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

Friday, 31 July 2015

BBC News

• Paddington revamp set to startPaddington Station undergoes a revamp to provide better waiting facilities, more seating areas and food outlets, says Network Rail.

Department for Transport

• New fleet of trains to bring better journeys to the south westGovernment gives go ahead to £360 million state of the art train fleet running between London and Cornwall

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• DEVOLUTION DEBATE: Will devolution make the Northern Powerhouse a reality? BIG city regions in the north are being tooled up with new devolved powers to help drive George Osborne's vision of a Northern Powerhouse.

London Evening Standard

• New First Great Western trains to ease 'cattle-truck' trips for commuters into Paddington Overcrowding faced by commuters into Paddington will be eased with a new fleet of trains on services from the South-West to London.
• Paddington station to undergo £20m revamp which is set to take 18 months to complete Work has begun on a revamp costing up to £20 million at one of London's busiest and most iconic transport hubs.
• Evening Standard Comment: New trains bring relief for crowded commutes There is relief ahead for commuters into Paddington: First Great Western has announced its purchase of new trains running between Cornwall and London, which stop at commuter centres in Reading and Newbury.This will increase by about 1,000 the number of peak-time seats on trains into the station: the new fleet will cost some £360 million.

Manchester Evening News

• Bricks and stones thrown at moving Metrolink tram, smashing windows and causing delaysThe incident happened around 8pm and hit two trams, delaying the East Didsbury and Airport lines

The York Press

• York MP calls on Government to live up to 'electric rail' election pledges YORK Central MP Rachael Maskell has backed the Don’t Pull the Plug Campaign calling on the Government to reinstate plans to electrify the TransPennine rail line.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• New Director General of Rail Executive announcedBernadette Kelly has been appointed as DfT’s new Director General for the Rail Executive. Bernadette is currently Director General for Business and Local Growth at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), where she is responsible for government’s policy towards business sectors including advanced manufacturing and services as well as local and regional growth. Bernadette’s career includes many years working with business and a strong focus on the economy, including the interests of consumers. Bernadette will join DfT in late September and will start with a ...

Rail Magazine

• New Hitachi trains for West CountryTwenty-nine AT300 trains built by Hitachi in Japan will enter traffic in the UK from May 2018.

Railnews

• Go-ahead for new hybrid trains to far south west The Government has given its approval for a new fleet of hybrid trains which are being bought by First Great Western in an unusual privately-funded deal worth £360 million. The fleet of 29 Hitachi AT300 units will be used on routes to the far south west, beyond the presently-planned limits of Great Western electrification, and will replace the current fleet of HSTs, which are now in their fourth decade and were unlikely to be worth upgrading for service beyond 2020, according to operator First Great Western. The AT300s are being described as similar in design to the Intercity Expresses but wi...