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Telegraph
11 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Labour orders Khan to raise Tube fares every year until 2030
'Once again, Labour has forced inflation-busting fare rises on Londoners, humiliating Mayor Khan by yet again removing his fare-setting power,' he said. 'All while he pretends they're on our side and supporting devolution – ridiculous.' The retail price index (RPI) measure of inflation stood at 4.3 per cent in May. The Government prefers referring to the lower CPI measure of inflation, which economists say is a more reliable measure of inflation. Yet RPI is widely used across the public and private sectors alike to maximise financial returns from things, such as rental contracts. 'Offers no comfort to Londoners' Sir Sadiq increased most TfL fares – including for the Elizabeth line and London Overground – by about 4.6pc in March, but froze bus fares at £1.75. Main line rail fares are set by the Department for Transport (DfT), which has traditionally used RPI-plus-1 per cent. Last year that increase was also 4.6pc. The next TfL fare increase is not due until March 2026, but may be announced before Christmas, the London Standard reported. London TravelWatch chief executive Michael Roberts said the above-inflation rises 'offers no comfort to Londoners who continue to feel the pinch of the ongoing cost of living crisis and some of the most expensive public transport fares in Europe.' He added: 'In previous years, the blow has been softened by freezing London bus fares. We look forward to seeing how TfL plans to keep fares affordable for those who need it most while ensuring at the same time that there is enough investment to maintain and renew the capital's existing transport network.' 'More complex than expected' In a second blow for London commuters on Friday, TfL also announced that new trains for the Piccadilly Line will not enter service for another year. Air-conditioned 2024 stock units were meant to be rolled out later this year, but will now not do so until the second half of 2026. TfL said that tests of the Austrian-made prototype train in London had proved 'more complex than expected', adding that 'mitigations or design alterations' might result. Stuart Harvey, TfL's Chief Capital Officer, said: 'It will obviously be disappointing for customers that they will have to wait a bit longer for the new trains, and I regret that. 'But I would like to assure Londoners and visitors to our city that we are working extremely closely with Siemens to ensure that the new trains can be introduced as soon as possible in the second half of next year.' Sambit Banerjee, the joint chief executive of Siemens Mobility, which is building the new trains, said: 'Any project like this is complicated – we're bringing state-of-the-art, air-conditioned, walk-through trains into tunnels that were built 120 years ago.' Sir Sadiq's spokesman said: 'The Mayor will confirm plans for future fares in due course. However, the Government has been clear that the funding settlement assumes TfL fares will increase each year by RPI+1 for each year of the settlement.'
Telegraph
13-05-2025
- Telegraph
Watchdog criticises Transport for London over Tube power cut
A watchdog has criticised Transport for London (TfL) after a power cut on Monday caused travel chaos for thousands. London TravelWatch (LTW) said TfL should do 'much better' in providing information to passengers when disruptions occur. The watchdog said that TfL's website was 'crashing' at some points on Monday as large numbers of Londoners tried to find out whether their trains were running. The Elizabeth, Bakerloo, Jubilee and Northern lines were among those disrupted on Monday afternoon after National Grid transmission cables caught fire. Services on the affected lines returned to normal later in the day, TfL said. LTW said: 'While incidents such as these are unpredictable, it was disappointing to see the lack of information and updates on TfL's own social media feeds, particularly as other train operators were keeping passengers updated.' 'We accept that incidents like this can occur but do expect TfL to do much better when it comes to communicating with the millions of people who are reliant on their services. 'Directing all passengers to their website is not practical if the site then crashes, and people need to receive up-to-date information in order to continue their journeys with the least disruption. 'Passengers also need reassurance that public transport services will be more resilient in future to incidents such as this.' In an update on Tuesday, TfL said its power supply stopped without warning and the authority needed to take time to ensure it was safe to restart trains. The power 'blip' was traced to a fire that destroyed three metres of 275,000-volt National Grid cables at a substation located on Aberdeen Place in Maida Vale, north-west London. TfL said it would work with National Grid and UK Power Networks to investigate the problem. The older age of assets on the Bakerloo line meant additional inspections were required before those services resumed late on Monday night. Claire Mann, TfL's chief operating officer, said on Tuesday: 'All of the services that were interrupted due to a power supply issue to our network were returned to service yesterday. 'We're sorry for any disruption this caused to customers yesterday.' A National Grid spokesman said: 'We apologise for any inconvenience following a fault on our transmission network in central London this afternoon. 'The fault was resolved within seconds and did not interrupt supply from our network, but a consequent voltage dip may have briefly affected power supplies on the low-voltage distribution network in the area.'
The Independent
13-05-2025
- The Independent
Watchdog criticises TfL over poor communication during power failure
Transport for London (TfL) has been criticised for poor communication after a power outage caused disruption to its train services on Monday. Watchdog London TravelWatch (LTW) said the organisation should do 'much better' in how it provides information to passengers when things go wrong. The Elizabeth, Bakerloo, Jubilee and Northern lines were among those disrupted on Monday afternoon after a fault on National Grid's transmission network. Services on the affected lines returned to normal later in the day, TfL said. LTW said in a statement: 'While incidents such as these are unpredictable, it was disappointing to see the lack of information and updates on TfL's own social media feeds, particularly as other train operators were keeping passengers updated. 'Increased traffic to the TfL website also saw the site crashing and becoming unresponsive. 'We accept that incidents like this can occur but do expect TfL to do much better when it comes to communicating with the millions of people who are reliant on their services. 'Directing all passengers to their website is not practical if the site then crashes, and people need to receive up-to-date information in order to continue their journeys with the least disruption. ' Passengers also need reassurance that public transport services will be more resilient in future to incidents such as this.' In an update on Tuesday, TfL said its power supply stopped without warning and it needed to ensure it was safely restarted. The older age of assets on the Bakerloo line meant additional inspections were required before those services could resume. TfL said it will work with National Grid and UK Power Networks to investigate the outage. The malfunction also caused a blaze at an electrical substation in the Cunningham Place and Aberdeen Place area in Maida Vale, a London Fire Brigade (LFB) spokesman said. Firefighters were called to the substation and brought the blaze under control, but 3m (nearly 10ft) of high voltage cabling was destroyed, LFB said.
The Independent
07-02-2025
- The Independent
Anger at King's Cross plan to remove trains from departure boards earlier – here's how you can beat it
Trains departing London's King's Cross station will disappear from information screens three minutes before they are due to leave in a move to stop passengers from rushing to the platform. Network Rail is trialling the policy 'so everyone can board safely and keep trains running on time'. Passenger information posters at the transport hub read: 'Last tannoy announcements will be 4 minutes before departure. Trains won't show on station displays within 3 minutes of scheduled departure times.' The rail operator added that the final boarding calls for long-distance trains are 'so people don't rush'. King's Cross is the London station on the East Coast Main Line, with trains departing for Edinburgh, York and Newcastle – and commuters have criticised the move. Simon Watson, a regular traveller between London and York, told The Times: 'The trains are every 30 minutes and when I am heading home, which one I'm on can make the difference between being home for the children's bedtime or not. 'Whether I run for the train is my decision. Surely it's better to rush looking at the departure boards than your phone.' The trial follows London TravelWatch watchdog warnings that passengers had been put 'in danger' by last-minute announcements and 'high levels of overcrowding' at Euston. The Office of Rail and Road issued Network Rail a safety improvement notice for Euston in September 2023 following 'reports of minor injuries' and 'the potential for more serious consequences'. Passengers who show up to travel from King's Cross last minute now risk missing platform information and their trains. Simon Calder, travel correspondent of The Independent, advised: 'If you turn up less than 180 seconds before departure, not all is lost: the best source for showing which platform you need is the website. Some apps, such as Trainline, usually show departure platforms. Or you could ask a member of staff.' King's Cross allows three minutes due to the distance of the departure concourse from platform 0 – Network Rail says this can take up to four minutes to reach for elderly travellers or those with luggage. Elsewhere in London, including at St Pancras and Euston, gates generally close two minutes before departure. A Network Rail spokesman said: 'Our stations plan their announcements to give passengers the safest and easiest start to their journeys and to make sure trains can depart on time. 'At King's Cross, we display long-distance trains on the main departure boards until three minutes before departure, and this has been normal practice for some time. 'The trial will just see the last tannoy announcements being made four minutes before departure on long-distance trains to give people plenty of time to get to their trains. 'There is no change being made to actual boarding times, and passengers can still board their train up to 20 minutes before departure, as is the normal process.'
