Approximately 350 rail vehicles (from a national fleet of 14,000) still discharge waste on the tracks, according to Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris.
In a Commons Written Reply to Clive Lewis (Labour, Norwich South), Heaton-Harris said eight train operators still had such trains, as did heritage and charter operations, although he pointed out that the Department for Transport is not responsible for the latter.
The RMT union subsequently released a statement ‘revealing’ which operators were still doing this, although Heaton-Harris had already listed them in his reply.
Former Network Rail Chief Executive Mark Carne had said that the practice would finish by the end of 2019. But that has not happened due to the delays in deliveries of new trains, meaning that older trains are still in use.
- For the FULL story, read RAIL 910, published on July 29 and available now digitally.
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