Strikes ++ Train operators are urging passengers to only attempt to travel if they must on the forthcoming strike days of 5, 7 and 9 November. The first and third will affect Network Rail and most  operators, while the strike on the 7th will involve Network Rail staff only. Even so, most lines will have limited services at best on that day because the walkout will include signallers. Many routes will close entirely. Another strike on 10 November will affect London Underground and Overground. Merseyrail said it will be will be running a limited hourly service on 5, 7 and November. Its staff are not striking, but the system will be affected by the absence of many Network Rail staff. New chair ++ The chair of the House of Commons Transport Committee is to be replaced, because the present chairman Huw Merriman is becoming a transport minister. Rules of the Select Committees do not allow members of the government to take part, as the committees are intended exclusively for backbenchers from all sides of the house, although the chair must be from the ruling party. Nominations are now open and will close at noon on 15 November. If there is only one candidate, the Speaker is likely to announce the result that day.  If more than one nomination is received, a ballot will take place on 16 November and the Speaker would announce the results in the House of Commons later that day. Finance director ++ Greater Anglia has appointed a new finance director. Michael Robertson joins the operator from its majority shareholder Abellio Group, where he was group financial controller. Previously he was ScotRail’s head of finance after spending several years with Grant Thornton UK.

The future of HS2 could be at risk, after levelling-up minister Michael Gove warned that ‘everything will be reviewed’ when he was asked about the gap in government funds. He then named the high speed project as a possible candidate for savings, describing it as ‘a significant investment’, but gave no other details. Some backbenchers have already been calling for HS2 to be abandoned. Mr Gove told Times Radio: ‘As a result of different factors, including mistakes that were made at the mini-budget, we have got to make some decisions which will be painful. When we face the particularly economic problems that we have at the moment, I’m sure that some capital spending will be cut.’ Meanwhile, the mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin is calling for an update on the £100 million Leeds Area Study which is examining ‘the most effective way’ to bring HS2 trains from East Midlands Parkway to Leeds, using the conventional network. Although the study was set up almost eleven months ago, it appears to be on hold. The mayor said: ‘We’ve not heard a thing and it’s so disrespectful. It just shows the government’s commitment to the North that we still have no information at all on the study, even the terms of reference.’ The government has not commented on the Leeds study delay or Mr Gove’s remarks, saying only: ‘HS2 is under way, within budget, and supporting 28,000 jobs. The government remains committed to delivering it on time and to budget. ‘As the latest report to parliament sets out, current cost pressures are covered within the existing budget and we continue to identify areas where savings and efficiencies can be made.’

Dismissed ++ Torbay MP Kevin Foster has been dismissed from his job as minister of state at the Department for Transport. He had only been at the DfT for seven weeks, having been appointed on 7 September. His departure is the latest in a series of replacements of Liz Truss’s ministers by her successor Rishi Sunak. Mr Foster was first elected to Parliament in May 2015. Born in Plymouth, he grew up in south Devon and was given his previous ministerial role by Boris Johnson, who appointed him as the minister for future borders and immigration in February 2020. Before he had held several other government posts, including minister for Wales and assistant government whip. In his departure letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Foster pledged his unwavering support for Mr Sunak’s administration. Strike ++ An RMT strike will take place on ScotRail tomorrow. The RMT’s company council and national executive committee had rejected ScotRail’s latest offer, which ScotRail said would have seen the lowest paid staff receive a basic pay increase of almost 7.5 per cent. ScotRail also said its latest offer had depended on tomorrow’s strike being called off, as well as a vote by staff on whether to accept the increase, which the union refused to do. Before a previous ScotRail strike on 10 October, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch had said: ‘Our members refuse to be made poorer and will exercise their industrial strength to let ScotRail know that they will not rest until they are paid what they deserve.’

Suppliers ++ The new chancellor Jeremy Hunt is being urged not to cut rail investment by the Railway Industry Association, which represents suppliers. It wrote to him as pressure grew for cuts in public spending. RIA chief executive Darren Caplan said: ‘We of course understand that there are incredibly difficult decisions to be made on the economy in the coming weeks and months. We wanted to point out to you and your officials that in terms of public spending, rail represents impressive value for money. A recent study published last year, commissioned by RIA and conducted by Oxford Economics, shows that the railway industry is an essential generator of economic growth, jobs and investment. In the UK, rail supports 710,000 jobs, contributes over £43 billion Gross Value Added, provides up to £800 million in exports, and for every £1 spent on rail, £2.50 of investment is generated elsewhere in the economy.’ Closure ++ The viaduct at Barmouth will be closed again in mid-November, as work to upgrade the structure is resumed by Network Rail. The bridge reopened for trains temporarily on 15 October, but only for about a month.  A long-running project to upgrade the mainly wooden structure has meant a series of closures, the last of which was from 12 September. The next stage of work from November will include additional repairs and strengthening work as well as further metallic restoration and track renewal. During this stage, both the railway and the parallel pedestrian footway will be closed. As before, buses are replacing Transport for Wales trains from 15 November until 10 December. Free rides ++ Transport for Wales is helping families and friends explore Wales and the Borders for less with a ‘Kids Go Free’ offer this half term. Up to two children under the age of 11 can travel free with each fare paying adult on TfW services, and the minimum age of the accompanying adult has now been lowered from 18 to 16. Children aged 11 to 15 can travel without charge between the hours of 09.30 and 16.00 and again from 18.00, Monday to Friday, and all day on Saturday and Sunday.

Reshuffle ++  The Prime Minister is holding the first meeting of his new cabinet this morning, having replaced a number of ministers following his appointment by the King. One of them is new transport secretary Mark Harper, who is MP for Forest of Dean. He has replaced Anne-Marie Trevelyan who was only in her post for a few weeks, having been given the job by Liz Truss. Ms Trevelyan had supported Boris Johnson in the latest competition for Conservative leader. The train operators’ group Rail Partners has welcomed Mr Harper to his post. Chief executive Andy Bagnall said: ‘Congratulations to Mark Harper on his appointment. Rail Partners and its members look forward to working closely with him and his wider ministerial team.’ Meanwhile, the transport secretary in Boris Johnson’s government Grant Shapps also served briefly as home secretary under Ms Truss, and is now business secretary in Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet. Strikes ++ The RMT will be staging its next series of National Rail strikes on 5, 7 and 9 November in the continuing dispute over jobs, conditions and pay. Network Rail staff will walk out on all three days, and workers at most train operating companies will also strike on 5 November. In connection with separate disputes, RMT members on London Underground and Overground will strike on 10 November. A Network Rail strike had originally been planned for 3 November, but this has been postponed to the 9th so as not to disrupt the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Day. It is the second time this year that railway strikes have been postponed because of an event of national importance, because walkouts were also called off so that they would not coincide with the period of Royal Mourning in September.

Open access operator Lumo, which is owned by FirstGroup and runs between Edinburgh and London, said the number of people travelling by rail on the route has increased to 57 per cent of the rail-air market, compared with 35 per cent before the Covid pandemic. Lumo started running on 25 October 2021 and introduced its full timetable in April. The operator also said it is looking forward to welcoming its millionth passenger in November. First Class 387 electric unit to get ETCS Govia Thameslink Railway has sent a Class 387 Electrostar unit from London to Worksop, so that it can be fitted with in-cab signalling by Alstom. The work marks the begnning of the conversion of the fleet for operation on the southern section of the East Coast Main Line, which is to be converted to ETCS. It will also lay the foundations for a similar upgrade of the wider Electrostar fleets. The train will be tested at Litchurch Lane in Derby before it is moved to Network Rail’s RIDC Melton test track, where it will be able to run at the 387s’ maximum speed of 110mph (177km/h).

The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham was late for a news conference to protest about poor railway services – because his train was cancelled. Merseyside Mayor Steve Rotheram was also late for the same reason. Speaking to reporters at the conference on Saturday, Any Burnham called for the government to provide financial support for railways in the region. He said: ‘Appalling levels of service are also turning people away from the railways at a time when, to meet our economic and environmental ambitions, we urgently need to make sure public transport is always a viable – and even a preferable – alternative to cars. But it is not just operators who are responsible for the North’s failing rail system. Successive governments have failed to invest in vital infrastructure improvements that could make a significant difference to reliability.’ Bond Street station opens The new Elizabeth Line station at Bond Street opened this morning, after delays to construction had meant that it stayed closed when trains started running through the central section in May. The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, outgoing transport commissioner Andy Byford and transport minister Katherine Fletcher were at the station to welcome some of the first passengers.

Train services between Carlisle, Newcastle, Appleby and Skipton may be disrupted for weeks after a cement train was derailed at Petteril Bridge Junction, where the Settle and Carlisle line leaves the route towards Hexham and Newcastle. The derailment was destructive. Several wagons left the track and came to rest on the embankment, and at least one landed in the River Petteril, according to Network Rail, which also said no-one was injured. Network Rail engineers and five RAIB inspectors have gone to the site since the incident, which happened soon after 20.00 on Wednesday. The infrastructure was seriously damaged, including the track, a bridge, signals and other lineside equipment. Network Rail has warned that the task of recovering the wagons and repairing the damage is expected to take ‘weeks rather than days’. Replacement buses are running between Carlisle and Haltwhistle, and Carlisle and Appleby, and Northern warned that the bus journeys will take longer. Trains on the nearby West Coast Main Line to Glasgow and Preston are not affected. Network Rail North West route director Phil James said: ‘On the rare occasions trains leave tracks like this it can cause extensive damage and unfortunately this incident is no exception. ‘I understand this will be extremely frustrating for passengers who rely on this crucial rail link from east to west linking Carlisle and Newcastle, as well as south to Skipton. We’re working hard to keep people on the move through rail replacement buses while we work as fast as we can to restore the railway for passengers and freight.’ The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has now started the complex task of gathering evidence. The RAIB said: ‘We are working in conjunction with other agencies to secure the vital evidence needed to help us understand what went wrong. Our inspectors are in the process of reviewing digital material from on-train data recorders, CCTV and infrastructure monitoring systems, as well as collecting physical evidence from the train and track involved. ‘In accordance with our normal processes we have started releasing parts of the train.  We will continue to release parts of the train and track in stages at the earliest opportunity.’

A Bill is being presented to Parliament today which sets out a law restricting the proportion of people who may walk out during transport strikes. The RMT has called for ‘the fiercest civil resistance possible’. The new law will apply even if the strike was validly called under previous laws which oblige unions to hold membership ballots, give notice of industrial action and restrict picketing. The Bill is receiving its First Reading just after the RMT had announced further strikes in early November. The Transport Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill will make a certain level of service mandatory. Individual members of staff who defy the new law by joining the strike will lose their protection from automatic unfair dismissal, while unions will be open to claims for damages. The level of service to be provided during a strike must be agreed between employers and unions and will apply for a period of three months. If the two sides cannot agree, the minimum service level will be decided by the Central Arbitration Committee, which is a tribunal of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. The Bill is expected to become law next year. Prime Minister Liz Truss said: ‘Hardworking people and businesses should not be held to ransom by strike action which has repeatedly crippled our transport network this year.’  Transport secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: ‘Strikes have affected nearly all of us over this last year – whether that means losing out on a day’s pay at work, having to close your business, missing vital medical appointments or stopping our children from getting to school. ‘It is vital that public transport users have some continuity of service to keep Britain moving and growing – this legislation will give everyone the certainty they need to carry on with their daily lives.’  RMT general secretary Mick Lynch responded: ‘This cynical piece of legislation outlaws effective legal industrial action on our railways. ‘It is an autocratic move from an increasingly despotic Prime Minister trying to cling on. ‘All democrats whether inside or outside parliament must oppose this draconian attempt to clamp down on the fundamental human right to strike. ‘RMT and the entire trade union movement will not accept unjust anti-union laws and I call upon all workers in Britain to mount the fiercest civil resistance possible, in the proud traditions of the chartists and suffragettes.’

Transport secretary Ann-Marie Trevelyan has confirmed that legislation to create Great British Railways will be postponed at least until next year. She was answering questions from members of the Commons Transport Select Committee, and refused to be drawn on a revised timetable. The Committee was also told that it is possible for GBR to start playing a part in running the railway even before a Transport Act has been passed. For example, GBR could recommend a choice of operator for a contract, leaving the Department for Transport to carry out the legal formalities. Anne-Marie Trevelyan told the MPs on the Committee: ‘The challenges of the energy legislation we have got to bring in, and various others, have meant we have lost the opportunity to have [a major Transport Bill] in this session. What we are continuing to pitch for would be what I would call a “narrow” Bill, around legislation about such things as e-scooters.’ She was later asked by MP Chris Loder if it was still her intention to create GBR. She responded: ‘What I want to do is fully implement the modernisation, so that we have got something that’s genuinely fit for purpose. The passenger and the freight provider are at the heart of the service we want to be providing.’ Department for Transport permanent secretary Bernadette Kelly confirmed that without the full legislation, it would not be possible for GBR to take over by 2024. Andy Bagnall is chief executive of Rail Partners, which now represents operators. He said ‘It is disappointing the legislation to create Great British Railways will be delayed, but we look forward to working with the secretary of state, rail minister and Great British Railways Transition Team’s leadership to progress reform in its absence. ‘It is critical there is not a long hiatus and there are immediate steps that can be taken now, such as switching on revenue incentives in National Rail Contracts and feeding back to the market on passenger service contracts development, which can accelerate growth and underpin a reinvigorated public-private partnership.’