Kingston Area Travellers' Association

Rail users are bracing for above-inflation fare rises expected to be introduced in January. Fares are expected to rise an average 4.8 per cent across the UK, but some areas in southeast England could see increases of more than 14 per cent, rail union officals say. They have warned commuters are in for a shock when they buy their tickets in the new year.

A van crashed into a house after hitting a double decker bus in an accident in Hook. The 465 bus was hit by a white van near the Lucky Rover pub on the A243 Hook Road this afternoon. The van then left the road and hit a house in Green End, demolishing part of the garage.

Borough pensioners and disabled residents are to get an extension to their free travel benefits, it was revealed this week, to the delight of London's mayor.

From this week disabled Freedom Pass holders will be able to use the new London Overground Network, which includes services from Richmond on what was formerly known as the North London Line, free of charge at anytime, while older people will be entitled to free travel from 9am on weekdays instead of 9.30am.

Ken Livingstone, mayor of London, said he was absolutely delighted by the news, a statement welcomed by London Councils, the umbrella group representing the 33 London boroughs.

The battle for Waterloo continues now that four extra platforms at the station have been vacated by the Eurostar's move to King's Cross.

MPs Susan Kramer and Edward Davey announced a victory this July in the battle to allow South West Trains to use the extra platforms, which they believe will lead to a quicker, more efficient service for local commuters.

But wide press reports last week claimed that the future of the platforms was unsure and Conservative MP Ian Taylor announced he had tabled an early day motion asking the Government to convert the empty platforms for use on the South West Trains network.

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The campaign to rezone Surbiton and Kingston stations took a further step this week with MP Edward Davey writing to the London mayoral candidates to ask for their support.

Writing to the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and Conservative mayoral candidate Boris Johnson, Mr Davey said: "As a result of being allocated to zone six despite being a zone five distance, Kingston and Surbiton stations saw single and day return ticket prices rise by over 35 per cent.

This is set to get much worse from January 2010, when seasonal tickets from Kingston and Surbiton will move to zonal pricing - so we could see increases of between £400 and £500 in annual rail tickets."

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, starring Daniel Radcliffe as boy wizard Harry, will be on location overnight from Friday to Sunday.

Café Chaud on platforms one and two at the station is reportedly being used in the movie.

Filming for the sixth book in the Harry Potter series, which has made author JK Rowling a multi-millionaire, has only recently begun.

Seargeant Christopher MacKellaich, of the British Transport Police, said: "We will have officers down at the station on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night to assist with any public order issues associated with the filming.

"They are going to be filming overnight from late evening to the early morning and we will have six or seven officers down there each night."

TfL's new train service is now running on the North London, West London, Gospel Oak to Barking, and Euston to Watford lines. You can now use Oyster to pay as you go at all stations on these lines.

A man has been found dead on the tracks at Twickenham train station. Police and an ambulance were called to the station around 5pm. It is not clear as yet exactly what happened. There are currently no trains running to or from the station.

A 71 bus crashed into a stationary car in Chessington after the driver was allegedly attacked by a gang of youths.

Peter Whetstone, owner of the car, was inside his house in Bridge Road when the crash happened on Saturday at about 10.45pm. "Someone who lives opposite me saw what happened and told me that the bus had swerved into my car, sending the car spinning into next door's driveway. It's been totalled."

Kingston Police confirmed the driver has made an allegation of assault and an investigation is ongoing. Were you on the bus that night and did you see what happened? Contact Hollye Blades on 020 8330 9553.

The "fast track" used by express trains was closed from 11am as engineers worked to repair the line. Trains were put on the slower parallel track, adding more than half an hour to some train journeys.

Passenger Simon Harris said he and others at Surbiton were greeted with canceled and delayed trains on station departure screens. "It took me 53 minutes to get from Surbiton to London Waterloo on a train which was calling at London Waterloo only," Mr Harris said. "This journey would normally take a little over 20 minutes."

Season tickets from Kingston and Surbiton are set to rise by £400 a year by 2010, according to information released to Edward Davey MP.

A Freedom of Information request made by Mr Davey released the franchise agreement between South West Trains and the government.

Mr Davey said the agreement details fare hikes for season tickets which could cost Kingston's 19,000 commuters a total of £8million a year.

Kingston Council and Transport for London (TfL) are set to roll out a new CCTV camera system for bus lanes on November 1.

It is illegal for motorists to drive in a bus lane during its operational hours.

Road signing will clearly outline the times that bus lanes are operational and which vehicles are permitted to use it within these times.

Any motorists travelling illegally down bus lanes are likely to be recorded on CCTV and risk a penalty of £100. The fine is posted to the owner of the vehicle who, under the legislation, is responsible for the payment of the charge.