New Statesman: 04 July 2008
Alex Iossifidis

So, why is the tube cleaner’s plight a feminist issue? Well, for a start most tube cleaners are women and Feminist Fightback feel that cleaning has been underpaid and devalued as a ‘women’s industry’, reports Alex Iossifidis

Cleaners and Feminist Fightback: Here one of the cleaner's rights activists is protest-cleaning the window of the TfL headquarters while below in the reflection through the glass commuters can be seen buzzing around the tube gates at St James Park. Taken on 28th June 2008 on the morning of the Tube cleaners' strike. The direct action asked TfL to "Clean up your act" and the protesters set to work cleaning the lobby while calling out the demands of the tube cleaners strike.

Continue reading "Feminism and the Tube Cleaners strike" »

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Scoop: 2 July 2008, 2:24 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Government
Hon Dr Michael Cullen,
Minister of Finance

The Labour-led government has today revealed that its buyback of New Zealand’s rail system was influenced by plans to close regional rail services throughout the country, Finance Minister Michael Cullen said today.

Continue reading "NZ government reveals ‘Plan B’ on rail" »

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RMT: July 1, 2008

Cross-party support from MPs for Tube cleaners to be paid the London living wage

Continue reading "RMT Tube cleaners to take 48-hour strike action tonight to demand a living wage" »

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Weston & Somerset Mercury: 29 June 2008

RAIL campaigners in Portishead believe there could be a light at the end of the tunnel after a study found a rail link to Bristol would be feasible.

Continue reading "Portishead railway line back on track?" »

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AHN: June 30, 2008
Vittorio Hernandez

London, England - Barely six months after Britons were hit by a 15 percent rail fare increase at the start of the year, another round of train fare hike appears to be forthcoming.

Continue reading "Rail Fare Hike Imminent In U.K." »

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NZPA: June 30 2008

Haggling over the details of the government buyback of Toll Holdings' rail business in New Zealand will go right to the wire today.

Continue reading "New Zealand rail renationalisation deal settled" »

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Early Day Motion 1723: 09.06.2008

David Drew, Labour MP for Stroud put down an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons earlier this month calling on First Great Western to retain and improve buffet car services. To date 35 MPs have signed the EDM - a kind of Parliamentary petition. You can read it below. Why not contact your MP to ask them to sign EDM 1723? You can contact your MP by clicking here.

Say No to FGW's pork pies!

Continue reading "MPs Protest FGW's Withdrawal of Buffet Car Services" »

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Reuters: Jun 27, 2008

BERLIN -- Germany's finance minister and Deutsche Bahn are locked in a dispute over financing the upkeep of the rail operator's track network after its planned partial privatisation in November, a newspaper has reported.

Continue reading "German govt rows with DeutscheBahn over rail maintenance" »

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BBC News: 26 June 2008

About 700 cleaners who work on the Tube have walked out in the first of a series of strikes to demand higher pay and better working conditions.

Continue reading "Tube cleaners strike in pay row - Nine London MPs back strike" »

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AFX UK: 2008-06-27 07:48

FRANKFURT -- The European Commission has criticised in a formal letter to the German government the new company structure of rail operator Deutsche Bahn AG. that is slated for privatisation later this year, Financial Times Deutschland reported.

Continue reading "EU criticises new structure of rail operator Deutsche Bahn" »

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Sofia Echo: 26 Jun 2008
Spasena Baramova

The European Commission (EC) sent letters to 24 European Union member states, among them Bulgaria, urging them to start implementing properly the legislation of the first railway package, the press service of the EC said in a statement on June 26 2008.

Continue reading "EC urges EU member states to implement rail package correctly" »

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RMT: June 25 2008

THE COST-CUTTING removal of staff from railway stations by profit-hungry privateers is undermining safety for passengers and rail workers and must be reversed, the industry’s biggest union says today.

Continue reading "Put staff back on stations for a safer journey, says RMT" »

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BBC News: 24 June 2008

Ministers are being urged to switch planned investment at Heathrow Airport to new high speed rail lines.

The report says more than a third of flights from Heathrow are short-haul

Continue reading "Union urges 'trains not planes'" »

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Thomson Financial: 06.25.08

FRANKFURT -- Deutsche Bahn AG.'s chief executive Hartmut Mehdorn said he does not oppose a foreign railway operator such as Russia's RZD or France's SNCF taking a stake in the company, which is slated for privatisation later this year.

Continue reading "Deutsche Bahn CEO open to other rail operators taking stake in company" »

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RMT: June 24 2008

INVESTMENT IN high-speed rail would make a controversial third runway at Heathrow unnecessary and provide an environmentally friendlier alternative to tens of thousands of short-haul flights, says a report published today by specialist transport union RMT.

Continue reading "High-speed rail ‘the viable alternative to Heathrow expansion’ says RMT" »

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RMT: June 24 2008

Campaign to be launched with public meeting in Newcastle on July 17

Continue reading "Keep Tyne and Wear Metro public, says RMT" »

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Railway Gazette International: 24 Jun 2008
Aad Veenman, Chairman of the Community of European Railways & Infrastructure Companies

Despite growing concerns about climate change and energy efficiency, imbalances in the pricing of different transport modes continue to distort the market across Europe.

Continue reading "Working towards a sustainable future" »

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RMT: June 23 2008

Company putting profits before service and safety, says RMT

Continue reading "SWT plans massive ticket-office cull despite huge growth in passengers and profits" »

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ČTK: 24 June 2008

Prague -- Czech and Slovak Transport Ministers Ales Rebicek and Lubomir Vazny agreed at a meeting Monday that both countries' railway freight transport companies will merge, ministry spokesman Karel Hanzelka told CTK.

Continue reading "Czech, Slovak railway cargo firms to merge" »

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RMT: June 22 2008

Environmental pressure makes decision ‘a matter of urgency’

Continue reading "RMT welcomes high-speed rail review" »

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The Times: June 20, 2008
Martin Samuel

The hugely complicated train system would not cope - nor be able to offer a free service for fans, as required

Continue reading "A World Cup in England would go off the rails" »

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Financial Times: June 21 2008
By Robert Wright and Jim Pickard

Britain is set next week to take a significant step towards its biggest railway-building project for more than a century, when Network Rail will announce it is launching a strategic review to look at the possibility of building five new main lines.

Continue reading "Network Rail looks at extra main lines" »

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RMT: June 20 2008

SPECIALIST TRANSPORT union RMT has today condemned a European Court of Justice ruling that Luxembourg must remove labour laws that ensure equal treatment for national and foreign workers.

Continue reading "RMT slams 'vindictive anti-working-class' ECJ judgement" »

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RMT: June 20 2008

AROUND 700 RMT Tube cleaners working for four private contractors are to stage a series of strikes after voting by a landslide 125-to-one margin for action to win the London living wage and decent working conditions.

Continue reading "Tube cleaners to strike for living wage after landslide vote" »

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London, 17 June, 2008

We congratulate participants attending this conference and contributing to this vital discussion. We welcome the support this initiative has received from the European Transport Workers Federation.

We send solidarity to all trade unionists fighting privatisation and liberalisation.

Continue reading "RMT Statement to European Conference of Rail Trade Unionists" »

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