‘Unmitigated disaster’: Unions and Sadiq Khan slam transport sec Mark Harper’s rail reform plan February 8, 2023 Unions and Sadiq Khan have slammed the government’s plans to enhance the private sector’s role in railways, calling it “an unmitigated disaster.” It comes after transport secretary Mark Harper announced last night the creation of Great British Railways (GBR), saying the new public body will take “politics out of the railways.” According to Harper yesterday, [...]
Great British Railways confirmed: Body will take ‘politics out’ of sector, says Mark Harper February 7, 2023 Transport secretary Mark Harper has confirmed the creation of Great British Railways, saying the new public body will take “politics out of the railways”. “This is not Network Rail 2.0, nor a return to British Rail,” Harper told the sector as he delivered the annual George Bradshaw address earlier this evening. “Taking the politics out [...]
Rail travel: Government halving the cost of single LNER fares in a move that will ‘unleash more competition, innovation and growth’ February 7, 2023 The government is set to halve the cost of single rail fares across the wider LNER rail network, as part of its plan to reform the UK’s railways. Transport secretary Mark Harper will announce an extension of single-leg pricing beyond the few LNER services that have trialled the ticketing system since 2020. The move will [...]
From strikes to Avanti West Coast: Here the top five things to look out for in rail next year December 28, 2022 Railway has taken centre stage in the UK public discourse as the tug of war between unions and train operators over the past six months has led to unthinkable misery to millions of people and businesses. Rail minister Huw Merriman said last month the walkouts had cost the UK economy £500m, while hospitality and retail [...]
Great British Railways’ creation to take place before next election November 15, 2022 The creation of new rail body Great British Railways continues to drag on, as the legislation will now be tabled before the next general election. Just last month then-transport secretary Anne Marie Trevelyan said GBR would be postponed to the next parliamentary session as the current energy and financial crisis took over the government’s agenda. [...]
Millions of Brits to face major train disruption today despite rail strike called off November 7, 2022 Passengers are urged to check with train operators before they travel with some still expected to run a reduced timetable due to the train strike change coming at such short notice. Rail services will continue to be disrupted today, despite a series of planned strikes being called off. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport [...]
Wednesday from hell for millions of Brits as rail strike gets underway October 5, 2022 Millions of train travellers brace themselves for major chaos today due to another strike in the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. Members of the drivers’ union Aslef and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) will walk out, causing huge disruption to services with millions of Brits expected to work from home. Aslef general [...]
Go-Ahead bidders add another £22m to their offer to give takeover of transport giant the final push August 4, 2022 The bidders planning to buy transport operator Go-Ahead Group have upped their offer by more than £20m. Australian bus network Kinetic and Spanish transport firm Globalvia agreed to take over Go-Ahead in June for around £647m. But the consortium of investors raised their takeover bid by £22m to about £669m today despite not having any [...]
Rail network unable to cope with extreme heat as track hits 62C: ‘Just not built to withstand this temperature’ July 19, 2022 The hottest railway track reached a scorching 62C on Monday, as the Transport Secretary admitted it will take decades to upgrade existing lines to be more resilient. Grant Shapps conceded the UK’s transport network cannot cope with the extreme heat, saying that the Victorian-era infrastructure “just wasn’t built to withstand this type of temperature”. On [...]
Rail union bosses who called for biggest train strike in 25 years take home £280,000 in pay and perks July 12, 2022 With the transport unions having voted on the ‘biggest rail strike in 25 years’, it has been revealed that two Aslef trade union bosses had a combined total remuneration of £281,601 in 2021. Aslef’s general secretary, Mick Whelan, took home £151,371 in total remuneration in 2021. While Aslef’s Assistant General Secretary, Simon Weller, received £130,230 in the same year, the TaxPayers’ Alliance said [...]