HS2 costs soar
26 June 2025
Britain’s railway network needs the capacity that HS2 was supposed to deliver. The latest review says little new and doesn’t address those needs.
Rail
Rail
Nationalisation: a British rail worker’s perspective
26 June 2025
Workers spoke to railway worker about the prospect of Labour’s rail nationalisation and other issues affecting the industry.
More to do on railways
1 June 2025
The government is returning passenger operating companies to public ownership. But large parts of the system remain in private hands. Rail union RMT says there’s much more to do to secure the rail network Britain needs.
200 years of railways
This year marks the bicentenary of the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. It will rightly be celebrated with events throughout the year…
Nationalisation…or not [print version]
The Labour government proposes to return most of Britain’s passenger rail services to public ownership. This will not of itself bring about changes and improvement to those services
Nationalisation…or not
18 December 2024
The government proposes to return most passenger rail services to public ownership. This will not necessarily improve services. Key areas are left out, so the industry will remain fragmented.
Rail success in Bristol
Bristol celebrated a new station at the end of September. This is the result of a long and determined campaign, which has further improvements in its sights.
Pay rises on the railways [print version]
Rail workers in most train operating companies have voted to accept the national pay deal...
Pay rises on the railways
22 October 2024
Rail workers in most train operating companies have voted to accept the national pay deal. This ends over two years of intermittent strikes and other industrial action.
Rail: Drivers' pay to rise
Train drivers’ union Aslef has reached agreement with the incoming Labour government to resolve a pay dispute in most of the passenger train operators. It has involved 18 days of strikes.
Britain needs rail – and ambition for its future
Journey times have to be shortened, new timetables and track are needed, but there’s no commitment from Labour or Conservatives to the planning and investment required…
Rail travel grows despite government actions
9 April 2024
Rail passenger numbers have mushroomed despite government policy that in effect imposes managed decline.
Overground pay rise
4 March 2024
Rail workers in London have won a significant backdated pay rise from their employer, Arriva. The dispute was settled only after the threat of strike action.
Train drivers fight on for pay
25 January 2024
Train drivers continue their fight for pay and conditions with a round of strikes. Train operating companies, backed by the government, are not even negotiating. One company trying to use new minimum service level laws quickly climbed down.
Off the rails and onto the roads
27 December 2023
The fallout from the government strategy to switch investment from rail to road continues. It prefers promoting autonomous cars to developing rail and other public transport.
RMT forces climb down by government [updated]
13 November 2023
Determined action by RMT rail union members has forced the government to make a new offer through the train operating companies to settle their long-running pay and conditions dispute.
Ticket office victory
2 November 2023
The government has scrapped plans to close rail ticket offices in the face of overwhelming opposition from rail workers and passengers – a victory for people power.
HS2 - Sunak condemns Britain's rail to decline
Britain has to continue to modernise, and that means new infrastructure. That is expensive. But the alternative is to allow capitalism’s decline to take the working class with it…
Where's the capacity?
East-West Rail is a project currently renewing and rebuilding a largely disused rail line between Oxford and Cambridge.
More delay, more cost
To fit with the government’s scaled-down plans the station at Old Oak Common will have to be completely redesigned with more platforms to act as a terminus rather than a through station as originally planned
End privatisation, says RMT [print version]
US private equity firm, I Squared Capital, has bought bus and rail operator Arriva in a deal worth about $1.69 billion, including debts.
End privatisation says RMT as Arriva is sold to private equity
19 October 2023
RMT denounces sale of Arriva bus and train operations by the German state railway to US private equity.
HS2 sabotage hits train manufacture
2 October 2023
The government is planning further cuts to the HS2 rail project. This sabotage puts engineering jobs at risk as well as undermining the transport benefits.
Ticket office fight moves to next phase
1 September 2023
Rail workers are stepping up the fight to save ticket offices after the end of the sham consultation at the end of August.
Ticket office fight continues
Protests have been taking place across Britain against plans to shut our railway ticket offices. The action is part of the RMT union’s continuing campaign “Save Ticket Offices”.
Bristol rail success
21 August 2023
Sustained campaigning has revived a Bristol rail line. The first of several new stations opened in July.
Campaign to keep ticket offices open
20 July 2023
Train operating companies are running a short consultation on plans to close railway ticket offices. Rail workers are campaigning in opposition.
Resistance to rail ticket office closures
11 July 2023
Nearly all railway ticket offices in England are planned to close. Rail workers face redundancy and passengers will lose that service. A campaign to oppose the closures is starting.
Rail - a crisis created by government
Rail workers should ensure that the strong workplace organisation that has been developed when they built support for their campaigns of industrial action is not dissipated...
Rail pay struggle continues
7 June 2023
RMT members working on trains and in stations across the country held another strike on Friday 2 June, the latest in their long-running pay dispute.