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Wednesday, 27 November 2019

The Guardian

• Will you be affected by South Western and West Midlands rail strikes?We want to hear from staff and passengers who are affected by strikes by West Midlands Railway and South Western Railway in November and December West Midlands Railway faced its second strike by workers on Saturday, with further action planned over the next few weeks. There has not been a resolution between the RMT and Abellio, the company who runs the network, over the role of guards, driver-only operated trains and the impact on passenger safety.Also, after talks to resolve the long-running dispute over the future role of guards on trains broke down between South Western Railway and the RMT,...
• All aboard: bosses keep roles as Virgin hands over to First GroupAll senior managers retain roles as London to Glasgow West Coast service changes handsMeet the new boss. Just like – in fact, it is the old boss. First Group has hired all of Virgin Trains’ existing management team to run the London to Glasgow West Coast service when First takes over from Virgin next month.Phil Whittingham, the managing director of Virgin Trains since 2013, and a Virgin man since 1999, will become managing director of First’s West Coast Partnership rail service on 8 December. Continue reading...

The Telegraph

• Christmas rail strikes will costs businesses £400m, economist warns as talks resume

Times Online

• Virgin boss keeps the controls after defecting to rival [Subscription]The boss of Virgin Trains has defected to First Group to run the west coast main line rail franchise just before it takes over the country’s most lucrative network next month.
• Rail Safety and Standards Board smoothes way for new hydrogen trains [Subscription]The introduction of hydrogen-powered trains moved a step closer yesterday with plans for a safety strategy to allow them to operate on the mainline network.

London Evening Standard

• South Western Railway strike 'will cost businesses up to £400m'A month-long

East Anglian Daily Times

• New Greater Anglia trains need upgrade to stop at small stationsPassengers using one of the most crowded rail routes in the region have received a boost with the introduction of the first new four-car train on the route.

Get Surrey

• South Western Railway release new timetable for December strike It's not good news for commuters that are travelling between Aldershot and Guildford

Other Regional Press

• South Western Railway workers to go on strike over ChristmasA NEAR month-long strike by rail workers is set to go ahead after talks failed to resolve a long-running dispute over guards on trains.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Modernised Govia Thameslink Railway fleet improve energy efficiency Govia Thameslink Railway are now recycling over 50% more energy back into the railway network, helping to power the fleet and making them more energy efficient than any previous generations of trains. The ‘smart’ braking system introduced on 115 Siemens Class 700’s on...