Rail passengers are being thanked for their patience as engineers continue to fix signalling equipment which was damaged at Luton on Tuesday (8 November). A cable came into contact with the overhead lines, causing a power surge which caused extensive damage to the signalling which controls trains.
Rail passengers are being advise to check before they travel on Thursday 10 November as some continued disruption is expected to Thameslink services with alterations also possible on East Midlands Trains.
Seven-year-old Alfie of Dunstable couldn’t believe his eyes when Santa and his reindeer climbed aboard one of Thameslink’s brand new trains at Bedford station to let the train take the strain out of some early Christmas gift-hunting.
All aboard – the new Thameslink train (shown here at Blackfriars) has space for all its passengers on the suburban route
ASLEF has had to cancel its ballot of Southern drivers only a day after it started, rail operator Govia Thameslink Railway confirmed today (7 November).
In response to the latest announcement from the RMT Union a spokesman for Southern said: “Not content with causing months of misery, the RMT has now hit a new low and is determined to cancel Christmas for the travelling public."
Cricklewood Town Team and the local library have helped Thameslink open a pop-up community library at its railway station.
Southern is putting on extra trains as the RMT union gears-up for two further days of strike action this week on Friday 4 and Saturday 5 November.
GTR, parent company of Southern Railway, has today told the RMT union it will rescind its "full and comprehensive offer" if further strike action goes ahead.
No trains will stop at Lewes or several neighbouring stations after midday on Saturday 5th November – bonfire night – and road restrictions will apply.
Thameslink services are being severely disrupted at Blackfriars.
Southern Railway has announced it will restore 63 more services to the timetable, including the full West London Line timetable and 34 West Coastway services to destinations such as Hove, Bognor, Barnham and Worthing next Monday (October 24).
Responding to the statment made by the TUC this morning, Charles Horton, Chief Executive of Govia Thameslink Railway which operates Southern, said: "This is simply scaremongering. We'll have a second person rostered to work on every train that has one now - in fact they'll be on more trains."
On the eve of another damaging three-day strike by the RMT on Southern, Govia Thameslink Railway has called on the union to suspend strikes and hold a referendum of its members to allow them to decide for themselves whether they want to accept its 8-point offer plus £2,000 lump sum per person which is back on the table.
Commenting on the Transport Select Committee’s Report, Charles Horton, chief executive of GTR, said: “Clearly this a long and complex report, which we’ve only just received and we now need time to study its detailed contents."
At last night's National Transport Awards, Mike Tyler, who checks tickets and helps at the gateline at St Albans, was highly commended in the Frontline Employee of the Year category.
“Clearly this a long and complex report, which we’ve only just received and we now need time to study its detailed contents."
Commenting on the outcome of today’s talks with the RMT, Charles Horton, chief executive of GTR, said: "Yesterday, the RMT leadership asked to meet with me and I cleared my diary this morning to listen to what they had to say."
Southern and Thameslink were unable to run trains between Three Bridges and Haywards Heath this morning until 7.20am because of problems Network Rail experienced during overnight engineering work.
Southern’s chief executive Charles Horton has this afternoon offered to meet RMT general secretary Mick Cash tomorrow for face-to-face talks to try and find a solution to end their six-months dispute