Taxpayer to foot £32m bill of South Western Railway strikes, union claims August 29, 2019 Troubled train firm South Western Railway (SWR) is set to receive more than £30m from the taxpayer over the loss of work days to strike action, it has been claimed. The RMT rail union, which will strike on SWR from tomorrow through to Monday, said the government will hand the firm £32m to compensate it [...]
South Western Railway workers start four-day strike in weekend of travel chaos August 30, 2019 Commuters hoping to take the train to work across the south of England face potential chaos this morning as strikes resume on South Western Railway (SWR) over a long-running conflict over train guards. SWR, which runs trains out of London Waterloo to Reading, Bristol and Exeter, has cancelled 800 trains a day until the end [...]
Struggling Northern Rail franchise nationalised and renamed Northern Trains January 29, 2020 Northern Rail is to be nationalised, five years before the franchise was set to end, after months of delays, cancellations and poor financial performance. Transport secretary Grant Shapps will terminate the existing franchise for Northern and install the state’s Operator of Last Resort on 1 March as filings for a new state-run replacement – Northern [...]
Railway bodies call on government for rolling electrification programme February 19, 2020 The railway industry has written to transport secretary Grant Shapps calling for the government to begin a constant process of electrifying the UK’s rail networks or risk missing its 2040 decarbonisation goal. The open letter notes that although electrification is the only means to meet the target, once the Midlands mainline has been electrified, there [...]
South Western Railway to be hit by four days of strikes August 27, 2019 South Western Railway (SWR) is to be hit by four days of strike action from this Friday in the ongoing row over guard safety. Guards and drivers who are members of the RMT rail union have been told not to go to work from one minute past midnight on Friday 30 August to one minute [...]
London Underground: Union threatens Christmas Tube strikes November 11, 2019 There may be “significant disruption” on the London Underground during the Christmas period as rail workers decide on whether to engage in strike action. One thousand Tube cleaners from the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union today began voting on whether to take industrial action in a bid for better pay and amenities. Read [...]
UK unemployment rate could hit 15 per cent with second Covid wave, says OECD July 7, 2020 The UK unemployment rate could soar to 15 per cent if there is a second wave of coronavirus infections, the OECD has said. Even without a second wave, the global economic organisation reckons unemployment could hit 11.7 per cent, a level not seen since the 1980s. It comes as the UK gradually reopens its economies [...]
Rail fare hike: How much your 2019 commute will cost November 30, 2018 Train tickets are set grow even more expensive next year, with fares rising an average of 3.1 per cent in January. The price hike – following a year of frustration for London commuters – has been much criticised, especially as it is tied to the more expensive Retail Price Index, rather than the more commonly [...]
Fitness advice: A beginner’s guide to weight training February 5, 2020 Weight training in the gym can be overwhelming at times, especially if you’re new to exercise. There are so many different machines and loads of people all doing strange, inscrutable things: grunting, posing, texting, swinging heavy stuff above their heads in ways that look painful and dangerous. Unlike running or cycling, which are pretty straightforward, [...]
Northern Rail franchise on course for financial collapse in ‘a number of months’ January 9, 2020 The crisis-stricken Northern Rail franchise is on course for a full-scale financial collapse within months, according to transport secretary Grant Shapps. In a statement citing the franchise’s most recent financial information, Shapps said the franchise could only continue to run for “a number of months” before the government stepped in. Read more: Arriva-run Northern Rail [...]