Wales & Borders operator KeolisAmey says it is creating 200 train driver jobs. Recruitment is being managed by specialist company Acorn, with applications closing on October 14. The starting salary for trainee drivers will be £28 000, rising to around £52 000 once fully qualified.
The South West Wales Connected Community Rail Partnership has been launched, covering Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. ’Community Rail Partnerships are a key part of our wider Community Rail Vision, and this is the first of several new partnerships that will be launched in the coming years to better support local communities around Wales’, said Transport for Wales CEO James Price on August 24.
South Western Railway now accepts payment by Apple Pay on its app and website, enabling customers to buy a ticket without having to enter details such as card number and billing address.
Bombardier Transportation has appointed TBM to refresh grab pole and seat back handle coatings on 20 Class 221 trainsets operated by Avanti West Coast, replacing the former Virgin Trains branding. The handles have been covered with Omnikote’s Nylon R-Ag+ coatings, which incorporates Bio Master antimicrobial additives.
Zonegreen and main contractor Stobart Rail has installed its New Generation Depot Personnel Protection System on a four-road extension to Newton Heath depot in Manchester, five years after it was installed in the main shed.
The Railway Industry Association has joined Reshoring UK, a collaboration of industrial engineering associations focused on connecting manufacturers with trusted and accredited UK suppliers.
There are four recommendations in RAIB’s report into a freight train derailment at Willesden High Level Junction in northwest London on May 6 2019. Three are directed to Network Rail and concern the use, and limitations, of information from its track geometry measurement trains for understanding the condition of the track and problems with the track bed and/or supporting earthwork structures, and how this may affect the safe running of trains, as well as measures to mitigate the risks arising from known defects in supporting earthwork structures. One is directed at DB Cargo, the owner and maintainer of the derailed wagon, and relates to the maintenance of two-axle wagons. RAIB has additionally identified learning points concerned with indications of poor track bed condition, the importance of good liaison between track maintenance and earthwork management teams and the management of wagon diagonal wheel load imbalance.