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

Tuesday, 09 April 2024

BBC News

• Bus service reinstated a year after being cancelledA cancelled bus service which had left residents feeling "isolated and forgotten" is back running again, a year after the route was cut.
• Nottingham: New fleet of electric buses take to city streetsA new fleet of electric buses has taken to the streets of Nottingham as part of a £32.2m project.
• Enterprise: Belfast-Dublin rail to receive multi-million investmentCross-border rail services between Belfast and Dublin are set to benefit from a £141.9m investment.
• Flat Tube fare pledged by Green's mayoral candidateThe mayoral candidate also plans to introduce free transport and consult on a pay-per-mile scheme.
• New CalMac ferry to be launched at Ferguson shipyardMV Glen Rosa is the second of two LNG dual-fuel ships being built for the west coast ferry operator.

Department for Transport

• £4.65 million for bus operators to help disabled passengers travel with confidenceNew funding will support upgrades to buses to provide real-time travel information to passengers.

Financial Times

• European airlines strive to avoid another summer of chaosCarriers and air traffic controllers have made changes to better manage flights across the continent
• European ports turned into car parks as vehicle imports pile upChinese EV makers without sales networks or onward transportation among leading causes of congestion, say executives

Times Online

• The UK’s latest regional divide: electric car haves and have-nots. [subscription]Car registrations in the first quarter of this year show a marked slowdown in the number of new electric cars coming onto the road
• The latest threat to electric car charging: poor phone signal. [subscription]Patchy reception means drivers are struggling to access the apps needed to make EV chargers work

City AM

• Lime pledges £25m London investment after record growth E-scooter start-up Lime has pledged to invest millions more in London, an announcement that could prick the ears of markets amid IPO speculation.

Daily Express

• ULEZ vigilantes thwarted as TfL removes bat boxes put up to stop camera repairsAnti-ULEZ vigilantes have put up bat boxes to slow down camera installation and repairs.

Network Rail

• We’ve signed a £1.1bn agreement to regenerate one of UK’s largest brownfield sites – York Central – in a significant boost the economy.The development near York railway station has the potential to create up to 6,500 jobs and help grow York’s economy by 20%.
• Rare track access at Birmingham New Street provides regional railway reliability boostA rare opportunity to carry out inspections and maintenance at Birmingham New Street while there were no trains running has meant passengers will have more reliable journeys in future.

Belfast Telegraph

• £141m boost for cross-border trains between Belfast and DublinCross-border rail services between Belfast and Dublin are set to benefit from a £141.9m investment from the Peace Plus Programme.

Bolton News

• Bolton firm Booth Industries to work on HS2 rail projectOne of Bolton’s key engineering companies will be starting work on supplying one of the country’s most important railway projects soon.

Bristol Live

• Fresh hope for 'cut off' Bristol community after bus route axedBut it's 'too soon to make any promises'
• Concorde Way cyclists say four-year closure is 'ridiculous' as they demand reopeningThey say the diversion forcing them on to the roads is "far less safe"

Manchester Evening News

• Greater Manchester railway station to close for five months for major worksA railway station will close for five months as part of a major project to electrify the line, Network Rail has announced.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Roads Minister Guy Opperman vows to get A1 dualling in Northumberland 'back on track'A decision on the project is expected by June 5, although it has already been pushed back four times

Northern Echo

• Alan Strickland, Labour's Aycliffe candidate, on the threat to HitachiTHERE’S something special about the Hitachi rail plant in Newton Aycliffe that hits you as soon as you walk the shopfloor.

Wrexham.com

• Enhanced Wrexham to Bidston Line timetable improves daily service, says TfWA new timetable on the Wrexham to Bidston line has led to “more daily trains than ever before running every single day”, Transport for Wales have claimed.

Yorkshire Post

• DalesRail service over the Settle to Carlisle line set to return as HS2 cash is re-routedRibble Valley councillors have been told a train service linking Lancashire to the Yorkshire Dales will return this year, after being cancelled in 2023.

North Wales Live

• 'We need a network of trams like Manchester's Metrolink not a Glider'Some ECHO readers think the city would be better served by a fully functioning tram network than Steve Rotheram's 'trackless trams'

Other Regional Press

• New lease of life for Gainsborough's bus station following its revampGainsborough Bus Station has been refurbished to provide an enhanced gateway to the town centre.
• Concerns as Stagecoach bus improvements in Stroud delayedCONCERNS have been raised as planned improvements by the town's main bus provider have been delayed.
• Shropshire Council leader lobbies for London link to GobowenThe leader of Shropshire Council has written to the UK Transport secretary to add her backing for plans to reinstate the county’s direct rail link to London.
• ScotRail ‘crew shortage’ cancellations on Highland lines spark concerns from business leadersCrew shortages which have bedevilled railway lines in the Highlands over the Easter break could not have come at a worse time for the region’s businesses, industry leaders have warned.

New Civil Engineer

• Development agreement signed for £1.1bn redevelopment of York Central station siteHomes England and Network Rail Property have signed an agreement with McLaren Property and Arlington Real Estate for the £1.1bn proposal to redevelop the York Central station brownfield site.

Rail Advent

• Improved punctuality on North Wales line says Transport for WalesSince Transport for Wales introduced a new timetable on the Wrexham to Bidston line last December, there are more train services each day than ever before.
• Greater Manchester railway station set for 5 month closureA bridge closure and a full railway line closure are also needed in 2024

Railway Gazette

• First Mireo Plus B battery-electric multiple-units enter serviceGERMANY: An initial four Siemens Mobility Mireo Plus B battery-electric multiple-units entered passenger service on Netz 8 Ortenau routes in Baden-Württemberg on April 8.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Solent region gets its first electric busesThe first of 62 Wrightbus GB Kite Electroliner battery-electric buses for use in Portsmouth, Fareham and Gosport by First Bus Solent have been put into service today.

The Business Desk

• ‘Gloves are off’ in fight to save Derby train-making plantThe Government has pulled out of last-ditch calls to try and save Alstom’ Derby factory on Monday (April 8), according to the city’s inward investment boss.

Aviation Industry

• Heathrow announces changes to Executive teamHeathrow recently announced several changes to its Executive team, with Javier Echave, currently its CFO, taking over from COO Emma Gilthorpe, who is leaving to take up her role as CEO of Royal Mail.

Other News Sources

• Luton bus operators and officials gather to promote the value of bus travel in the townThe operators gathered in St Georges Square in Luton and were able to hand out ‘goodie bags’ to shoppers containing timetables, details of the Bus Back Better plan and information on forthcoming network improvements and the Hip Hop ticket, as well as stress balls, pads and pens.
• £100m funding launched to drive transition to zero emission busesNew funding aims to accelerate the rollout of electric buses across the UK. The UK Infrastructure Bank and HSBC, alongside rolling stock company Rock Rail and the investment arm of Aviva, have formed a partnership to finance up to 250 zero emission buses and associated infrastructure.
• HS2 quizzes civils market on Solihull people moverHS2 Ltd is inviting companies interested in constructing an automated light rail system to take part in a market engagement exercise.
• First 756 electric train runs on the Core Valley LinesHistory was made this month as the very first electric train ran north of Cardiff to Pontypridd during daylight hours.