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Workers at East Midlands Railway to strike in row over safety
RMT leader: Eddie Dempsey

WORKERS at East Midlands Railway (EMR) are set to take strike action on Saturday as they warned of losing confidence in safety levels due to the rollout of an 810-train fleet with a number of faults.

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “On top of faulty toilets, broken air con systems and communication and door issues, we are seeing trains stranded on the track and staff are losing confidence in safety levels.

“RMT is demanding that whilst these faults exist and until these trains are shown to be operating properly, they should be taken out of service.”

Incidents reported by RMT this month after the company sent out 16 new trains resulted in full auxiliary resets, leaving trains without active safety systems, including loss of communication between train drivers and dispatchers.

EMR has denied the union’s claims and said it was “committed to delivering the safe, reliable, high-performing and punctual service.”

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