Victoria station evacuated over ‘faulty’ fire alert: June 24, 2019 A fire alert at Victoria station caused rush hour misery for commuters this morning as authorities evacuated the major London travel hub. Passengers struggled to get to work as the Victoria Line, Circle Line and District Line did not stop at the station after the incident, which took place around 7am. Read more: Londoners brace [...]
Londoners brace for summer Tube strike chaos June 24, 2019 Londoners are braced for misery as the RMT rail union prepares to ballot its members on a summer Tube strike on Wednesday. The RMT claims it is being hurt by staff job cuts and privatisation under Transport for London’s (TfL) cost-cutting programme, which has seen it slash back office costs by about 30 per cent [...]
There’s a first time for everything… including marrying your friends June 21, 2019 Over the years I’ve ticked off most of the public speaking formats. I’ve enjoyed after dinner speeches, panel discussions, debates and events of all sizes. Last week, I ticked off another category of performance by conducting my friends’ wedding. The only other time I’d been as surprised at a suggestion was when the proprietors of [...]
RMT rail union accuses Sadiq Khan of Tory cuts ‘stitch up’ June 20, 2019 The RMT rail union has accused Sadiq Khan of carrying out “Tory cuts to the Tube” as it protests outside City Hall this morning. The union claims that Transport for London (TfL), which Khan chairs, has “given up” on restoring central government funding to the transport body. Read more: Tube strike action on the cards [...]
South Western Railway strike: Thousands hit by industrial action June 18, 2019 Commuters faced the first of five days of disruption as a South Western Railway strike hit trains to and from London Waterloo station today. Passengers face rush hour chaos for the rest of the week and into the weekend on the route after workers with the Rail, Mairitme and Transport Union (RMT) walked out over [...]
Bret Easton Ellis interview: an audience with the most hated writer in America June 17, 2019 Bret Easton Ellis is concerned about the noise. We’re sitting in the lounge of a fancy hotel, and he’s worried my tape recorder won’t pick him up. “We can find another if you’d like. Tell me what you want to do.” It’s hard to reconcile his graciousness with his reputation as the one-time enfant terrible [...]
South Western Railway strike will hit Royal Ascot guests this week June 17, 2019 Thousands of commuters heading to Royal Ascot this week could be hit by a major railway strike. Five days of industrial action on South Western Railway (SWR) starting tomorrow will coincide with the opening day of the annual horse racing event, which runs until Saturday. SWR said the strike will hit London Waterloo commuters as [...]
Heavy rain causes travel chaos for Southern and Thameslink commuters June 11, 2019 Heavy rain across England is causing chaos for passengers in the south east, especially on the routes run by Southern and Thameslink. There are major delays across the Southern network, which operates between London and the south of England, including Brighton, and on Thameslink, which runs from Bedford via central London to Kent. Read more: [...]
First Group ‘may sue government’ if no deal on South Western Railway franchise contract June 9, 2019 First Group is open to suing the government if the two cannot agree terms on its South Western Railway franchise. Responding to reports the company could bring legal action, a spokesperson said any suggestions of this were “purely hypothetical”. First Group’s new boss Matthew Gregory had told the Sunday Times if the two sides could [...]
Chaos hits commuters with severe Tube delays June 7, 2019 Commuters faced a dire journey into work this morning after signalling problems left three Tube lines suffering severe delays. Read more: These are the Tube’s most stressful stations The Circle Line and Hammersmith & City Line had severe delays along their entire lines this morning after the problem. Meanwhile the District Line had severe delays [...]