Landslip
disruption


Unstable
earthworks
are
blocking
or
delaying
train
services
between
Twyford
and
Reading
and
between
Rainham
and
Sittingbourne.
Two
of 
the
four
running
lines
on
the
Great
Western
Main
Line
have
been
closed
near
Twyford
because
of
the
‘state
of
some
trees’
at
the
side
of
a
cutting,
believed
to
be
Sonning,
where
unstable
earth
has
been
reported.
Services
are
being
delayed
or
cancelled
because
only
two
lines
are
open.
Stopping
trains
are
the
worst
affected,
said
GWR,
which
warned
that
the
problem
is
‘not
easily
resolved’.
Meanwhile,
Network
Rail
engineers
discovered
a
40
metre
crack
in
an
embankment
at
Newington
on
Friday
night,
and
the
line
between
Rainham
and
Sittingbourne
will
be
closed
for
at
least
seven
days
while
repairs
are
made.
Southeastern
said
‘limited’
bus
services
are
running
to
replace
trains.

Cash
for
northern
transport


The
Prime
Minister
is
announcing
a
budget
worth
£4.7
billion
for
transport
schemes
outside
big
cities
in
the
north
of
England,
which
he
said
will
use
money
released
by
the
cancellation
of
HS2
to
Crewe
and
Manchester.
Labour
has
criticised
the
announcement,
which
follows
last
autumn’s
‘Network
North’
programme.
Labour
described
it
as
a
‘back
of
a
fag
packet
plan’
which
included
‘reannouncements
of
projects
they
promised
a
decade
ago’.

Disputes
settled
in
London
and
Northern
Ireland


Unite
the
union
says
it
has
reached
agreement
with
London
Underground
over
pay
for
its
members.
They
have
accepted
a
pay
increase
for
2023
of
between
5.8
and
11
per
cent,
and
the
lowest
paid
grades
are
getting
the
largest
rises.
However,
Unite
has
warned
that
‘significant
industrial
issues’
remain,
and
that
several
other
disputes
are
continuing
with
Transport
for
London.
In
Northern
Ireland,
a
three-day
strike
by
train
and
bus
staff
at
Translink
has
been
suspended
after
Unite,
GMB
and
Siptu
said
they
would
put
an
improved
pay
offer
to
their
members.
The
walkouts
would
have
been
staged
tomorrow,
Wednesday
and
Thursday.

Go-Ahead
Group
denies
sale
report


The
Go-Ahead
Group,
which
possesses
a
majority
share
in
several
British
passenger
rail
contracts
including
Govia
Thameslink
Railway,
has
denied
a
report
that
it
could
be
up
for
sale.
Canadian
pension
fund
OPTrust
has
stakes
in
Go-Ahead’s
owners,
Australian
Kinetic
and
Spanish
Globalvia,
and
the
Sunday
Times
claimed
that
OPTrust
had
hired
investment
bankers
to
explore
a
potential
sale.
The
chief
executives
of
Go-Ahead
and
its
owners
said
the
reports
were
‘misleading’
and
created
an
’incorrect
impression’.