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 [...]
Govia is embarking on a timetable shake-up to win back support from disgruntled passengers September 19, 2016 Govia Thameslink Railway is planning a timetable shake-up with the aim of providing new connections and faster journeys. Govia has been beset by problems recently due to a dispute with train guards on its Southern railway service, but is now trying to win back customer loyalty with its plans for new services. Read more: A (partial) defence of [...]
Mayor of London slammed over RMT union’s planned Tube strikes on Hammersmith & City and Circle Lines September 15, 2016 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has been slammed today over his lack of response to a Tube strike planned by drivers on the Hammersmith & City and Circle Lines, due to start tonight. The RMT union said this morning that, following an "overwhelming vote for action" by drivers who are union members, 24 hours of strike [...]
Don’t make Southern Rail a scapegoat for the ideological war between Whitehall and the trade unions September 8, 2016 Southern Rail is raking in tens of millions of pounds in profit from its disastrous management of a crucial commuter line while careering head first into a row with unions and nabbing a £20m taxpayer bailout due to the ensuing problems – at least if you believe the company’s critics. The reality of the situation [...]
Three at 3: The three stories you need to read right now September 5, 2016 It’s Monday afternoon – need we say say more? So why bother trawling the internet for something to read? We’ve done the legwork for you, and put together the top three stories of the day in bite-sized form, just to make your life that bit easier. Check out our three at three. More travel for [...]
Southern Rail plan to run 60 per cent of services during the RMT strike September 5, 2016 Southern Rail plans to run six out of every 10 trains normally timetabled during the 48-hour strike by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union that commences in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The franchise said that it would use "contingency conductors", adding that there would be extra staff at stations to help passengers and "arrangements [...]