Fourth Tube Strike

The fourth tube strike is scheduled on 28th - 29th November. In the span of 8 months since I started commuting in London, there has been three series of 24-hour strikes: 6 September, 3 October, 2 November; all mostly because of job cuts. Travel chaos is still expected although TfL are putting on extra buses and boats, deploying extra staff and volunteers to give alternative travel options and assist passengers information, and curtailing some roadworks. With three strikes already in place, one wonders if the authorities could save taxpayers cash in unnecessary expenses by dealing directly with RMT and TSSA related issues, instead of investing so much time/effort/money in putting on these 'extra' measures.

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Train overcrowding - trending again

With the release of the "Increasing Passenger Rail Capacity" report by the Committee of Public Accounts appointed by the House of Commons, the issue is trending again for the past few days. This report should be read together with the earlier report by the Department for Transport, UK.

More on this report:

BBC News: Commuters 'priced off' overcrowded rail routes
BBC News: Unacceptable train overcrowding to get worse, MPs say
The Telegraph: Rail chaos: the most overcrowded lines
The Guardian: This is the age of the overcrowded train
The Independent: Rail commuters face 'intolerable' overcrowding by 2014, warn MPs
Public Finance: PAC slams DfT over train overcrowding
Daily Mail: Get used to cattle class: MPs warn rail commuters face 'intolerable' overcrowding by 2014
Mirror.co.uk: Seat failure to make rail chaos worse
Yahoo News, UK: Rail over-crowding to be 'ever more intolerable'
The Northern Eco: MPs’ support for new trains deal
Railnews, UK: Peak time rail demand must be dampened, say MPs
this is Bristol: Fresh call for carriages to ease crush on commuter trains

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