Sadiq Khan announces £770m cash injection for London cycling infrastructure

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Sadiq Khan today promised to spend £770m on cycling over the next five years under plans to get more Londoners out of their cars.

The Mayor announced plans for two new cycle superhighways as he claimed he had gone “well beyond” a manifesto pledge to increase the proportion of Transport for London’s budget spent on cycling.

The move was widely welcomed by the cycling community but there was concern that the full amount would never be spent after a series of schemes first proposed by predecessor Boris Johnson were delayed or axed.

The funding, part of TfL’s business plan that is being published later this week, works out at an average of £154m a year. This compares to the £158 million spent in Mr Johnson’s last year as Mayor and the £302 million he spent in his second four-year term.

If the money is spent, it will almost double the scale of investment in cycling infrastructure. Mr Khan says the average of £17 per Londoner per year is on a par with leading cycling nations such as Denmark and the Netherlands.

Mr Khan said: “I said in my manifesto that I’d be the most pro-cycling Mayor London has ever had. Today I’m delighted to confirm that TfL will be spending twice as much on cycling over the next five years compared to the previous Mayor.”

Construction of the Farringdon to King’s Cross northern extension of the North-South superhighway will begin next year. Consultations will begin next year on CS4 between Tower Bridge and Greenwich, and CS9 between Kensington Olympia and Hounslow.

The funding package includes the highly-controversial CS11 between Swiss Cottage and Oxford Circus and the western extension of the East-West superhighway between Paddington and Acton. However, no dates for these extensions were released today.

There was also a pledge to plan or build 20 “quietways” - non-segregated routes through residential streets. City Hall was unable to guarantee that all new superhighways would be fully segregated - regarded as essential in improving safety for cyclists. The aim is for 1.5 million journeys a day to be made by bike by 2025/26.

Ashok Ski 

nha, chief executive of the London Cycling Campaign, said: “This unprecedented investment in cycling shows the Mayor is serious about meeting his promises to triple the extent of London’s protected cycle lanes, fix the most dangerous junctions and enable boroughs to implement major walking and cycling schemes. It will help make London a better, greener, healthier and less congested city.”

Andrew Gilligan, who was Mr Johnson’s cycling tsar, said: “£154m is less than we spent last year. But even this level of spending will not be achieved unless the Mayor actually starts building something. So far, most movement has been in the other direction, with shovel-ready schemes delayed or cancelled.

“The promise to consult on two cycle superhighway routes is welcome, though neither will reach central London and I note there is no commitment that they will be segregated.”

Commuters braced for disruption ahead of Tube and rail strikes

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Commuters were braced for the worst disruption of the year starting tomorrow ahead of strikes on the Tube and London’s busiest rail lines.

Some lines will be left without any trains at all, with travel chaos exacerbated by forecasts of widespread early morning fog across the south-east hitting those deciding to drive.

Strikes on the Piccadilly, Hammersmith and City and Circle Lines begin at 9.30pm on Tuesday but Transport for London (TfL) said disruption would start from 7pm and last all day Wednesday on the Tube lines.

Southern Rail warned of “severe and on-going” disruption as only half the usual Southern timetable will operate as drivers belong to the Aslef union join forces with RMT guards, cancelling hundreds of trains and delaying others.

City Hall Tories today launched a stinging attack on Mayor Sadiq Khan, accusing him of being “in hiding” and refusing to condemn the RMT union for its strikes on the Tube and Southern Rail.

Keith Prince, GLA Tory transport spokesman, said: “London is once again being held to ransom at one of the busiest times of the year and our ‘zero strikes’ Mayor is in hiding.

“It is about time he broke his silence and stood up to the unions taking Londoners for a ride.

“Having already failed to intervene in the Tube disputes, which look set to cause misery for Londoners over the Christmas period, he is now sitting firmly on the fence when it comes to criticising the RMT union’s Southern strikes.”

During his election campaign Mr Khan pledged: “As Mayor what I’d do is roll up my sleeves and make sure that I’m talking to everyone who runs public transport to make sure there are zero days of strikes.” He said the 35 days of strikes during Boris Johnson’s time as Mayor were a “disgrace.”

Mr Prince said he had lodged a written question at City Hall last month asking the Mayor if he would condemn the strikes but, he added, after more than two weeks the only reply received was one stating that “officers are still drafting a response.”

“It does not take two weeks to answer a simple yes or no question. The Mayor needs to stop protecting his union colleagues and start backing Londoners who elected him.

“Sadiq has already broken his ridiculous ‘no strikes’ promise... he is on track for the worst strikes record of any London Mayor.”

The Mayor’s spokesman said: "Assembly Member Prince should know that Southern services are run by the government that he supports - not by the Mayor - and they are responsible for the terrible service that commuters are currently facing.

"Sadiq inherited a total mess on industrial relations within TfL - the number of strikes more than doubled under the previous Mayor.

"Sadiq has begun the hard work of fixing this terrible legacy so that commuters don't have to suffer like they did under Boris Johnson.

"He has met and engaged with the unions which has already produced positive results - the Night Tube is finally open, and a number of disputes on the tube and buses have already been solved before they led to strikes.

“Sadiq continues to urge the unions to work constructively with TfL in order to resolve their issues rather than threaten strike action, and has offered to put a senior TfL team in charge of the Southern franchise until a permanent resolution to the problems they face can be found."

The dispute on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines is over working conditions including how long drivers spend on “toilet breaks” with TfL claiming some spend more than an hour – a row revealed by the Evening Standard last month.

On the Piccadilly line the dispute is also over working conditions with the RMT saying drivers are constantly taking the blame from angry passengers when the trains break down.

The union has pictures of three skips at the Northfields depot which are full of metal shaving from train wheels which to be re-profiled to keep them round – taking trains out of service.

There was hope of a last ditch deal to prevent the Piccadilly line strike from going ahead with  talks taking place today (MON) at Acas, the conciliation service.

Southern Rail chiefs today warned commuters by loudspeaker announcements on packed trains of “severe and significant” on-going and indefinite disruption from tomorrow as train drivers belonging to the Aslef union join forces with RMT guards.

The drivers begin an indefinite ban on overtime which will throw the timetable on Southern and Gatwick Express into chaos. It common with other train companies Southern relies on overtime to run a full service.

From tomorrow and until further notice all services on the West London line, London bridge to Beckenham Junction and Brighton to Seaford services are cancelled. Other Metro services will also be reduced.

The company said on days where the two unions combined forces it would only be able to run half the usual timetable.  From Tuesday of next week – 13 December – Aslef will begin the first wave of nine days of strikes.

Southern said that would halt all Southern trains and halve services on the Gatwick Express. Thameslink trains will operate but they will be even more crowded than usual.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is seeking a High Court injunction against Aslef in an effort to prevent the strikes from taking place.

In a case to be heard on Wednesday, GTR said it believes the union’s industrial action “breaches customers’ right under EU law.”

If the action is successful it will set a precedent and have massive implications for customers rights – far beyond just transport.

British woman stabbed to death at Lapland Christmas attraction

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A British woman has been stabbed to death at a Christmas holiday attraction in Lapland, Finnish police said. 

The 25-year-old woman, a seasonal worker who took children to visit Santa Claus, was found dead on Saturday. 

Finnish police launched a hunt for the young woman’s Czech boyfriend who was later found suffering from hypothermia deep in the Lapland wilderness. 

Police said they arrested the man on Saturday. 

The woman's alleged attacker is thought to have fled before collapsing in the -35C temperatures. 

 Lapland's police said in an online report: "A homicide occurred on Saturday morning. A 36-year-old man is suspected of having stabbed to death his 26-year-old girlfriend. Both of them were foreign seasonal workers.

"Afterwards, the man fled with their dogs," the statement said, adding that a Border Guard helicopter had been brought in to help with the manhunt. 

They arrested the man and he was taken to hospital in Rovaniemi. 

The woman is reported to have been working for tour company Santa Safari, according to the Sun.

Lapland receives hundreds of seasonal workers each year many of whom work in festive centres catered for tourists who want to visit Santa Claus. 

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: "We are supporting the family of a British national who died in Finland on 3 December."

Man and woman die after 'chemical spill' inside car in Essex

Staff reporter(wp/es):

A man and a woman have died following a suspected chemical spill inside a car in Essex.

Police taped-off Fox Crescent, in Chelmsford, just before 11.15am on Monday after the pair were found “slumped over” inside the vehicle.

Both the man and the woman were pronounced dead at the scene.

Their ages are not yet known.

East of England Ambulance Service and crews from Essex Fire and Rescue Service also rushed to the scene alongside a Hazard Response Unit.

A spokesman for Essex Police confirmed there had been a chemical spill inside the vehicle.

He said: “Police were called by the ambulance service shortly before 11.15am today, Monday December 5, to Fox Crescent in Chelmsford. 

“Two people, a man and a woman, were found in a car and have died. 

“Police are at the scene making enquiries.”

One witness, who asked not to be named, told Essex Live: “I just went over to see my mate - I have a key to his flat and I saw the ambulance and wanted to check it wasn't for him.

"I just saw two people slumped over in the car.”