Rail

The new train timetables have meant a miserable few weeks for commuters, and the hot weather is only adding to frayed nerves. It’s led to calls for the railways to be re-nationalised, and even for the Transport Secretary to step down. Now one Conservative MP is proposing a new compensation scheme that would pay out…

The government has described the Northern Rail timetable fiasco, which left passengers stranded and delayed, as “totally unacceptable”. We have spoken to one Northern Rail worker who says he feels “ashamed” to wear the uniform and that staff knew the new timetable “probably wouldn’t work” before it was introduced.

The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has today accused the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, of “sleeping behind the wheel” as the travel chaos caused by new rail timetables continued to get worse. In the south of England, Thameslink today cancelled at least 97 trains, but commuters in the north faced even greater problems, with…

Former Conservative party chairman, Grant Shapps, is calling for Great Northern, run by Govia Thameslink, to lose its franchise.

The transport secretary has accused the rail industry of a collective failure after the introduction of new timetables caused weeks of chaos. Hundreds of trains have been delayed or cancelled each day. And passengers are getting increasingly angry.

New Year.  New rail fare increases.  It’s become an unwelcome part of the festive season – many rail passengers are being hit with the highest ticket price rise in five years. The Transport Secretary Chris Grayling – who’s in Qatar – admitted the increase was higher than he would wish. While many commuters and the…