Fares
frozen


Fares
on
Transport
for
London
will
be
unchanged
this
year,
although
regulated
National
Rail
fares
are
due
to
rise
by
4.9
per
cent
in
March.
Mayor
Sadiq
Khan
is
proposing
£123
million
of
additional
funding
to
TfL
as
part
of
the
GLA
budget.
London
TravelWatch
CEO
Michael
Roberts
has
welcomed
the
news.
‘London’s
public
transport
services
are
among
some
of
the
most
expensive
in
the
world,
so
the
fares
freeze
will
bring
some
welcome
relief
to
hard-pressed
passengers,’
he
said.

Safeguarding
scrapped


Transport
secretary
Mark
Harper
has
announced
that
land
which
had
been
safeguarded
for
the
cancelled
section
of
HS2
to
Crewe
and
Manchester
will
no
longer
be
protected
from
development.
However,
he
has
been
unable
to
halt
purchases
of
land
and
buildings
which
were
already
under
way
when
the
cancellation
was
announced
last
October.
HS2
Ltd
executive
chair
Sir
Jon
Thompson
told
the
Commons
Transport
Committee
on
10
January
that
‘some
people
still
want
to
sell.
We
are
obliged
under
the
compulsory
purchase
powers,
in
my
understanding.’

Hitachi
strike


Rolling
stock
engineers
and
maintenance
workers
employed
by
Hitachi
at
Great
Western
Railway
and
LNER
are
set
to
strike
from
27
January
to
1
February
in
a
dispute
over
pay.
The
action
by
members
of
the
RMT
and
Unite
could
disrupt
services
if
faulty
Intercity
Express
trains
are
held
in
depots.

Extra
Lumo
service


FirstGroup’s
open
access
operator
Lumo
has
submitted
proposals
for
an
extra
daily
return
journey
between
Newcastle
and
London.
The
extra
trip,
which
would
leave
Newcastle
early
in
the
day
and
be
balanced
by
an
evening
departure
from
London
King’s
Cross,
has
been
proposed
as
part
of
the
East
Coast
Main
Line
timetable
review.
Lumo
was
launched
in
October
2021
and
currently
runs
five
return
services
a
day
between
London,
Newcastle
and
Edinburgh.