INTER-CITY rail services were severely disrupted at the weekend when 180 high-speed trains were withdrawn after hairline cracks were discovered in some of the vehicles’ chassis.
The withdrawal of the Hitachi-manufactured Azuma trains hit services at London North East Railways (LNER), Great Western Railways, Transpennine and First Hull Trains.
Mick Lynch, general secretary of rail union RMT, accused operators and the Department for Transport of being reckless for “moving towards” extending maintenance cycles “to cut costs and strip out staff.”
He said: “Hitachi needs to ensure the highest safety standards and properly investigate and rectify the issues.
“The railway needs to be maintained rigorously and to the highest possible standards to protect the travelling public and the staff, and that will remain RMT’s key demand.”