Синдикат требует срочного финансирования железной дороги после двух сходов поездов на фоне жары

Train derailments show rail network 'unprepared for climate crisis' EXCLUSIVE: Maryam Eslamdoust, General Secretary Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association, warned reducing investment would not help meet the issues caused by the 'climate crisis' A transport union has called for urgent talks with Andy Burnham amid fears over rail safety and after two derailments in the heatwave. Maryam Eslamdoust, General Secretary Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), demanded more funding for staff, and warned reducing investment would not help meet the issues caused by the “climate crisis”. A Greater Anglia train derailed on Friday south of Wickford railway station in Essex, while an incident at Lewes on Thursday seriously injured two passengers. Investigations into the derailments are looking at all possible causes, but officials have said that hot weather presented the railway with a series of challenges. In a letter to Mr Burnham seen by this newspaper, Ms Eslamdoust warned the 2025 Spending Review was a real terms cut in investment for Network Rail, who required more investment to handle the crisis. She said: “This summer has seen exceptionally high temperatures, placing additional stresses on railway infrastructure. “Maintaining and adapting the network so that it can withstand increasingly frequent extreme weather will require sustained investment in infrastructure, maintenance and workforce skills, not less. “The events at Lewes demonstrate once again that when something goes seriously wrong on our railway, passengers depend not only on the infrastructure and emergency services, but also on the railway workers who are there with them. Those workers must have the training, resources and support necessary to respond safely and effectively.” Concerns over the impact of the weather were also raised on Saturday by Martin Frobisher, group safety and engineering director at Network Rail, who there was “lots that we can do” to make the railway more resilient to climate change. Mr Frobisher told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “We’re in the process now of putting together our case for our next five-year funding cycle and we’ll be making a very strong case for climate resilience. “There’s more that we need to do in the future. We’re modelling that in a very technical way, so as to make the best possible case for funding in the future.” It came as London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan warned the PM not to “slow down on net zero”. He said national governments around the world ”must choose action over apathy and commit to delivering Net Zero, reducing our reliance on oil and gas, and investing in the large-scale green projects we urgently need to cut emissions, adapt to extreme heat, and protect communities from flooding and wildfires”. A Government spokesperson said: "Our thoughts are with those who were affected by the derailments in Lewes and Wickford in recent days. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has been deployed to both sites and is expected to investigate and report on the causes in due course. It is important not speculate in the meantime. "The industry has been taking proactive steps to manage the impact of heat. Network Rail are spending £2.6 billion to improve weather resilience across the railways and continues to monitor track temperatures closely and introduce speed restrictions where needed. "Britain's railways remain amongst the safest in the world and while incidents like this are extremely rare, when they do occur they are taken very seriously and we will ensure all lessons are learnt."