Railnews is the only newspaper for staff in the British railway industry.
It was founded in 1963 to replace the regional magazines which British Railways had inherited from the former companies when they were nationalised. Railnews continued until 1997, when privatisation meant that the British Railways Board would no longer run trains or maintain the infrastructure.
The title was bought by the present company, and monthly publication was resumed four months later.
Today Railnews is read throughout the railway system by thousands of staff who work for train operators, Network Rail and other authorities, such as the Office of Rail and Road and Transport for London.
It is recognised as the industry’s own newspaper, and includes regular features from the ‘whistleblowing’ organisation CIRAS and also the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, which sees Railnews as the most efficient way to circulate safety messages and explain the lessons learnt from incidents to as many staff as possible.
Although Railnews is at the core of the railway, it is not an internal house title and is not the voice of management.
Instead, when industrial disputes occur Railnews is scrupulous about steering evenly between the two sides, airing what they have to say but making no editorial judgements.
Railnews sees one of its main responsibilities as ‘ventilating the debate’, while staying neutral.
There is no other newspaper for the rail industry in Britain, and Railnews is privileged to play a vital role in print, in digital formats and on the internet.
