Companies from across the industry came together at Newark Showground to participate in this year’s Big Rail Diversity Challenge on June 25. One of the Women in Rail charity’s annual flagship events, the team-based event includes challenges designed to promote the message that diverse teams work better together, with companies taking part in a series of physical, mental and skill-based sessions including: Catwalk Challenge, Toxic Jigsaw, Human Table Football, Shelter Building, the Mighty Quiz and Diversity Dance Off. Next year’s event is scheduled for June 17 2026.
The Rail Safety & Standards Board has launched a free e-learning course, Taking Safe Decisions, offering practical guidance on topics including legal duties to ensure safety, how to carry out effective risk assessments and how to implement changes and improvements safely. It has been developed with the support of the Office of Rail & Road, which recently identified inconsistencies in how decisions regarding safety-related costs and benefits are made.
FirstGroup’s Lumo and Hull Trains organised a Pride Summit in Newcastle where organisations working in support of LGBTQ+ communities could discuss current issues. This includes representatives from Out North East, Pride in Hull, Pride in Gateshead, ReportOUT, CuriousArts, Pride Radio and Gaydio.
LPA Group is to supply 9 000 LED tubes and 9 000 inverter bypass units for Alstom Class 357 EMUs, and LED tubes and step lights for Alstom Class 222 units. The company will also supply 20 000 LED tubes and bypass harnesses for Dutch national passenger operator NS. ‘These contract awards represent a significant boost to our manufacturing site in Yorkshire and further reinforce our position in the UK and European rail aftercare market which remains a key strategic focus’, said LPA Group CEO Philo Daniel-Tran on July 2.
Jo Shanmugalingam has been appointed Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport. She was previously the department’s Second Permanent Secretary, and has been serving as the Interim Permanent Secretary since Bernadette Kelly stepped down in June after eight years. Her previous roles include Director General for Science, Innovation & Growth at the Department of Science, Innovation & Technology. Cabinet Secretary Sir Chris Wormald said ‘Jo’s valuable experience and impressive track record in delivery make her well suited to lead the department at such an important moment of infrastructure renewal under the Plan for Change - building transport services across the country that boost opportunity and growth for working people.’
Network Rail has awarded Octavius a contract to improve accessibility at Southend East station for c2c passengers. Plans include two new lifts and an accessible footbridge, to be comeplted by the eneds of 2o26. The work will be co-odinated with a similar project to be undertaken by Octavius at Chalkwell. ‘Being awarded Southend East extends our portfolio of Access for All projects to well over 30 schemes, making Octavius one of the UK’s most experienced AfA delivery partners’, said Octavius Infrastructure Framework Director Isayas Tecleberhan on June 26.
Quattro Plant has been awarded Gold status under Network Rail’s Route to Gold programme for suppliers demonstrating commitment to reliability (above 99%), accurate reporting and prompt submission of data. The company has been awarded Route To Gold status every year since 2019.
Lumo has introduced gender-neutral uniforms for Customer Experience Ambassadors.
York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority has joined the Urban Transport Group network of transport authorities.
LNER now offers first class passengers vodka, gin and whisky miniatures in Sustainaholics’ 100% recycled aluminium bottles instead of glass or PET.
Dr Daniel Woodhead of the University of Huddersfield’s Institute of Railway Research has won a European Rail Research Advisory Council award for his Establishing the Principles for Compositional Design of Long-Life Rail Steels project on rail metallurgy. Following a placement year within the IRR he then began a doctoral research degree within the institute, before being appointed as a Research Assistant during the last year of his PhD studies.