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

Saturday, 28 November 2015

BBC News

• Harry Potter train bewitches passengersMysterious 'Harry Potter train' bewitches Irish Rail passengers

The Guardian

• Is Network Rail back on track or do problems lie further along the line?George Osborne and rail chiefs now claim infrastructure projects will be completed, but without saying when or at what costIt seemed the page had been turned, the future of rail was now rosy. The chancellor announced on Wednesday that key projects were back on track: Network Rail was trumpeting that no infrastructure project would now be axed after all.Yet if the review set to draw a line under the crisis that erupted in June, when major upgrades were canned, was such good news, one commentator mused, why bury it on a busy autumn statement day? Continue reading...

Mail Online

• Gatwick Express�says HALVING services will fix Britain's most delayed train line As part of a week-long trial Southern has cut the number of off-peak Gatwick Express (pictured) and Thameslink services to see if it improves punctuality.
• HS2 firm ordered to pay families �4,000 each after treating them 'with contempt' over plans to demolish their homes to build railway� Residents in a close-knit community in Staffordshire suffered two years of 'severe stress and worry' due to HS2 plans, in a communication which was described as a 'catalogue of errors'.

Network Rail

• Work to modernise signalling between Crewe and Shrewsbury starts this weekendRail passengers travelling between Crewe and Shrewsbury can look forward to more reliable train services thanks to a £25m investment to modernise signalling – the traffic light system of the railway – as part of Network Rail's Railway Upgrade Plan.

Birmingham Post

• HS2 compensation for families 'treated with contempt' Company set up to build high speed rail between London and Birmingham to thousands to families in Staffordshire after two-year period of 'severe stress'

London Evening Standard

• Overground delays: Trains across north London in chaos after lorry hits bridge during rush hourCommuters faced rush hour mayhem after a lorry wedged itself under a railway bridge, cutting off a major Overground route through north London.

Sheffield Telegraph

• Rail electrification through Sheffield could be delayed up to five years city MPA Sheffield MP has said that a ‘damning’ report and further cuts could delay rail electrification in Sheffield for up to five years.

Yorkshire Post

• First new train station for a decade opens near Leeds - and it’s lateWest Yorkshire’s first new rail station in 10 years is set to welcome its first passengers in December - four months after originally planned.

East Anglian Daily Times

• No news is good news, insist rail campaignersCampaigners seeking to improve rail services between East Anglia and London have insisted that the new report into infrastructure is good for the region – because it makes little reference to the route.

Peterborough Telegraph

• MPs call for ‘certainty’ over rail upgrade planA delegation of Norfolk and Cambridgeshire MPs have met ministers to set out the case for a key upgrade to the counties’ rail links after the project was delayed.

Other Regional Press

• Luton Airport rail link: Council consulted over planningLuton Airport is now at the beginnings of the planning process for its ambitious project to create a rail link to Parkway station, we can reveal.

Rail Magazine

• Quarterly drop highlights a “difficult year for rail freight”The amount of freight lifted on the railways in the second quarter of 2015-2016 was down 18.4%, compared with the corresponding period last year.
• Maghull North opening planned for 2017Merseytravel aims to start work on the new station at Maghull North in January 2017, with train services calling there in December 2017.
• Scottish stations added to flexible m-Ticket schemeSmart ticketing for travel between England and Scotland is now available on smartphones.
• Plummer: new trains and carriages supporting British jobsRail Delivery Group’s chief executive Paul Plummer highlights how the industry is spending £9.3 billion on new trains by the end of the decade.

Other News Sources

• Teltronic selected for Qatar’s first tram system Teltronic, part of the Sepura Group, has been chosen to provide a radio communications solution for Qatar’s first tram system, part of the country’s ambitious Education City project.