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
Fresh round of strikes in the UK affects freight
STRIKESTwo UK trades unions have called a fresh round of strikes for later this month. There has been a failure to find any resolution to the wide-ranging disputes over pay and conditions. The Rail, Maritime...Read more
Surprise political casualty as new British rail strike announced
The state of industrial dispute that currently grips the British rail network has claimed a high-profile political casualty. Surprisingly – shockingly for some – the socialist opposition Labour Party sacked their shadow transport secretary Sam...Read more
British weather cools down but strike climate heats up again
Britain faces a fresh wave of strikes across the rail network, starting this Wednesday with an all-out stoppage by the biggest union in the sector, the RMT (Rail, Maritime and Transport). Then, just when you...Read more
Network Rail sets up hot weather resilience task force after sweltering heatwave
Following this week’s unprecedented heatwave, Network Rail is gearing up its efforts to make the UK network more resilient by launching a special task force for hot weather. “We’ve got to pull out all the...Read more
Britain faces decades of climate disruption says minister in the hot seat
This week’s heatwave has put pressure on UK infrastructure like never before. The unprecedented closure of the East Coast Main Line, in the face of temperatures more akin to Spain than Stevenage, was the headline...Read more