Railnews Magazine May 2015 Back Issue

The imminent General Election gains detailed coverage in the latest Railnews, which concentrates on the implications of a change of government for the railway industry. A special feature summarises the manifesto commitments of the main parties and also recalls some key ‘railway elections’ in years gone by, while Stephen Joseph of the Campaign for Better Transport provides his own view on the issues involved in Guest Opinion. Major news stories include the announcement of a ballot for industrial action by the RMT in its pay dispute with Network Rail, first pictures of Class 700 trains for Thameslink being built and tested in Germany, the launch of two new passenger franchises in Scotland and the banning of a major heritage operator from Network Rail infrastructure after a serious SPAD on the Great Western Main Line, which is now being investigated by the ORR. An expert on electrical networks has warned of the potential risk posed by hackers to new computerised railway control centres, while Network Rail has defended its methods of controlling vegetation after it was accused of illegally felling lineside trees containing birds’ nests. Our legal expert considers the implications – and the legality – of ‘ticket splitting’, and we also report why London Underground is renaming one of its stations – but only for one day. To find out more, see Railnews for May.