Southern rail driver-operated doors: Rail regulator satisfied they are “a safe method of working” January 5, 2017 The chief inspector of railways has concluded Southern rail's plans for driver-operated doors are safe. Nevertheless, unions highlighted a series of recommendations in the report by Ian Prosser on behalf of regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). Driver-operated doors are at the heart of the Southern rail dispute that has blighted the network for almost a year, [...]
Southern halves next week’s strike but adds three new days of industrial action January 4, 2017 Three new strike dates have been announced for Southern rail at the end of the month, Aslef, the train drivers' union, has announced. Industrial action is planned for January 24, 25 and 27. The announcement came shortly after the union said it would reduce next week's six-day driver strike to three days as it takes a "longer-term" view of the ongoing [...]
Orange barmy army: Network Rail spends £103m on Christmas upgrades to rail infrastructure January 3, 2017 Network Rail hailed the success of its "orange army" of workers and revealed it had forked out £103m over the Christmas break upgrading Britain's rail network. The work was carried out at almost 200 locations across the UK. Meanwhile, commuters into London Waterloo will be pleased to hear that £4.5m of work scheduled at the station, or on the tracks [...]
Rail passenger group urges Southern to freeze fares to “rebuild trust” January 3, 2017 Freezing fares for Southern passengers would "help to start rebuild trust" in the franchise, a rail passenger group has said. Transport Focus urged Southern to freeze ticket prices after "months of misery they have experienced". Passengers were beset by strikes and disruption for much of 2016 – and the misery will continue into this year, [...]
Grinding to a halt: Southern rail services set for the sidings next week with no talks scheduled January 2, 2017 Commuters are bracing themselves for the longest wholesale shutdown of the Southern rail network starting next week. Combined strike action by both drivers union Aslef and guards union the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will take place between 9 and 14 January, extending longer than the three-day strikes previously held. The dispute between unions, Southern [...]
Brace yourself: You’ll be paying more for your commute in 2017 January 2, 2017 As 2017 gets off to a tentative start, commuters are already having to face a harsh reality of the new year – the annual rise in the cost of commuting. Most people may still be enjoying the bank holiday, but workers returning to work from today onwards will have to dig deeper as train fares rise by [...]
From Southern rail’s backfiring poster to Google’s April Fool prank gone wrong: Six of the most memorable business blunders of 2016 January 1, 2017 2016 has been an interesting year to say the least. There has of course been a plethora of notable political events over the past 12 months, but there’s also been plenty going on in the business world. With that in mind, here are some of the most memorable company clangers from over the year – from [...]
As freezing fog settles across the South East, here are all the travel delays and disruptions taking place in London in the run-up to New Year’s Eve December 30, 2016 New Year’s Eve can be a hectic period for travel, and this year has the added trouble of thick fog and ice causing concern, on top of a planned Southern rail strike. Drivers have been warned to be wary of fog and sub-zero weather conditions across large swathes of England. Freezing fog has settled in [...]
Londoners face Christmas travel headache as Paddington closes, Moorgate experiences disruption and M1 shuts down December 24, 2016 Engineering works on railways across the country have left passengers facing disruption, with London one of the most badly affected areas. There are no trains to and from Paddington until next Thursday to make way for Crossrail work, while severe disruption is expected between Finsbury Park and Moorgate until lunchtime at the earliest due to an electricity fault. A number of [...]
RMT’s Great Western Rail strike will go ahead tomorrow December 22, 2016 A Great Western Railway (GWR) workers' strike will go ahead tomorrow, the RMT union confirmed today. RMT members who are cleaners on the rail network will take industrial action over "serious bullying, claims of discrimination and poverty working conditions" on the GWR train cleaning contract operated by Servest UK. Members have been instructed not to book on for [...]