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

Thursday, 02 July 2015

BBC News

• ScotRail to reduce Sunday servicesScotRail says it will be reducing its rail services on Sundays because it does not have enough drivers.
• Rail upgrades get £17m EU fundingEU funding of 24m euros (£17m) has been secured for two railway upgrades in Northern Ireland, including the Londonderry-Coleraine line.
• Rail delays at Manchester PiccadillyA number of train services at Manchester Piccadilly station are cancelled or delayed due to damaged overhead lines, Network Rail say.

The Herald

• Third of ScotRail services to be axed on Sundays over dispute A THIRD of Sunday rail services will be withdrawn from this weekend as ScotRail struggles with a shortage of train drivers.

The Scotsman

• ScotRail to cut Sunday train timetablesSCOTRAIL bosses are reducing the number of trains that will run on Sundays because of a shortage of available drivers. The train operator is to publish a new reduced timetable for Sundays which will come into force from this weekend.

The Telegraph

• Calais crisis: Channel Tunnel entrance blocked with burning barricadeFears that illegal immigrants will take advantage of a second shut-down at Calais in just over a week, as ferry and rail traffic comes to a halt
• Westminster Underground tube station evacuated and closedSuspected fire at the underground station that serves the Palace of Westminster

Mail Online

• Millions of London Underground commuters in packed carriages hotter than the Sahara As the country recorded its hottest July day on record, temperatures on the London Underground sky-rocketed to an astonishing 100F (37C).

Manchester Evening News

• Trapped rail passengers describe how they were 'close to fainting' in carriages after Piccadilly goes into meltdownServices have now resumed again - but passengers stuck on trains bound for the station have described miserable conditions

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Government admits Tyne and Wear Metro's creaking 40-year-old trains must be replaced The Government is talking to transport authority Nexus and local councils about buying new trains for the Metro, says Transport Minister

Northern Echo

• Wensleydale Railway to host its first-ever festival of railway literature A HERITAGE railway, dubbed the great survivor for managing to stay on track while others have become distant memories, is marking the 25th anniversary since it was rescued with by hosting a first-ever festival of railway literature.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Heatwave causes delays on East Coast Main LineOn the hottest day of the year train passengers on the East Coast Main Line have expressed their frustration at delays, after speed restrictions were imposed because of the risk of tracks buckling.

Reading Evening Post

• Rail services to and from London Paddington delayed due to speed restrictionsDelays of up to 30 minutes on Wednesday because of the heat on the tracks

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Stagecoach expansion yields profit boost, despite falling US revenuesThe train, coach and bus operator Stagecoach has cashed in on growing demand for public transport, despite huge falls in oil prices – and expects the recently won East Coast mainline to generate significant profits. UK rail operations for the company behind one half of the West Coast rail franchise, jumped 8.7 per cent in the year to end of April – the most impressive rise across its business portfolio. Stagecoach did suffer, though, in its North American division, where the plunging oil prices had a bigger impact on pushing gas-guzzling citizens back into their cars. Its chief ...

Railnews

• Heathrow plan involves rail upgrades, but no HS2 spur The Airports Commission has supported proposals to build a third runway at Heathrow, in the face of rigorous opposition from environmental groups and politicians, including Boris Johnson. The Commission envisages direct railway connections from the west and south but rules out a spur from HS2 at Old Oak Common, saying there is no robust business case and that such a link would be
• Majority vote for RMT strike at First Great Western Four out of five RMT members on First Great Western have voted in favour of a strike in protest at what the union says is a lack of 'very basic assurances' about the new Intercity Express Trains, which are being manufactured by Hitachi. The RMT is now considering its next move.