Rail investment call
The Railway Industry Association has sent its Autumn 2024 submission to HM Treasury in advance of the Budget on 30 October. The suppliers’ group is calling for a steady pipeline of capital projects and rail investment to lower costs, create jobs, boost growth and ultimately secure the country’s industrial and manufacturing capacity. RIA chief executive Darren Caplan said: ‘Boosting the railway network is crucial to the economy, local growth, decarbonisation and providing social value to communities around the country. And so we strongly encourage Ms Reeves to remember that capital projects including rail can help her ambition to drive the Government’s headline priority of powering economic growth.’

TfL names potential tram suppliers
Transport for London has issued an Invitation to Tender to four pre-qualified manufacturers for the supply of at least 24 trams. The shortlisted companies are Alstom, CAF, Hitachi and Stadler. TfL said the four can now proceed to the next stage of the formal process, along with TfL, to design and build the next generation of trams that will start to be introduced later in the decade if funding is available. The existing fleet consists of trams built by Bombardier and Stadler but the original Bombardier trams are now more than 20 years old, and TfL said they are becoming less reliable.

New FirstGroup chair
FirstGroup says Lena Wilson CBE will be joining the Board as chair on 1 February. Lena is an experienced director and chair having held positions on listed and private companies for over a decade. She is currently a non-executive director and remuneration committee chair at NatWest Group plc and also the chair of Picton Property Income Limited. David Martin retired from the Board last night, and until Lena joins the Board, senior independent director Peter Lynas will act as chair.

HS2 jobs
More than 4,500 people who were out of work have found employment with HS2. The latest data from HS2 Ltd shows that 246 people who were previously unemployed joined the project between April and June 2024. To date, the total number of formerly unemployed people now working on HS2 has reached 4,504. In all, more than 31,000 people are now working on HS2, with construction continuing between London and the West Midlands.