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

Wednesday, 22 February 2017

BBC News

• Ordsall Chord: Manchester rail link bridge lifted into placeThe 600 tonne bridge across the River Irwell will link Manchester's Victoria and Piccadilly stations.
• Southern guards in 24-hour walkout after failed talksSouthern rail says it expects to run up to 75% of services despite the walkout in the safety row.
• Tube drivers stage 24-hour walk out in staffing rowBoth the Central line and Waterloo and City line face severe disruption.

The Herald

• Firm behind Jeddah Metro among Edinburgh Tram extension advisersTHE firm behind the Jeddah Metro in Saudi Arabia and the Time Warmer Building in Manhattan has been chosen as a project manager for the �145m Edinburgh Trams extension.

Mail Online

• London Tube strike: Maintenance workers back walkouts Maintenance workers on London Underground have voted to strike over claims of a breakdown in industrial relations, the RMT union said.

Network Rail

• “When Network Rail is given the support, the time and the money, they really can deliver these pieces of infrastructure…”Britain’s first asymmetrical network arch railway bridge was dramatically installed today - a major landmark in a Network Rail scheme that, once complete, will bring transformative benefits for train customers across the North of England.

London Evening Standard

• ES Views Letter of the Day: Terminate HS2 at Old Oak Common [Keir Starmer MP, Andrew Dismore AM]The HS2 bill will soon be signed into law, signalling the start of two decades of misery for residents and businesses in Camden and passengers at Euston Station.
• Tube strike February 2017: Walk-out underway as Transport for London warns of rush-hour chaosTransport bosses said the 24-hour Tube strike set to cripple two London Underground lines is going ahead despite last-ditch attempts to thrash out a deal.

Manchester Evening News

• Remarkable timelapse video shows 600-tonne arches being lifted to form Ordsall Chord The momentous feat of engineering is key not only to Manchester’s railway history - but for travel across the north

Crewe Chronicle

• Police officer who monitored Nantwich rail crossing believes it's too dangerous for school walking route Neville Gordon, who monitored the crossing in November 2016 before he retired in December, said : "The level crossing on London Road is a disaster waiting to happen... "

North Wales Live

• Controversial Fisherman's Path rail crossing has a history of tragedies Crossing has been at the centre of safety calls following previous deaths

Other Regional Press

• Car park at railway station could double in size A CAR park at an Oxfordshire train station could be more than doubled if plans by a rail operator go ahead.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Monorail: pie in the sky? Over the past few years, monorails have turned from amusement park fixtures to a potential answer to chronically overcrowded cities around the world. So what advantages do they pose compared to traditional rail systems, and who is currently pushing t…
• Jones announces £60k bursary for Doncaster high-speed rail collegeTransport minister Andrew Jones has announced an additional £60,000 worth of DfT funding will be made available for bursary schemes for students who study at the National College for High Speed Rail (NCHSR). The announcement was made during a site visit where Jones was shown around the...
• TfN: Ordsall Chord success 'an example of what NR can achieve with time and money'Network Rail is likely to use the Ordsall Chord’s success story as a “really good example” of how when they’re given the support, time and money, they can “really deliver these pieces of infrastructure”, Transport for the North (TfN) boss David Brown told...
• Delayed Sheffield tram-train completion date finally setA completion date has finally been set for the long-awaited construction of South Yorkshire’s tram-train project, with work expected to be finished two-and-a-half years later than originally predicted. The project, which is expected to cost £58m to complete, will enable trams between...

Railnews

• RMT prepares strike ballot for Night Tube staff London Underground has urged the RMT to start talks over a dispute about all-night services. The union says the terms of employment of Night Tube operators are �blatantly discriminatory�, because the part time staff involved have been barred from moving to vacant full-time positions for at least 18 months. They are also not eligible for overtime pay until they are working 35 hours a week. The union is now preparing to ballot Night Tube staff for strikes or action short of a strike.

Railway Gazette

• Bo-Bo-Bo locomotives shipped to MyanmarMYANMAR: CRRC Dalian has shipped a further pair of locomotives to Myanma Railways, and has now...

Other News Sources

• 'Better, more comfortable' trains on the way for region's passengersGreater Anglia has announced a £4.7 million refurbishment of its commuter trains in Essex and Hertfordshire.
• Rail 817: Hitachi trains could be on the slow trackDear reader – I may bore you at times with my view that the railways are best run as a single integrated business which I often frame as the ‘What are franchises for?’ I try not to go on too much about this as I am conscious that the structure of the railway is not, for many of you, the most fascinating topic but this time bear with me.
• Rail 816: Stopping London Rail devolution is a political act A decade or so book ago I wrote a book called On the Wrong Line – How Incompetence and Ideology wrecked Britain’s railways. I think the two ‘i’ words are in danger of wrecking the railway again which, as Nigel Harris mentioned in his editorial in the last issue of Rail is in danger of suffering from a perfect storm.
• Southern Rail strikes: Fresh talks to be held with ASLEF drivers but RMT strike to go aheadOn Wednesday February 22, RMT will be holding a 24-hour strike in an ongoing dispute over safety and staffing