TRANSPORT firm Arriva says it has no plans to introduce German as a second language for its staff after the RMT rail union revealed that Network Rail engineers were having to learn some phrases.

The RMT said staff on a recent course in Kent had to learn specific German phrases relating to German instructions on track equipment.

These included “uartfehler”, meaning receiver/transmitter fault, and “verbindungsausfall”, meaning connecting failure.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow, who this week visited the North-East to speak to rail workers, claimed European Union “diktat” was driving a German corporate takeover of Britain’s railways.

Mr Crow also cited the recent takeover of the Grand Central rail franchise by Sunderland based Arriva, which is owned by Deutsche Bahn, a German firm.

A spokeswoman for Arriva said: “English is our business language. Arriva UK train employees will not be required to learn [German] as a second language.”

Mr Crow said: “It is extraordinary that the German companies can't even be bothered to translate their safety instructions into English and instead UK rail workers have to take responsibility with these crash courses in O level German.”

A Network Rail spokesman said: "Network Rail appreciates this is a difficult course and we're looking at ways to make it more accessible and easier to learn and understand.

“This German kit is well proven and highly reliable and will replace old worn-out components dating back 50 years, saving money and at the same time, delivering more reliable infrastructure for passengers and freight users alike."