Three-day weekend strike affecting South Western Railway services begins August 31, 2018 A strike on South Western Railway (SWR) services started overnight, and is due to last all weekend, causing disruption to commuters. The three-day strike started at midnight Friday and runs until midnight Sunday, leaving SWR running a reduced service across all routes save its island line to the Isle of Wight. It affects lines from [...]
TfL and Network Rail urged to stop ‘passing the buck’ over failures on Gospel Oak to Barking line August 30, 2018 Transport for London (TfL) and Network Rail have been urged to stop "passing the buck" over continuing failures on the Gospel Oak to Barking line. Commuters using the London Overground line have endured repeated delays to the introduction of new Class 710 electric trains, which manufacturer Bombardier has blamed on software problems. The trains were [...]
Checking emails on the daily commute should count as work, say researchers August 30, 2018 The daily commute should be counted as part of the working day because so many passengers are using the time to check their work emails, a survey has found. Researchers at the University of West England (UWE) examined 5,000 rail passengers on commuter routes into London as Wi-Fi became more available, focusing on the Wi-Fi [...]
Tory MPs call on Chris Grayling to freeze rail fare hikes until services improve August 30, 2018 Transport secretary Chris Grayling is facing calls from his own MPs to freeze rail fares for three months until services improve. A handful of Tory MPs have demanded that the annual 3.2 per cent fare increase, to be introduced from January, should not come into force until passengers using Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and Great Northern [...]
Eddie Stobart accelerates growth with new contract wins August 30, 2018 Logistics group Eddie Stobart reported strong revenue growth and reiterated its expectations for the full year this morning. Due to a technical error posting the results to the stock exchange, figures were not uploaded until 9.20am. Shares were up 1.1 per cent following the release. The figures Revenue grew 25.3 per cent to £359.3m in the [...]
London City Airport wins boosted seat capacity with bolstered BA fleet August 29, 2018 British Airways is expanding its fleet of Embraer 190 aircraft at London City Airport (LCA) next year under its BA CityFlyer brand. The addition of four new planes mean there will now be 26 BA CityFlyer aircraft operating at LCA, leading to job opportunities and a boosted seat capacity of 20 per cent. Along with the new aircraft, BA CityFlyer is [...]
Niki Lauda-founded airline to double fleet following completion of Ryanair deal August 29, 2018 Austrian low-cost airline Laudamotion is to double its Airbus fleet following the completion of Ryanair's purchase of 75 per cent of the Niki Lauda-founded carrier. Laudamotion said it will bolster its fleet from nine to 18 next summer. Alongside this, it also announced the opening of new office in Vienna and pilot pay increases and basic pay [...]
RMT union to launch three-day strike on South Western Railway from Friday August 29, 2018 A three-day strike will hit the embattled South Western Railway (SWR) this weekend, as the RMT union's industrial action over the role of guards continues into September. The strike will begin on Friday from midnight and end at midnight on Sunday this weekend. Strikes will also take place at the same times on Saturday 8 [...]
RMT union to claim higher pay for Network Rail workers following row with Chris Grayling August 28, 2018 The RMT union has said it will lodge a claim to increase the pay of its members working at Network Rail, raising the possibility of a tense standoff that could result in further disruption for British passengers. Relations between the union and the Department for Transport (DfT), which controls Network Rail, are at an all-time low [...]
Heathrow launches new direct flight to Chinese megacity Chongqing August 28, 2018 Heathrow has launched its first direct flight to Chongqing, in what marks the hub airport's 10th direct flight to China. Tianjin Airlines will operate the route to the Chinese 'megacity' three times a week, carrying up to 81,000 passengers a year, as well as nearly 4,000 tonnes worth of exports. Heathrow has been growing its list of [...]