Alan Jones

East Midlands Railway workers represented by the RMT are scheduled to strike on August 8 in an ongoing dispute over safety and faults affecting the Class 810 Aurora fleet. The union says problems including faulty toilets, broken air conditioning, communication and door issues, and trains becoming stranded have undermined staff confidence, and it wants the trains withdrawn until they operate properly. EMR denies that the trains are unsafe, says all of its trains have met Office of Rail and Road requirements, and is working with manufacturer Hitachi under an integrated action plan to improve reliability.

Workers at East Midlands Railway will stage 24-hour strikes on August 1, 8 and 15 after talks with the operator failed to resolve a safety dispute. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union says the Hitachi Class 810 fleet has faults and should be removed from service, while East Midlands Railway denies that the trains fail to meet safety standards. The operator acknowledges performance and reliability problems and says it is working with Hitachi Rail to resolve them.