Transport secretary Grant Shapps has given up his attempt to become the next Prime Minister. Mr Shapps is reported to have struggled to get enough nominations, with 20 needed by today for a candidate to go forward. He is now supporting the former chancellor Rishi Sunak, who seems to be one of

ASLEF members at eight train operators in England have voted in favour of strikes in a dispute over pay. Operators are urging ASLEF to continue talks rather than calling walkouts of drivers. Seven of the operators run National Rail contracts, and the eighth is a Transport for London concession holder. Services are

Drivers’ union ASLEF has confirmed that its members have voted to accept the improved pay offer made by ScotRail, which includes a 5 per cent increase in basic pay and what ScotRail described as a ’ground-breaking’ revenue share premium where ScotRail exceeds revenue budget targets, backdated to April this year. The

A long-running dispute on Merseyrail over the position of guard on the new trains has been settled, at least as far as the RMT is concerned. Members of the union have voted in favour of creating a new job of train manager. to which existing guards will be transferred. The new

Staff on Govia Thameslink Railway are set to join any future national rail strikes, the RMT has warned. In last month’s rail strike GTR staff did not take part in the walkouts, because a strike ballot had not supported action. However, staff have now voted in a second ballot in favour of

Updated 12.50Boris Johnson has resigned as Conservative Party leader today in a speech outside No.10, paving the way for a Tory leadership contest in the autumn. However, until a new leader is elected, he said he intends to remain Prime Minister. The RMT has warned that the crisis could hinder the

Six English towns and cities in the Midlands and North have been shortlisted to be the new headquarters of Great British Railways, which is expected to start work as the industry’s new ‘guiding mind’ in April 2024. The six on the shortlist are Birmingham, Crewe, Derby, Doncaster, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and York, and

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch has said that the demands of employers are being ’ramped up’, rather than being eased after the recent three days of national strikes. He said it was normal for an employer to be a little more reasonable in talks following an industrial stoppage, but not on

Siemens Mobility is expanding its £200 million rail village in Goole with a new £7 million component building, creating up to 30 jobs. Business minister Lee Rowley celebrated the investment when he signed a steel sheet during a visit to the site. The component building is set to open next

Improvements on the Transpennine route in West Yorkshire have been given the green light, after a Transport and Works Act order was signed by the transport secretary on 27 June, six months earlier than planned. The cost of the upgrades was described as ‘multi-billion’ by Network Rail, which said it was