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RMT plans strikes at East Midlands Railway over Aurora train safety
The union says the dispute dates to April after the Class 810 Aurora rollout and alleges the trains have operated with significant faults.
A union representing railway staff, the RMT, said it plans strikes involving members at East Midlands Railway, citing growing safety concerns it says the company has failed to address.
RMT said it has been in dispute with EMR since April after the rollout of the Hitachi Rail Class 810 fleet, known as Aurora. The union alleges the trains have been operating with a significant number of faults and claims EMR has been sending units into service that are likely to fail, requiring a full reset with no active safety systems.
EMR said reliability and maintenance issues with the new Aurora trains are to blame for problems, and it also cited challenges affecting both the 810s and older Class 222 trains, including issues with toilets, air conditioning, and catering equipment. EMR said the Class 222 trains required additional maintenance support to accommodate increased running and operational requirements.
The planned strike dates are Saturday, 1 August, and the following two Saturdays. EMR said the Class 810 fleet met required safety standards after testing and that it continues to engage with RMT regarding the dispute, while RMT is demanding the trains be taken out of service until faults are fixed and the units are shown to be operating properly, according to BBC Business.