Passengers brace for Platinum Jubilee travel chaos as rail operators warn of engineering works May 17, 2022 Passengers coming to London will need to brace for travel chaos as rail operators warn of engineering works planned during the Bank Holiday weekend. Travellers were warned to check before they travelled into the capital for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee as services on several routes are expected to experience cancellations and disruption. Southern services between [...]
Rail could cost £6bn per year without government reform May 17, 2022 Maintaining the railway sector without government reform could cost up to £6bn of taxpayers’ money a year, warned a report published today. An analysis by UK think tank Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) argued that without a complete makeover, the network will fall into a decline and underinvestment scenario that could force the government to [...]
Railway industry sets up contingency plans ahead of potential RMT strike May 16, 2022 The UK railway industry has set several contingency plans ahead of a potential strike by the union RMT, which could involve up to 40,000 workers. Network Rail said it had measures in place to “better understand the disruption it may cause to passengers and freight services.” The government-owned railway operator said it was working with [...]
Flower Power: Network Rail to boost travellers’ mental health with flower compositions May 9, 2022 Network Rail has announced it will start displaying flower compositions in UK train stations as a way to boost travellers’ mental health. While the railway operator hopes it will “lift people’s spirits,” the Better Journeys’ initiative aims to raise awareness of the Hub of Hope app, which helps people access mental health support. Installations will [...]
Rail fares could soar by 12 per cent amid inflationary spikes May 5, 2022 Railway users could soon enough see the price of their tickets soar as a result of inflation spiking to 7 per cent and not showing any sign of easing. Economists argued fares could go up as high as 12 per cent from next year if the government doesn’t untie the increase in inflation rates and [...]
Unions warn rail cuts could increase the risk of crashes May 4, 2022 Reported railway cuts could increase the risk of serious crashes, according to trade unions. A report published today by the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) accused Network Rail of planning to cut around 2,5000 maintenance jobs as part of a £100m annual spending reduction, leading to the loss of 2,500 jobs. According to the TUC, cutting [...]
Railway cleaners begin 11-day strike over salaries April 27, 2022 Railway cleaners began today an 11-day strike to increase their salary to £15 per hour. The union RMT said its members working for contractor Churchill aboard the GTR, Southeastern and HS1 networks will go on strike until 7 May. As part of the campaign, RMT is calling for cleaning staff to be treated like other [...]
EXCLUSIVE: Government and railway industry to be more ‘radical’ in R&D April 26, 2022 The railway sector and the UK Government need to be more “radical” when it comes to research and development (R&D) according to a paper published today. Through its Railway Innovation Strategy, the Railway Industry Association (RIA) has called on the government to roll out more investment in rail innovation and provide funding, while asking the [...]
More than 40,000 workers to vote over biggest rail strike in history April 20, 2022 More than 40,000 workers are set to vote whether to go on strike in what could be the biggest rail industrial action in history. The National Union of Rail Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) cited Network Rail’s planned cuts as the reason behind the ballot, which will take place between 26 April and 24 May. [...]
‘Great British Rail Sale’ lambasted as website crashes April 19, 2022 The UK Government’s decision to sell one million train tickets at half price was lambasted today for excluding millions of commuters. Launched today, the “Great British Rail Sale” aims to help struggling Brits travel amid a cost-of-living squeeze but it only applied to advance fares or off-peak tickets for companies who don’t offer an advance. [...]