Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Thursday, 15 February 2018

BBC News

• TransPennine 'taking express' out of rail serviceBusiness leaders have accused rail firm TransPennine Express of downgrading services between Hull and Manchester.
• Senedd to be given vote on £1.4bn M4 relief road plansAMs will vote this year on the planned new stretch of motorway south of Newport, BBC Wales is told.
• Calls for U-turn on 'dangerous' motorway ad screensCampaigners are
• Go-ahead for Sheffield-Manchester rail upgradePassenger trains will be able to overtake slow freight trains travelling through the Hope Valley.
• Bypass firm Galliford Try to raise £150m after Carillion collapseThe building firm is raising extra funds for the Aberdeen bypass after Carillion went into liquidation.
• Car industry: Who's the biggest of them all?Working out who sells the most cars is more complicated than you might think.

Financial Times

• Uber pares quarterly losses and lifts revenuesImprovements boost new chief Dara Khosrowshahi as he prepares to take company public
• Maersk makes waves with decision to offload energy unitsDanish group stands by strategy to focus on container shipping and logistics

The Scotsman

• Humza Yousaf urged to back East Coast rail public ownershipScottish Labour has urged the Scottish Government to support its calls to take the East Coast mainline back into public ownership following the early termination of the Stagecoach contract.

The Telegraph

• Britain 'becoming a scrapyard' as number of cars dumped on the roadside trebles 

Times Online

• ‘Fishbowl’ windscreens could delay arrival of new trains [Subscription]Scotland’s transport minister has said he is unable to fully guarantee that new electric trains will go into service next month as planned following safety concerns raised by drivers.

City AM

• Here's Network Rail's £2bn plan for one of the UK's busiest stretches of railway - from Waterloo to the south coastNetwork Rail yesterday unveiled its bumper £47bn five-year plan for Britain's railways - and among its proposals, it has outlined £2bn to be ploughed into the route between Waterloo station and the south coast.
• New Crossrail 2 delays could jeopardise plans for the £31bn project's routeA £31bn plan to build a second Crossrail risks going off track as fresh delays threaten to hinder the intended route for the new railway, with concern over land and property costs around parts of it which aren't safeguarded.
• Ineos is teaming up with a Mercedes-Benz subsidiary on its new "spiritual successor" to the Land Rover DefenderJim Ratcliffe's Ineos announced today it has brought German firm MBtech on board for work on its planned "spiritual successor" to the Land Rover Defender.
• Work on the London Overground Barking Riverside extension is months behind scheduleConstruction has yet to start on the £263m Barking Riverside Overground extension, but work is already months behind schedule due to design issues impeding the procurement process.
• Revealed: Virgin billionaire Richard Branson on"Concorde 2" supersonic travel, rival Elon Musk's SpaceX and Hyperloop plansCould we see a new Concorde take to the skies? Billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson thinks so.

Network Rail

• Our campaigns to keep people safe on the networkWe care about keeping people safe on and around the railway. It’s at the heart of everything we do.
• Network Rail reveals significant investment, more services and fewer delays in its five-year planNetwork Rail today published its ambitious five-year plan to improve Britain’s railway over the five years to 2024 (Control Period 6, CP6). The plan will drive economic growth, jobs and housing by delivering a better railway for the millions of people who rely on it. The railway will be more reliable, more cost efficient, it will have more capacity, will build on its reputation as the safest railway in Europe and usher in the railway’s digital age.

Bolton News

• Private hire driver ordered to pay £3,000 after refusing to show badge at Manchester Airport A PRIVATE hire driver has been left furious after he was ordered to pay more than £3,000 having refused to show his credentials at Manchester Airport.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Call for new road bridge to ease 'nightmare' gridlock at level crossingA level crossing is regularly reaching gridlock and forcing frustrated drivers to take risks, a Council committee was told.
• Lower speed limit plan for road is a 'helpful first step', say campaigners'GOOD, but not enough'.

London Evening Standard

• Barnet residents suffer 'heartbreaking' defeat in nine-year battle against rail super-hubA nine-year campaign by residents against a planned London rail "super-hub" has suffered a huge blow after councillors backed it by a single vote.

Wales Online

• How Network Rail plans to spend £1bn improving Wales' railwaysThe number of journeys made on Wales' rail network has grown by nearly 50% over the past decade
• The doors are not always shutting properly on posh new trains in Wales and it's causing delaysPassengers had to wait for 35 minutes on one service at Swansea while a team tried to fix the doors

Lancashire Telegraph

• Blackburn-Manchester bus to be rerouted causing concern for commutersA VITAL bus route linking Blackburn to Manchester is to change, leaving one commuter at risk of losing her job.

Other Regional Press

• Swift travelcard provides cheaper and easier bus travel in Redditch
• Swift travelcard provides cheaper and easier bus travel in Redditch
• Call for action over attacks on emergency services, taxis and busesATTACKS on taxis, buses and emergency service workers in Newport show the need for more Community Support Officers, an AM has said.
• Bus company invests in fleet despite fall in number of journeys madeBUS companies have invested millions of pounds in new buses for its fleet, despite falling passenger journeys.
• Parkway station building work begins ahead of predicted boom The station, located to the east of junction 7 of the M5, will be accessible for commuters and other rail passengers from all over the county. Many of these commuters currently travel outside the county to get their trains to London, the South west, South Wales or to the north or choose to drive to their end destination.
• Concern over area’s ‘woeful’ rail provision reaches parliamentCALLS have been made to improve the “woefully inadequate” cross-border rail service during the Welsh Grand Committee last Wednesday.
• TransPennine rail route to get £10bn injection for quicker journeys and more trainsThe proposed upgrade of the TransPennine railway line has been earmarked for cash from a £10bn funding pot.

Buying Business Travel

• Accident causes BA delays at HeathrowMan dies in crash on taxiway
• Qantas unveils special indigenous aircraft liveryArtwork to feature on latest B787-9

New Civil Engineer

• Carillion collapse delays Network Rail private funding listNetwork Rail has delayed the publication of a list of possible third-party funded rail enhancement projects, with chief executive Mark Carne citing the collapse of Carillion.

Rail Advent

• Stalybridge named best large train stationTrain operating company, TransPennine Express, has announced that one of their railway stations, Stalybridge, has received a top prize at the 15th annual Cheshire Best Kept Station Awards.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Long-awaited Hope Valley Line plans given the green lightPlans for a scheme aiming to reduce delays and improve reliability for trains on the congested Sheffield to Manchester route have been given the green light. Transport secretary Chris Grayling has approved the granting of the Transport and Works Act order, a key step in the process to secure the...
• SWR facing ORR investigation for providing passengers with incorrect service info The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has written to South Western Railway (SWR) to outline “serious concerns” over its compliance with the conditions of its passenger licence. In a letter to the TOC’s managing director, Andy Mellors, dated 23 January 2018, John Larkinson...
• Network Rail CP6 plan: Route details revealedNetwork Rail has revealed further information about individual funding to its eight national routes following this week’s Strategic Business Plan.

Railway Gazette

• UK railway news round-upFollowing modernisation work to be undertaken by contractor Cleary, Belfast Central station is to...

The Business Desk

• East Midlands Airport airline to create 75 jobsAirline Jet2.com says will create around 75 jobs this summer as it continues to grow its presence at East Midlands Airport.

Other News Sources

• Heathrow Airport crash: Man dies after collision involving two vehicles on taxiway The Metropolitan Police has confirmed a man in his 40s has died following a crash at the airport on Wednesday morning (February 14)
• Why is Virgin East Coast ditching its quiet coach?The franchise insists First Class will remain ‘an oasis of calm’. I’m not so sure
• Major improvements planned for Sussex railwaysRAIL services across the county are to see major improvements as part of a £3.5 billion plan to renew the “congestedâ€� network across the South East.