Flexible season tickets rolled out in huge UK train network revamp - Metro.co.uk

The changes are set to better reflect people’s work patterns after the pandemic (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

The greatest shake-up of Britain’s railways for a generation is due to arrive as lockdown lifts — including flexible season tickets to reflect commuters’ post-pandemic working patterns.

The rail revolution will see a rollout of pay as you go, contactless payments and digital ticketing on smartphones.

New national flexi season tickets will go on sale on June 21 – the day the last lockdown restrictions are due to lift — ready for use seven days later.

The French-style ‘carnet’ tickets will allow travel on any eight days in a 28-day period, and ministers say people commuting only two or three days a week could save hundreds of pounds a year.

There will also be a simplified single compensation system for easier refunds.

Community groups will get the chance to take over branch lines.

And a new public body called Great British Railways will be set up to oversee all train services. GBR will own rail infrastructure, collect revenue, run and plan the network, and set most fares and timetables — but the government insisted it was not a renationalisation.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps, who will unveil the long-awaited plan today, said: ‘For many, the idea of travelling five days a week to the office is fast becoming a relic of the past.

The rail revolution will see a rollout of pay as you go, contactless payments and digital ticketing on smartphones (Picture: REX / Shutterstock)

‘The future is flexible — passengers want a simple, stress-free option, and new flexible tickets make fares fairer.’

Prime minister Boris Johnson said: ‘I’m a great believer in rail, but for too long passengers have not had the level of service they deserve.

‘By creating Great British Railways and investing in the future of the network, this government will deliver a rail system the country can be proud of.’

Rail fares rose by an average 2.6% this year despite cuts in services during the pandemic. But the impact of the crisis has helped bring forward flexible season tickets, which the transport department says could be 15% cheaper than daily peak prices.

Someone commuting twice a week between Woking, in Surrey, and London could save £250 per year, or £220 between Liverpool and Manchester.

People commuting only two or three days a week could save hundreds of pounds a year (Picture: EPA)

The Department for Transport says the changes are the biggest shake-up since the rail network was privatised and Railtrack was created in 1994 (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

Those commuting three times a week between Chelmsford, in Essex, and Stratford, east London, could save £300, or £120 between Bromsgrove in Worcestershire and Birmingham.

Passenger groups yesterday welcomed the proposals while calling for more details on how flexible fares would work and what they might cost.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of watchdog Transport Focus, said: ‘Passengers will welcome this move towards a more accountable, joined-up railway. We need tickets more likely to match how we might live and travel in future.’

And Andy Bagnall, director general of the train operators’ Rail Delivery Group, said: ‘Train companies have long called for many of the reforms in this white paper and these proposals can deliver the biggest changes in a generation.

‘Flexible tickets for commuters and more pay as you go are good news.’

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But shadow transport secretary Jim McMahon said average commuters were paying £950 more for season tickets this year than in 2010 — up 43%.

He said: ‘A lack of detail on flexible tickets and whether it will make travel cheaper for the average commuter renders it meaningless for millions.’

The Department for Transport says the changes are the biggest shake-up since the rail network was privatised and Railtrack was created in 1994.

Former British Airways chief Keith Williams, who chaired the review, said: ‘Our railway history — rich with Victorian pioneers and engineers, steam and coal, industry and ingenuity — demands a bright future. This plan is the path forward.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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2021-05-20 06:33:00Z
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Families returning from overseas holidays to expect ‘knock on the door’ from cops checking ten day qua... - The Sun

FAMILIES returning from overseas holidays should expect a "knock on the door" from cops checking Brits are obeying the 10-day quarantine rule.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said enforcement has been stepped up to ensure officials have the capacity to carry out 10,000 home visits every day.

🔵 Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest updates

More than 1,300 flights are set to fly out to 'amber list' countries in the next five daysCredit: Alamy

Home Secretary Priti Patel said enforcement has been stepped upCredit: PA

When asked by the Daily Mail whether Brits should expect a "knock on the door" when they return home, she said: "Yes, people should.

"There is a service, provision is in place, capacity has been increased for that very reason. People will not go unchecked.

"Significant resources have been put in place – millions of pounds – in terms of the follow-up checking of people around their testing and making sure they stay at home.

"It has been stepped up."

It comes as almost 300,000 Brits desperate for a holiday will fly to "amber list" countries by the weekend.

More than 1,300 flights are set to fly out to "amber" destinations such as Spain, Greece and Italy in the next five days - with 54,000 passengers jetting off each day, according to analysis for The Telegraph.

Brits flying to countries on the "amber list" must quarantine for 10 days when returning to the UK and take a pre-arrival Covid test and tests on day two and eight.

A Home Office source told the Daily Mail that 7,000 home visits were carried out by officials on Tuesday.

And the department has also established a new Isolation Assurance and Compliance service to monitor arrivals from countries on the "amber list".

Anyone found to be out when they should be self-isolating risks a fine of up to £10,000.

The Home Office has established a new service to monitor arrivals from countries on the 'amber list'

Confused ministers have spouted mixed messages on where Brits are allowed to go on holidayCredit: Alamy

Passengers are facing 'chaos' and 'unacceptable' queues when returning to the UK from their holidaysCredit: Alamy

But summer holidays in Europe are under threat as Brussels bosses could pull the plug on plans to reopen their borders due to fears over the Indian Covid strain.

Jittery Brussels bosses have delayed a decision on whether to throw open its borders to the UK as they wait to see if the killer variant takes hold in Britain.

One EU diplomat told The Sun: "The decision on Britain is now in doubt which was not the case until recently.

"Now we see the Indian variant spreading and we hear the warning messages from Downing St.

"That has given Member States pause for thought over whether now is the right time to lift the ban.

"It makes sense to kick the can down the road, to see the latest numbers and data to assess whether the surge has levelled off."

And in a double blow, Boris Johnson warned Brits must have an "extreme reason" – like a funeral - to visit amber list countries.

Jittery Brussels bosses have delayed a decision on whether to throw open its borders to the UKCredit: Getty

Brits can now go abroad for holidaysCredit: Getty Images - Getty

Travellers arriving from red-list countries must pay £1,750 to stay 11 nights in a quarantine hotelCredit: Getty

The Prime Minister scrambled to try to clarify UK travel policy after a week of chaos and confusion.

Confused ministers have spouted mixed messages on where Brits are allowed to go on holiday.

Cabinet Minister George Eustice said you can visit "amber list" countries to see friends and family - only to be contradicted hours later by Health Minister Lord Bethell who branded all foreign travel "dangerous".

Scrambling to kill off the confusion once and for all, Johnson told PMQs: "You should not be going to an amber list country except for some extreme circumstance, such as the serious illness of a family member.

"You should not be going to an amber list country on holiday."

'EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES'

And Health Secretary Matt Hancock furiously denied the government had stoked confusion over its travel advice.

Appearing at a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday, he said: "We have been absolutely crystal clear that you should not go to an amber or red list country on holiday.

"You should only go in exceptional circumstances."

It comes after an airport chief warned Border Force problems meant passengers face "chaos" and "unacceptable" queues when returning to the UK.

Travellers arriving from red-list countries must pay £1,750 to stay 11 nights in a quarantine hotel.

But around 3,000 sun-seeking Brits a day are due to jet to Portugal after the country was placed on the Government's Covid safe destination green list.

Of the 12 countries on the list, just four are open to the UK, which also includes Gibraltar.

Australia and New Zealand’s borders remain closed to Brits along with Singapore. The Faroe Islands, Falkland Islands and Brunei, also green listed, require quarantines on arrivals between 10 to 14 days.

On their return to England, those visiting green-list countries will only need a negative Covid test before returning to the UK, and one on day two - no quarantine is required.

New Covid graphs showing ‘absolutely flat’ cases pile pressure on Boris to unlock NOW

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2021-05-19 22:07:00Z
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Rail services to come under unified state control - BBC News

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The government has announced the biggest shake-up in the UK's railways since privatisation in the mid-1990s.

The reform plan will see the creation of a new state-owned body, Great British Railways (GBR), which will own and manage rail infrastructure.

But the private sector will still play a big role, with private operators contracted to run most trains.

And next month, flexible season tickets will be available for some people who commute two or three times a week.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the plan would "deliver a rail system the country can be proud of".

As part of the reform, the existing operator of infrastructure, Network Rail, will disappear.

GBR will also collect fare revenue, run the network and set most fares and timetables when it comes into existence in 2023.

However, many reforms will come into force before then, including the introduction of flexible season tickets, offering savings on certain routes for people who do not travel to work every day.

These will go on sale on 21 June, for use seven days later.

The carnet-style tickets will allow passengers to travel on any eight days in a 28-day period.

• Is it safe to use public transport again?
• Rail franchises axed as help for train firms grows
• What has gone wrong with rail franchising?

The plan is contained in a White Paper, based on the recommendations of a review of the industry carried out by former British Airways chief executive Keith Williams. It followed the chaotic introduction of new timetables in May 2018.

The plan was initially due to be published in autumn 2019, but was delayed by the general election and the coronavirus pandemic.

Since the privatisation of British Rail 25 years ago, rail reviews, reforms and reorganisations have come and gone with a steady regularity, operating to a frequency something akin to an elongated Olympic Games.

Successive administrations have felt the need to tinker with the original architecture of the system, which gave train operators a substantial degree of freedom to set fares, lease new trains and change service patterns.

Since Railtrack collapsed in 2001, however, the general direction of travel has been towards more control at the centre.

In 2004, the then transport secretary Alistair Darling considered a plan to unite the two big forces in the industry, Network Rail and the Strategic Rail Authority, into a single unit, to be called National Rail. This plan finally makes that idea concrete and reverses one of the pillars of the original privatisation, the separation of management of the track and the trains.

Great British Railways will have its say over Network Rail (the owner of the track and major stations) and will award concessions to private companies to operate services. If the plan is followed through and properly implemented, it should see an end to the squabbling over who is to blame when the trains are late, dirty or overcrowded. Everything will be the problem of a single body.

That concentration of power will also be a potential Achilles' heel. One of the successes of the privatisation was the freedom for train companies to do new things - a freedom that was a partial factor in the remarkable revival in passenger numbers in the past two decades.

If that spirit of innovation is lost - and if civil servants and politicians endlessly interfere in the working of the new authority - the railways risk sliding into stagnation. The fear among railway executives is that the Treasury, having had to pay dearly to support services during the pandemic, will seek to claw back spending, leading to cuts in services.

The White Paper is entitled the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, after Mr Williams and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

Mr Shapps said the railways had suffered from "years of fragmentation, confusion and over-complication".

He added: "It's now time to kick start reforms that give the railways solid and stable foundations for the future, unleashing the competitive, innovative and expert abilities of the private sector, and ensuring passengers come first."

Franchises axed

The publication of the plan comes eight months after the government scrapped the system of rail franchising, which had been in force since privatisation.

The move came in response to falling passenger numbers during the coronavirus pandemic, as many people stopped commuting and started working from home instead.

The government's reform plan was welcomed by the rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

Its chief executive, John Larkinson, said the ORR would "continue to work closely with government and industry to facilitate reform and reshape rail for the future".

Andy Bagnall, director general of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, said the proposals could deliver "the biggest changes in a generation".

"Train operators called for a guiding mind and Great British Railways will help to bring the whole industry together," he said.

"To deliver for passengers and freight customers, it must have the independence to hold the operators of both tracks and trains to account equally. Crucially, it needs to allow operators to put their customers at the absolute forefront of decision-making," he added.

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2021-05-19 21:31:11Z
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COVID-19: World's first clinical trial on coronavirus booster vaccines launched in UK - Sky News

Thousands of volunteers will get a booster coronavirus vaccine as part of a world-first clinical trial in the UK, the health secretary has announced.

The Cov-Boost study will trial seven COVID-19 vaccines and will be the first to provide data on the impact of a third vaccine dose.

Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world

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Hancock: Vaccines working against variant

It will give scientists and experts a better idea of the impact of a booster dose in protecting people from COVID.

The study will be led by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust and supported with £19.3m of government funding.

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Some 2,886 people aged 30 and older will be recruited at 18 NHS sites from London to Glasgow and the first booster jabs will be administered in early June.

Initial findings are expected in September.

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Matt Hancock said: "We will do everything we can to future-proof this country from pandemics and other threats to our health security, and the data from this world-first clinical trial will help shape the plans for our booster programme later this year.

"I urge everyone who has had both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, and is eligible, to sign up for this study and play a part in protecting the most vulnerable people in this country and around the world for months and years to come."

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We want boosters available from September

Professor Saul Faust, director of the National Institute for Health Research Southampton clinical research facility and the trial's lead investigator, said the "hope of a booster is that we raise the antibody level enough to be able to cover existing and variant strains of coronavirus."

He added: "We're hoping the immune responses will be high enough to protect people against all the strains circulating in the UK, including we'll be testing in the lab against the Indian variant, the South African variant, the Kent variant as well as the original strain."

People who received their first dose of either the AstraZeneca or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in December or January are being encouraged to take part, as well as those aged 75 and over.

The seven vaccines that will be tested are: Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Novavax, Janssen from Johnson & Johnson, Valneva and CureVac.

The 18 sites will be split into three separate groups, with each one testing a different set of jabs.

The sites include Southampton, London, Leicester, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Wrexham, Bradford, Oxford, Glasgow, Leeds, Cambridge, Birmingham, Brighton, Stockport, Liverpool and Exeter.

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Three of the seven vaccines will be tested at a half dose to see what the immune response is, with experts anticipating this will still provide adequate protection.

The potential for a reduction in side effects will also be examined, as well as whether half doses could be an option for countries where vaccine supply may be more limited.

Data on side-effects will also be collected, including among people whose third booster jab is a different type to what was used for their first two inoculations.

All of the information and data from the study will be passed to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) at the end of August or early September.

The JCVI will then advise the government on whether people should receive a booster jab and which vaccines should be used.

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2021-05-19 16:41:15Z
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Britons could be given THIRD booster shot as UK launches world-first trial - Express

Matt Hancock announces trial of coronavirus booster vaccines

Speaking at press conference this afternoon, Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said seven existing vaccines are to be tested in the Cov-Boost trial to see which jabs could be used in any forthcoming autumn vaccination programme. Some 2,886 people aged 30 and older are being recruited at 18 NHS sites from London to Glasgow, with the first booster jabs administered in early June. Scientists want people who received their first dose of either Pfizer/BioNTech or AstraZeneca in December or January to sign up, and hope people aged 75 and over will also come forward.

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Experts believe that all seven vaccines will boost immunity, and lab studies will check their response to variants circulating in the UK, including those from India, Kent and South Africa.

The £19.3million clinical trial will test the Pfizer jab alongside those from AstraZeneca, Moderna, Novavax, Janssen from Johnson & Johnson, Valneva and CureVac.

Three of the vaccines will also be tested at a half dose, with experts expecting an adequate immune response at this level.

The half doses will inform whether side-effects are reduced at a lower dose, and could offer useful information to countries where vaccine supply may be more scarce.

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, speaking this afternoon (Image: GETTY)

Nadhim Zahawi, the Vaccines Minister (Image: GETTY)

The 18 NHS sites across the UK will be split into three groups, with each group testing a different set of vaccines.

All of the information will be fed to to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) at the end of August or early September.

The JCVI will then guide the Government on whether people should be boosted with a third dose and which vaccines should be used, depending on supply.

The 18 sites include Southampton, London, Leicester, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Wrexham, Bradford, Oxford, Glasgow, Leeds, Cambridge, Birmingham, Brighton, Stockport, Liverpool and Exeter.

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Professor Chris Whitty, England's Chief Medical Officer (Image: GETTY)

Indian variant: Vaccine rollout strategy discussed by expert

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Among the information gathered will be any data on side-effects, including among people whose third booster jab is a different type to that used for their first two shots.

Professor Saul Faust, director of the National Institute for Health Research Southampton clinical research facility and lead investigator for the trial, said the "hope of a booster is that we raise the antibody level enough to be able to cover existing and variant strains of coronavirus."

He added: "We're hoping the immune responses will be high enough to protect people against all the strains circulating in the UK, including we'll be testing in the lab against the Indian variant, the South African variant, the Kent variant as well as the original strain."

Any other variants that England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, wants adding to the mix can be tested as part of the trial over the summer.

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The study is targeting people who have already had a dose of Pfizer/BioNTech or AstraZeneca (Image: GETTY)

The vaccine booster trials are a world-first (Image: GETTY)

Experts believe booster shots of existing vaccines could be enough to provide protection against all variants, with some scientists suggesting that developing new vaccines against variant strains may actually impair people's immune responses.

Dr Matthew Snape, associate professor of paediatrics and vaccinology at the University of Oxford, told a briefing that changing the vaccine to, for example, one that targets the South African variant, could actually leave the body trying to respond to the original Wuhan strain of coronavirus that an earlier vaccine protects against.

He said more research was needed, but added: "In some situations you never forget your first love...you're still trying to respond to that first vaccine."

The researchers stressed that the aim of the new study is not to pit the vaccines against one another, but to check whether they all increase antibodies and to look for potential side-effects.

Vaccine effectiveness compared (Image: Express)

This is how we are making sure that the vaccine is staying ahead of the virus

Matt Hancock

All participants in the trial will have bloods taken to measure their immune responses at days 28, 84, 308 and 365 of the trial - with a small number having blood tests at other times.

Speaking at the press conference, Mr Hancock said: "This is how we are making sure that the vaccine is staying ahead of the virus."

The study, backed by £19million of taxpayers' money, would "look at the use of current COVID vaccines as booster vaccines to see what combination, and what part they can pay, in keeping us safe for the long term."

Earlier today he said: "The UK vaccination programme has been a phenomenal national effort, with seven in 10 UK adults now having had their first Covid-19 jab.

"It is vital that we continue to support the world-renowned British research sector that has contributed to its success.

"We will do everything we can to future-proof this country from pandemics and other threats to our health security, and the data from this world-first clinical trial will help shape the plans for our booster programme later this year.

Coronavirus vaccination rates compared (Image: GETTY)

"I urge everyone who has had both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, and is eligible, to sign up for this study and play a part in protecting the most vulnerable people in this country and around the world for months and years to come."

Prof Faust added: "This trial will give the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation the important data to inform their recommendations of how to protect the population against any future wave.

"It is fantastic that so many people across the country have taken part in vaccine trials up to now so that we can be in a position to study the effects of boosters, and we hope that as many people as possible over the age of 30 who received their first dose early in the NHS programme will be able to take part."

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said: "Having taken part in a Covid-19 vaccine clinical trial myself, I would encourage everyone eligible to volunteer - whatever your religion, ethnicity or background."

"It's a fantastic opportunity to get involved with such an historic initiative."

Further results from the ComCov clinical trial, which aims to determine the effects of using different vaccines for the first and second dose, are due in the coming months.

People can sign up for the new trial at covboost.org.uk

(This is a breaking news story - more to follow)

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2021-05-19 16:20:00Z
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Boris Johnson 'increasingly confident' that jabs will halt spread of Indian variant - The Times

Confidence is increasing that vaccines are effective against the Indian strain of coronavirus, Boris Johnson has said, adding to hopes that the easing of lockdown restrictions next month will go ahead as planned.

At prime minister’s questions today, he said the latest data indicated that jabs were working against all variants of the virus.

The spread of the Indian variant, known officially as B.1.617.2, had led to concern about easing the remaining restrictions in England on June 21. However, the prime minister said there was no conclusive evidence to suggest a need to deviate from the road map.

In a further sign of optimism, he told the Commons: “We’ve looked at the data again this morning and I can tell the House we have increasing

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2021-05-19 12:25:00Z
52781594810162

Daniel Morgan: Delay to report on axe murder 'kick in teeth' - BBC News

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The family of Daniel Morgan has criticised a Home Office decision to review a report into his unsolved murder before it can be made public.

The private investigator was killed with an axe in a pub car park in London in 1987.

The panel investigating the case was due to publish its report on Monday, but government lawyers will now examine it first, due to "national security".

Mr Morgan's family called the delay "an outrage" and a "kick in the teeth".

The panel chairperson, Baroness Nuala O'Loan, said the Home Office review was "unnecessary and not consistent with the panel's independence".

The family's lawyer Raju Bhatt described the decision as an "outrage" and "simply not acceptable".

Speaking on the Today programme on Wednesday morning, he added the family has "every reason to be suspicious about the motives behind this very belated and completely unwarranted intervention" and there was "every reason to believe that police corruption was at the heart of this ordeal the family have faced".

A Home Office spokesperson said the home secretary has a duty to ensure the report complied with "human rights and national security considerations".

"This has nothing to do with the independence of the report and the Home Office is not seeking to make edits to it," they added.

'Betrays her ignorance'

The body of Mr Morgan, from Monmouthshire, was discovered in Sydenham, south London, in March 1987.

His family has always maintained he was on the cusp of exposing police corruption.

Although he had not been stripped of his valuables, notes he was earlier seen writing in the pub had been ripped from his trouser pocket.

• Timeline: Daniel Morgan axe murder

There have been five separate failed investigations into Mr Morgan's murder - all plagued by allegations of police corruption and links between police, private investigators and tabloid journalists.

In 2011 a trial was abandoned, and two years later the government commissioned an inquiry into the murder.

Then Home Secretary Theresa May, who set up the inquiry panel, described Mr Morgan's death as "one of the country's most notorious unsolved murders".

The panel's remit was to "shine a light on the circumstances of Daniel Morgan's murder, its background and the handling of the case over the whole period since March 1987".

Mr Morgan's family criticised Home Secretary Priti Patel's "unnecessary" decision to delay publication.

In a statement, it said of the intervention: "It is an outrage which betrays her ignorance - and the ignorance of those advising her - with regard to her powers in law and the panel's terms of reference.

"It also reveals a disturbing disregard for the public interest in safeguarding the independence of the panel and its report."

The statement added: "For us, as the family of Daniel Morgan, the home secretary's belated and unwarranted interference in this process is simply unacceptable."

The family called on Ms Patel to "try to understand...the need for sensitivity and basic human decency in the exercise of her powers, mindful of the unending distress she is causing to each and every member of our family".

PA Media

On Tuesday, the panel released a statement saying in the subsequent eight years there had been "no mention" of any need to review the report before publication.

It also provided details of how both national security and human rights legislation had been adhered to during the investigation.

The panel was originally told the home secretary would be unable to table the report in Parliament on 17 May as planned because of delays caused by the Duke of Edinburgh's death and local elections.

A new date of 24 May was set, but the Home Office has said before a publication date can be agreed checks must be made.

A spokesperson said: "As soon as we receive the report, we can begin those checks and agree a publication date."

The spokesperson added Ms Patel hoped to meet Mr Morgan's family to "discuss the report and its findings in person".

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2021-05-19 06:59:33Z
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