Media centre

A record £3.4bn was invested in expanding and growing Britain’s rail network over the last 12 months, Network Rail revealed today in its full-year results for the 2014/15 financial year.

Doddle, the purple network of parcel stores, has opened its 35^th store in the space of 35 weeks.  The new store is located on Platform 12 at Network Rai’s London Paddington station, one of Britain’s busiest with 17.4 million visitors annually[1].

Doddle, a joint venture between entrepreneur Lloyd Dorfman and Network Rail, was launched in 2014 and has rapidly grown its network of parcel stores in the UK.  It’s the only service of its kind to accept delivery of shoppers’ online purchases from any retailer or carrier. 

RMT members are to be balloted next week on Network Rail’s latest pay offer. Following a meeting today (Friday, 5 June), the RMT’s General Grades Committee said they had decided to refer it to a referendum ballot and will be recommending that members accept the revised offer.

Network Rail’s retail sales have increased for the 12^th successive quarter, helping the rail infrastructure owner and operator achieve average growth for the 2014/15 financial year, ten times higher than the high street as measured by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

Network Rail has today published new and updated information on its online transparency portal, including the results of its supplier satisfaction survey and a progress report on its transparency programme.

Network Rail has launched a new level crossing safety campaign targeting cyclists. The campaign is being supported by Sustrans, the charity behind the creation and management of the 14,000 mile National Cycle Network.

After four days of intensive talks between Network Rail, the RMT, TSSA and Unite unions, ACAS has helped the parties formulate a set of revised proposals that the trades unions will now take away to consider. Recognising this, the RMT has agreed to suspend the industrial action planned for this week and next.

The company and the RMT are meeting today, with ACAS, to seek to resolve the current dispute and avert strike action.