Category Archives: Transport

Mark Harper refuses to deny No 10 or Treasury pushed for driver-only trains

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MPs question transport secretary about reports government stipulation may have scuppered rail deal

The transport secretary, Mark Harper, has refused to deny reports that the government pushed rail companies to include future use of driver-only trains as a condition of a pay deal, thus potentially scuppering an agreement.

Under sustained questioning before the Commons transport committee, Harper at first said he had not seen the report, before repeatedly declining to engage with the subject beyond saying that reforms in how the railways were run were necessary to make savings.

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North of England mayors urge ministers to tackle rail misery

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Five metro mayors meet transport secretary saying action needed to avoid ‘Christmas chaos’

Mayors in the north of England have called for immediate government action to tackle continuing rail misery, warning time is running out to avoid a Christmas of chaos.

The five metro mayors for Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and North of Tyne met Mark Harper, the transport secretary, in offices near to Manchester Piccadilly station on Wednesday.

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Claw back £12m ‘failing’ rail firm paid out in dividends, Labour urges

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Avanti West Coast, which received £343m subsidy, had worst punctuality performance among train operators

Labour has called on ministers to claw back £12m in dividends paid by Avanti West Coast to its shareholders last year, when it was subsidised by £343m by the taxpayer.

Figures released by the rail watchdog on Tuesday showed that Avanti paid out £12m in 2021-22 from management and performance fees.

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Just Stop Oil activists face new penalties if they obstruct M25 motorway

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National Highways has obtained an injunction to ‘prevent unlawful protests’ until November 2023

A high court injunction has been granted that would impose fresh penalties on Just Stop Oil activists for demonstrating on the country’s busiest motorway until November next year.

National Highways said it had secured the civil order to “prevent unlawful protests” on the M25, after a series of actions by the environmental group caused significant traffic disruption.

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UK rail passengers face new disruption in latest strike

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People urged to travel only if necessary as train drivers with Aslef at 11 rail operators take industrial action over pay

Passengers across Britain face another day of cancelled or disrupted rail services on Saturday as drivers for 11 train companies go on strike.

Train operators urged people to travel only if necessary and to check before setting out, with no trains or only a handful of services running on affected routes.

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NSW government announces deal with rail union in bid to end industrial dispute

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Dominic Perrottet says the two sides agreed to a Fair Work Commission process to resolve long-running fight

The New South Wales government says it has carved out a deal with the state’s rail union to modify a fleet of trains and halt industrial action, after months of bitter negotiation.

The parties had been at odds over whether or not to make safety modifications to a multibillion-dollar Korean-built fleet of intercity trains, which have been in storage since 2019.

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Victoria’s major parties look to contingency funds as part of election commitment costings

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Both Labor and the Coalition claim they could achieve forecast surpluses after releasing their costings

Victoria’s major parties have released the costings of their promises – despite the Coalition initially being unable to quantify the total amount committed and Labor’s document not providing timelines to provide major health and transport projects.

Less than two days out from Saturday’s election, the parties have also revealed they intend to draw on contingency funds – which are usually set aside to cover unforeseen circumstances – in order to prop up the state’s finances and achieve budget surpluses.

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Train cancellations in Great Britain hit highest level on record

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One in 26 journeys disrupted with government accused of ‘abject failure’ to tackle worst offenders such as Avanti West Coast

Rail cancellations have reached their highest level on record with more than 314,000 trains fully or partly cancelled across Great Britain in a year, a Guardian analysis reveals.

Figures from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) show that the proportion of cancelled services has more than doubled since 2015, rising to one in 26 of all train journeys being disrupted in the year to 15 October, the latest date for which figures are available.

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Town vs gown and car vs bike: row erupts over Cambridge congestion plan

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Residents rally over scheme they believe will benefit only bicycling students and dons

In 1381, a mob sacked university buildings and burned books in the town square, shouting: “Away with the learning of clerks!” More recently, battle lines have been drawn over plans to build homes on green belt land and attempts to ban wild swimming in the river Cam.

Now, tensions between town and gown are rising again in Cambridge. This time, it’s over proposals to introduce a £5 congestion charge on weekday car journeys to the city, with a protest march to Parker’s Piece common planned for 27 November.

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Search for woman swept into river ‘stood down’ as heavy rain batters Scotland

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Flooding shuts schools and disrupts travel, with severe weather warnings in place and ‘highest risk to riverside communities’

Police Scotland have “stood down” searches for a woman who was swept into the River Don near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire on Friday as heavy rain continued to batter much of eastern Scotland.

The force said in a statement late on Friday evening: “Around 3.05pm on Friday, November 18, police were called to the River Don near to Monymusk following a report of concern for a woman in the water.

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Dozens of shipping containers thrown from tracks after train derailment outside Geelong

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No one was injured in the incident, which occurred near Inverleigh along the Hamilton Highway in regional Victoria

Dozens of shipping containers have been thrown from the tracks when a freight train derailed in Victoria’s west, closing the rail corridor to Adelaide.

The train derailed near Inverleigh along the Hamilton Highway outside Geelong at about 5.30am on Monday.

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Fund England’s bus network now or lose vital routes, campaigners warn

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Charities and transport groups say hundreds more routes face axe without targeted help and long-term funding

Bus services will not survive without sustained Treasury funding, campaigners and industry groups have warned the chancellor after the cutting of hundreds of routes in recent months.

Transport charities and trade bodies have written to Jeremy Hunt asking for support before this week’s autumn statement urging him to guarantee short-term funding, give targeted help to local authorities, and bring in better long-term financial settlements.

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Heathrow ‘ready for Christmas rush’ after making plans to avoid disruption

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Airport vows passengers will not face daily cap during biggest festive getaway in three years

Heathrow airport has said it is prepared for the biggest Christmas getaway in three years and promised that passengers will not have to face a return of the daily cap that was introduced as summer holiday travel descended into chaos.

Europe’s busiest airport, which said last month that on the busiest travel days over the festive period travellers may have to fly outside peak times to manage the festive rush, said it was working on contingency plans for potential strike action over the period.

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UK train drivers to stage fresh 24-hour strike on 26 November

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Aslef union says drivers at 12 companies will take action over pay

Train drivers are to stage another 24-hour strike later this month, disrupting rail services across Britain and dampening hopes of an imminent end to the dispute.

Aslef said drivers at 12 companies would take action on Saturday 26 November, as the union presses for a pay offer.

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London Underground strike will halt nearly all tube services on Thursday

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RMT’s 24-hour walkout will slow capital to a crawl, with buses expected to be extremely busy and roads congested

A strike on London Underground will halt virtually all tube services and slow much of the capital to a crawl on Thursday, in the ongoing dispute over jobs and pensions.

Some London Overground and Docklands Light Railway services may also be affected by the 24-hour walkout by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union, while buses are expected to be extremely busy and roads congested. Elizabeth Line trains will run as normal.

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Rail passengers in Britain face disruption despite strike cancellation

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Move came too late to reinstate services on Saturday, and they will remain ‘extremely limited’

Rail passengers in Britain are being warned they could still face disruption on Saturday despite a series of planned strikes being called off.

The RMT union said on Friday afternoon that three days of industrial action by thousands of its members at Network Rail, due to take place on Saturday, Monday and Wednesday on lines across the country, would no longer go ahead.

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Spirit of Tasmania operator found guilty of animal welfare breaches over deaths of 16 polo ponies

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Magistrate rules TT-Line made no inquiries to ensure the horses were individually stalled and there was adequate ventilation

Spirit of Tasmania ferry operator TT-Line has been found guilty of breaching animal welfare laws over the deaths of 16 polo ponies on a summer Bass Strait voyage.

The horses had competed in a tournament in Tasmania and were travelling from Devonport to Melbourne in a converted refrigeration trailer on the night of 28 January 2018.

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Heathrow passengers may have to fly outside peak times in run-up to Christmas

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Airport still has shortage of 25,000 staff and is keen to avoid disruption of summer

Heathrow has said passengers may have to fly outside peak times on some days in the run-up to Christmas to avoid further travel chaos, as Europe’s busiest airport admitted it is still short of 25,000 staff to meet high demand.

The airport, which this Sunday is due to lift the current cap of 100,000 passengers a day that was introduced in July as summer holiday travel descended into chaos, said it was in talks with airlines over the selective cap.

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E-scooter safety: Australian states and territories under pressure after spate of fatal crashes

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After three riders died in September and injuries rise, doctors are pushing for better helmet compliance and a rethink on regulations

State and territory governments have largely resisted calls from doctors for tighter regulation of e-scooters, despite a recent spate of accidents that caused serious injuries and deaths.

Last month three Australians died while riding e-scooters, doubling the number of fatalities since 2018, when the first rental scheme was rolled out in Queensland.

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Unions allege safety concerns after worker on Sydney Metro tunnel died of heart attack

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Exclusive: Whistleblowers say they felt under pressure to downgrade seriousness of safety issues but Sydney Metro disputes union claims

A worker died of a heart attack during construction of the Sydney Metro tunnel near Barangaroo station amid allegations from the unions that a defibrillator was not readily available in the construction zone.

Sydney Metro strongly disputes the union claim. However, it acknowledged additional defibrillators were deployed in the tunnels after the incident, which occurred on 6 July.

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