Low risk opportunity to electrify almost all UK rail freight
The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport says that there is hardly any risk in making a step-change for British rail freight. The professional association says changing the UK from a predominantly diesel-powered rail freight...Read more
UK strikes called off at Network Rail, operators still under threat
The British infrastructure agency Network Rail has confirmed that strike action called by the trades union RMT has been suspended. Staff at Network Rail, including safety critical signallers, were due to take part in a...Read more
UK Strikes outlook stormy with action called for March and April
The long running dispute in the British railway industry has flared up again with the announcement of a fresh round of strikes. The trades union RMT (Rail, Maritime and Transport) has announced four days of...Read more
Schneider Electric launches Eurotunnel rail service with XPO
XPO Logistics, an American provider of freight transportation services, launched a new intermodal service between France and the United Kingdom. This new service will be on behalf of Schneider Electric, a French company specialising in...Read more
UK strike update: more to come or solution in sight?
Could one union be about to strike, while another is about to strike a deal? That is the question that faces negotiating teams on both sides of the long running and increasingly bitter round of...Read more
A week of talks to settle strike disputes in the UK
Strikes crippled the British rail network in the first week of January. The long-running disputes on the network combined into the most prolonged period of industrial action so far, with five consecutive days of stoppages....Read more
2022: Britain came off the rails but freight kept going
2022 has seen it all. Elsewhere, the world seems to have come apart, but Britain has not had its problems to seek either. For a reflection of the good, the bad and the ugly of...Read more
VolkerRailStory’s seasonal goodwill echoes throughout the UK rail industry
The tradition of giving and goodwill is no more so apparent than at Christmas. In the UK and the railways in general, that tradition goes deeply into the close-knit community, often called the railway family....Read more
UK railway strikes over Christmas a fact, how is freight impacted?
The four-day strike by RMT union members is going to be no festive fun. The RMT union, which has been involved in the biggest and bitterest dispute the industry has seen in decades, is set...Read more
GB Railfreight awarded as UK’s Rail Business of the Year
One of the UK’s biggest business groups, Logistics UK, has named GB Railfreight Ltd the Rail Business of the Year at its annual Logistics Awards, held at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge on Thursday 8...Read more
UK union rejects offer, rail strikes around Christmas likely
UK STRIKE UPDATEEmployers in the UK rail industry have tabled a draft framework agreement after several weeks of intensive talks. However, the Rail and Maritime Transport union (RMT) has rejected the offer, bringing the likelihood of industrial...Read more
Little sign of consensus ahead of British strike meeting
The new UK rail minister, Huw Merriman, and rail employer representatives, have scheduled a meeting with RMT general secretary Mick Lynch this Friday (2 December). However, after a preliminary meeting last week, between the Lynch...Read more
UK rail projects dodge the axe in Autumn Statement
This month’s UK chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, delivered a long and detailed budget last week. Although dubbed an “Autumn Statement”, the epic two-hour delivery found no voice for the rail industry. That has been largely considered...Read more
Network Rail report card says “tries hard but must do better”
UK national freight performance is at its lowest point for the last five years. That is the finding of the UK industry regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, in their report on Network Rail,...Read more
UK strikes: union announces widespread November strikes and ballot for further action
The summer of discontent on the British railway network looks set to continue throughout the winter. In an escalation of action, the RMT trades union (Rail, Maritime and Transport) has just announced the most disruptive...Read more
UK Rail Partners call for a trebling of rail freight
Rail Partners, a representative membership body lobbying for passenger-owning groups and freight companies members, says it can help rebalance and decarbonise a growing UK economy. The association has been responding to a call for evidence...Read more
UK transport secretary delivers high-level speech, short on low-level detail
Literally hundreds of rail-related projects to be progressed. That was the promise of Anne-Marie Trevelyan, speaking ahead of her much-anticipated speech to the annual conference of the Conservative Party on Tuesday, 4 October in Birmingham....Read more
Maersk puts fresh produce trains on tracks between Valencia and the UK
Fresh produce trains from Spain are to be spotted on tracks again. Sealand, a Maersk company, is ready to launch new intermodal flows with reefer containers between Valencia and London. The service, which is currently...Read more
Six priorities for the new UK prime minister
The UK Railway Industry Association (RIA) has set out six key priorities for the future of rail, which it is urging new Conservative party leader and de facto prime minister Liz Truss to adopt. Taken...Read more