Railnews Magazine June 2015 Back Issue

The uncertain state of play with industrial relations between Network Rail and the unions is the lead story in Railnews for June.

Talks had just restarted at Acas as we went to press, and no decision is likely from the RMT about the latest pay offer before Friday at the earliest.

But strikes are not only a British problem: German railways have been disrupted repeatedly over the past year as one of the country's smaller unions pursues a campaign to represent more Deutsche Bahn staff, as we report in Euronews.

Back at home, rail minister Claire Perry has ordered new cross-industry meetings every week to improve performance at London Bridge, while Vivarail is denying union claims that its rebuilt District Line trains would be not be safe on the National Rail network.

Heritage operator West Coast Railways is back on track after its Network Rail ban was lifted, London Overground has taken control of the inner suburban West Anglia lines from Liverpool Street, and daylight testing has started on the new tram lines in Nottingham.

Our feature is very topical -- we look at the history of the sometimes troubled relationship between the railway industry and the unions, and recall that 'combinations' of workers were illegal until just before the Stockton & Darlington Railway opened in 1825.

Other stories include another open access bid on the East Coast Main Line and the opening of the Todmorden Curve, while plans for the new Ordsall Chord in central Manchester are facing a legal challenge.

This and much more is in the June edition of Railnews -- the most popular title with rail industry decision makers.