News - Covid-19
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Themes Network Rail Levenmouth Line RMT Caledonian MacBrayne Footbridge Transport Scotland Nairn Northern ScotRail Edinburgh Trams Ferguson Marine Winchburgh Ayr Gateway Strike CMAL Steam Gala Kingussie Anniesland Glasgow Central Caledonian Sleeper Landslip LNER Cairngorm Mountain Railway Cullercoats ScotRail Carmont Drainage Stonehaven derailment South Ayrshire Council Carron Water Bridge [West Carmont] Carlisle Landslide Derailment
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Passenger numbers using ScotRail services returned close to pre-Covid levels last month in a boost for the Scottish Government. More than 7.7 million journeys were made with the nationalised train operator from August 1-31 - a month that coincided with Edinburgh's festivals programme.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Passenger numbers ScotRail |
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WH Smith shareholders will be hoping the stationery-to-snacks retailer posts higher sales when it reveals its performance for the past half-year next week.
(Permalink) COVID-19 WH Smith  Glasgow Central: A banner above WH Smith advertises Glasgow Central Tour vouchers, the perfect Christmas gift. Glasgow Central Tours. |
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The bus sector regularly calls for its vehicles to be given priority on our congested roads but, as Covid recovery funding ends, we are also calling for parity, if not priority, within the government's transport budget and policy aspirations. Buses are the predominant mode of public transport in Scotland, responsible for over 75 per cent of all such trips. They are flexible, sustainable, and accessible, taking people to work and school and connecting Scotland communities.
(Permalink) Buses COVID-19 Subsidy |
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On Thursday 23 March, three years after the first Covid-19 lockdown, the rail industry came together to hold a memorial day to celebrate the vital role played by its people during the pandemic, while also remembering those from the industry who lost their lives to the virus.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Network Rail |
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Busking has returned to the Tyne and Wear Metro more than two years after it was banned due to Covid-19 restrictions. Nexus, the public body which owns and manages Metro, said it is now safe for buskers to perform at its stations - and it was delighted to welcome them back after an enforced hiatus which stretches back to March 2020 when lockdown began.
(Permalink) Busking COVID-19 Tyne and Wear Metro |
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Passenger numbers at Scotland's busiest station bounced back in the year to March as Covid restrictions eased but they remained at less than half of pre-pandemic levels, new figures showed.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Glasgow Central ORR Scotscalder Station statistics  Scotscalder: Final preparations are being made for the trial of a request-stop kiosk at Scotscalder on the Far North Line. The new equipment at Scotscalder will go live on trial from 15 August 2022.  Glasgow Central: The large, open, bright and airy space of the Glasgow Central concourse. |
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A train service between Inverness and Wick has been cancelled.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Cancellation Inverness Wick |
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Glasgow Subway announced the closure on Friday afternoon.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Glasgow District Subway Kinning Park |
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Angry locals took to social media to slam the service from East Kilbride to Glasgow.
(Permalink) COVID-19 East Kilbride |
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The transfer of ScotRail to the public sector tomorrow marks not only the end of Abellio's often controversial seven-year tenure as operator, but also a quarter of a century of private sector management of Scotland's domestic rail network.
(Permalink) COVID-19 ScotRail Trains |
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Transport for the future rail and bus services in Scotland have lost more traffic due to the pandemic than in other parts of the UK.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Transport integration |
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The frequency of Caledonian MacBrayne cancellations because of Covid on board is directly linked to the need for crew members who are not fully vaccinated to isolate. This has emerged from answers to a series of questions put to the company by the Gazette.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonian MacBrayne |
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Covid protocols and technical issues are hampering ferry sailings across the west coast.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonian MacBrayne Cancellations |
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The 5.30pm sailing from Ullapool is the latest of several sailings of the Stornoway-Ullapool ferry to be cancelled.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonian MacBrayne Stornoway Ullapool |
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ScotRail says a temporary timetable brought in in response to growing staff absences due to the Omicron wave of Covid will end next week.
(Permalink) COVID-19 ScotRail Timetabling |
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ScotRail has confirmed that its temporary timetable introduced in early January following the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus will end and its pre-Christmas timetable will return on Monday, 14 February. The Omicron variant had a significant impact on the train operator, affecting hundreds of staff meaning ScotRail services were impacted. At the peak of the Omicron wave, more than 450 ScotRail staff were absent. The temporary timetable provided greater certainty for customers on which services will operate.
(Permalink) COVID-19 ScotRail Timetabling |
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A director for ScotRail has said that demand has halved since the pandemic as the operator outlines a cut of hundreds of services from its pre-pandemic timetable.
(Permalink) COVID-19 ScotRail Timetabling |
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Leisure travel rather than commuting will be the focus of 150 new services on ScotRail's timetable.
(Permalink) COVID-19 ScotRail Timetabling |
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West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin has claimed that the pandemic is being used as a smokescreen to cut rail services in the North.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Timetabling |
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A rail operator used more than 168,000 litres of cleaning solution in the past 10 months to keep passengers safe during the pandemic.
(Permalink) COVID-19 TransPennine Express |
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Scotrail were forced into making the cuts to the services in Edinburgh and across Scotland last month due to staff shortages, caused by the Covid-19 Omicron variant.
(Permalink) COVID-19 ScotRail Timetabling |
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Lifting of working from home Covid guidance leads to gradual awakening in London and Manchester. At Moorgate tube station in London's financial district, more commuters braved the return to office on the first Monday since government guidance to work from home was lifted. It does feel busier today, its good. London's waking up, said the woman staffing the barriers of the station.
(Permalink) COVID-19 |
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ScotRail has made a £26m loss despite a boost in public funding to over £850m.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Emergency Measures Agreements Loss Public funding ScotRail |
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The huge fall in train ticket sales caused Covid has been laid bare in annual accounts for ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper which showed they plummeted by nearly £330 million in the first year of the pandemic.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonian Sleeper ScotRail |
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The west coast ferry operator says more than 20% of its staff self-isolating.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonian MacBrayne |
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Translink has announced details of timetable changes in response to reduced passenger numbers following the NI Executive regulations and guidance on essential travel.
The changes will come into effect from Monday, January 10. The company said the move will allow contingency plans to be put in place for increasing levels of Covid-related staff absences and to give passengers a level of certainty to plan their bus and rail services with confidence. (Permalink) COVID-19 Northern Ireland TransLink |
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Three lifeline vessels were sidelined for repairs and Covid as islanders raised new concerns in the wake of ferry disruption through high winds and snow.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonian MacBrayne Weather |
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The temporary timetable is being introduced due to staff shortages caused by Covid-19 cases.
(Permalink) COVID-19 ScotRail Timetabling |
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Cuts to ScotRail's services begin tomorrow - read the full list of cancelled and altered train routes here.
(Permalink) COVID-19 ScotRail Timetabling |
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Staff shortages caused by Covid mean the rail operator is making changes to services in the central belt.
(Permalink) COVID-19 ScotRail Timetabling |
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Travellers in Edinburgh and Fife are being reminded of disruption to train services and temporary timetable changes due to Covid-19.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Cancellations ScotRail |
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ScotRail is reminding customers that it will make temporary changes to its timetable from Tuesday, 4 January 2022, due to the continued impact of coronavirus. The rapid spread of the Omicron variant has seen a recent spike of COVID-related absences among ScotRail staff with some having tested positive, others awaiting PCR test results, and many who are self-isolating as a result of being in close contact with someone who has tested positive.
(Permalink) COVID-19 ScotRail Timetabling |
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Today we enter an extraordinary third year of the Covid pandemic - and the development of yet another twist in this seemingly never ending saga.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonian MacBrayne ScotRail |
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CalMac is to suspend its Mallaig-Lochboisdale route and cut sailings on nine others from Monday after a surge in the number of staff forced to isolate because of Covid.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonian MacBrayne Lochboisdale Mallaig |
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Staff absences due to Covid led to the cancellation of more than 100 rail services on Wednesday.
(Permalink) Absenses COVID-19 Cancellations ScotRail |
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The changes will be in place from this evening until further notice as CalMac seeks to minimise Covid risks.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonian MacBrayne |
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COVID has sparked the cancellation of several ferry sailings on the Stornoway-Ullapool route today (Monday), CalMac has confirmed.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonian MacBrayne Cancellations |
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ScotRail is cutting back its services during January as Covid-related absences are causing staff shortages.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Cancellations ScotRail |
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Hundreds of trains have been cancelled or disrupted on Friday as travel chaos continues while ScotRail staff self-isolate.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Cancellations ScotRail |
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Scotland's Railway and British Transport Police (BTP) are reminding passengers travelling by train across the Christmas and New Year period to wear a face covering, unless they are medically exempt. Following the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the wearing of face-coverings in stations, whether covered or open-air platforms and on trains remains mandatory. All customers are being asked to Wear One and Protect Everyone.
(Permalink) British Transport Police COVID-19 ScotRail |
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More than 100 services have been cancelled on Monday, with staff illness given as the cause of most of them.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Cancellations ScotRail |
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As Omicron restrictions cause another fall in rail passengers, Scotlands leading transport expert Professor Iain Docherty, of the University of Stirling Management School, says Covid has already brought ScotRail to its knees, and new thinking will be needed to keep it on track.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Iain Docherty ScotRail |
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It was the nightmare scenario that was anticipated when the Covid pandemic erupted, but is emerging only now with the rapid spread of the Omicron variant so many staff forced to self-isolate that there's no one left to run our trains, buses and ferries.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonian MacBrayne ScotRail |
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Train passenger journeys across Britain's railway in the summer increased by more than a third (36%) in July to September 2021, with 248 million people travelling by rail compared to 182 million in the first quarter of 2021-22.
(Permalink) COVID-19 ORR Statistics |
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The rail firm suffered more than 150 train cancellations over the weekend due to a shortage of workers.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Cancellations ScotRail Timetabling |
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ScotRail is considering timetable cuts to provide a more reliable service to passengers after dozens of drivers were forced to self-isolate because of Covid, The Scotsman has learned.
(Permalink) COVID-19 ScotRail Timetabling |
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Train services in Glasgow have been axed due to an Omicron Covid outbreak among ScotRail workers.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Cancellations Glasgow ScotRail |
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Ferry services on Scotlands west coast have been cancelled after staff were forced into self-isolation by the pandemic.
Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) made the announcement, which affects multiple services, on Saturday morning. There has been a further crossing suspended until further notice due to a technical issue. (Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonian MacBrayne |
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ScotRail have been forced to cancel their Santa Express trips last minute due to new guidance on coronavirus.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Cancellations Santa Express ScotRail |
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ScotRail have advised that they have cancelled some of their services due to concerns over Covid.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Cancellations ScotRail |
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Nicola Sturgeon confirmed in her Covid briefing that 60 ScotRail services were cancelled yesterday due to staff self-isolating, with 40 accident and emergency staff also isolating due to an Omicron cluster.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Cancellations ScotRail |
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The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has today published its Rail Industry Finance (UK) 2020-21 report. The report shows the income, expenditure, and government funding of the UK rail industry for the financial year 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. The rail industry in 2020-21 was substantially affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Passenger journeys fell to historically low levels and the government used emergency measures to keep train services running, which led to a large increase in train operator subsidy. The rail industry has started to recover from the impact of the pandemic. In 2021-22 Q1 (April to June 2021) 182 million rail passenger journeys were made in Great Britain, more than five times the 35 million journeys made in 2020-21 Q1.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Finance report ORR |
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A chronic fall in ScotRail's revenue is 'not sustainable' after the takings fell by more than £100 million a year amid the Covid pandemic, the train operator's managing director has said.
(Permalink) Alex Hynes COVID-19 ScotRail |
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Cumbrae community councillors have called for an end to cleaning breaks on the ferry service between the island and Largs.
They say queues in the last few months are being made worse by the stops to wipe down the interior of the boats in a bid to help protect passengers against Covid-19 transmission. (Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonian MacBrayne Great Cumbrae Largs |
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ScotRail's train presentation crews, reinforced by its Active Hygiene Team, are among the unsung heroes without whom trains in Scotland would not have been able to keep moving during the pandemic.
Cleaning procedures were enhanced during the crisis and continue to be so. The lengths these dedicated workers have been going to in order to keep customers as safe as possible from COVID-19 is startling. (Permalink) COVID-19 ScotRail Train cleaning  Yoker Depot: 320314 basks in the sunshine at Yoker depot on 23 July 2011. |
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The number of train journeys made by commuters in Great Britain remains at less than half of pre-pandemic levels, figures show. The industry body Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said in mid-October the number of railway journeys made by those going to work was just 45% of what it was before the coronavirus crisis.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Commuting Passenger numbers |
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The cost of delivering the first phase of a controversial high-speed rail project, HS2, is set to soar by £1.3 billion, due to delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Cost Overrun HS2 London Euston |
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Employees invited to apply for severance in a move denounced by unions as 'serious breach of trust'. Rail firms have started moves to shed thousands of staff as the industry seeks to cut costs by £2bn after losing millions of passengers due to coronavirus. Employees working for train operators have been invited to apply for severance schemes in a move denounced by unions as 'ludicrous' and a 'breach of trust'.
(Permalink) COVID-19 |
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A Troon beer festival has been cancelled because of Covid concerns, but that hasn't stopped organisers arranging an alternative for thirsty revellers.
(Permalink) Ayrshire Real Ale Festival COVID-19 Troon |
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Tyne and Wear Metro employees are celebrating winning an international award for their response to the pandemic, and efforts to welcome back customers as restrictions ease. Metro was named winner of the Best Customer Initiative at the prestigious Global Light Rail Awards in London, up against tram and urban transit systems from many countries.
(Permalink) Best Customer Initiative COVID-19 Global Light Rail Awards Tyne and Wear Metro |
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CalMac has cancelled a number of Ardrossan to Brodick sailings today after a member of staff in the Ardrossan port office tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, October 10.
(Permalink) Ardrossan Brodick COVID-19 Caledonian MacBrayne |
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Today's figures from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) show that rail travel started to rebound between April and June 2021, following the gradual easing of government COVID-19 restrictions.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Estimates of Station Usage 2020-2021 ORR ORR Station Statistics Passengers Statistics |
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Lifeline ferry services will be disrupted for a second day while a vessel is redeployed to cope with cancellations after a CalMac crew member tested positive for Covid.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonoan MacBrayne MV Clansman |
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London Mayor Sadiq Khan and union leaders have called for face coverings to once again become mandatory on public transport.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Face coverings |
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Ministers have presided over a 'tsunami' of nearly 5000 job losses in aviation across Scotland after failing to provide direct pandemic support, while using over £1.2 billion of public money to support buses and trains and its own airports, the Herald on Sunday can reveal.
(Permalink) Airports Aviation Buses COVID-19 Jobs Railways |
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Ministers have come under fire over the 'scandal' of giving a £1.5m-a-month management and performance fees to ScotRail chiefs on top of massive subsidies and Covid payments which union leaders have condemned as 'profiting from the pandemic'. [Article requires subscription. -RS]
(Permalink) COVID-19 Management ScotRail |
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Drunken revellers celebrating the end of lockdown are also to blame for a spike in falls.
(Permalink) Accidents COVID-19 Handrails London Underground |
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City centres and High Streets could suffer unless workers start taking the train again, the industry warns.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Rail Delivery Group |
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There could be long-term damaging effects on city centres and High Streets unless workers return to commuting by train, new research warns.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Rail Delivery Group |
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Calmac says some passengers are ignoring advice to wear masks as Covid outbreaks on ferries cause disruption.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonian MacBrayne |
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Compliance onboard some ferries has dropped below 50 per cent raising the chances of staff infections and cancellation of sailings.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonian MacBrayne |
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A lifeline ferry is making a return after being out of action since Sunday due to Covid cases amongst two crew members.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonian MacBrayne MV Caledonian Isles |
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The number of journeys being made by train is 57 per cent of what it was before Covid, while car use has fully recovered, Department for Transport figures show.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Ticketing Timetabling |
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Scotland's Railway has ended the one metre plus policy of physical distancing at its stations and on board trains. Last week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed the legal requirement for physical distancing would be removed on Monday, 9 August, including on public transport. The Scottish Government also confirmed that face coverings will continue to be required in some situations. This differs to the position in other parts of the UK, where the mandatory requirement for face coverings ended on 19 July.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Face coverings Physical distancing ScotRail |
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Publicly-funded grants totalling almost £2million have helped the company that runs troubled Cairngorm Mountain ski centre break even, despite Covid-19.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Cairngorm Mountain Railway |
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Two inspirational Network Rail workers were recognised for their work during the Covid pandemic at a celebratory reception at 10 Downing Street, held yesterday evening (Tuesday 3 August).
(Permalink) COVID-19 Network Rail |
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Train Driver Lyle Mitchell and Train Manager Samuel Obiri-Yeboah represented colleagues at event to recognise efforts during pandemic.
(Permalink) Avanti West Coast COVID-19 |
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Nicola Sturgeon today told cross-Border train operators she expected them to maintain 1m distancing in Scotland after LNER scrapped it and wrongly claimed the move had been agreed with the Scottish Government.
(Permalink) COVID-19 LNER Nicola Sturgeon |
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Commuters at Farringdon station react to the varying face-covering rules now in place in London.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Face coverings Face masks Farringdon Transport for London |
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Train operators have been urged to release research showing the risk of contracting Covid on trains, with the chances now believed to be substantially higher than the figure publicised by the rail industry last year. The industry-funded Rail Research and Safety Board (RSSB) said in July 2020 that the risk was just one infection in 11,000 average journeys in Great Britain.
(Permalink) COVID-19 |
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'Freedom Day' arrives on July 19. After this, most transport companies will lift the rules on mask requirements. Here are their new policies.
(Permalink) Avanti COVID-19 Masks Northern ScotRail Stagecoach TransPennine |
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Metro customers must continue to wear face coverings when travelling on the system, unless they are exempt.
Wearing a face covering throughout your journey, on stations and trains, is a Condition of Carriage when using Metro unless exempt and customers may be refused travel if they do not. You should also wear face coverings when inside bus stations and interchanges or travelling on the Shields Ferry. (Permalink) COVID-19 Tyne and Wear Metro |
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Rail travel in England risks losing out to cars in the recovery from Covid because the Department for Transport lacks urgency and does not 'appreciate the scale of the challenge ahead', MPs have warned. A critical report from the Commons public accounts committee said that taxpayers could also be left on the hook for large additional costs because new contracts had been awarded without sufficient transparency 'to inform oversight'.
(Permalink) COVID-19 |
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Transport for London (TfL) has recorded a £100m plunge in advertising revenue across its network of tube stations, trains and buses after Covid-19 pandemic restrictions kept commuters away from travelling to work. TfL's advertising estate - which comprises more than 100,000 billboards, posters and panels throughout the capital's tube and rail network, in trains and on buses and shelters is one of the largest and most valuable in the world.
(Permalink) Advertising COVID-19 TfL |
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The Scottish Government is to provide a further £5.6 million of emergency funding for Glasgow Subway and Edinburgh Trams in response to the on-going financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This latest emergency funding brings the total light rail support available to over £34 million and this will now be in place until the end of September 2021. This funding announcement follows ongoing discussions with Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) and Edinburgh Trams regarding available resources due to the unprecedented impact that Covid 19 has had on travel demand. (Permalink) COVID-19 Edinburgh Trams Glasgow Subway |
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Train operators, Network Rail and unions have agreed to talks over cutting rail services and axing thousands of jobs to save the industry up to £2bn a year as it plans for a post-Covid future of fewer passengers. Under a framework agreement signed by the four main transport unions and rail employers, voluntary redundancies will be sought throughout the railway to close the funding gap from an 80% decline in passenger revenue since the start of the pandemic.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Network Rail TOCs |
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As part of Scotland's coronavirus measures, ScotRail is undertaking an eight-week trial of the NHS Test & Protect Check In Scotland QR code system on one of its Inter7City trainsets, at the request of the Scottish government and Transport Scotland. From May 24, passengers with ...
(Permalink) COVID-19 ScotRail Ticketing |
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A national campaign to help get people back on board public transport is being launched outside the House of Lords.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Community Rail Network |
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EUROPE: The coronavirus pandemic continues to have a heavy impact across the rail sector, according to the Community of European Railway & Infrastructure Companies Covid Impact Tracker.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Community of European Railway & Infrastructure Companies |
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A family's determination to pull together has helped one of Troons best-known businesses survive and thrive during lockdown.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Scran at the Station Troon  Troon: Virtually empty car park at Troon station on 15th October 2020. Mid-afternoon on a normal Thursday you would be lucky to find a space.  Troon: View across the running lines towards the southbound platform at Troon during a quiet spell on 3 May 2007. |
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Avanti West Coast employees feature in National Railway Museum's exhibition, which recognises efforts of railway workers during coronavirus crisis.
(Permalink) Avanti West Coast COVID-19 |
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Network Rail is today launching an art competition that will celebrate rail travel and the destinations people have missed travelling to during lockdown over the last year.
The competition titled 'Wish I Was There' invites art students from across Britain to create and submit pieces of artwork that conjures up images of the places that they have been looking forward to visiting- whether it be a town, city or beach, a shopping street or even just a pub or a park - a place that means something special to them. (Permalink) Art COVID-19 |
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Good news as steam railway tourist got another cash boost to help it recover from the Covid pandemic.
(Permalink) Alston COVID-19  Alston: 'Barber', an 0-6-0ST built by Greens of Leeds (441/1908), photographed at Alston on the South Tynedale Railway on 22 July 2017. Note the new station roof, bought with the help of National Lotte ... |
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The constant circulation of air by the ventilation system on Greater Manchester's light rail vehicles helps to limit the risk of aerosol transmission of viruses, an independent study has found.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Manchester Metrolink |
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Glasgow subway has now added UV sanitisers to all its escalator handrails.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Glasgow Subway |
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The Shields Ferry is to return to a full timetable following the latest stage in the Governments easing of lockdown.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Shields Ferry Tyne and Wear Metro |
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The pandemic has saved ScotRail more than £1 million in compensation payments.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Passenger Compensation Payment |
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Projects tackling social issues arising from COVID-19 in west coast communities have been awarded funding from the CalMac Community Fund.
(Permalink) COVID-19 Caledonian MacBrayne |
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