Government calls on industry for action to resolve rail disruption
Plan requested to resolve prolonged disruption following the discovery of cracks in Class 800 Series Hitachi trains.
From:
9 May 2021
government requests Hitachi set out a comprehensive safety inspection plan, and longer-term repair strategy for damaged Class 800 fleet
rail industry asked to deliver a rolling stock strategy to provide additional capacity on network, and a rail replacement schedule
passengers warned disruption expected to continue for some time
The government has asked the rail industry to urgently set out a comprehensive plan to resolve prolonged disruption following the discovery of cracks in Class 800 Series Hitachi trains.
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LONDON The British government asked the rail industry on Sunday to urgently announce how it was going to deal with disruption to services after several operators were forced to withdraw part of their fleets because of cracks discovered on certain trains.
Checks carried out on Saturday on Class 800 Series trains made by Japan’s Hitachi identified cracks on part of the chassis of some trains, prompting operators including GWR and LNER to remove all their trains of that class.
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UK Government calls on industry for action to resolve rail disruption
government requests Hitachi set out a comprehensive safety inspection plan, and longer-term repair strategy for damaged Class 800 fleet
rail industry asked to deliver a rolling stock strategy to provide additional capacity on network, and a rail replacement schedule
passengers warned disruption expected to continue for some time
The government has asked the rail industry to urgently set out a comprehensive plan to resolve prolonged disruption following the discovery of cracks in Class 800 Series Hitachi trains.
The vast majority of GWR’s fleet and a significant number of LNER and TransPennine Express trains have been taken off the network to undergo a full and rigorous inspection, after checks of the Hitachi fleet early on Saturday (8 May 2021) morning first identified cracks on part of the chassis of some trains.
Source: UK Government
government requests Hitachi set out a comprehensive safety inspection plan, and longer-term repair strategy for damaged Class 800 fleet
rail industry asked to deliver a rolling stock strategy to provide additional capacity on network, and a rail replacement schedule
passengers warned disruption expected to continue for some time
The government has asked the rail industry to urgently set out a comprehensive plan to resolve prolonged disruption following the discovery of cracks in Class 800 Series Hitachi trains.
The vast majority of GWR’s fleet and a significant number of LNER and TransPennine Express trains have been taken off the network to undergo a full and rigorous inspection, after checks of the Hitachi fleet early on Saturday (8 May 2021) morning first identified cracks on part of the chassis of some trains.
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.”