Freezing winter chills National Express profits July 30, 2014 EXTREME freezing winter weather in the US, strikes in Spain and the strength of sterling hit first-half profits at UK-based transport giant National Express, despite it winning £5bn worth of contracts so far this year. Operating profit fell to £89.5m in the first half of 2014, down from £97.2m over the same period last year, [...]
London train disruptions continue after storms July 26, 2014 Rail passengers travelling to and from London can expect a continuation of rail disruptions following yesterday's storms. Lightning strikes and signalling failures led to a series of train cancellations in southern England and Wales on Friday. Many of the trains affected had links in London. A strike in Surbiton, south west London, caused [...]
Union suspends Tube strike after last-ditch talks May 6, 2014 A PLANNED three-day strike by London Underground (LU) workers was called off yesterday just hours before it was due to take place, after both sides called a truce. Members of the RMT union were set to walk out at 9pm last night in a row over LU’s plan to close all Tube ticket offices and [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 22 April 2014 April 22, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Anglo eyes SA platinum shift Anglo American is preparing the ground for an exit from part of its South African platinum business, in what would be one of the miner’s most decisive shifts away from troublesome assets since Mark Cutifani became chief executive last year. The country’s platinum sector has been crippled for [...]
The British productivity disease: How to cure it April 16, 2014 THIS week has brought more bright economic news – with falling inflation and unemployment paving the way for rising real wages. Yet while the UK is now the fastest growing developed economy, the productivity of its workforce languishes a fifth below the G7 average. What can be done to cure this British disease? US economist [...]
Obituary: The firebrand who led London’s transport staff March 11, 2014 WHEN BOB Crow was challenged last month about sunbathing in Brazil while his union headed towards a series of strikes on the London Underground, he replied in his typically brusque manner: “What do you want me to do, sit under a tree and read Karl Marx every day?” Crow’s fight for rail workers since winning [...]
Union leader Bob Crow passes away March 11, 2014 The 52 year old leader of the Rail Maritime Transport (RMT) union Bob Crow has passed away. He died at Whipps Cross hospital from an aneurysm and heart attack according to initial reports. Geoff Martin of the RMT said in a statement: It is with the deepest regret that RMT has to confirm that our [...]
The boffins have proved it: Commuting makes you miserable February 12, 2014 Who’d be a commuter? Escalating train fares, Tube strikes, people sneezing without covering their noses. My soul’s getting heavy just thinking about it. And now even the boffins at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are weighing in, performing a complex “regression analysis” – a way of comparing lots of different variables, in this case [...]
Commuters set for rough ride as TSSA votes to join RMT strike January 27, 2014 The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) will be joining two 48-hour Tube strikes in an announcement that will sink the hearts of commuters. Manuel Cortes, TSSA general secretary, said: It is now time for Boris to sit down with his staff representatives and negotiate a sensible deal which will protect the safety and security of [...]
Tube and bus fares rise in line with inflation December 3, 2013 THE COST of public transport in London will rise by an average of 3.1 per cent in January, the Mayor of London announced yesterday along with a claim that the change represents a real-term price freeze. Some tickets, including the single bus fare paid in cash and pay-as-you-go daily caps, will be kept at 2013 [...]