Rail cleaners take the streets in biggest strike ever February 23, 2022 Hundreds of railway cleaners today are taking the streets in what campaigners consider their biggest strike ever over wages. The cleaners, the majority of whom is employed by professional cleaning company Churchill, work across the UK’s railway network – including on Thameslink, Southeastern, Eurostar and HS1 services. “The rail industry make a lot of noise [...]
Rail regulator urges operators to stop profiting from ticket refund admin fees February 16, 2022 Train operators were urged today to stop profiting from excessive admin fees applied to ticket refund practices. According to railway regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), while the admin fees for ticket refunds amount to £10, the actual cost of processing refunds is around £5. After analysing data between 1 April 2019 and [...]
“Let all the the children boogie”: Waterloo celebrates 50th anniversary of Ziggy Stardust appearance with silent disco February 8, 2022 Rail passengers at Waterloo will be able to (silently) dance to their favourite David Bowie’s tunes on Thursday, as the station will host a silent disco for the 50th anniversary of Bowie’s alter ego Ziggy Stardust. Non-profit organisation the Community Brain has set up the event alongside Community Rail and South Western Rail which for [...]
C2C apologises for “inadvertently” causing price overcharge February 8, 2022 Rail operator C2C has apologised for “inadvertently ” loading the ticketing system incorrectly and causing an increase in ticket prices. C2C, which is owned by Italian state operator Trenitalia and runs services between the City’s Fenchurch Street and south Essex, told customers who had purchased a ticket between Saturday and today they could get a [...]
Govia Thameslink hires more women and BAME as part of diversity push February 7, 2022 Rail operator Govia Thameslink has registered a surge in the uptake of women and Black, Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) recruits as part of its diversity push. The group – who operates Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink – has reported that in 2021 34 per cent of new recruits were women while 27 per cent were [...]
Grant Shapps promises angry commuters ‘big improvements’ in railway timetables February 4, 2022 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has promised angry commuters that ‘big improvements’ in railway timetables are bound to take place within the next two weeks. Shapps said this morning he’s in talks with train operators to bring timetables back to quasi normal levels, as the number of people travelling has increased significantly following the removal of [...]
Lib Dems lambast ‘miserable Monday’ commute following reports of railway cuts January 31, 2022 The Lib Dems have criticised the reduction in railway services across London, following reports that the UK Government will make the cuts permanent. “Today’s miserable Monday morning commute will be the new normal if London’s train timetable isn’t restored,” Lib Dem transport spokesperson and Richmond Park MP Sarah Olney said. “The cuts in services are [...]
Clock is ticking: Govia Thameslink in rush to avoid nationalisation January 25, 2022 Govia Thameslink, one of the UK’s biggest train operators, is reportedly rushing to secure a contract with co-owner Go-Ahead, in an effort to avoid nationalisation. Nationalisation plans were proposed after Go-Ahead failed to file its financial results on Monday – the second time since the Southeastern rail scandal, when the group admitted serious errors and [...]
Rail services affected by worst cancellation period January 17, 2022 Rail services have been affected by the worst cancellation period ever, according to industry data. As a result of Covid-related staff shortages and strike actions, 4.4 per cent of rail services across the UK were cancelled between 12 December and 8 January, PA news agency reported. According to data, since 2014 only two four-week periods [...]
Campaigners fear rail increase will push commuters to cars January 16, 2022 Environmental campaigners believe the increase in rail fares – which is set to go up 3.8 per cent starting from March – will push commuters back to using their cars. “Transport is responsible for more carbon emissions than any other sector,” Paul Tuohy, Campaign for Better Transport’s chief executive, told the Sunday Telegraph. “Considering the [...]