The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has concluded that the serious derailment of a freight train near Carlisle almost a year ago was caused by one pair of wheels which had stopped rotating up to 88km before the derailment, near Petteril Bridge Junction. The line was badly damaged by the accident on 19 October 2022, in which two of the wagons fell off the bridge, and the routes from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Settle were blocked for seven weeks. No one was hurt. The RAIB has made three recommendations to the railway industry, and also identified one learning point for signallers about when trains should be stopped for examination.

TSSA names new general secretary

Maryam Eslamdoust has been elected as general secretary of the TSSA. She is a former mayor of the London Borough of Camden, and is the first woman to lead a railway union. She won 47 per cent of votes. The union’s executive committee had endorsed her candidacy in July, saying that she had highlighted abuse against women and girls when she was mayor of Camden.

FirstGroup rail profits higher than expected

FirstGroup has reported that increased leisure travel over the summer has boosted the revenue from its open access services Hull Trains and Lumo, which both run on the East Coast Main LIne. First also said that its fees from operating services under contract to the government have now been agreed with the Department for Transport, and are higher than expected. The adjusted operating profit for the 2024 financial year is now expected to be between £12 million and £15 million more than predicted.

source= http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/2023/10/11-wednesday-briefing-wheels-had-stopped.html