Last-minute talks to avert largest rail strike in decades which may ruin concerts, cricket and Glastonbury June 8, 2022 In a bid to avert the largest strike by railway workers in several decades talks are to be held this week, after the scale of disruption to services by the planned industrial action became clear. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 13 train operators will walk out on [...]
Flower Power: Network Rail to boost travellers’ mental health with flower compositions May 9, 2022 Network Rail has announced it will start displaying flower compositions in UK train stations as a way to boost travellers’ mental health. While the railway operator hopes it will “lift people’s spirits,” the Better Journeys’ initiative aims to raise awareness of the Hub of Hope app, which helps people access mental health support. Installations will [...]
Network Rail invests £2m to clean ‘eyesore’ graffiti on railways April 11, 2022 Network Rail announced today it was investing £2m to clean “eyesore” graffiti on south-east London railway infrastructure. The company’s cleaning teams removed and painted over the graffiti, applying an anti-graffiti paint to deter people from vandalising the same areas – including Hungerford Bridge – in the future. “Everyone should feel safe when travelling on our [...]
Travellers brace for chaos as Network Rail carries 530 upgrades over Easter weekend March 15, 2022 Travellers will need to brace for disruption and chaos next month, as Network Rail announced it will carry out 530 project upgrades over the Easter bank holiday. Even though the company reassured 95 per cent of trains will run as normal, works are expected to impact people’s ability to reach travel hubs such as Gatwick [...]
Customer service provider Journeycall wins £3.8m contract with Network Rail February 24, 2022 Customer service firm Journeycall won today a £3.8m contract with Network Rail to run the body’s contact centre and help desk service. Under the three-year deal, Journeycall will handle all enquiries from the four components of Network Rail’s contact centre – including the emergency helpline, the central switchboard, the commercial property help desk and out-of-hours [...]
Millions of commuters may be hit as national rail strike looms over job cuts and living costs January 4, 2022 A national rail strike looms this week as one of the leading rail workers’ unions is warning it may urge its members to pause work over job cuts. The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) said rail workers faced losing their jobs this year just as the cost of living crisis spirals. The union is calling [...]
Christmas chaos as Heathrow inaccessible via Tube or rail November 16, 2021 Passengers will have to take the car if they want to go to Heathrow on Christmas and Boxing Day. Network Rail and Transport for London (TfL) will be in fact carrying out works on the railway network and Tube services to the airport, MyLondon reported. Network Rail will be carrying out signalling and HS2 work [...]
No more dependency on Alstom and Siemens, urges rail regulator November 9, 2021 The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has urged Network Rail to put an end to its dependency on French and German signalling system providers Alstom and Siemens. In a report published on 8 November, the regulator has urged the railway body to transform its approach to procuring and delivering signalling processes, widening its pool [...]
Southeastern and South Western passengers cleared to make £93m compensation claim October 19, 2021 Rail passengers are free to seek compensation for overcharging by Southeastern and South Western rail franchises. London’s specialist competition court has ordered that the claims, issued on behalf of millions of rail passengers, can now proceed to trial. The Competition Appeal said that both rail franchises failed to make ‘boundary fares’ sufficiently available to consumers. [...]
Paper rail tickets to be ripped up across South East England October 17, 2021 Ministers are set to scrap paper rail tickets across South East England in favour of contactless payments. The contactless payments will be integrated into London’s Oyster card system. Transport officials reportedly want to expand pay-as-you-go smartcards in a pre-emptive strike against trade unions. The unions are opposing the potential closure of ticket offices across the [...]