New era as Avanti begins running West Coast Main Line services December 8, 2019 A new era began for West Coast Main Line train services this morning as Avanti completed its first journey from London Euston to Manchester. Avanti, the franchise managed by the partnership of Aberdee’s FirstGroup and Italy’s Trenitalia, has taken over from Virgin Trains, which has run the line since 1997. Read more: Virgin Trains’ manager [...]
Rail strike: Union writes to South Western to restart talks as commuters complain of ‘hell’ December 4, 2019 Rail union bosses have written to South Western Railway in an attempt to halt what is planned to be Britain’s longest ever rail strike. As commuters complained of “hell” on their way to work with the strike entering its third day out of 27, the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) Union asked South Western [...]
Commuter chaos continues as London rail strike standoff enters second day December 3, 2019 The standoff between South Western Railway and the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) Union went on today, as Labour faced claims it was working alongside union bosses to boost its election prospects. Commuters were left miserable again as the longest rail strike in history entered its second day, with some warning that the remaining [...]
Christmas travel chaos looms as South Western rail staff prepare to strike from Monday November 28, 2019 Londoners are set to endure a month of chaos on one of the capital’s busiest railways, after last ditch strike talks between union bosses and the rail operator broke down again today. The 27 day strike, which begins on Monday, is on course to be London’s worst ever, and will hit all South Western rail [...]
Southeastern rail franchise on course for another extension as Go Ahead in talks with government November 28, 2019 Go Ahead, the company which operates the Southeastern rail franchise, is in talks with the government over extending its contract to run the line beyond the current 1 April end date. The competition for the franchise was unexpectedly scrapped in August and a five-month extension awarded to Govia, the joint venture between Go-Ahead and Keolis, [...]
Virgin Trains manager jumps ship to First Group for west coast main line railway takeover November 26, 2019 First Group has poached the boss of Virgin Trains just in time to take over the west coast main line rail franchise in 12 days’ time. Phil Whittingham, who has been at Virgin since it took control of the country’s most lucrative rail network in 1998, will keep running the line, which connects London to [...]
South Western Railway services to close early in December amid strikes November 25, 2019 Christmas parties across London will be scuppered next month, as late night train services face the chop amid 27 days of rail strikes. The strike, which begins next Monday, is on course to be the worst ever in the capital city, and will hit all services which run in and out of Waterloo, the busiest [...]
Londoners face 27-day Christmas rail strike as union talks break down November 21, 2019 Christmas shoppers and commuters face a month of festive travel chaos, after talks over a 27-day strike on one of London’s busiest rail networks broke down. Negotiations between the Rail and Maritime Transport union (RMT) and South Western Railway collapsed after the operator failed to put forward any proposals that could settle the dispute, according [...]
‘Dirty business’: Rail firms will still be dumping raw sewage on the line next year November 3, 2019 Rail operators have been forced to backtrack on a promise to stop the “dirty business” of dumping excrement on tracks by the end of the year. Network Rail and a number of train companies have admitted the 2017 promise – to stop using carriages whose toilets flush sewage directly onto the track by the end [...]
Arriva-run Northern Rail franchise could be nationalised October 16, 2019 One of Britain’s biggest rail franchises could be renationalised amid concerns about its financial situation and late-running trains, the transport secretary has said. Grant Shapps said he is considering whether Northern Rail, which is run by German operator Arriva, should be brought under state control. Read more: Arriva seeks £200m from government over East Midlands [...]