Major Christmas rail work will see Paddington, Liverpool Street and London Bridge effectively closed

Staff reporter(wp/es):

The boss of Network Rail today warned train passengers they face a “crescendo” of maintenance work over the festive season and told them to plan ahead to avoid their Christmas plans being wrecked.

Paddington, Liverpool Street and London Bridge will be all but closed for most of the holiday period and many services will not run in and out of Waterloo, Charing Cross and Cannon Street.

Preparations to complete the Crossrail and Thameslink projects will form part of the biggest programme of work ever undertaken by NR, with 24,000 maintenance staff laying new track and signals at 200 projects across the country from Christmas Eve.

On Crossrail, £45 million will be spent over Christmas on linking its new rail tunnels under central London with the surface-level network in outer London, Essex and Berkshire. The first services on what will be renamed the Elizabeth line will start in December 2018.

NR chief executive Mark Carne said the firm had learned the lessons of the Christmas getaway chaos two years ago, when work overran at King’s Cross and Paddington, while Finsbury Park had to be closeddue to overcrowding.

Mr Carne gave up his £135,000 annual bonus as a result.

He told the Standard: “It’s really important that passengers plan their journey carefully and look specifically at the stations they want to use and when these stations may be closed or the services reduced.

"What they can’t do is assume they can buy an open ticket to Cornwall and turn up on Christmas Eve and expect to get a train from Paddington.”

He said this is the third consecutive year that Network Rail will have carried out a record amount of maintenance.

It involves:

• Disruption at Paddington until January 3, with passengers having to change at Ealing Broadway until December  29 and no Heathrow Express. Ealing Broadway is expected to be flooded with 40,000 passengers a day — double its normal level.
• Many Liverpool Street services being cancelled until January 4, with passengers required to change at Newbury Park Tube station. Bus replacement services will run to Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich.
• Thameslink work at New Cross resulting in no London Bridge and Charing Cross services until December 28, though Hastings trains will be diverted to London Bridge.
• Waterloo closing at 8pm on Christmas Eve till December 27 and fewer South West Trains services till January 3.
• Cannon Street having no Southeastern trains until December 27.
• Mr Carne continued: “There’s been a crescendo building up to the situation now, with Crossrail and Thameslink in particular. We are now right in the heart of these programmes. 
  “This is the busiest period. We’re going to have 24,000 people out over Christmas and New Year. Last year was about 15,000. It’s a significant step up, compared to previous years.”
  He said Network Rail had a “tremendous track record” since the chaos two years ago. “Every bank holiday since then, we have delivered what we set out to do and caused the minimum amount of disruption,” he claimed. 
  “We are typically delivering 99 per cent of the work or more and handing [the track] back on time. We have learned a lot. We are a finely-oiled machine in terms of this sort of work now. I’m very confident.
• “What we have also done is put a huge focus on contingency planning. If something goes wrong, we will be able to look after passengers in a completely different way.”
  He added: “I won’t be in Barbados. I will be making a series of visits to work sites. I will be out there supporting them. 
  “This is a huge investment being made from the public purse to provide a better quality of train service for passengers in this country. 
  “The vast majority of the network is still running. I think we will provide a good service for passengers over the Christmas and New Year period, but it will require people to make a little more effort in planning for it.”

KPMG city worker fighting for life after being left for dead

Pic:KPMG worker Christopher Mapleston has been left with a cracked skull
Crime reporter(wp/es):

A young city worker was left fighting for his life after being left for dead in a south London street.

KPMG Japan specialist Christopher Mapleston, 29, suffered a cracked skull and a slash to his head in a possible terrifying street attack in New Cross.

Police believe high-flying Mr Mapleston, who studied at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, could have been targeted in a robbery.

He was found in a critical condition with a fractured skull at around 3am on Sunday, November 20 on Arbuthnot Road, in New Cross.

He was last seen by friends – who waved him goodbye after a night of socialising – as he ran for a bus close to Peckham Rye Railway station between 1.30 and 2am.

But Mr Mapleston was found two miles away without his iPhone 6.

Detectives are appealing for help to piece together the events which left Mr Mapleston hospitalised.

Detective Constable Terry Martin, from Lewisham CID, said: "We cannot be certain whether Christopher's injury was the result of a fall or an attack. 

“One line of inquiry is that he may have been the victim of a robbery as he was found without his Iphone 6.

"I would like to speak with anyone who saw Christopher between the railway station and Arbuthnot Road. He was wearing a distinctive green camouflage jacket.

"Have you found a mobile phone in this area of New Cross? Any piece of information, however small, will help us to discover what happened in the early hours of that morning."

Officers are keen to hear from anyone who saw Christopher that night. 

He is described as white, approximately 5ft 7ins tall, of slim build with brown hair. He was wearing a green camouflage jacket, black trousers and trainers.

Anyone with information is asked to contact officers at Lewisham via 101.

Huge tower of smoke as firefighters tackle town centre blaze

Pic:smoke could be seen for miles in east London 
Staff reporter(wp/es):

A thick tower of smoke could be seen billowing across east London this morning as firefighters tackled a blaze in Ilfordtown centre.

A fire ripped through the offices of a legal firm on Adelaide Road and spread to a range of shops on Ley Street, just a few hundred metres away from the Exchange shopping centre.

London Fire Brigade confirmed a crew was sent to the blaze at 7.39am and ten fire engines and 72 firefighters were still trying to extinguish the flames three hours later.

A hazard zone was set up after potentially explosive gas cylinders were found at the back of one of the properties.

A number of shop workers and 18 residents had to be evacuated although there are no reports of any injuries.

The entire ground floor of the property was alight and four shops were believed to have been damaged in the fire, which was eventually brought under control at around 10.40am.

One commuter posted on Twitter: “Fire in Ilford... saw it on way into work. Black smoke filling the air. Won't be long till trains are stopped.”

Another, known as Ash, added that there was an “awful fire in Ilford”.

Transport for London said bus routes 25, 123, 147, 167, 169, 179, 364, 462 and W19 were being diverted via Griggs Approach and Winston Way due to the fire.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: "Ten fire engines and 72 firefighters and officers are attending a fire at a range of shops on Ley Street in Ilford.

"The ground floor of two properties are alight. A number of gas cylinders have been found at the rear of one of the properties. As cylinders can explode when exposed to heat a hazard zone has been set up.

"The Brigade was called at 0738. Fire crews from Ilford and surrounding fire stations are at the scene. The cause of the fire is not known at this stage."

The fire is believed to have started at Highland Solicitors, a small firm that offers services in employment law, immigration law, EU law and family divorce

Man Jailed who sexually assaulted young woman as she walked home in Ealing

Pic: Rafiul Akbar was sentenced to 42 months in prison for sexual assault
Crime reporter(wp/es):

A man who sexually assaulted a young woman walking home in Ealing has been jailed.

Predator Rafiul Akbar, 36, pounced on the woman, aged in her twenties, while she was walking home from Hanger Laneunderground station last year.

Akbar grabbed the woman from behind and sexually assaulted her before running away at around 1.00am on December 17, a court heard. 

Akbar, of Lakeside Drive, Park Royal, was sentenced to 42 months in prison at Isleworth Crown Court on November 24 after being found guilty of sexual assault, police said. 

CCTV footage from the night identified Akbar as the suspect and he was arrested on December 31 last year. 

Detective Constable Hannah Rudd, who led the investigation by Ealing Borough, said: "The jailing of Akbar sends out a strong message to anyone committing this type of offence that they will be investigated, charged and put before the courts to face the consequences of their actions.

"I would like to praise the victim for having the strength to support this investigation - I can only hope this conclusion can help her move on from the events of that night."

Holborn Tube station evacuated after fire alert

Staff reporter(wp/es):

A busy central London Tube station was evacuated after a fire alert.

Alarms sounded at Holborn station shortly after 2.30pm on Tuesday and crowds of people were led outside.

Tube services on the Central line were not stopping at the station while officials dealt with the incident.

London Fire Brigade said one fire crew was sent to the station to investigate.

A spokesman said firefighters were investigating why the alarm sounded and that there was no indication that there was a fire. 

On social media, witnesses described how passengers were rushed off the platforms and told to leave the station.

George Maier tweeted a video with the caption: "Emergency evacuation at Holborn station."

Roisin O'Shea tweeted: "Holborn station evacuated and firemen taking control of surrounding areas."

Mohammed Seedat said: "Holborn underground station evacuated."

The station reopened about half an hour later at 3pm.

British Transport Police said: "Holborn station briefly closed whilst @LondonFire responded to a fire alert.

"No fire and the station will reopen. Thanks for your patience."

Southern Rail strike to be even worse than feared thanks to driver overtime ban

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Hundreds of thousands of Southern Railway passengers face even worse disruption than forecast from next week because of a ban on train driver overtime, it was revealed today.

As well as nine days of strike action by drivers in the coming weeks, union Aslef has ordered members not to carry out any “non-contractual” work, including an “indefinite” ban on overtime.

Southern confirmed it relied on overtime to keep a full service running.

The ban will begin next Tuesday, timed to coincide with the start of a further three days of strikes by RMT guards in the ongoing dispute over changes to staff roles and driver-operated trains.

Passengers face 24-hour strikes every week until the middle of January — 18 strikes in total.

Neither the RMT nor Aslef will rule out further walkouts. Southern admits the strikes by drivers “will bring it to a standstill” but says it is proceeding with staff changes and denies accusations these are unsafe.

Aslef has ordered its drivers to strike on December 13, 14 and 16, before a six-day strike from January 9 to 14. 

RMT guards will strike next Tuesday through Thursday, and then two further three-day-strikes, from December 22 to 24 and December 31 to January 2.

More Tube staff set to walk-out in fresh strike, TSSA union announces

Staff reporter(wp/es):

More Tube staff are set to walk-out in a fresh strike, a union announced on Tuesday.

London Underground workers voted to go on strike in a row over ticket office closures, jobs and safety.

Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) said staff have faced "unprecendented" levels of verbal and physical abuse from passengers since Tube ticket officers closed.

The union backed walkouts by 67 per cent and other forms of industrial action by 9-1.

The vote follows the announcement staff belonging to another union - the RMT - are to stage 24-hour walkouts next month.

More than 230 Tube staff members took part in Tuesday's TSSA ballot, which asked whether they were prepared to take part in a strike.

Union general secretary Manuel Cortes said it is not a dispute about wages but "our members being prepared to take part in a strike to let the world know that the Tube they are using is not fit for safe purpose".

He said: "Our customer service assistants are overwhelmingly trying to warn the public that the Tube they use is not safe. We no longer have enough staff.

"Our members will as a last resort go on strike to safeguard passengers. They are prepared to forego wages and risk media and management wrath to let the public know that our capital's Tube is no longer safe enough.

"This strike vote must not be dismissed as mindless militant action. Instead it's an act of desperation by mindful and public-spirited customer service assistants at their absolute best by putting passenger safety before anything else."

The RMT union has already announced 24-hour walkouts by train drivers on the Piccadilly and Hammersmith and City lines from 9.30pm on Tuesday 6 December in separate and unrelated disputes.

The Piccadilly line, fourth busiest on the network and the only Tube line serving Heathrow, is expected to be severely disrupted.