Kingston Area Travellers' Association

Rail companies are facing calls for an extra two days to be added back on to their travelcards to compensate them for the lack of services on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Croydon Central MP Andrew Pelling has already written as a private citizen seeking compensation on his 7 day travelcard that expired on Christmas Day. Mr Pelling said he would rather pay that money to charity at Christmas or into the collection at church than pay the money into railway company profits.

A 48-year-old woman died after being struck by a train at New Malden station. Witnesses said the woman jumped from the London bound platform in front of the 12.03pm Woking to Waterloo train as it passed through New Malden station at 12.30pm. The train was not scheduled to stop at New Malden and was travelling through the station at 60mph.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, unveiled the winning designs in the New Bus for London competition, and outlined the next steps in delivering a new bus fit for 21st century London based on the iconic Routemaster. 

The Mayor was joined by Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy as he met the winners.  The judges were so impressed with the ideas submitted in the ‘whole bus’ design category that a joint first prize was awarded to Capoco Design Ltd and a collaborative entry from Aston Martin and Foster + Partners.  The two runners up prizes in the ‘whole bus’ design category were awarded to Jamie Martin, a 29 year old transport design graduate, and another collaborative entry from Héctor Serrano Studio, Miñarro García and Javier Esteban.

The proposed cuts at New Malden, Raynes Park and Motspur Park stations have been criticised by the Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT). The changes, which are among 114 planned across the country by station owners South West Trains, are set to be decided on by the Government within the next few weeks.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has confirmed that Londoners aged 60 and over will be able to use their Freedom Pass on Transport for London services free of charge for 24 hours a day, every day of the week, from 2 January.

South West Trains (SWT) has revealed the details of its winter timetable - which will come into effect on Sunday, December 14, and be in place until May 16 - and there will be extra services from many local stations.

The rail operator will now run a 07:54 service from Richmond to Ascot calling at Twickenham, Feltham, Ashford, Staines and Egham before forming a service to Guilford at Ascot.

It also confirmed a new 17:52 Teddington to London Waterloo, via Kingston and Wimbledon, service on weekday evenings and the extension of the 06:29 service from Kingston to Waterloo via Teddington and Richmond so it starts at Wimbledon.

Transport for London (TfL) announced that, in line with Mayor Boris Johnson’s key manifesto pledge to phase out bendy buses, three bus routes – 38, 507 and 521 – will no longer use bendy buses when their contracts expire next year.

A deal worth up to £350m that will help deliver Crossrail on time and on budget has been finalised with the City of London Corporation. The agreement was announced by Andrew Adonis, Transport Minister, Boris Johnson, Mayor of London and Sir Michael Snyder of the City of London Corporation.

The Mayor must urgently review the poor standard of service given to elderly and disabled Londoners who use Dial-A-Ride.

The London Assembly agreed a motion calling for both a review of the Dial-A-Ride service and the way the Taxicard scheme is funded.  The motion is a response to a continuing volume of complaints about door-to-door transport schemes from vulnerable people in the capital who have suffered lengthy waits or been left stranded in unsafe locations.

Croydon Council's political parties have joined in a rare demonstration of political unity to demand the reinstatement of the Tramlink extension. Mayor of London Boris Johnson put the £170m extension on ice for at least ten years when he dropped it from the latest Transport for London (TfL) forward plan. Croydon Council agreed unanimously at its full meeting to fight the decision.

A  range of new single and double deck eco-friendly hybrid buses were unveiled for London today (2 December), the first stage in a major expansion of the Capital’s hybrid bus fleet. 

By the end of January next year, the number of hybrid buses in the Capital will more than quadruple to 56 buses and confirm the Capital’s position as the home of the largest fleet of hybrid buses in the UK.  A further 300 hybrid buses will be in operation by 2011.

Londoners could be set for smoother journeys as Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, today outlined a new approach towards the installation of road humps, with councils across the capital being sent letters in which they are encouraged to consider alternatives to them or to use fewer where possible.

Commuters could get some relief from overcrowded trains with the Government promising 400 extra Thameslink carriages across the south east.

The new fleet of trains will provide an extra 14,500 seats on spacious, longer and more comfortable trains including those on routes through Clapham Junction and Surrey.

Tolworth bus driver Nelio Rebelo-Goncalves has been judged the best bus driver in London. The driver, who normally drives the K5 route from Ham to New Malden, had double cause to celebrate on Tuesday, November 18, because his first child was born on the same day.

A £30m funding hole has jeopardised the planned East London Line extension project which, if completed, would link Clapham Junction to Docklands by 2012. Finance for the on-off project has reached stalemate, with the Mayor of London and Government each demanding the other stump up £15m to cover the shortfall.

The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Geoff Hoon): I am announcing today the publication of Delivering a Sustainable Transport System. This document marks the latest milestone in our longer term planning process, setting out our goals and identifying the various challenges that future transport schemes will need to address.

A petition with 396 names on was handed to the London Assembly on Wednesday calling for either the K2 or K3 bus to pass by the Cambridge Road estate, Cambridge Gardens and Norbiton.

But the petitioners were told by the Mayor that a diversion would mean increased costs and longer journeys for existing passengers.

A train company is considering lodging an appeal after a High Court judge ruled that a drunken student who fell in front of a train at Gunnersbury station had the right to claim a six-figure sum in compensation.

Police have released CCTV images of two men they want to trace in connection with an assault where two Polish men were bottled on a night bus in Kingston.

Kingston Police were called at 2.18am on Saturday, August 2 after the two men, aged 21 and 24, were attacked on the N213 bus, which runs from Kingston to Croydon near the Cromwell Road bus station.

The proposed Tramlink extension to Crystal Palace has been dropped from Transport for London's (TfL) spending plans and it could be at least 10 years before the project surfaces again.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson today outlined his plan for the future of London’s transport system as he launched Transport for London’s multi-billion pound ten year Business Plan. The Mayor and Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy set out the detail of a huge Investment Programme that will help deliver an almost 30% increase in the capital’s transport network by 2018. 

The Programme will focus on the upgrade of the Tube, building Crossrail, extensions to the DLR and London Overground networks, supporting the 2012 Games and securing a legacy from them, smoothing traffic flows, leading a revolution in cycling and walking and providing greater flexibility for London’s boroughs to deliver local transport solutions.

Wrong platforms, false train arrival details and half complete security notices have plagued people using Kew Gardens and Richmond stations for years but Transport for London says upgrades are on the way.

A TfL spokesperson confirmed boards at Kew Gardens have been experiencing technical problems recently which meant they were not showing accurate District Line information. He said: “London Underground is working to resolve this and in the long term a new system will be installed towards the end of 2009."

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has delivered another key pledge of his election manifesto by announcing that motorcycles will be allowed to use the majority of bus lanes on the capital’s red routes from 5 January next year.

A teenager has narrowly avoided being hit by a train at Worcester Park station while playing “chicken” while his friends smashed windows with bricks, stones and bottles. Four young people were arrested by the Met Police outside the station on Friday for trespassing and endangering safety

Transport for London is considering replacing Oyster with new ticketing systems operated through mobile phones or bankcards, the London Assembly heard.

At a meeting of the Assembly’s Budget and Performance Committee, TfL representatives said they were looking at various technologies and providers to take over from Oyster in 2010.  TfL announced in August that they were terminating early the current contract with TranSys for delivering Oyster ticketing.

The report: ‘Cross River Tram: Proceedings of a seminar held by the London Assembly Transport Committee on 9 September 2008’, makes a number of recommendations that were supported by a majority of Committee Members4, calling on Transport for London to:

• Explore all possible funding options for the Cross River Tram in order to come up with a funding package.

• Undertake and publish detailed analysis of alternatives to the Cross River Tram scheme and systematically compare the different modal options to ensure the most appropriate solution to the problems along the north-south corridor is pursued.

• Continue to work with representatives of affected communities to find solutions to local route issues so not to jeopardise the progress of the scheme.

Bendy-buses with the slogan "There's probably no God" could soon be running on the streets of London. The atheist posters are the idea of the British Humanist Association (BHA) and have been supported by prominent atheist Professor Richard Dawkins.

The Mayor has delivered another key manifesto commitment to make London's buses safer by announcing that Transport for London have begun a six-month trial of live CCTV on a north London bus route. Twenty one double-decker buses have been fitted with technology that will allow pictures to be beamed live to the Centrecomm control centre shared by officers from Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police’s Transport Operational Command Unit.

Rail passengers in England and Wales face more overcrowding and higher fares until the network is expanded, a spending watchdog has warned.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said direct government control of the railways, begun in 2005, had delivered better value for taxpayers. But future pressure on capacity could reverse any benefits, it warned.

Croydon Tramlink is no more. Instead, any reference to Croydon has been dropped in favour of the name London Tramlink. And at the same time the traditionally red carriages are being painted green.

The re-branding has met with sadness as the town's unique tram system, long hailed as a part of Croydon's identity, becomes lost in Transport for London (TfL). The £2m makeover comes seven months after TfL's £100m buyout from Tramtrack Croydon, in March.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, today joined Metropolitan Police Commander Rod Jarman and Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy to announce the 30 locations across London that will benefit from new transport policing teams. This follows the success of three pilot teams launched by the Mayor in May that have reduced some crimes by more than a third.

More pupils in London are walking, cycling or using public transport to get to school, a report says.

Figures collected by Transport for London from 1,200 schools in 32 of the 33 London boroughs show an average reduction in car journeys of 6.4%.

Most bus and train passengers have to put up with violence or yobbishness, it was revealed yesterday. Three out of four had seen attacks or anti-social behaviour on public transport in the past year. More than one in five were the target, with one in 20 suffering theft, violence or a sex attack, a Department for Transport poll showed.

Boris Johhnson has said he will stump up the cash to rezone Kingston and Surbiton station in answers given at the Mayor of London's Question of Time. But he has told the London Assembly he has no formal powers in moving the stations from zone 6 to zone 5 which could save commuters hundreds of pounds a year in fares.

The London Assembly’s Transport Committee is investigating solutions to the overcrowding that plagues many of the overground rail routes coming into the capital – especially during the morning and evening commuter rush.

While the problems of overcrowding are well known, the Committee will set out to map an accurate picture of the ‘pinch points’ on commuter routes into London – for example the stations where people have to wait for several full trains to go by before they can board - so that targeted solutions can be identified.

The London Assembly has expressed support for the development of the Cross River Tram scheme, and called on the Mayor, as Chair of TfL, to fully explore all possible options to secure the funding to get it up and running.

The proposed Cross River Tram service would run between Euston and Waterloo, with branches to Camden Town and King’s Cross in the north, and Brixton and Peckham in the south.

Southern Railway is still in negotiations with Network Rail concerning a proposed extension of its West London line service over the West Coast main line to Milton Keynes. The proposal is that  the current Brighton - Watford Junction service would become an East Croydon - Milton Keynes service in the new Timetable.

However  actual implementation would probably be put off until January  2009 due to the amount of commissioning work due at Milton Keynes over the Christmas period this year. There are some  suggestions that the northern terminus would end up being  Leyton Buzzard, with trains running northwards prior to crossing over to return south.

By Stephen Aselford

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, today announced an affordable fares package for 2009 to help sustain the massive investment necessary to increase capacity and reliability across London’s transport network.

The billions being invested in London’s transport network will support the transformation of the Tube, preparations for 2012, deliver Crossrail, the extension of the London Overground network and Docklands Light Railway, an even better bus network and sustainable schemes to get more people cycling and walking.

Eco-minded families are being encouraged to find out more about greener ways to travel at a festival later this month. The first event, on September 13, will be held on Richmond Green, and the second, on September 20, on Barnes Green. Both will run from 10am to 4pm and admission is free.

Two passenger lifts have opened at Kingston train station finally bringing to an end its status as a ‘no-go’ area for disabled people.

 London’s transport boss spent over £1,500 on taxis last year while his passengers struggled into work on tubes, trains and buses. Peter Hendy, commissioner for Transport for London (TFL) spent the equivalent of £29 a week of public money on taxis. The Taxpayers’ Alliance condemned the findings revealed this week through a Freedom of Information request by the Borough News.

A woman has died after being hit by a train while crossing the tracks at Surbiton station this afternoon. Police believe she was hit by a fast train travelling from Salisbury to London Waterloo, when she "didn't make it in time" and was hit on the line at about 2.30pm.

Building work on Coombe Railway Bridge has been postponed following the discovery of a Victorian water main which feeds much of south London.

Allowing the over-60s free bus travel anywhere in England has left paying passengers often unable to find a seat. Operators are receiving frequent complaints from would-be travellers left stranded when buses full of so-called silver surfers fail to stop because there is no room on board.

Crossrail, the largest addition to the transport network in London and the South East for more than 50 years has completed its Parliamentary process, with the Crossrail Bill receiving Royal Assent.

The Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) will be promoting cycling throughout the coming months, through innovative events and the ongoing “You’re better off by bike” campaign. The aims of this campaign are to encourage existing cyclists to use their bikes more regularly, and promote cycling to the estimated 1.1 million Londoners who have access to bikes but don’t use them.

The new bosses of Croydon's Tramlink service cannot guarantee fares will not rise after Transport for London (TfL) took over the running of the service.

Seven bosses at Tramtrack, the company that has run the town's tram service for the last 11 years, are to be made redundant following the takeover this week.

The publicly-funded TfL was forced to bail out the service with up to £4m a year to subsidise it, with costs predicted to rise.

In the last week of April Hammersmith & Fulham Council (H+F) agreed a multi-million pound funding package that will enable Imperial Wharf overground station, talked about for nearly twenty years, to be built.

An H+F spokesman said: "It has been a long road to get here but after 15 years there is finally light at the end of the tunnel for Imperial Wharf. Thanks to the collaboration of H+F and Kensington & Chelsea councils our construction partners can get on and start building this important station."

The new station, on the West London Line will be built by Imperial Wharf developers St George Central London Pic. This news should assist local people trapped in one of west London's most notorious transport dead ends. The area scores just two, out of six, on official 'transport accessibility' maps and recent developments like Imperial Wharf, Chelsea Harbour and Lots Road Power Station are adding to the number of commuters experiencing those access difficulties.

A council spokesman continues: "Without Imperial Wharf Overground Station the full development potential of the south of the borough is unlikely to be realised. More car traffic would be created adding to local congestion and pollution and those without cars would struggle to get around easily."

This long awaited station will be built just north of the West London Line railway bridge over the River Thames. The station will allow residents interchange with the District Line at West Brompton and with many rail services from Clapham Junction. Rail experts expect the station to open in 2010.

By Stephen Aselford

All aboard for a classic bus running day in the Worcester Park and North Cheam area of south London on Sunday 10 August 2008.  This will recreate the bus routes of 50 years ago - free services using buses of the period.

Click on the above link for full details of this event.

Thousands of commuters will need new Oyster cards after a fault on the network at the weekend. Up to 40,000 cards are expected to have stopped working as a result of the problem on Saturday.

The Department for Transport today announced shortlisted applicants to build an entirely new fleet of trains for Thameslink routes, valued at around £1.4bn. They are: ALSTOM Transport, Bombardier Transportation UK Limited, Hitachi Europe Limited and Siemens Transportation Systems.

Bidders will be asked to produce 1,100 new carriages for Thameslink routes which will increase the current fleet size by around 380 carriages.  This means that passengers will see around 14,500 extra seats.

East Sheen students are facing long waits, two-hour journeys and uncooperative bus drivers on a daily basis, according to their head. Shene School has conducted a survey which estimated that about 15,000 hours of pupils' education was lost last year due to the lack of service from Transport for London.

Richmond rail commuters could be facing long journeys to north London when engineering works begin in September. Regular passenger Mary Pritchard has criticised Transport for London (TfL) for failing to adequately notify travellers in the borough who rely on the London overground line, which runs from Richmond to Stratford.

This is a review of available evidence on public attitudes to passenger transport. It covers attitudes across travel modes and attitudes about transport policy goals.

Click on the link above to access the report.

During 2006, in response to the continuing terrorist threat to the rail network, the Department for Transport carried out passenger screening trials to test the ability of available equipment and dogs to detect explosives, or traces of explosives, in an operational environment. ...

Click the link above to read the rest of the statement.

Trains on the District line will be air conditioned by 2010, London Underground has revealed. As well as the District line, which travels through Putney, Wimbledon and Richmond, other partly above-ground lines such as the Circle and Metropolitan lines will also be fitted with air conditioning.

A train operator is refusing to confirm that three major Richmond borough stations will have fewer staff if proposals to reduce the opening hours of ticket offices are given the go ahead.

South West Trains (SWT) confirmed this week it had begun a consultation with unions and passenger groups into a reduction of opening hours at some "lesser used booking offices" which could see 118 positions lost.

Two members of a gang who beat, robbed and threatened to shoot passengers on borough trains have been jailed for a total of seven years. Yusuf Nur, of Chaucer Avenue, Richmond, admitted assault with intent to rob and common assault, and James Laywood of Bedfont Avenue, Feltham, pleaded guilty to two charges of robbery.

A Teddington Road was closed after a man was injured while riding on a 281 bus. It is thought the man either jumped or fell out of the top deck of the bus or fell down the stairs of the double-decker. The man was injured as the bus passed over a railway bridge in Teddington, close to Waldegrave Road and Park Road.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has announced the appointment of three new members to the Transport for London board.
 
Tim Parker, the First Deputy Mayor, has been appointed to the board and has been nominated by the Mayor to be the Chair of the board from 1 September 2008, subject to the confirmation hearing process of the London Assembly.
 
Stephen Norris and Kulveer Ranger have also been appointed to the Transport for London board to provide advice and experience on a range of issues that affect the work of Transport for London.

The new station at Mitcham Eastfields is now open for passenger service. The first train to call at the brand new £6m station was the 16:09 service to Epsom on Monday 2nd June, which was greeted enthusiastically by local residents and Merton Councillors.

Fast, frequent services are now available from the station, with trains into central London calling on average every 30 minutes in the morning and evening peaks, with an hourly service during the middle of the day.

This is good news for Southern passengers living in the Mitcham area who now benefit from using a station much nearer to home, and, being in the heart of the community, there's more incentive to take trains into central London and to destinations such as Epsom, Dorking and Horsham which are now within easy reach of the local community.

A bus driver who killed a grandmother when his bus ploughed into three generations of the same family was jailed for four years today. Ismail Ahmed, 43, of Emerald Square, Southall, had denied causing death by dangerous driving, but was found guilty at Kingston Crown Court last month.

Swimmers in Richmond have been left "shell-shocked" after trees in Old Deer Park were felled to make way for a new bus interchange. Ten mature trees neighbouring Pools on the Park were removed between May 28 and 29 as part of a Transport for London (TfL) scheme.

South West Trains (SWT), which runs train stations throughout most of south west London and parts of Surrey, says it has commenced consultation on reducing the opening hours of lesser used ticket offices.

If the plans are accepted it will mean a loss of 118 posts - but the company says there will be no compulsory redundancies. But Britain's biggest rail union, the RMT, said it would vigorously oppose the plans saying they put passengers and staff at risk.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson today announced that the energy funding agreement between London and Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, which was instituted under the last mayoral administration, will not be renewed when it concludes on August 20th this year.

The Mayor has made clear that Transport for London will honour the half price bus and tram fares scheme for Londoners on Income Support, accepting applications in the usual way until the agreement comes to an end in August, and recognising the discount beyond this date until the six month time periods on people’s cards have run out.

Boris Johnson has backed out on a gentleman's promise he made to kick-off a high profile anti-airport expansion protest this month. London's new Mayor - who before he was elected said he is "implacably opposed to a third runway" at Heathrow - had told organisers of the Make a Noise carnival that he would lead the rally on May 31.

When pressed for an answer yesterday an environmental officer at the Mayor's office said Mr Johnson is unable to attend "due to diary commitments".

A bus driver who hit a family, killing a grandmother and causing a two-year-old to lose part of her leg said he lost control of the vehicle before it ploughed into them, a court heard yesterday.

Twickenham MP's fight to improve disabled access at a borough train station has been dismissed as the train operator claims his proposals would be too costly.

Dr Vincent Cable has campaigned to have lifts installed on the forecourt at Hampton Wick station for disabled passenger's use, however South West Trains (SWTs) argued that the costs involved in converting the station would be prohibitive.

A spokesperson for SWT said the development would have required "a major, major investment," and added it had alternative arrangements in place for disabled passengers wishing to travel from the station.

A 20-year-old woman has been rushed to hospital after being hit by a bus in Kingston this morning. London Ambulance service confirmed they were called to a road traffic collision at 9.30am in Penryhn Road.

Boris Johnson is expected to reveal his plans to ban alcohol on London's transport network. The ban of drinking alcohol on the capital's transport system, which includes the Tube, trains, buses and Docklands Light Railway (DLR), was one of Mr Johnson's key election pledges.

Rail travellers trying to get away for a sunny bank holiday weekend have been warned to expect engineering work disruptions. Engineering work between Clapham Junction and Barnes is expected to slow some services along with crowds for the Army versus Navy rugby match at Twickenham. Key sets of points are being changed at Clapham Junction over Saturday, Sunday and Monday and services to and from Waterloo are expected to be badly affected.

A lightning strike on a rail signal box at Wimbledon has created delays of more than an hour on trains across south-west London. A South West Trains spokeswoman said lightning struck the signal box about noon, disrupting services through Wimbledon to as far afield as Clapham and Waterloo.

The planned 48-hour strike by Tube maintenance workers has been formally called off.

Tube maintenance workers are expected to strike for 48 hours from next Monday. The RMT union says it had no option but to call the strike from 10.30am on Monday, April 28, after Transport for London (TfL) refused to guarantee the working conditions of members employed by failed contractor Metronet.

The area around Twickenham station is set for a massive regeneration after the company which owns and operates the country's rail infrastructure announced a development programme.

Twickenham is one of six stations in London and the south east set to get a revamp with new facilities for passengers after nearby land is redeveloped.

Workers at failed Tube contractor Metronet have voted in favour of strike action. The Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) said 751 of its members voted for industrial action in a row over staff transfers and pensions.

A busy commuter route is to benefit from 1,100 carriages in a £1.4bn deal. The new, energy-efficient trains will provide an additional 14,500 seats on the Thameslink route.

The new trains will run from 2012 between London's St Pancras and Blackfriars stations and on services on the Midland and East Coast lines. They will also run via London Bridge and Elephant and Castle to destinations on the Brighton line and on other routes in Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

A man has been rushed to hospital this morning after being hit by a bus in Kingston town centre. The man was hit by a K1 bus in Eden Street at 9.27am and taken to Kingston Hospital. He was unconscious at the scene but has since regained consciousness. His injuries are not thought to be life threatening.

An elderly woman was injured when a bus carrying more than 30 passengers was fired upon with a pellet gun.

The K2 bus was turning in to Berrylands Road from Ewell Road in Surbiton when it came under fire about 5.15pm Friday.

An elderly man was left fearing he was having a heart attack after the bus he was travelling on careered into two gardens before colliding with a tree in Kingston.

Neighbours in Aragon Road rushed to the aid of 68-year-old Graham Power and his wife after the driver of the K5 bus seemed to lose control of the vehicle while speaking on her internal radio.

Tube workers will walk out on a three-day strike next Sunday over concerns about safety on the Underground.

Services will stop at 6.30pm on Sunday, April 6, after members of the RMT and TSSA unions voted in favour of strike action in protest at reduced staffing levels.

Ken Livingstone has promised passengers on the Croydon Tramlink that they will get a better service as a result of a £98million buyout by Transport for London (TfL).

A union representing South West Trains' (SWT) drivers has threatened strike action in a dispute over pay.

The rail operator, one of the country's biggest, runs services through much of south-west London including London Waterloo and Clapham Junction.

Train drivers' union Aslef has threatened to stage a four-day strike from March 31 to April 3 if pay talks fail.

Control of Croydon's tram system is to be handed to Transport for London (TfL) in a £98million deal.

TfL announced today its offer to acquire Tramtrack Croydon Ltd, which runs Tramlink, had been accepted. Taking control of the company means TfL will no longer have to make compensation payments for changes to fare and ticketing policy which last year amounted to £4million.

Traders and motorists are angry at plans to extend the operating hours of a bus lane in an already traffic clogged route in Kingston.

Kingston council and Transport For London (TFL) plan to extend the times the bus lane in Richmond Road between Acre Road and Cowleaze Road from 7am to 7pm Monday to Saturday to ease congestion.

Britain’s road network is growing 15 times faster than the rail network, according to official figures which undermine the Government’s claim that it is helping people to switch from cars to trains.

On the eve of what ministers are hailing as their “green Budget”, statistics seen by The Times show that more than 405 miles of motorway and trunk road have opened since 1997 compared with just 27 miles of railway.

In five of the past eleven years, no track was added to the domestic rail network, and in the peak years for rail growth, in 2001 and 2002, the network grew by only six miles a year.

Ken Livingstone plans to take over Croydon tramlink and extend it to Crystal Palace, according to his transport manifesto released today.

If reelected in May, Mr Livingstone also plans to allow pensioners and the disabled to travel free on public transport 24 hours a day, put 500 hybrid buses on the road by 2010 and introduce the £25 CO2 charge for gas guzzlers driving into central London.

Travelers trying to get away over Easter are well advised to avoid Clapham Junction, with major track work closing the line to Wimbledon. Network Rail have scheduled £3million of work over the four-day long weekend, including replacing mainline tracks.

South West Trains' Nick Dorey said the lines between from Clapham to Waterloo and Wimbledon will be closed while engineers work round the clock.

A bus burst into flames in the centre of Twickenham on Wednesday. Firefighters were alerted to a blaze on the 490 service in York Street at 8.39pm.

Bus drivers are pushing for a pay rise and fewer working hours in their first city-wide demands since privatisation. The Unite union said wages varied from £20,000 to £28,000 from company to company. Regional industrial organiser Peter Kavanagh said drivers wanted a pay rise to at least £30,000 and maximum driving shifts of 10 hours a day.

Disabled rail passengers in Kingston could be facing a seven-year wait to use two of the busiest stations in the borough, despite the Government granting money to improve access at the sites earlier this month.

New Malden and Worcester Park stations have been granted a slice of £370million from the Department for Transport, rumoured to be over £1million, to make the platforms step-free, but upgrades are not scheduled for completion until 2012 at the earliest.

An 18-month feasibility study will take place at the stations to determine what changes are required to allow less mobile rail passengers such as wheelchair users, older people and parents with pushchairs better access to the platforms.

Two Chessington teens who caused a bus to crash by trying to force a driver to pull over after they had missed their stop have been given a curfew. The youths, aged 14 and 15, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were on the number 71 bus at 10.15pm on November 11 last year when it crashed in Bridge Street, Chessington.

After a bladder-busting wait of more than 10 years, passengers using Hampton Court station are close to seeing the toilets reopened.

Kingston train station was closed on Monday after a woman was hit by a train. British Transport Police confirmed a woman, believed to be in her 60s, was hit by a train at 12.10pm after leaning over the platform with her shopping.

Young troublemakers should lose their free travel cards, Conservative London mayoral candidate Boris Johnson says. Mr Johnson said the plan to remove free bus travel for any young people abusing it aimed to end rowdiness and violence faced by commuters. He said anyone who lost their travel pass would have to do community service to get it back.

The threat of a strike on London Underground came a step closer when union leaders announced that workers will be balloted for action from next week. The Transport Salaried Staffs Association said its 2,500 members on the Tube will vote on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action in a row over safety and staffing levels.

Twickenham's MP thinks there may be a positive solution to two issues concerning buses in the area. Vincent Cable and representatives from Richmond Council met Transport for London (TfL) executives to speak about two controversial decisions concerning buses in the borough.

Late last year, an all-night service was introduced on the 111 route, which runs from Kingston to Heathrow airport through Hampton and Dr Cable has received complaints from residents in Hampton, particularly in Nightingale Road, because of the disruption caused by this service and the fact that it does not seem to be widely used.
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Dr Cable also wanted to discuss a decision to replace the 465, half-hourly bus through Teddington, which was the only bus to run along Sandy Lane, with a new 481 hourly service on a different route.

A group of angry Richmond traders have been given hope by the borough's transport chief after he said he might revise his decision to move a controversial bus lane and narrow traffic lanes outside their shops.

Kew Road businesses were upset when Councillor David Trigg, Richmond Council cabinet member for transport , decided to modify the bus lane to accommodate kerb side parking, with six new bays.

Despite inflation busting price hikes and overcrowded, late- running, South West Trains' (SWT) service was praised this week. Figures released by the rail operator show 85 per cent of those polled were satisfied with the overall service they received, even though only 42 per cent felt they were getting value for money. However SWT was unable to provide figures for the number of people polled.

The Access for All Programme is part of the Railways for All Strategy, launched in 2006 to address the issues faced by disabled passengers using railway stations in Great Britain.  Central to the Strategy is the ring-fencing of £35m funding per year, until 2015, for provision of an obstacle free, accessible route to and between platforms at priority stations.  This generally includes the provision of lifts or ramps, as well as associated works and refurbishment along the defined route.

Follow the link above to see tables listing the stations in England and Wales to which the Department for Transport has targeted Access for All funding, subject to Network Rail carrying out a feasibility study to identify how access can be improved.  This process will include engagement with relevant stakeholders to ensure that the most appropriate solution can be delivered within the objectives of the Access for All Programme.

Police are hunting a man who groped a 28-year-old woman on a train. The woman was travelling on a train from Hounslow to Clapham when the incident happened. 

By Matt Watts

Growing up I wanted to be an astronaut more than a bus driver, but as I step on the accelerator and the Routemaster rattles forward one of my childhood dreams is certainly being fulfilled. I am driving a classic red 1966 Routemaster double decker bus - one of London's most iconic images - around the UK's first race track, and now automobile and aviation museum, Brooklands.

(follow link for the full story)

A man who sprayed what is believed to be CS gas in two teen girls' faces is being hunted by cops. British Transport Police have released CCTV footage of a man wanted for questioning in connection with the unprovoked attack on a train between Richmond and St Margaret's railway stations at 10.40am on November 21.

A 10-year campaign for a solution to parking problems at Teddington station may end next week if the borough's transport chief gives his approval for a controlled parking zone (CPZ).

On Wednesday, January 30, Councillor David Trigg, Richmond Council cabinet member for traffic, transport and parking, will decide at a transport consultative group meeting on whether to make a CPZ in several roads close to the station. A consultation was carried out over the last few weeks on whether to introduce a zone operating between 8.30am and 10.30am, Monday to Friday.

Effective scheme prioritisation is a challenging process for local authorities and there is little specific guidance on how they should prioritise smaller integrated transport schemes (typically less than £250,000), which collectively make up a significant proportion of LTP expenditure. So this Advice focuses on the prioritisation of expenditure on capital-based LTP Integrated Transport schemes. Expenditure on revenue measures and maintenance is considered within the context of an overall integrated transport prioritisation process.

Kingston station was closed last night after a security alert. Trains were told not to stop at the station and passengers were evacuated from the platforms and station concourse after a suspicious package was discovered about 7pm.

Employees face paying hundreds of pounds a year to park at work under a scheme that shows signs of expanding across the country. Tough measures to tackle traffic congestion allow local authorities to tax companies with car parks. It is expected that businesses will pass on the charges to their staff. In addition, the Treasury is considering whether workers' parking spaces could be considered as a "benefit in kind" on which they could be taxed.

Mr Livingstone says if re-elected as London Mayor in May, he would remove the time limits on the Freedom Pass. Freedom Pass holders are currently allowed to travel for free on public transport only after 9am.

A series of pilot road-pricing schemes moved forward yesterday when the Department for Transport awarded £3.17m in extra funding to local authorities to develop programmes of pay-as-you-go charging. Of the new "pump-priming" funds, £1.5m will go to Greater Manchester, £1m to Cambridgeshire and £675,000 to the West of England partnership covering Bristol, Bath and surrounding areas.

The group seeking to promote and protect the country's historic environment has joined calls for new plans for a controversial site opposite Hampton Court Palace to be rejected by planners.

Last year a proposal for a riverside hotel, refurbished station building, 61 apartments, five mews houses and a new care home for the Royal Star and Garter Homes charity was submitted for the area around Hampton Court Station, known as the Jolly Boatman site, which has been derelict for more than 20 years.

English Heritage has now thrown its weight behind opponents including the Hampton Court Rescue Campaign (HCRC), founded to fight off previous proposals for the site.

Concessionary fares schemes offer discounted travel on local public transport for older and disabled people. The Government wants to ensure that bus travel, in particular, remains within the means of those on limited incomes and those who have mobility difficulties. This supports our wider work to tackle social exclusion. Bus travel remains the most used form of public transport, especially by older people.

The Transport Secretary announced on 22 March 2006 that from April 2008 the local entitlement for free bus travel will be extended to allow bus travel in every area of the country. It will mean that whether using the bus locally, or when visiting other parts of the country, older and disabled people will be able to travel for free.

Train fare hikes that hit beleaguered borough residents this week are like a "punch in the stomach", TravelWatch, the rail users' watchdog, has said. From Tuesday, commuters stumped up as regulated fares rose by an average of 4.8 per cent, with off-peak fares up by 4.3 per cent.

Susan Kramer, MP for Richmond Park, said: "Compared to others, users of South West Trains have seen less of a surge in train fares. However, these constant year-on-year increases are unacceptable without real improvements in service.