The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. We recommend customers to CHECK BEFORE THEY TRAVEL.Full information https://t.co/v4rnt7NLU8 pic.twitter.com/t2DXXX7QGz. Author and rail historian Christian Wolmar says despite a stronger "general feeling of rail malaise" in the north of England, with trains statistically worse performing, often the impact of disruption in the capital was greater. Sense of injustice lingers after Seoul Halloween crush, Chess gets a risqu makeover. What happened in the Ukraine helicopter crash? The government said it must "drastically improve". The project budget increased to 3.25m, partly because more ambitious plans were drawn up, but also because of a delay over materials blamed on Brexit. "We understand the frustration caused and we would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused to passengers and operators.". Though the increase may sound small, train operators only have limited contingencies for absences before they have to start cancelling services. Judging by reservations, it expects Thursday to be the busiest day of the week. All high-speed Great Western Railway services between London, Bristol, Cardiff and Penzance have been cancelled and customers are advised not to attempt to travel today. But that expired at the end of the year and firms quickly trimmed the benefits. And a London Underground strike planned for Thursday is still set to go ahead. Who was Ukrainian minister Denys Monastyrsky? Erica, a single mum of three, said she left a job she loved in 2020 - working as a paediatric nurse in an emergency room in Tennessee - to work for a rival hospital that offered paid sick leave, in addition to other time off. The 2012 Great Britain and Ireland floods were a series of weather events that affected parts of Great Britain and Ireland periodically during the course of 2012 and on through the winter into 2013. A train drivers' union has blamed an operating company for repeated rail cancellations, saying it does not employ enough staff. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. BBC News A train drivers' union has blamed an operating company for repeated rail cancellations, saying it does not employ enough staff. 2023 BBC. VideoChess gets a risqu makeover, The Nigerian influencers paid to manipulate your vote, How a baffling census delay is hurting Indians, How Mafia boss was caught at a clinic after 30 years. We're doing everything we can to get things back up and running. LNER passengers affected by cancellations can use their tickets on the following operators' services instead: LNER said affected customers' tickets will be valid up to and including Sunday 16 May, though a new reservation would need to be made. How has your train journey been affected? The company said cracks were detected on "more than one" Hitachi 800 train, so all 93 in its fleet are being inspected as a "precaution". Rail services between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton have been hit by major disruption. The 48-hour strike is the first of two . "This is of course an essential journey for me or I wouldn't have booked," she says. There will be fewer trains before the game, and none leaving Cardiff after it has finished. "I won't be fully relaxed until we're in the stadium," said Mr Ellis. It comes after Tuesday's record-breaking temperatures above 40C, which caused damage to overhead electric lines and railway tracks. Sense of injustice lingers after Seoul Halloween crush, Chess gets a risqu makeover. Though the increase may sound small, train operators only have limited contingencies for absences before they have to start cancelling services. The station will be undergoing repairs to the train shed roof, meaning all trains are cancelled. More than two dozen services leaving from London King's Cross and Euston stations were. Great Western Railway said it was seeing increasing absence rates, and some disruption of its services. BBC Summary A rail strike by 40,000 RMT union members has caused four in five trains to be cancelled today as many people return to work after the Christmas break The 48-hour strike is the. Dozens of Class 800s are stacked up waiting to be checked at Hitachi's Swansea depot, Hitachi 800 trains entered service in 2017. We were supposed to see each other in March and then Covid happened.". Fox News Virginia mom details moments that reportedly led up to 6-year-old shooting teacher Abby Zwerner, the 25-year-old teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old student on Friday, is described by fellow teachers, city officials as a hard-working educator devoted to her students. The trains have either been cancelled completely or terminated at Birmingham. Avanti West Coast is another operator experiencing staff shortages and warning of short-notice cancellations. Read about our approach to external linking. The persistent disruption in recent months has prompted outcry from commuters, leisure travellers, politicians and business groups, particularly in the North of England. Passengers will be hoping this change ushers in more reliability. 2023 BBC. "We need to remember that we're really not good at running businesses from Congress," Senator Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina, said in May 2021, the last major public hearing on the issue. VideoChess gets a risqu makeover, The Nigerian influencers paid to manipulate your vote, How a baffling census delay is hurting Indians, How Mafia boss was caught at a clinic after 30 years. The picture at Leeds station was better, with 61% arriving on time. "It's important to point out that the affected trains are relatively new, in which case the manufacturers should foot the bill for any repairs, not passengers or taxpayers.". "TPE has been pre-cancelling anything between 250 - 450 trains per week since summer across its network due to crew unavailability. The RDG said the pandemic has had a long-term impact on services by reducing the number of drivers and other staff who could be trained as well as increasing staff absences. A spokesperson for Aslef said in relation to CrossCountry: "I'm afraid they don't really employ enough drivers to deliver the services they promise passengers they will run. 2023 BBC. Govia Thameslink, which operates the Thameslink, Great Northern and Southern franchises, said it may also have to cancel services at short notice due to high numbers of staff off sick with Covid and other seasonal illnesses. In a statement Tricia Williams, chief operating officer of Northern, apologised for disruption, putting it down to factors "including fully-trained driver availability and the on-going industrial relations issues with the trade unions". Judging by reservations, it expects Thursday to be the busiest day of the week. "Here Biden is supposed to be this super pro-labour president and Amtrak Joe and everything like that," he said, referring to a nickname given to the president for his fondness of riding the national passenger rail. It has removed all peak restrictions over Christmas, to try to spread out demand. Only 11 of its routes will remain open. Network Rail, which owns and runs most of the train lines in Britain, warned passengers that journeys will take "much longer than normal" and could involve taking rail replacement buses, as work continues to repair the railway. "A lot of train companies tend to not employ enough train drivers. Read about our approach to external linking. Great Western Railway said it was seeing increasing absence rates, and some disruption of its services. At Birmingham New . "This rolling stock must not be allowed back into service until we are 100% certain these trains are safe. Chelmsford City Council's deputy leader . In Scotland, ScotRail reported more than a hundred cancellations on Monday. They are handing out water and offering guidance to those whose plans have gone up in smoke. Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. "Now they're just squeezing us so hard, like blood out of a turnip. While he said he believed people should be able to take time off if sick, "the one-size-fits-all approach does not work on issues, especially on paid leave". Northern, which runs services across the North of England, is also warning that passenger services are being affected by the impacts of Covid and unavailability of train crew. "Strikes are a nightmare because Chester station essentially just shuts down. 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LNER, which runs services on the East Coast main line, is operating an amended timetable in the week before Christmas because of the number of absent drivers and train managers. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. Chris Heaton-Harris said the issue had been found on part of the chassis - the base frame - of some trains on Saturday morning following routine inspections. Railway speed restrictions were brought in across most of England and Wales, with reports of buckled tracks and overheard wire systems failing on Monday. Flooding on the road to Nether Heyford from Upper Heyford Northamptonshire in April. South Western Railway said it had only seen a small number of alterations this week, but was closely monitoring the impact of the new Omicron variant on staff availability. Sixteen services are being cancelled each day. He added that calling off the latest ones has given negotiations between unions and employers a "better chance of success". ", "They could give me 300 personal leave days but what are they worth if I can't use them? The issue has emerged repeatedly in labour disputes in recent years, as workers, empowered by a strong job market and contending with coronavirus and an unusually severe flu and virus season, demand more from employers. "Nobody out here will tell you that they don't want to work - we're all out here to make money. It said there could be short-notice cancellations. Rosters for drivers are typically agreed a week in advance, and so the "short notice cancellation" of the strikes "means that train driver availability will inevitably be very challenging and rely primarily on volunteers", the RDG added. However it urged customers to check for late-notice changes, saying as cases continue to rise, some short notice alterations may be required throughout the festive period. It is still rebuilding services as more drivers are trained up, and says it's focused on restoring a full timetable in December. In total, 520,853 services were scheduled across Great Britain between 16 October and 12 November, 15% lower than the same time in 2019. They won't include planned strike timetables, or the list of advance cancellations TransPennine Express releases on a daily basis. 'One by one they have all been testing positive', ScotRail cancels 118 services as Covid spikes, Zelensky says fatal crash was consequence of war, New Zealand PM Ardern to step down next month, Arizona town with no water using rain to flush toilets. This led to improvements in punctuality and reliability. Are you a passenger who was due to travel on one of the affected trains? "It just shocked me that they wanted us to use our paid time off and we would be off 10 or 14 days," said the 38-year-old, who is a community advocate for A Better Balance, an advocacy group, referring to the extended quarantines that were common at the start of the pandemic. In 2022, for the whole city, there were nearly 25 million scheduled rail and Tube stops in total (not including the Elizabeth line). Read about our approach to external linking. Who was Ukrainian minister Denys Monastyrsky? Similar disruption was seen at London Euston, where trains to and from Scotland have been cancelled. The RMT union, which represents transport workers, said that with infections rising, absences would have severe consequences for services, but the safety of staff and the public must come first. Ms Blackburn said a taxi home from Warrington to Chester usually costs between 30 and 40, depending on the time. Read about our approach to external linking. Rail Minister Huw Merriman said he did not want to "rule anything in or out" when asked if the government would put more money on the table to help resolve the dispute. These aren't the only operators with staff problems. CrossCountry has apologised for its cancellations over recent weeks, saying they are due to "short-term sickness". The affected routes are between London Kings Cross and Leeds, and London Kings Cross and Lincoln. Who was Ukrainian minister Denys Monastyrsky? At the UK busiest station, Waterloo, 76% of trains arrived on time; Victoria had 72% arrive on time, London Bridge had 62%, Liverpool Street had 86% and Clapham Junction 60%. Monday 16 January 2023. 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Train speed limits over heatwave track safety fears, Train passengers warned not to travel in heatwave, UN's top women meet Taliban over female aid worker ban, New Zealand PM Ardern to step down next month, Zelensky says fatal crash was consequence of war, How a baffling census delay is hurting Indians, Sense of injustice lingers after Seoul Halloween crush, Power shift in Vietnam as president quits. Read about our approach to external linking. 2023 BBC. But it says more drivers are, steadily, qualifying. He said trains would be returned to service as "quickly as possible", but warned that Great Western Railway services in particular were likely to face continued disruption. BBC Both EastEnders at 7.30pm and. What happened in the Ukraine helicopter crash? The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators across the UK, said its members had reported that 8.7% of their staff were off sick due to all causes including Covid. Govia Thameslink, which operates the Thameslink, Great Northern and Southern franchises, said it may also have to cancel services at short notice due to high numbers of staff off sick with Covid and other seasonal illnesses. BritBox original Magpie Murders has found a new home at the BBC, which will also make a sequel series Moonflower Murders. She said the operator had a plan in place to make improvements, and was working with Network Rail to improve reliability. She said plenty of people were waiting around on the concourse, as they tried to work out how and when they would be able to make their journeys. It added that while it was true that the Department for Transport now pays train operators a fee to run train services, that payment was performance-related. West Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry and Transport for Wales are affected. CrossCountry services are also expected to be disrupted by strikes over pay, which are being organised by the RMT union and will affect 14 rail firms. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Services on the East Coast Main Line, which connects London and Edinburgh, were disrupted after a fire on the track near Sandy in Bedfordshire. Rail companies say the RMT announcement came too late to prevent disruption and a temporary revised timetable for Saturday, Sunday and Monday will remain in place. "You're coming to work to make money and you can spend more than your day's wage to get home.". He said: "London is the most rail-dependent city in the country and, while it has seen the most rail improvements in last 10 years, residents suffer disproportionately when things go wrong.". What happened in the Ukraine helicopter crash? Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, LNER, Scotrail and West Midlands Railway have all reported cancellations. When dogs in Alaska wait for the bus Video, German police deny Greta's detainment was staged, Iran man who beheaded wife jailed for eight years, Germany: We are no longer reliant on Russian energy, Mafia boss's second hideout found behind wardrobe, City asks Madonna if it can borrow her painting, Jeremy Renner TV show poster edited after accident, Santos denies taking money from dying dog GoFundMe, Keep cake away from office, says food adviser. 21:17, 14 JAN 2023 Full list of new series on ITV, BBC and Channel 4 this week (Image: Shared Content Unit) Telly lovers are in for a treat this week as a number of popular programmes return with. "It's added between an hour and two hours on my journey as you end up changing twice on the way.". Two of every five London trains disrupted in 2022. High-speed trains withdrawn over crack fears, High-speed train delayed on first journey, Zelensky says fatal crash was consequence of war, New Zealand PM Ardern to step down next month, Mass strikes in France bid to halt pension age rise. He added that there had been "the promise of an offer" on pay from the rail operating companies. "I found that devastating," she said, adding that a national law now looks "impossible". It is advising passengers to travel as early as possible. Underground strike planned for Thursday is still rebuilding services as more drivers are, steadily,.! Way. `` ms Blackburn said a taxi home from Warrington to Chester usually costs between 30 and 40 depending! Impossible '' although they have to start cancelling services before they TRAVEL.Full information https: //t.co/v4rnt7NLU8.! Changing twice on the time employers a `` better chance of success '' around 80 % of levels! 'S added between an hour and two hours on my journey as you end up twice. 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