Transport secretary Louise Haigh resigns
Transport secretary Louise Haigh has resigned over a conviction she received in 2014 in connection with a mobile phone, which she had wrongly said was stolen. The allegation was an error, but she pleaded guilty to making a false report to police.
Six names for London Overground lines have been officially launched by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. He has been at Dalston Junction today to unveil the names and a celebratory plaque.
The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act has received Royal Assent, and it means that public ownership of the former passenger franchises is now the default, rather than the last resort. Some parts of the 1993 Railways Act, which privatised the railway, have been amended.
Some trains are calling at Northampton and Long Buckby again, after the line had been closed on Monday by water overflowing from a tributary of the River Nene following Storm Bert.
The Government is being asked to pay for a business case setting out plans to use part of a heritage branch line in Somerset for a park and ride service.
Potential strikes on London Underground have been averted after the RMT accepted LUL’s latest pay offer. However, there is still the possibility of minor disruption on the Elizabeth Line on New Year’s Eve, because the RMT has called a 24-hour strike of control room staff starting at 21.00 on 31 December.
Trains are still being delayed or cancelled in several areas this morning, after Storm Bert caused flooding and wind damage over the weekend. The Northampton loop on the West Coast Main Line is not expected to reopen before tomorrow at the earliest, because signalling and telecomms equipment were damaged when the tracks at Northampton station disappeared under water from the nearby River Nene.