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

Monday, 01 October 2018

BBC News

• Ford to refund 'engine fail' EcoBoost customersDrivers have reported cars with EcoBoost engines overheating and failing or even bursting into flames.

ITV News

• Rail passengers get first glimpse of new Merseyrail trainsRail users on Merseyside can see for themselves the new Merseyrail fleet.

The Guardian

• UK manufacturers cut spending plans as Brexit fears riseOnly one-third of companies expecting to increase their investments, says report

Times Online

• Leadsom splits cabinet by demanding HS2 be axed [Subscription]Andrea Leadsom has questioned whether HS2 should go ahead, as cabinet unity over the project starts to crack.
• Electric car surge will risk power blackouts, firm says [Subscription]The rise of electric cars could cause blackouts and leave remote drivers stranded if money is not released to upgrade power lines, it is claimed.
• Addison Lee heads for court in charge row [Subscription]London’s largest private hire taxi company after Uber is threatening to take the capital’s mayor to court over his attempts to clean up congestion and emissions in the centre of the city.
• Elon Musk surrender set to boost Tesla shares [Subscription]Tesla shares are expected to rebound today after Elon Musk was forced to stand down as chairman in a boardroom shake-up at the electric carmaker.
• Calls for new law as cyclists injure more pedestrians [Subscription]The number of pedestrians hit by bicycles has increased to its highest level in at least five years just as the government prepares to crack down on dangerous cyclists.

Mail Online

• Cabinet split over new bid to derail £56billion HS2 as senior Tories call to axe rail projectTheresa May is facing a fresh Tory revolt over the controversial HS2 rail line.

Network Rail

• Network Rail’s leaf-busting trains prepare for autumnNetwork Rail is preparing its 61-strong fleet of Railhead Treatment Trains (RHTT) and Multi-Purpose Vehicles (MPV) to minimise the impact of leaves on the line this autumn, ahead of the beginning of leaf fall season on Monday 1 October.

Bristol Live

• 75-mile segregated cycling network in Bristol set to be completed by early 2019Here are all the routes already up and running, and there are new additions soon

Edinburgh Evening News

• ‘£2300 a year and I can’t get a seat’: On board Scotland’s busiest train Thousands of passengers rely on the train to get them to and from work in the Capital every day but many are unhappy with the level of service provided by the rail company.

Liverpool Echo

• Manchester Airport passengers sharing more pictures of their battered luggageThe damage could have occurred at any point in the passengers' journeys

Manchester Evening News

• Government hits back after Boris Johnson says northern rail links must come before HS2Top Tories have rallied behind HS2 after Boris Johnson called for new high speed links across the north to be built first.

Northern Echo

• Unmanned Northern rail stations 'toxic cocktail' for crimeMAJOR concerns over the safety of rail passengers are being raised as the British Transport Police (BTP) report a surge in crimes committed at unstaffed stations.

Sheffield Star

• Boris Johnson 'completely wrong' to call for HS2 to be scrapped, says Business Secretary Greg ClarkHalting HS2 is "completely the wrong approach", Business Secretary Greg Clark has claimed after Boris Johnson called for the rail scheme to be put on hold.

Wales Online

• Welsh trains 'like Ford Escort with 300,000 miles on the clock and broken clutch' says country's transport bossThe Transport for Wales chief executive likened the rolling stock it will inherit from Arriva Trains Wales to buying an old car with a worn clutch

Yorkshire Post

• Ted Bromund: HS2 will only drain Britain – and the economy – towards London LAST summer during the unlamented general election, I spent a great deal of time on trains to, from, and around the city of York. The British funk on the subject of their passenger trains is so deep that I hesitate to say this, but British trains are really not bad.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Hundreds of cyclists take to the streets for Bury Goes BikingMums, dads and even their young children got on their bikes and the town centre streets were closed off for them for the first ever Bury Goes Biking event.

Other Regional Press

• North to south cycle route will showcase beautiful ShropshireCyclists will be able to take a 1,000 mile bike ride from John o’ Groats to Land’s End, taking in the beautiful Shropshire countryside on the way.

Rail Magazine

• First Merseyrail Class 777 bodyshells completeThe first Merseyrail Class 777 electric multiple units have entered the final assembly phase ahead of delivery to the UK next year.
• ORR boss criticises rail industry for poor performanceThe outgoing chief executive of the Office of Rail and Road has blasted the rail industry for its poor performance, pointing the finger partly at Network Rail.

The Business Desk

• Midlands Connect calls on government to unlock Midlands Rail HubAhead of the Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond’s speech to the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham today (1 October), transport body Midlands Connect has written to the Treasury with what is calling “an ambitious, yet deliverable” proposals to deliver “a long term transport strategy that benefits road and rail users across the region and grows the economy”.

Other News Sources

• Demolition starts on Wolverhampton railway stationA historic moment has been marked for the city of Wolverhampton as machines begin full demolition of the city’s railway station.
• London Underground passengers facing weapon SCANS over knife crime hellPOLICE are forcing Tube travellers to have weapon scans at stations in a bid to combat the knife crime epidemic.