27/12/2017 London News

There's more throughout the evening

on the BBC News Channel,

Good evening and welcome

to BBC London News,

I'm Claudia-Liza Armah.

Should the capital's private

railway lines be taken over

by Transport for London?

Well that's what many say they want

in a new poll revealing more

than half of Londoners believe

commuter trains have

deteriorated over the past year.

With next week's price hike in rail

fares, the Mayor of London has

described the figures,

as a 'damning indictment'

of the failures of rail companies.

Nicola Ford reports.

Strikes.

Delays.

Cancellations.

And, frustration.

2017 has been another difficult year

for people on trains

in and out of London.

And now that has been reflected

in a YouGov poll of 1000 people,

which reveals 37% thought that

National Rail services

had got worse.

Just 8% thought they had improved

and 61% thought that Transport

for London should have greater

control over rail services.

That's an idea strongly supported

by the Mayor of London,

who commissioned the poll.

They are fed up of very poor

and unreliable services.

Overcrowding, poor frequencies and,

of course, rising rail fares.

I think TfL have shown

from their work on the TfL

I think TfL have shown from their

work on the TfL Overground

and TfL Rail that they can run

really excellent

and reliable, frequent services,

and of course maintain

the mayor's fare freeze.

The government says that they will

look at transferring services

on smaller lines to the mayor,

but Sadiq Khan would like greater

control over trains run

by South Eastern, South Western,

Southern and Thames Link.

Weary passengers at St Albans

heading back to work this

morning were sceptical.

No, I'm not in favour

of that at all.

I think when larger bodies get

involved, it causes larger

problems, generally.

I prefer the service

to keep improving by those

who are currently running it.

It is difficult to say.

To say whether or not it

would make a difference,

it would just be a new owner doing

the same thing.

Theoretically, I mean if it

would put St Albans on the Oyster,

it would be amazingly helpful

because it is so close

to London anyway.

And rail passenger groups think that

TfL are well-placed to take over.

There is evidence from other cities,

like in Liverpool, where Mersey

where Mersey Travel took over

the local suburban

services there, and

services have improved.

We think that combination of local

knowledge and local accountability,

and better connections with the rest

of the London transport network,

make for a really good service.

The government say they are

investing record amounts

in the railways and decisions

on devolution are based

on what would make journeys

better for passengers.

Judging by the poll today,

those passengers certainly think

there's room for improvement.

For those who struggled into work

today during the wind, rain and even

snow, they are making their way home

tonight but a majority of people

return to work next week. For those

using the trains, they may find the

price of their train tickets are

more expensive. With a steep rise,

the steepest in five years,

customers would be expecting to see

a significant return on their

investment in the form of an

improved service.

The ex-boyfriend of reality

TV-star Ferne McCann,

jailed for 20 years for an acid

attack at an east London nightclub,

has admitted hiding a mobile phone

inside a crutch while in prison.

Arthur Collins hid the phone,

two SIM cards and two USB sticks

while on remand ahead of his trial.

Speaking via video link

at Bromley Magistrates' Court today,

the 25-year-old admitted

to possession of a prohibited

item while in prison.

He'll be sentenced at a later date.

11 people have been arrested

after a large fight broke out

at the Westfield Shopping Centre

in Stratford during

the Boxing Day sales.

Two police officers were also

injured and taken to hospital.

An eyewitness described how two

groups of teenagers began

"pushing and shouting"...

Forcing nearby shops

to close their shutters.

Two knives were removed

from the scene.

The top 30 areas of the UK

for sales of 1 million pound

houses were all in London

and the South East this year.

According to peer-to-peer lender

"Lendy", Westminster topped the list

with more 1,600 sales of properties

of at least a million pounds....

Followed by Kensington

and Chelsea then Wandsworth.

The only area outside

the capital in the top 10

was Elmbridge in Surrey.

Several flights out of Stansted

and Luton have been cancelled

or delayed after London

and the Home Counties were hit

by flurries of snow.

A mix of sleet and ice also made

for treacherous conditions

on the roads and motorways,

especially the M25.

The heaviest snowfall was in

Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire.

From there, Caroline Davies reports.

It might look like a Christmas card,

but conditions today were far from

idyllic.

Torrential rain overnight turned

to snow by this morning,

making roads slippy

and occasionally treacherous.

This car came off the road in Essex,

another turned on its

side in South Buckinghamshire.

The RAC said its calls

were up between

15-20% in south London,

Hertfordshire and Kent.

Airports were affected

as well, Stansted was

shut.

When it did open, flights

were cancelled and delayed.

Luton had problems too,

reducing the number of

flights landing.

The heaviest snow around London

was in Buckinghamshire

and Hertfordshire, although much

of it turned to slush.

Here in Hertfordshire

the snow may not have

stuck around for the entire day

but the effects of it did.

In Aldbury, the Greyhound Inn

lost business after

customers were not keen to drive.

We've had about 50 people

cancelled this morning.

Three rooms cancelled as well.

It's a slow day, we do lose quite

a lot, especially during the

holidays.

In Hertfordshire, 600 tonnes

of salt was used, with

gritters out across

the Home Counties and London

this afternoon trying

to

keep the roads safe as slush

turns to ice overnight.

Caroline Davies, BBC London News.

Christmas might be over

but could we be getting more snow

ahead of the New Year...

Lizzie Rizzini has

the all-important weather...

Lizzie Rizzini has

the all-important weather...

Good evening.

Lots of Weather Watcher pictures

coming in of the snow

that we saw earlier today,

of course with the ground

being quite warm and the snow

turning back to rain fairly quickly,

that has largely

gone now, of course.

There will not be any more

snow overnight tonight.

Instead we have clear skies,

and everything that fell out

of the sky earlier on today,

the rain, sleet and snow,

will refreeze onto the roads

and the pavements,

into tomorrow morning.

So, ice could be a big issue.

Do watch out on untreated

surfaces tomorrow morning,

we've also got a Met Office weather

warning out for ice,

for much of the morning.

But tomorrow is looking

like a fairly pleasant day.

Yes, it will be an icy start

but we will see a lot of sparkly

winter sunshine around.

It should stay dry.

A lighter north-westerly breeze.

Still feeling cold, temperatures

between three and 5 degrees maximum,

but a much nicer day than today.

Another frost on Thursday night

into Friday, but from Friday

things turn warm again.

A bit milder on Friday but it

will be wet and windy.

It looks like a mild

end to the year.

It looks like a mild

end to the year.

And we've just got time to tell you

about this weekend's New Year's Eve

fireworks display which will feature

a soundtrack dominated by female

artists.

) Marking the centenary of women

being granted the vote,

Songs by Aretha Franklin,

Annie Lennox, Ariana Grande

and Florence Welch will be among

those included in the

women-only second half

of the world-famous show.

Around 100,000 ticket-holders

will watch the 12-minute spectacle

light up the skyline from the bank

of the River Thames on Sunday.

That's it from me and the Evening

team, I will be back

with our Late bulletin at 22:00.