Snow costs industry £1.2bn

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

Around one in five employees were unable to get to work because of the travel chaos caused by the snow and many others were late, or only stayed in work for a few hours.

The Federation of Small Businesses said the cost of the bad weather to the UK economy was so high because of "stalled" contracts, cheques not banked, and purchases of small items such as sandwiches suffering as a result of people staying at home.

It called for a wide-ranging debate on the UK's infrastructure and the country's ability to respond to bad weather.

The Rail Maritime and Transport union said the havoc caused to Britain's transport system underlined the "failings" of a fragmented rail network and the "folly" of cuts in the number of front-line staff.

General secretary Bob Crow said: "The snowstorms sweeping Britain have highlighted the importance of having enough front-line staff and how the ability to plan for weather emergencies has been undermined by the fragmentation of rail network.

"In decades past, without the benefit of modern forecasting methods, a publicly owned and unified railway network deploying sufficient front-line staff was better able to mitigate some of the worst effects of winter weather.

"The efforts of rail staff today have been massive, but with the network fragmented and in the hands of private interests that put profit ahead of service, the response has been erratic - and with fewer front-line staff the weather has gained the upper hand sooner than it should have.

"Staffing levels are already pared to the bone, yet today we are fighting plans by train-operating companies to remove even more front-line workers. The time has come to restore railway staffing to sensible levels, and if the private operators' shareholders don't like it they can simply hand back the keys."