Conservatives on Greenwich Council have joined calls for southeast London’s rail services to be taken over by TfL after Southeastern was sacked as the area’s train operator yesterday. Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, announced yesterday morning that a government-owned company would be taking over trains in SE London, Kent and East Sussex from 17 October […]
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Now bring in TfL to run our trains, MPs demand after government sacks Southeastern
Greenwich borough’s MPs have called for TfL to take over southeast London’s train network after the Westminster government suddenly stripped Southeastern of its franchise. Transport secretary Grant Shapps announced this morning that the government would be taking over the rail company after allegations of fraud. He said Southeastern had owed the government more than £25m […]
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Nine-day rail closure coming at Hither Green because of virus restrictions
Railway lines through Hither Green will be closed for nine days from 25 July to allow Network Rail to finish work on a new signalling system that has been delayed because of the coronavirus. Engineers had hoped to finish work replacing the old 1970s signalling system through the station over Easter, but because of social […]
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Southeastern holds on to SE London’s trains for another 18 months
Southeastern will run SE London’s mainline trains for at least another 18 months after the government gave the company a management contract to continue running the service until at least October 2021. The deal puts on hold months of uncertainty about the future of Southeastern, which has been operating the network since 2006. The franchise […]
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SE London MPs queue up to criticise Southeastern in parliament
Five of south east London’s MPs criticised rail operator Southeastern in Parliament last night after Greenwich and Woolwich representative Matt Pennycook secured a debate on the future of the franchise. Southeastern has been criticised by passengers following service problems after lines through London Bridge were closed over Christmas as part of the final phase of […]
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Blackheath, Kidbrooke and Eltham to lose direct trains to Victoria from 2022
Blackheath, Kidbrooke and Eltham stations are set to lose their direct rail services to Victoria from December 2022, according to new documents issued by the Department for Transport today. But Bexleyheath line passengers will be able to take twice as many trains from Lewisham to Victoria, lessening the pain for passengers who complained about the […]
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Dead cat on the line: How the Cannon Street train ‘plan’ distracts from the real issue of who runs our rail
In political campaigning there’s a tactic known as the “dead cat strategy“. It’s best associated with the Conservatives’ campaign manager, Lynton Crosby. Boris Johnson, no less, once explained it: “Let us suppose you are losing an argument… Your best bet in these circumstances is to perform a manoeuvre that a great campaigner describes as ‘throwing […]
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Southeastern and Jubilee Line shutdowns to hit Easter travellers
If you’ve got any big plans to go anywhere by rail over Easter, check your plans – there’ll be a big shutdown of lines through London Bridge over the holiday weekend, together with works on the Jubilee Line. The rail works are part of the Thameslink Programme, the long-term scheme to remodel the lines from […]
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