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

Wednesday, 25 May 2016

BBC News

• Staff vote for strike over Night Tube payMaintenance workers on the London Underground vote in favour of strike action in a dispute over pay linked to the Night Tube service.

ITV News

• Train company scraps free rail travel for schoolchildren over safety fearsA row's broken out in the Rhondda, over plans to cut free rail travel for pupils at Treorchy Comprehensive School.

Department for Transport

• Rail tourism winners announcedHeritage and community rail-related tourism winners released.

The Guardian

• Tube engineers vote to strike in row linked to night serviceRMT calls for resumption of ‘meaningful’ talks in dispute with Tube Lines over pay, staffing and pensions

Birmingham Mail

• HS2: Will double decker trains be coming to Birmingham?French train maker Alstom hopes to secure £7.5 billion contract to design and build rolling stock for HS2 line

London Evening Standard

• New hi-tech Thameslink trains unveiled... with fewer seats in each carriage but more standing spaceBosses say the new trains will still have more seating than existing ones beacuse they are much bigger
• Passengers 'throwing hot coffee' at each other spark rail chaosTwo first-class passengers on a train bound for London sparked chaos for hundreds of commuters after apparently throwing coffee over each other in a row over seats.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Lord Adonis proposed as new chair of Crossrail 2Crossrail 2 could transform travel across the capital, boosting the economy by billions of pounds and supporting thousands of new jobs and homes. Lord Adonis has been proposed for the role jointly by the Mayor of London, Chancellor George Osborne and Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, and his appointment is subject to approval by the London Assembly and Transport for London Board. The Chancellor and the Mayor met this week to agree the nomination and Mayor and the Transport Secretary will jointly agree the remit for this new role. Running south-west to north-east across London, Crossrai...
• More new trains for the North and Scotland TransPennine Express (TPE), the intercity rail operator for the North and Scotland is delighted to today announce the purchase of a further 126 brand new carriages. TPE will deliver an investment of more than £230m in 25 brand new five-carriage trains which will be in service across the network by 2019.  The new franchise began on 1 April 2016 with a commitment to invest more than £500m in the rail network and today’s announcement follows an earlier agreement to buy 19 new five-carriage bi-mode (capable of operating by diesel and electric power) trains from northern ba...

Rail Magazine

• Smith: Government must show greater freight appreciationGovernment needs greater understanding of needs of the rail freight market in the wake of the coal sector’s decline, GBRf Managing Director John Smith said.
• COVER STORY: Last-built ‘66’ unveiled by GBRf and named Evening StarGB Railfreight unveiled the final ever Class 66 to be built for the UK and European markets on May 10.
• Plans for new rolling stock to replace BR DMUsDMUs built in the 1980s could be replaced in the next decade, as the DfT believes there are “likely to be significant opportunities” to replace them.
• GTR unveils Thameslink Class 700sEMUs will expand capacity on congested central section
• Sleeper MD considers King’s Cross potentialLondon King’s Cross is being viewed as a possible future station for the Caledonian Sleeper.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Crossrail: creating a learning legacy for industry Crossrail is the biggest construction project in Europe, with more than 10,000 people working across 40 sites. It should come as no surprise, then, that as this mammoth undertaking approaches its conclusion, it wishes to leave a legacy, sharing the l…
• Axiomtek Intelligent Surveillance System for Metros Nowadays, the trend for transportation electronic devices has been turning to intelligent transportation systems, in order to provide high safety, convenience, and comfortable environment for passengers.
• The Longest Floor System Ever Made SMTC continue their international growth and recently delivered the first train set of Crossrail floor system to Bombardier Transportation in Derby, UK.
• Aslef members vote to strike despite GTR injunction applicationDrivers on the Southern and Gatwick Express lines are set to strike despite efforts by parent company Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) to stop industrial action using an injunction. In an 82% turnout among Aslef members, 84.4% voted in favour of a strike and 95.8% voted in favour of action short...
• Digital Railway cheapest option but 'will require extra funding in CP5'Delivering the Digital Railway will be the cheapest option for increasing capacity in the railway by up to 40%, the chief executive of Network Rail admitted ahead of the programme’s finalised business plan, expected towards the end of the year. Speaking at a Transport Select Committee...
• NIC chair Lord Adonis to take over Crossrail 2The chair of the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), Lord Andrew Adonis, is expected to be made chair of Crossrail 2 after being jointly nominated by London mayor Sadiq Khan, chancellor George Osborne and transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin following a meeting. His appointment is now...
• Alstom pitches double-decker trains for HS2In what would be a railway first for the UK, French train manufacturer Alstom is set to pitch the idea of building double-decker trains to run on the 225mph HS2 line in order to maximise passenger benefits and bring down travel costs. The company, which hopes to land the £7.5bn rolling...

Railnews

• New Thameslink train goes on show in London A new Class 700 Siemens-built train for Thameslink is carrying invited guests for the first time today (24 May) on a special showcasing trip from London Blackfriars to East Croydon. The new high capacity trains, built in the German Rhineland, have been arriving for several months and have made numerous commissioning trips from the new depot at Three Bridges. Today's event marks the formal unveiling of the trains in Britain, after test runs with guests on board in Germany. The trains are essentially Metro units, with plenty of standing space as well as wide doors. The layout, specified by the ...

Other News Sources

• Mobile rail ticketing system being extended to Swansea A MOBILE ticketing system which allows rail passengers to pay and download fares to their smartphone is to be extended to Swansea.
• Flying Scotsman: Why do we have a love affair with steam trains?Former Get Surrey reporter David Stubbings explores both his own, and the nation's, affection for steam locomotion as the Flying Scotsman tours Surrey
• Thameslink new train for Surrey route described as 'future of commuting' A 12-carriage version of the train will run at rush hour on the Brighton to East Croydon line, through Gatwick Airport, Redhill, Merstham and Coulsdon South