GTR vows to modernise services as talks with RMT end without agreement August 15, 2016 Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has vowed to move ahead with its modernisation plans after talks with RMT ended without any agreement. GTR, the parent company of embattled Southern Rail, said it will move forward after talks broke down with the RMT union at Acas. An Acas spokesperson said: "Acas conciliation talks have ended without the sides reaching [...]
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan boosts police funding by £3.4m to protect Night Tube travellers August 15, 2016 Around 100 extra police officers will be deployed when the Night Tube launches this weekend, as part of a £3.4m boost in security funding for the new 24-hour services. The British Transport Police (BTP) officers will patrol trains and all 51 stations on the Central and Victoria lines on Friday and Saturday night, Transport for London (TfL) [...]
Budget rail service will link Edinburgh and London August 14, 2016 | City Talk A new low-fare train service between Edinburgh and London has been given the green light. The rail regulator ORR has approved FirstGroup's proposal to provide a rival budget rail service on the East Coast Mainline linking Edinburgh and London. The plan is to operate five trains a day in each direction. The service will be [...]
More proof Southern’s still a total basket case after timetable changes August 14, 2016 After a week of travel misery among commuters with strikes on Southern Rail, commuters who feel like they're getting a raw deal will be unsurprised to hear that new figures show the operator continues to be beleaguered by cancellations and delays – despite efforts to improve. One in five Southern services are still not running on time, just [...]
Now there’s going to be a strike on Virgin trains – but Virgin has promised a “normal timetable” August 12, 2016 Virgin Trains has promised to run a "normal timetable" during three 24-hour strikes which were confirmed by the RMT union today. In a statement today, RMT said the three 24-hour strikes on Virgin East Coast, which were announced on Tuesday, will take place on Friday 19 August, Friday 26 August and Monday 29 August, threatening to disrupt [...]
Sacre bleu: Eurostar staff’s work/life balance strike started at St Pancras this morning – here’s what you need to know August 12, 2016 The good news is that if you're planning on travelling to Paris today, things might not be as bad as expected – despite the fact RMT union members have put up pickets at St Pancras as they began the first stage of their work/life balance strike. The strike – which, lest we forget, was voted for [...]
Banning diesel cars is the wrong way to tackle pollution in London August 12, 2016 Everyone reading today’s copy of Morning Wire wants clean air. But reducing pollution in our great city is a complex problem deserving of careful consideration and the adoption of a range of solutions. There is no magic bullet. Reducing emissions from all sources – whether planes, trains, cars or buses, or the polluting systems that [...]
Business pushes government once again on airport decision after Gatwick records largest ever month of traffic August 11, 2016 Business groups have jumped on data showing Gatwick recorded its busiest ever month in its 80 year history to push for a decision on aviation capacity. Some 4.6m passengers travelled through the airport in July, up 6.9 per cent on the same month last year, while long-haul jumped 23 per cent. Business groups welcomed the news, but indicated it [...]
Southern Rail is still running its services based on the strike timetable August 11, 2016 Commuters may have breathed a sigh of relief yesterday, when the Southern Rail strike was called off – but it actually hasn't made much of a difference to service today. The rail company said this morning that it is still running services based on its strike timetable. Today's service will be based on the strike [...]
The RMT’s dangerous strikes are a cynical ploy to pave the way for rail renationalisation August 10, 2016 There is no general upsurge of industrial militancy in the UK: the latest figures show both numbers of stoppages and days lost to strikes remain low. The cluster of RMT actions – against Southern Railway/Govia Thameslink (now suspended), Virgin East Coast and Eurostar – will not be a harbinger of a new wave of damaging [...]