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

Thursday, 21 December 2017

BBC News

• ScotRail staff offered CCTV cameras to wear while on dutyScotRail claim a trial project found workers being seen to wear the cameras improved passenger behaviour.
• 'Please offer me a seat' badges used by 26,000 on London transport networkTransport for London offers the badges for people with hidden health problems.
• Rail strikes due in new year over RMT guards rowRMT members at six train operating companies plan a series of new year strikes.

Department for Transport

• Rail ticketing progress report: passenger experience improved but more work to be doneProgress report on long-term plan to change and improve rail ticketing.

The Guardian

• How can Virgin Trains admit its app was faulty but deny me a refund?I paid more than I should for an Advance ticket – but it insists I had been charged the cheapest fareI have used Virgin’s West Coast service every week for the last five years, booking tickets 12 weeks in advance to get the cheapest Advance fare which currently stands at £17. Recently, Virgin brought out an app and, from the off, it caused problems. When I first used it to book two first-release Advance tickets the fare was £20 instead of £17. I queried this with Virgin on social media. Continue reading...

The Scotsman

• Revolutionary pump to cut ScotRail diesel use on trains ScotRail stands to save more than a million litres of fuel a year from a technological breakthrough that could be copied worldwide.

Times Online

• Rail staff bodycams aim to curb disruptive passengers [Subscription]ScotRail is to offer cameras to all staff after a trial found they improved the way passengers behave.

Reuters News

• UK train drivers' union calls strikes on six lines next monthLONDON (Reuters) - Rail passengers in several areas of England face more disruption next month when the RMT drivers' union takes strike action on six lines in a long-running dispute over the role of guards.

City AM

• UK's infrastructure pipeline is being weakened by fixed spending cycles, says KPMGWhile the UK's infrastructure pipeline is robust, currently standing at £463bn, it is being hindered by fixed five-year spending cycles, according to new analysis by KPMG.

Mail Online

• Workers on six different rail lines will stage strikes Workers on Southern, South Western Railway, Greater Anglia, Merseyrail, Arriva Rail North and the Isle of Wight's Island Line are to stage a series of 24-hour strikes on January 8, 10 and 12.

The York Press

• MP calls for reopening of York to Beverley rail lineYORK Outer MP Julian Sturdy is calling on the Government to reopen the York to Beverley railway line, which he says would ease congestion in York.

Other Regional Press

• Angry bike campaigners hit back at MP's "unhelpful" comments on cycling - but MP says his views have been "misinterpreted"ANGRY cycling campaigners have hit back at claims they should think twice before riding their bikes on Southampton’s busiest roads.
• Christmas rail strikes will have ‘significant’ impact A RAIL operator which runs trains through Oxford and Banbury stations has revealed that its services will be ‘significantly affected’ by industrial action in the coming days.

Rail Technology Magazine

• New Year to kick off with strikes across five franchisesRMT has confirmed strike action against five rail operators in the New Year. The strikes are part of ongoing separate disputes over what the union calls an “attack on the role of the guard” and the extension of Drive Only Operation (DOO). RMT members on Southern will strike for one...
• Switching from lorries to freight trains could cut air pollution by 10%Making the switch from HGVs to trains for freight travel could lead to 10% less air pollution from NOx across the country, says new research from the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT). Following an investigation into lorry travel across four of Britain’s busiest freight routes, the...