The
Rail
Accident
Investigation
Branch
has
concluded
that
the
serious
derailment
of
a
freight
train
near
Carlisle
almost
a
year
ago
was
caused
by
one
pair
of
wheels
which
had
stopped
rotating
up
to
88km
before
the
derailment,
near
Petteril
Bridge
Junction.
The
line
was
badly
damaged
by
the
accident
on
19
October
2022,
in
which
two
of
the
wagons
fell
off
the
bridge,
and
the
routes
from
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
and
Settle
were
blocked
for
seven
weeks.
No
one
was
hurt.
The
RAIB
has
made
three
recommendations
to
the
railway
industry,
and
also
identified
one
learning
point
for
signallers
about
when
trains
should
be
stopped
for
examination.

TSSA
names
new
general
secretary

Maryam
Eslamdoust
has
been
elected
as
general
secretary
of
the
TSSA.
She
is
a
former
mayor
of
the
London
Borough
of
Camden,
and
is
the
first
woman
to
lead
a
railway
union.
She
won
47
per
cent
of
votes.
The
union’s
executive
committee
had
endorsed
her
candidacy
in
July,
saying
that
she
had
highlighted
abuse
against
women
and
girls
when
she
was
mayor
of
Camden.

FirstGroup
rail
profits
higher
than
expected

FirstGroup
has
reported
that
increased
leisure
travel
over
the
summer
has
boosted
the
revenue
from
its
open
access
services
Hull
Trains
and
Lumo,
which
both
run
on
the
East
Coast
Main
LIne.
First
also
said
that
its
fees
from
operating
services
under
contract
to
the
government
have
now
been
agreed
with
the
Department
for
Transport,
and
are
higher
than
expected.
The
adjusted
operating
profit
for
the
2024
financial
year
is
now
expected
to
be
between
£12
million
and
£15
million
more
than
predicted.