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

Wednesday, 28 January 2015

BBC News

• Meet Britain's longest train - the ballast cleanerThe "longest train in Britain" is working through the night to replace ballast on the Norwich to London line so speeds of 110mph can be reached.
• Belfast/Dublin Airport railway planIrish Rail is considering an extension to its network that would allow people to travel directly from Belfast to Dublin Airport.
• Rail passenger satisfaction fallsA survey of 27,000 rail passengers found 81% were satisfied with the service last year, compared with 83% in 2013.

The Guardian

• Rail passenger satisfaction fell prior to London Christmas chaosAutumn 2014 survey of 27,000 passengers by Passenger Focus found 81% expressed satisfaction, 2% down on previous year

The Herald

• New ScotRail operator scores low on passenger satisfactionTHE company poised to take over the running of Scotland's trains is among the poorest performers in the latest national passenger satisfaction survey.

The Independent

• The National Rail Passenger Survey: Best and worst of Britain’s railways revealed To enjoy Britain’s most satisfying rail journeys at the most agreeable fares, travel from Ayr to Stranraer, Perth to Inverness, or Fort William to Mallaig. At the other end of the scale: avoid the areas south and east of London, where passengers feel the trains have the highest fares, the least space and the worst toilets.

The Telegraph

• Rail misery hits five-year high as anger grows over train delays and lack of free seatsSatisfaction over Britain's trains drops to lowest level since 2009 as new survey reveals less than half of travellers in London and South East believe tickets are value for money

Reuters News

• Bombardier expects new orders after China high-speed train safety clearance -execCanada's Bombardier Inc expects to receive safety certification from China for its high-speed trains as early as next month, providing a springboard for more orders, the firm's top executive in the country said.

City AM

• Boris moves closer to plans for Old Oak Common rail superhubPLANS to turn a rundown industrial area in west London into a thriving new district with up to 24,000 homes moved a step closer yesterday after the government gave the go-ahead to create an Olympic-style development body for the scheme.

Daily Express

• Misery for rail passengers! Fury at 'fictitious' train timetables and pricey tickets RAIL timetables have become “a work of fictionâ€� for many passengers, an official watchdog warned yesterday.

Mail Online

• Rail travellers at their unhappiest for five years Fewer than one in three commuters on Britain's worst performing railways are satisfied with their expensive, delayed and overcrowded services, a report found.

Network Rail

• Wanted! 200 talented apprenticesNetwork Rail is seeking to recruit 200 young people from across Britain for its award-winning apprenticeship scheme, as it continues the largest investment into the railway since Victorian times.
• Five bridges to be rebuilt as electrification programme continuesFive bridges over the railway between between Bolton and Chorley on the Manchester to Preston line are to be rebuilt as part of the electrification of the route.
• Orphanage Road bridge to be replaced as work to upgrade railway at Watford continuesMajor work to replace the railway bridge at Orphanage Road in Watford will start in February as essential improvements to provide a better, more reliable railway for passengers on the West Coast Main Line continues.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Hundreds sign petition to save Wrexham to Birmingham 7.47am rail servicePressure mounts on Arriva Trains Wales chiefs not to axe busy rush hour train

The York Press

• More trains to run from York to London under new East Coast franchise deal TRAIN bosses say more trains will run from York to London within five years, but more trains will also pass through York without stopping.

This Is Local London Network

• Polar bear spotted on the Northern Line Most commuters have seen everything when it comes to battling in and out of the capital every day - but not many have come face-to-face with a giant polar bear on the Northern Line.

Yorkshire Post

• Satisfaction levels falling among rail users on Yorkshire servicesRAIL companies serving Yorkshire stations have seen customers satisfaction levels fall, according to new figures.

Blackpool Gazette

• Zero bill for depot repairsBlackpool’s transport chief has pledged work to fix the town’s tram depot roof will start in weeks – at no cost to the council.

Bucks Free Press

• Railway crossing safety to be discussed tomorrow Network Rail want to hear residents views on railway crossing safety at a public consultation tomorrow in Princes Risborough.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Poll: Abellio Greater Anglia defends franchise record as survey finds only one in three rail passengers get value for money Ipswich MP Ben Gummer says 'service is not good enough'Only around one in three rail passengers get value for money in the region, a study has found.

Other Regional Press

• ‘More needs to be done to improve our railway network’SOUTH West Trains has pledged to do more to improve journeys. It comes after independent research by Passenger Focus shows overall passenger satisfaction stands at 80 per cent, a drop of one per cent year-on-year.
• Passenger jailed for making bomb threat on train A PASSENGER who threatened to blow up everyone on a packed train, which was evacuated at Newport, has been jailed.
• Train travel disrupted between Lancaster and Preston for improvement worksA replacement bus service will be in place next month for rail passengers using the West coast main line.
• Euston, we have a problem as power failure causes travel woes for Preston commutersA power supply failure hundreds of miles away at one of the country’s busiest train stations has caused travel ‘chaos’ for Preston commuters.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Transport secretary sees improvements in KentThe transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has visited two infrastructure projects in Kent to inspect their progress.

Middle East North Africa (MENA) Rail News

• Bahrain Announces Three New Railway StationsCommentators have observed that Bahrain is moving very slowly in relation to the rest of the GCC with regard the construction and planning of its section of the GCC Railway Network, as the Bahrain government announced three stations will be built. Most of the six GCC member states are either at advanced planning or construction […] The post Bahrain Announces Three New Railway Stations appeared first on MENA Rail News.

Railnews

• Thameslink is back on track Thameslink trains are running through central London again today following the removal of floodwater from the Clerkenwell tunnels. Network Rail gave the green light to operator Govia Thameslink after pumping half a million litres of water out of the tunnel, between Farringdon and St Pancras International.

Transport Focus

• Latest rail satisfaction scores highlight passengers’ deepening dissatisfactionAs satisfaction declines, the independent watchdog calls for industry and government to boost the passenger voice in decisions around getting trains on time versus running more services.