Tag: travel

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From crew murdering a passenger to dangerous overcrowding – Greece’s really troubled ferry services

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By Professor John Robertson From the Daily Mail today: A tourist has issued a warning after being caught off-guard when visiting the Greek Islands for the first time.  Audrey, from Canada, went on a birthday trip with her sister last May to the picturesque destination but didn’t expect the ferry rides between islands to be so chaotic. ‘Once you get on, you have to take about an hour to recover from the chaos,’ one commented. ‘This is the part they don’t tell you about,’ another said. ‘I’m really nervous about the suitcase situation,’ a third added. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/travel/article-13282419/TikTok-traveller-grim-reality-Greek-islands.html From the Guardian in … Continue reading From crew murdering a passenger to dangerous overcrowding – Greece’s really troubled ferry services

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Train drivers, doctors and teachers all expected to work but only in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson From the Guardian today: Rail passengers across England will face significant disruption on Friday as train drivers at five operating companies carry out industrial action. The 24-hour strike will be the first of three days of rolling strike action being taken by the train drivers’ union Aslef, with services on Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway all affected. Yesterday, from the Guardian: Teachers in England and Wales could strike again as early as September, according to the head of the UK’s largest education union, who warned of “growing frustration” within the profession … Continue reading Train drivers, doctors and teachers all expected to work but only in Scotland

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Only in Scotland would a service performing so well relative to its peers be the target of headline negativity

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By stewartb ‘STV is becoming as anti-Scottish as BBC Scotland’ – as evidenced by its practice of context and perspective-free reporting. It would be so easy and quick for STV better to inform its audience – and voters – but that would require different journalistic/editorial objectives. To further fill the void in STV’s reporting, what follows is from the Office of Road and Rail (7 March 2023) ‘Passenger rail performance, 1 October to 31 December 2023’. (https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/jkfh21zr/performance-stats-release-oct-dec-2023.pdf ) Scotrail – 11.8 percentage point increase on same period in 2022. Just seven out of 24 operators had a larger increase. Scotrail – … Continue reading Only in Scotland would a service performing so well relative to its peers be the target of headline negativity

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A phantom ferry fiasco

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By NMRN Kathryn Sampson of ITV noted recently in her #SNPBAD attempted ‘report’ that a ferry was built in Turkey…..I guess then that the UK government awarding the construction of some parts of ships for the Royal Navy to overseas (foreign) companies does not matter then….as that’s ….different ? (we all know what she, Samson, was trying to say and do in noting the Turkey connection) ….however it was reported that “The Conservative UK government tends towards a competitive procurement process, which goes for the lowest cost bidder, no matter where they are bidding from”…. Just sayin. Plus we also had Chris Grayling and … Continue reading A phantom ferry fiasco

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Violent Wolverhampton drugs gang arrests in Edinburgh not in public interest here apparently

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From PA Scotland yesterday (the above is a Wolverhampton-based gang; perhaps the same one but there are several): Six men have been arrested as part of a day of action targeting “county lines” drug supplies into Edinburgh. Detectives said the men, aged 38, 30, 29, 24, 22 and 21, were arrested in Edinburgh and Wolverhampton on Wednesday and charged in connection with various drug offences. Police said small quantities of crack cocaine, heroin and cannabis, along with a four-figure sum of cash, were recovered during the operation. Detectives from Edinburgh have made a number of arrests in a day of action aimed … Continue reading Violent Wolverhampton drugs gang arrests in Edinburgh not in public interest here apparently

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Two new Romania-built ferries still not in service more than two years after delivery

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In yet another example of the false economy of having ferries built in countries with lower labour costs and more relaxed regulations, Ontario’s transport minister has further delayed the use of two ferries built in Romania’s Damen shipyards which arrived in late 2021. The reasons are not being revealed but are to do with safety after the Wolfe Islander IV ran aground. Readers remember one of the Vietnam-built Orkney catamaran, the only 15 year-old MV Pentalina, running aground last April, only weeks after some time in dry-dock. Returning to the two Romanian ferries, last November we wrote: Amherst and Wolfe … Continue reading Two new Romania-built ferries still not in service more than two years after delivery

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Even a Tory MP can see what privatised ferry services become – think carefully Scottish islanders

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From On the Wight, today: Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Bob Seely, has this week released an in-depth study into cross-Solent ferry services. My research has led me to believe that, using a web of offshore companies, Wightlink and Red Funnel’s owners and lenders have taken large profits out of the firms for years. To drive efficiency and take even more profits, directors have cut timetables; introduced surge pricing, which penalises Islanders for making essential journeys at peak times; and limited investment in ferries, some of which are now 34 years old. Islanders are tired of ‘technical’ and ‘mechanical’ issues. The … Continue reading Even a Tory MP can see what privatised ferry services become – think carefully Scottish islanders

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‘Only seven countries meet WHO air quality standard, research finds’….plus Scotland

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According to the Guardian today, Scotland is not a country and by implication falls with the UK into the failed group. The latest WHO level for the deadly PM2.5 particles is 5 micrograms per cubic metre. Though no Scottish average seems available, you can, I find, go to the IQAir site and find the level of PM2.5 where you live. How about Glasgow High Street? 3.1, well under the WHO level. https://www.iqair.com/gb/uk/scotland/glasgow/glasgow-high-street To my surprise the partly-pedestrianised Ayr High Street – 5.7, just over. Aberdeen Anderson Drive – 4.5 Edinburgh Tower Street – 1.5! Busy Queensferry Road – 1.9 Bainsford … Continue reading ‘Only seven countries meet WHO air quality standard, research finds’….plus Scotland

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Islay ferries – Massively subsidised by the rest of us and seriously under-used yet still not good enough – Go tell Shakespeare?

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STV today has this: Islanders say Scotland’s ferry service is stumbling from crisis to crisis due to a lack of resilience in the system. Breakdowns and cancellations are causing disruption to businesses as well as missed hospital appointments. A new ferry for the Islay route was launched in Turkey at the weekend. It is due to be in service by the end of this year, with another due next year. While a welcome addition, residents there claim they have been dealing with a second-rate service while they are built and are facing another summer of disruption. https://news.stv.tv/west-central/tough-summer-looms-for-islay-businesses-suffering-from-second-rate-service-despite-promise-of-new-calmac-ferries There’s more, much … Continue reading Islay ferries – Massively subsidised by the rest of us and seriously under-used yet still not good enough – Go tell Shakespeare?

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How the Conservative Government allowed P&O to lay the ground for future ferry disasters

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Never mind the construction delays or the cancellations inconveniencing the comfortable island retirees – 193 dead – there’s a ferry fiasco for you. Above, the Herald of Free Enterprise, only a few minutes after leaving the Belgian port of Zeebrugge on the night of 6th March 1987, killing 193 people on board.  Ironically, the UK Government of the day and for 8 years until then was Conservative, big champions of de-regulated capitalism and full-throated free enterprise. According to research by Middlesex University: One root cause was the failure of the assistant boatswain to close the bow door before dropping moorings, … Continue reading How the Conservative Government allowed P&O to lay the ground for future ferry disasters