Network Rail strike rescheduled as RMT union refuses pay offer May 28, 2015 THE RAIL strike is back on. Londoners may have avoided travel disruptions earlier this week when the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union called off a two-day strike over pay disputes, but yesterday the union said that more industrial action could be expected as soon as next week. RMT said that it would hold a 24-hour strike from [...]
The London Powerhouse: Universities are at the heart of the capital’s success May 28, 2015 Dreaming spires and cloistered courtyards: the image of Oxbridge has for centuries defined excellence in Britain’s global higher education offering. But in the twenty-first century, it is London’s elite universities that are tearing up the script. Last September, Imperial College shared second place with Cambridge in the QS World University Rankings, with Harvard just [...]
Rail minister Claire Perry promises to tackle commuter chaos affecting Southern and Southeastern trains at London Bridge and Blackfriars May 28, 2015 Rail minister Claire Perry is building an action plan to tackle the chaos at London Bridge and Blackfriars stations following a “root and branch” review of Network Rail's plans. Perry, who has been in the role for nearly a year, recently met with Network Rail boss Mark Carne to review the work carried out [...]
Crime on London’s transport network has hit a record low May 27, 2015 Crime on London's transport network hit a new record low in the period between the start of April last year until the end of March 2015. TfL said crime on its network slipped to just 8.3 per cent during this period, the ninth year of decreases, which also comes against a backdrop of rapidly rising [...]
Update: Firefighters put out blaze near Woolwich’s Royal Arsenal May 27, 2015 Update: Firefighters have put out a blaze at a Berkeley Homes building site on Arsenal Way, Woolwich this afternoon. Four fire engines and 21 firefighters and officers from Greenwich, East Greenwich and Plumstead attended the incident, and the fire was extinguished in just under an hour. Station manager Joe Kenny, who was at the scene, [...]
Queen’s Speech 2015: Anti-austerity protest targets Downing Street May 27, 2015 The Queen's Speech has come and gone but even after the debates in parliament this afternoon, Downing Street will still be a hive of activity. An anti-austerity protest has been organised to coincide with the Queen's Speech, with campaigners targeting Downing Street shortly after the official state opening of parliament. The People's Assembly [...]
The Crossrail effect: Fares between Liverpool Street and Shenfield cut by up to 40pc as TfL Rail takes £5m hit May 26, 2015 Essex commuters will be the first to benefit from London’s Crossrail train service, with fare cuts of up to 40 per cent introduced this weekend. Although the east-west London line will not be travelling through the capital’s newly-dug tunnels until 2019, some services between Liverpool Street and Shenfield will be run as TfL Rail from [...]
Cabbies protest at TfL and Uber May 26, 2015 VICTORIA was brought to a standstill as London’s black cab drivers staged a protest yesterday afternoon. The group that organised it was the breakaway United Cabbies Group. At the protest, its chairman Len Martin insisted that the demonstration was aimed at Transport for London (TfL), for what the group consider the body’s failure to ignore [...]
Dear Queen, here’s everything business wants you to say in your speech May 26, 2015 On Wednesday the Queen will give her Speech from the Throne, setting out the policy plan for the Conservative government. Big topics to be covered include the EU referendum, which Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to hold within the next two years, housing, immigration, and devolution for cities outside London. Many of the [...]
In pictures: Why TfL escalator and lift work can take so long May 26, 2015 Maintaining the heavy duty escalators and lifts which support London's tube network is a mammoth task – and this helps to explain why replacements and refurbishment can take such a frustratingly long time. It all boils down to the fact these escalators and lifts aren't subjected to an ordinary degree of wear and tear, according to Transport for [...]