in industry ‘has to change’ March 19, 2019 The government's role in the UK railways will "have to change" if the industry is to become more customer-focused, the former boss of British Airways has said. Keith Williams, who was appointed to lead a "root and branch" review of the railways following last year's May timetable chaos, hinted that the Department for Transport (DfT) could take [...]
Balfour Beatty wins preferred bidder status in decade-long £1.5bn Network Rail contract March 14, 2019 Construction firm Balfour Beatty is set to be tasked with overseeing a wide-ranging program of railway track renewals and crossings for Network Rail for the next decade, in a £1.5bn contract. The UK’s biggest constructor, which carries out key public infrastructure projects such as Hinkley Point and Crossrail, has been selected as “preferred bidder” for [...]
Govia Thameslink Railway hit with £5m fine over May’s timetable chaos March 14, 2019 Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) faces a £5m fine over its role in last May’s timetable chaos, the rail regulator announced this morning. The Office for Rail and Road (ORR) accused the train operator of failing to provide “appropriate, accurate and timely” information to passengers about the timetable change. Read more: Rail review head Keith Williams [...]
Government must change policy on rail electrification or risk missing climate change targets, industry body warns March 14, 2019 The national body for Britain’s railways has warned the government could miss its targets of decarbonising train travel by 2040 unless it changes its policy on electrification. The Railway Industry Association (RIA) called on the government to collaborate with the rail industry and commit to electrification after several projects were cancelled in 2017. The association [...]