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• Customer facing staff working in the UK experience over 400 abuse incidents every day and rising [i]
• 43% of shop workers say they have been threatened with physical violence. 1 in 5 mention the use of a knife [ii]
• 70% of front line rail staff have experienced workplace violence in the last 12 months [iii]

Almost 1,500 lifts and 300 escalators across some 500 stations around the country will soon be directly ‘live’ reporting their working condition. Passengers will be able to see which lifts and escalators are working, helping them plan their journeys through stations with real-time knowledge of the access available.

A series of witty and challenging benches by emerging architects and designers have been unveiled at some of London’s largest railway stations, following a design competition organised by the London Festival of Architecture and Network Rail.

Six current Network Rail employees and one former employee have been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, published on Saturday 10 October.

• Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines, transport secretary Grant Shapps and BTP assistant chief constable Charlie Doyle commit to tackling street homelessness as first signatories of new charter

• Network Rail to work with five charity partners as part of Routes out of Homelessness initiative, including fundraising, events, additional support and pilot outreach scheme in stations

• Murals unveiled at Network Rail stations to mark the occasion ahead of World Homeless Day on Saturday 10^th October

Network Rail is working with technology startup nPlan to use Machine Learning technology across its portfolio of projects, potentially transforming the way major rail projects are delivered across Britain. Through using data from past projects to produce accurate cost and time forecasts, the partnership will deliver efficiencies in the way projects are planned and carried out, and improve service reliability for passengers by reducing the risk of overruns.

Network Rail’s fleet of 61 leaf-busting trains and 80 leaf-busting teams are being readied to help tackle the annual blight of ‘leaves on the line’ and keep passengers moving safely and reliably over autumn, as today (1 October) marks the first day of the railway’s autumn season.

• Network Rail installs 32 coffee cup recycling bins at seven of Britain’s biggest and busiest stations
• Cup recycling facilities in all 20 managed stations by the end of October, after YouGov poll reveals that less than a third (30%) of Brits who buy coffee while travelling recycle their cup properly, using a recycling bin specifically for paper/coffee cups
• Initiative forms part of Network Rail’s ambitions to make stations cleaner and greener