Latest news with #MaritimeandTransportWorkers
The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- General
- The Herald Scotland
Stonehaven victims remembered five years on from rail crash
Poor track conditions caused by heavy rain had forced the train to return to Aberdeen Station. Passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62, driver Brett McCullough, 45, and conductor Donald Dinnie, 58, died, while six others were injured. Christopher Stuchbury, Donald Dinnie, and Brett McCullough (L-R) were killed after the train derailed near Stonehaven. On Tuesday, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), paid tribute to the trio and called on Network Rail to implement all of the safety recommendations made in a 2022 report. As of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch's most recent report, published earlier this year, 8 of the 20 recommendations remain 'open', which means they have yet to be fully addressed. Recommendations included taking action to correct faulty drainage design, control room functions, and train crashworthiness, as well as other 'critical safety issues'. RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said: 'Our thoughts today are with the families of Donald, Brett and Chris, and with those injured and traumatised in the crash. "But remembrance alone is not enough – there must be action, and it needs to be urgent. 'It is outrageous that five years after the accident took place, and three years since the RAIB set out what needed to change, that so many safety recommendations are still outstanding. "We demand better – for those we lost, for those who survived and for the safety of every worker and passenger going forward." Read more: 'Outrageous': Scots rail safety fears after Carmont crash as upgrades 'cut' by £127m Fatal Accident Inquiry to be held following Stonehaven train derailment Hundreds line the streets to pay tribute to Stonehaven train conductor However, a Network Rail statement said that 'meaningful progress' had been made over the last five years. It read: 'Since August 2020, we've been working hard to make our railway safer for passengers and colleagues. "We're investing more than £400m in projects to strengthen the railway's resilience to increasingly unpredictable weather." "Meaningful progress has been made on the recommendations from the Carmont investigation, which includes co-ordinated action across all Network Rail routes, and we continue to work closely with the ORR, train operators, and other key stakeholders." Network Rail was fined £6.7m in 2023 as a result of the crash, and more than £1m was later paid out to settle a series of civil suits. An initial Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) hearing into the causes of the derailment is set to be held on August 28th.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Unclear when reduced Sunday rail service will end
A rail service says it is unclear when it will stop a reduced Sunday service it has been running since late last year. Northern has been running fewer services in north-west England every Sunday since 22 December 2024, because it has not been able to find enough conductors to work those days. The firm's managing director Tricia Williams told a Transport for the North Meeting on Tuesday the reduced service was "not what we all want" but did offer customers "predictability". Northern said it was still negotiating with National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) over Sunday working. RMT confirmed discussions were ongoing. The firm has previously said the problem it faced on Sundays was it was contractually outside the working week for North West conductors. Affected services include routes from Barrow and Windermere to Manchester Airport, and from Barrow to Carlisle. Ms Williams said the reduced service currently relied on volunteers. "The success criteria for us is about achieving a truly seven-day railway," she said. She said the aim for the company was to ensure no more than 2% of services were being cancelled by the end of 2027 and that 90% of trains arrived within three minutes of schedule. RMT said it was conducting "detailed discussions with Northern Trains to bring together working practices for conductors from three legacy companies into a single, modern agreement". "The talks aim to ensure consistency, reflect advances in technology, and support reliable services throughout the week", a spokesperson said. Any proposals would be subject to government approval, they added. It follows Northern being issued a breach notice by the Department for Transport (DfT) in July 2024 for cancelling too many trains. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas to northeastandcumbria@ Trains face delays over Sunday workers shortage Northern pins reliability hopes on new trains Northern Transport for the North
The National
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Mick Lynch to join Scottish rock band at Edinburgh show
Glasgow's The Tenementals, a group of academics, artists, and musicians who tell the city's radical history and untold stories through song, will be joined by special guests at their Portobello Town Hall gig on May 3. Mick Lynch, former Secretary-General of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), will deliver May Day Greetings, which will mark International Workers' Day. Lynch, who received extensive attention whilst leading the RMT in a series of strikes in 2022-23, appeared alongside The Tenementals at The Revelator Wall of Death in the former Barclay Curle shipyard in March 2023. READ MORE: Scottish refugee charity hits out at Glasgow's call for asylum seeker pause The former union leader was keen on the Glasgow band playing one of their songs, which references the famous figurehead of the Clyde shipyard workers, Jimmy Reid. Gladman, who will feature in the forthcoming BBC Scotland sketch show Good for Her, will also appear on the evening alongside Scottish Poetry Library Young Makar, Leah Sinforiani. Singer and founder of The Tenementals, David Archibald, said he is 'delighted' that Lynch will be joining them to deliver the speech. 'When we performed alongside Mick Lynch in The Revelator Wall of Death, it was an unforgettable event,' he said. (Image: The Tenementals) 'We had only played two gigs previously when Stephen Skrynka, who had built the wall of death with a group of volunteers, approached us about appearing alongside Mick in The Revelator. 'He was keen on us singing 'Universal Alienation (We're Not Rats)', a song which references Jimmy Reid, the trade unionist famous for being the figurehead of the Clyde shipyard workers when they organised the world-famous work in on the yards in 1971. 'We were honoured and delighted to do so. The Revelator is relatively small, so we had to keep secret the fact that Mick was appearing, but there was an extraordinary buzz about the place when it dawned on the attendees who was going to be speaking. It was, in anyone's book, a special night. 'After the event, we kept in touch and explored future collaborations.' Archibald, who is also a professor of political cinema at the University of Glasgow, added: 'We are delighted now that Mick will deliver May Day Greetings to our event. It promises to be another extraordinary event.' The National previously told how the band is best described as Leonard Cohen meets The Clash, and that the eight-piece aims to breathe fresh life into the city's past. The Tenementals aim to retell Glasgow's 'radical history' through punchy riffs and self-proclaimed 'banging' lyrics. The band's back catalogue includes songs about the statue on the Clyde dedicated to the people who fought in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, the 1820 radical republic uprisings, and the famous trade union activist Jim Reid, and a plethora of some of the most important working-class stories from the city. Click here for tickets and more information for the show on May 3.
