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Wednesday, 04 September 2019

BBC News

• HS2: Grant Shapps keeping 'open mind' on route's future [video]Transport Minister Grant Shapps says he will keep an "open mind" over the future of the HS2 high-speed railway until another review into the project is complete.
• HS2 railway to be delayed by up to five yearsIt will be between 2028 to 2031 before the first trains run on the London to Birmingham route.

The Guardian

• HS2 to be delayed by up to five years as cost spirals to up to £88bnCompletion of the first phase of HS2, between London Euston and Birmingham, could be delayed by five years until 2031, the government has announced, and the cost of the high-speed rail network has soared to up to £88bn.
• History will be kind to Heathrow climate protesters who stop us flyingActivists plan to release drones near the airport. Their possible arrest is a small price to pay for fighting the climate crisis
• If ministers want to rebalance the economy, they must scrap HS2Improving rail links in the north is a far better use of £80bn-plus than continuing with a delayed project

Times Online

• HS2: Going off the rails isn’t rare for big projects [subscription]Recent history is littered with examples of new rail lines that very rapidly veered off track. The Channel tunnel went over budget by 80 per cent and the cost of the Jubilee line extension on the London Tube almost doubled.
• HS2 heading down the wrong route [subscription]billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.” Who cares if it really was US senator Everett Dirksen who came up with that little quip? It’s still a required rubric for the transport department officials procuring HS2.
• Why are two Canadian shipbuilders up in arms about a Clyde yard? [subscription]The blame game over Ferguson Marine and its troubled ferry order has taken on an astonishing, international dimension. A Canadian shipbuilder has seen fit to accuse the Scottish government of behaving like “a banana republic” by taking steps to bring Ferguson into public ownership.
• You’re taking us for a ride on true cost of HS2, Tories told [subscription]The government was accused of attempting to mislead parliament over the cost of HS2 yesterday after it emerged that the line needed a further £32 billion to be fully built.
• A timeline of HS2: Hitting the buffers [subscription]January 2009 Labour sets up HS2 Ltd, a government-owned company, to assess the case for a new high-speed line.
• Rolls-Royce managers flock to union after jobs cull [Subscription]The cull of middle management at Rolls-Royce has prompted 1,700 managers at the aerospace engineer’s headquarters in Derby to join Unite in the biggest outbreak of white-collar industrial trade unionisation in more than a generation.

City AM

• HS2 ‘still vital’ despite ballooning £88bn price tag, say businessesHS2 is at risk of costing the public £88bn and could be delivered seven years behind schedule, but businesses still believe the project is worth the time and money.
• Hammersmith bridge: Repairs could cost £120m and take three years to finishVital repair works to Hammersmith bridge are to cost £120m and will take three years to complete, it was revealed today.

i News

• HS2 rail line delayed by seven years as cost climbs by £22bn, sparking fresh calls to scrap itHigh Speed 2 rail will be delayed by up to seven years and cost an extra £22 billion, the government admitted today in an embarrassing climb down.

Belfast Telegraph

• HS2 review says project could be delayed seven years and exceed budget by £26bnThe high-speed railway could cost up to £88 billion, new figures show.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• New Northern train rolls into SkiptonONE of Northern’s new rolling stock costing £5 million each was launched on Tuesday in Skipton.

London Evening Standard

• HS2 could be delayed by seven years and cost £22bn more than previous budget, says company building railwayHS2 could cost up to £22 billion more than its previous budget and may be delayed by seven years, the company building the railway has said.

Northern Echo

• The right rail forwardSHOULD we in the North-East shed a tear that HS2 was yesterday officially put back five years as its cost spirals wildly from £56bn to £88bn? This may be a precursor to the cancellation of the whole project.

Sheffield Star

• Brick-throwing yobs force Sheffield bus services to divertSheffield bus services have been forced to divert after coming under attack from yobs throwing bricks in a Sheffield suburb on Tuesday evening

Wales Online

• Twelve new trains will start running in Wales by the end of the yearThe date for when Transport for Wales' new trains will start running has now been announced. Twelve new trains will be added to Transport for Wales' existing fleet over the next few months.

Yorkshire Post

• 'Fantastic' new Northern trains to be introduced in Bradford, Skipton and Ilkley next week"Fantastic" new Northern trains will make a difference to the travelling experience for Yorkshire commuters when they are introduced in parts of the region next week, a senior councillor has claimed.

Kent Online

• Electric buses to be trialled at Sturry Road park and ride in CanterburyA swish new electric bus is taking to the city's streets this month as part of a trial. The single-decker vehicle will be operating on Canterbury's Sturry Road park and ride route for a week-long test starting on September 23.

North Wales Live

• Kids living up to 12 miles from school will have to find a new way to get there after losing bus seatsDenbighshire council has removed school transport from some pupils at Ysgol Glan Clwyd in St Asaph

Other Regional Press

• Bristol Airport responds to claims it wants to protect 'car parking monopoly' amid major plansThe airport has defended its expansion plans and reiterated their pledge to be carbon neutral by 2025.

New Civil Engineer

• Birmingham Airport’s £500M expansion could need overhaul following HS2 reviewBirmingham Airport's plans for major £500M expansion could need to be redrawn if the scope of HS2 is changed following a review into the project, New Civil Engineer understands.
• Podcast | Crossrail 2 boss outlines ‘silver lining’ of funding setbackCrossrail 2 managing director Michèle Dix is embracing the "silver linings" that have emerged since the project lost out on billions of pounds of funding which was diverted to complete the original Crossrail line.
• HS2 chair announces five year delay as costs soarHigh Speed 2 (HS2) chairman Allan Cook has admitted that the project’s £55.7bn budget is not realistic. Cook has also announced that the project needs to be adjusted to meet a “more realistic timescale”, including a five year delay to phase one of the project between London and Birmingham.

Rail Magazine

• First of TPE’s new Mk 5As enters passenger serviceLocomotive-hauled trains returned to the Pennines on August 24, when TransPennine Express finally put the first of its Class 68-hauled CAF Mk 5As into passenger traffic.

Railnews

• HS2 to cost more and take longerTHE government has admitted that HS2 will cost a lot more than the official budget of £55.7 billion for all phases, which ministers were still promising was correct only a few weeks ago.

Aviation Industry

• New Tokyo Haneda international slots available in spring 2020Japanese aviation authorities have revealed how many of the new slots at Tokyo Haneda Airport will be allocated to various international markets, although for the most part specific routes are yet to be announced. read more
• French air traffic control failure causes major flight delaysAn IT system outage at French air navigation service provider DSNA on Sept. 1 caused major delays at airports in France and neighboring countries. read more

Other News Sources

• ICC Wales launches new travel route with Newport busNewport Bus and International Convention Centre Wales (ICC Wales) have worked together to increase the sustainable public transport options for visitors to the new conference venue by opening a new bus route and installing bus stops.
• New pictures and name revealed for Exeter's £300million bus station redevelopmentExeter City Council has revealed the name and new pictures of the £300m bus station redevelopment.
• First Bus scraps Falmouth university campus £1 bus fareStudents have been urged to "boycott the bus" after returning for the new academic year only to discover that a £1 bus fare is being scrapped.
• New bus passenger information screens for ChichesterChichester District Council will help take the guess work out of bus travel by paying for seven real time information boards which will be dotted around the city.
• GMB calls for bus driver fatigue actionGMB HAS stepped up its call for a Bus Drivers ‘Bill of Rights’ to help limit the factors that cause bus driver fatigue right across the UK bus network including London’s outsourced bus system.
• Yorkshire Coast BID Unveils 'Brid Bus' ProjectThe team behind the Yorkshire Coast Business Improvement District have unveiled a project called the 'Brid Bus'.
• Statement regarding Rail Delivery Group CEO Earlier in the year Rail Delivery Group CEO Paul Plummer announced plans for his retirement. When doing so, he said that he wanted to stay at RDG until the conclusions from the Williams Review are clear and to facilitate the transition to a sustainable future for the organisation. His commitment to these two things is undiminished.