Connect with us

Published

on

Thousands of rail workers and train drivers are going on strike this month – with an overtime ban which started on Monday and mass disruption expected today.

But planned industrial action by London Underground workers has been cancelled, it was announced on Tuesday.

RMT (the Rail, Maritime and Transport union) and ASLEF (The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen) members are striking in an ongoing dispute over pay and conditions.

ASLEF represents drivers, whereas the RMT represents workers from many different sectors of the rail industry – including station staff and guards.

Here is everything you need to know about which services are affected this week.

What’s happening this week?

Wednesday 4 October

Train driver strike and overtime ban to cancel or reduce services

Thursday 5 October

Knock-on effect of strikes to affect early morning services. Train driver overtime ban likely to reduce services

Friday 6 October

Train driver overtime ban likely to reduce services

Saturday 7 October

Knock-on effect of strikes to affect early morning services

London Underground

Tube workers had been planning to walk out on Wednesday 4 October and Friday 6 October.

The industrial action would have “severely affected” most underground lines and there would have been no night tube on 6 October, either.

But on Tuesday unions announced the planned strikes have been called off.

Around 3,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) had been due to walk out during the two days of strikes.

The RMT said that following talks at the conciliation service Acas it has managed to save jobs, prevent detrimental changes to rosters and secure protection of earnings around grading changes.

The union said: “The significant progress means that key elements have been settled although there remains wider negotiations to be had in the job, pensions and working agreements dispute.”

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “I congratulate all our members who were prepared to take strike action and our negotiations team for securing this victory in our Tube dispute.

“Without the unity and industrial power of our members, there is no way we would have been able to make the progress we have.”

A sign for the London Underground seen through the closed shutters at Euston station, central London, during a strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) and Unite, in a long-running dispute over jobs and pensions. The strike by transport workers in London is expected to cause travel chaos with limited services on the Tube. Picture date: Thursday November 10, 2022.

Avanti West Coast

Avanti West Coast will not be operating any services on Wednesday 4 October.

Customers who booked tickets to travel on these days can claim a full, fee-free refund from their point of purchase.

Customers with pre-booked tickets for travel on a strike day can use their ticket the day before or the two days after.

Avanti plans to run its normal timetable during overtime bans, but recommends you check before you travel as the impact will vary from route to route.

C2C

There will be no C2C service on Wednesday 4 October.

On days when overtime bans are in place, there will be a reduced peak time service and a reduced frequency of two trains per hour during off-peak hours across all routes.

First and last trains will be unaffected.

Chiltern Railways

There will be no Chiltern Railways services on Wednesday 4 October on any routes.

Although industrial action on the London Underground has been suspended, there will be impacts on Chiltern Railways services at the London end of the route.

On 5 and 6 October no services will be calling at stations including; Harrow-on-the-Hill, Rickmansworth, Chorleywood, Chalfont & Latimer and Amersham. This is until after 8am on Thursday and all day on Friday.

On Saturday 7 October, no Chiltern Railways services will call at South Ruislip until after 8am.

Chiltern Railways will be running an amended timetable during the week of overtime bans, which travellers can check here.

CrossCountry

There will be no CrossCountry services on Wednesday 4 October.

Some services will be amended during overtime ban dates. You can view the list of trains affected on each day here.

Read more:
Cost of living latest – with Airbnb tips

East Midlands Railway

There will be no East Midlands Railway service on Wednesday 4 October.

East Midlands says its journey planners have now been updated for days where an overtime ban is in place. Check here for updates.

GTR

GTR, also known as Govia Thameslink Railway, is the UK’s biggest railway franchise and operates Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express.

It says there will be no Thameslink, Great Northern or Gatwick Express services operating on Wednesday 4 October.

A limited Southern shuttle service will run, calling at Gatwick Airport and London Victoria only.

Services on Thursday 5 October will begin much later than normal in the aftermath of the strike the day before, with some routes having no services before 7am.

On days when an overtime ban is in place, GTR says an amended timetable with fewer services will run.

The usual non-stop Gatwick Express service between London Victoria, Gatwick Airport and Brighton will not run.

To help customers, extra stops at Clapham Junction and East Croydon have been added, so these trains will be operating as Southern services.

Gatwick Express tickets will be valid on Southern and Thameslink at no additional cost.

Find out more about each of GTR’s lines by clicking on their names at the top of this section.

Pic: iStock

Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway (GWR) will be operating a reduced and revised timetable on Wednesday 4 October.

Many parts of the network will have no service at all. Services that go ahead will start from 7.30am and all journeys must be completed by 6.30pm.

GWR says there are likely to be short-notice alterations or cancellations to its services on days when overtime bans are in place.

You can check GWR’s website for updates nearer the time.

Greater Anglia and Stansted Express

Reduced services are expected to run on both strike and overtime ban days.

You can click here to see what plans are in place on all affected dates.

Heathrow Express

On the strike day of 4 October, there will be fewer trains going to Heathrow Airport and they will start later and finish earlier.

Trains will run between Paddington and Heathrow between 7.40am and 6.25pm.

Services between Terminal 5 and Paddington will run between 7.42am and 6.57pm.

And there will be trains between 7.47am and 7.02pm from Heathrow Central into Paddington.

The Elizabeth Line will service customers travelling from London to Heathrow.

Heathrow has not announced any changes during overtime bans. Click here for more information about its services.

LNER

LNER services will run on an “extremely limited timetable” during 4 October, with minor alterations on days before and after them.

You can find more details here.

London Northwestern Railway

There will be no London Northwestern Railway (LNR) service on Wednesday 4 October.

It will have buses in place of trains between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey on days when there are overtime bans.

You’ll be able to see what impact the overtime ban will have on LNR via journey planners.

Northern

There will be no Northern service in operation on Wednesday 4 October, and no rail replacement bus services.

Days affected by overtime bans are likely to cause some short-notice alterations or cancellations. You can check here for updates.

Southwestern Railway

An extremely limited service will operate on a small number of lines during strike days, and most of the Southwestern Railway mainland network will be closed. There will be no service on the Island Line.

Customers are advised to only travel if absolutely necessary.

Reduced services will operate across the mainland South Western Railway network on overtime ban days, with an hourly service on the Island Line.

Find out more here.

Southeastern

There will be no Southeastern service in operation on any routes on strike days.

Southeastern expects to run a full service during overtime ban periods.

TransPennine

No TransPennine Express service will run on any route during the strike on Wednesday 4 October.

There will also be some early morning and late evening alterations on the days before or after a strike day.

TransPennine Express plans to run its normal timetable during overtime ban days but warns there could be significant disruption to your journey, so be sure to check before you travel.

West Midlands Railway

There will be no West Midlands Railway service on Wednesday 4 October.

On days when the overtime ban is in place, reduced train services will operate between Birmingham New Street and Hereford and Birmingham New Street and Shrewsbury – and a bus service will replace trains between Nuneaton and Leamington Spa via Coventry.

The overtime bans may lead to amended timetables and on-the-day cancellations, particularly if there is disruption to services, so check before you travel.

How you can remain up-to-date

You can tap any of the links provided above to check for updates on specific lines.

National Rail urges anyone hoping to travel on strike and overtime ban days to use its Journey Planner to keep an eye on how services will be affected.

Any journey accompanied by a yellow warning triangle means the information is still subject to change.

Most journeys should now be up to date on the planner.

Continue Reading

UK

Labour MP Dan Norris arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences

Published

on

By

Labour MP Dan Norris arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences

Labour MP Dan Norris has been arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Dan Norris MP was immediately suspended by the Labour Party upon being informed of his arrest.

“We cannot comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.”

Police said a man in his 60s had been arrested on Friday on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl, rape, child abduction and misconduct in a public office.

Sky News has contacted Mr Norris for comment.

Mr Norris, 65, defeated Jacob Rees-Mogg to win the new seat of North East Somerset and Hanham in last year’s general election.

He has also lost the party whip in the House of Commons and has stepped down from his role as chair of the League Against Cruel Sports.

Avon and Somerset Police said in a statement: “In December 2024, we received a referral from another police force relating to alleged non-recent child sex offences having been committed against a girl.

“Most of the offences are alleged to have occurred in the 2000s, but we’re also investigating an alleged offence of rape from the 2020s.

“An investigation, led by officers within Operation Bluestone, our dedicated rape and serious sexual assault investigation team, remains ongoing and at an early stage.

“The victim is being supported and given access to any specialist help or support she needs.

“A man, aged in his 60s, was arrested on Friday (April 4) on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl (under the Sexual Offences Act 1956), rape (under the Sexual Offences Act 2003), child abduction and misconduct in a public office. He’s been released on conditional bail for enquiries to continue.

“This is an active and sensitive investigation, so we’d respectfully ask people not to speculate on the circumstances so our enquiries can continue unhindered.”

Mr Norris first entered Parliament when Tony Blair came to power in 1997 and served as the Wansdyke MP until 2010.

He was an assistant whip under Mr Blair and served as a junior minister under Gordon Brown.

Mr Norris has also been West of England mayor since 2021 but is due to step down ahead of May’s local elections.

A spokesman for the League Against Cruel Sports, a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to end sports such as fox hunting and game bird shooting, confirmed he had stepped down from his role.

“The charity cannot comment further while an investigation is ongoing,” a statement said.

Continue Reading

UK

Jaguar Land Rover to ‘pause’ US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

Published

on

By

Jaguar Land Rover to 'pause' US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.

JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.

Follow live updates: Trump’s baseline 10% tariff kicks in

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.

“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”

The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.

More on Donald Trump

JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.

“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.

Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.

All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.

Read more: A red wall on Wall Street – but Trump seems to believe it will work out

Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.

Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.

Continue Reading

UK

Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

Published

on

By

Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.

In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.

Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.

They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.

The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.

Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.

“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.

Two fire crews remain at the scene.

Continue Reading

Trending