Commuters crowdfund £26,000 to launch legal challenge against DfT over Southern Rail crisis October 5, 2016 A fed up group of commuters has gone further than the average Londoner in an effort to tackle their travel delays and disruptions. The Association of British Commuters, a pressure group created after months of ongoing turmoil on Southern Rail, set up a crowdfunding website for a challenge of the Department for Transport's handling of the situation. [...]
Southern Rail email leak orders managers to destroy ‘strike back’ posters October 5, 2016 An email has leaked from Southern Rail bosses claiming its controversial “strike back” campaign posters should be “removed from display and destroyed immediately”. The message with “URGENT” in the subject line said that due to the “extremely negative public sentiment around the brand it has been decided to cancel this poster campaign”. It requested that [...]
Southern rail services subject to delays and cancellations due to fire next to track at Streatham October 4, 2016 Commuters using Southern rail services should be prepared for delays, alterations and cancellations after a fire next to the track at Streatham. The rail operator closed all its lines earlier this morning, following the fire. ⚠️ Due to a fire next to the track at #Streatham all lines are blocked. — Southern (@SouthernRailUK) October 4, [...]
Southern is asking passengers to complain about RMT strikes and they’re not happy about it October 3, 2016 The reaction to a large advertising campaign Southern Rail took out today suggests it may well have misjudged its audience. The snappily named “Let’s strike back” campaign implored passengers to tweet the RMT union and tell it how rail strikes made them feel. It also suggested a hashtag for users to get involved with: #SouthernBackonTrack. Time [...]
Christmas Tube strike on the cards as RMT ballots London Underground staff October 3, 2016 Bad news for the capital’s commuters – London Underground could be facing a new strike threat just in time for the festive period. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) are set to vote on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action in the coming weeks. While union leaders have not yet [...]
Southern Rail sets out eight-point plan in open letter to RMT as it attempts to avert more strikes October 3, 2016 Southern Rail's owner has made a final attempt to break the deadlock in its long-running industrial dispute with the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union. A series of five walkouts between 48 and 72-hours are planned in the coming weeks with the first starting on 11 October. And Govia has upped its efforts by setting out an eight-point plan that [...]
A one-day walkout on Virgin Trains East Coast started this morning October 3, 2016 A 24-hour strike on Virgin Trains East Coast kicked-off in the early hours of this morning as part of a long-running dispute over jobs. The rail franchise said that it plans to run a normal service despite the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union saying that around 1,800 of its members would be taking action. Read [...]
Arriva holds onto the Cross Country rail franchise in “milestone” award by Department for Transport September 29, 2016 Arriva has won a three year contract extension to run the Cross Country rail franchise in a deal with the Department for Transport worth £163m. The Deutsche Bahn-owned company has run the franchise since 2007 and revealed a raft of new initiatives it intends to implement as part of the deal that starts in October. These included promising to waive [...]
Greater devolution could boost English tourism and encourage more staycations, the Local Government Association has argued September 27, 2016 Greater devolution could help English tourism thrive as it would give local bodies the means to turn their areas into travel hotspots, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said today. Striking more devolution deals to improve regional transport, infrastructure and business support — all key to boosting tourism — could give local groups such as combined [...]
Southern rail workers to take 14 days of strike action from next month September 22, 2016 Southern rail workers are to take 14 days of strike action in five blocks from next month as the dispute over role of guards continues, the RMT union said today. The union said workers will take industrial action because of Southern's "continued insistence on removing critical safety trained guards from trains". RMT said its members [...]