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

Monday, 02 December 2019

BBC News

• General election 2019: Labour plans central train ticket bookingsTrain ticket sales could be transformed under Labour plans for a central online booking portal.
• Labour pledges to cut rail fares by a thirdThe party vows to slash rail fares and make travel free for young people under the age of 16.

ITV News

• Smoking ban at all Merseyrail stations Merseyrail has announced a smoking ban at all stations on its network from 1 December. From this date, passengers will not be allowed to smoke in any public areas of Merseyrail stations or platforms with the exception of car parks. The ban will include vaping and e-cigarettes.

The Guardian

• Fossil fuel lobbyists push to dilute EU anti-greenwash planEnergy industry in particularly fights back against planned new rules on green labellingFossil fuel lobbyists are trying to water down planned EU rules to stop “investment greenwashing’ by setting science-based criteria for any investment which lays claim to being environmentally sustainable.A report from lobbyist watchdog InfluenceMap has found that although some investors support the “green labellingâ€� rules, 98% of Europe’s 50 largest investors are members of lobby groups trying to weaken the proposals. Continue reading...
• South Western Railway commuters face misery as strike due to beginLatest RMT action runs through most of December in dispute over role of train crewsAll you need to know about the SWR walkoutA month of misery for hundreds of thousands of rail commuters begins on Monday when RMT members of South Western Railway walk out on the first of 27 days of strike action.Hundreds of guards and a small number of drivers will not clock on for work again this Christmas, apart from on election day on 12 December, in a bitter row over the role and responsibilities of onboard train crew. The train firm was among others to be hit by similar strike action last year over the rol...

The Telegraph

• Rail commuters forced to queue by strikes may miss payout [Subscription]Commuters stuck in queues at train stations because of Britain's longest ever rail strike may not be eligible for compensation, it has emerged.

Times Online

• Labour vows to cut commuter rail fares by a third [subscription]Jeremy Corbyn will divert money earmarked for building roads to cutting commuter rail fares if Labour wins the general election, the party says.

City AM

• Heathrow Airport to be penalised if expansion goes over-budgetHeathrow Airport will be penalised by Britain’s transport watchdog if it fails to build its planned third runway efficiently.

Daily Express

• UK weather forecast: Thick fog and subzero temperatures spark travel chaos across BritainBRITAIN is set to freeze in subzero temperatures over the course of the next few days after Sunday saw the official meteorological start to winter.

i News

• South Western Railway strike: Admin workers drafted in to staff trains as month-long strike is set to beginSouth Western Railway commuters are facing months of disruption from Monday

Mail Online

• Rail commuters are braced for Mayhem Monday with 27-day train strikeThe unprecedented 27-day action will see 850 services cancelled every day on South Western Railway (SWR), one of the UK's busiest operators. Pictured, crowds in June due to a previous strike.

The Mirror

• Rail firms pay £500million to fatcats - nine times the Great Train Robbery lootThe Trades Union Congress says it's "appalling" commuters are "stuck with overcrowded and unreliable trains" while rail firms in the North West have earned a whopping £471million for shareholders

Sky News

• Labour pledges to cut rail fares as parties return to campaigningWith just 10 days to go until the polls open, Jeremy Corbyn will announce plans to slash regulated rail fares in England by a third from next month if his party enters government.
• Commuters face misery as 27 days of strikes beginStrike action due to hit thousands of passengers starts today after South Western Railway (SWR) and the RMT union failed to reach a deal.

Birmingham Mail

• Furious with Birmingham's trains chaos? Send us your questions as we put city's railway chief in the hot seatWest Midlands Railway chiefs have pledged to answer questions from BirminghamLive readers in a special live event on Monday. Here's how you can put your questions to the people in charge.

Bolton News

• Shareholders take millions from railway profits, figures revealAT least £471million has been taken by shareholders of rail franchises operators from across the north west in the last five years, TUC analysis has revealed.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Airbus A380 superjumbo wings journey documentary goes global Television series on how the plane's huge wings make their way from Broughton has proved a huge hit
• Wales bus pass replacement: The important information you need to know as deadline approachesTransport for Wales is rolling out new Concessionary Travel Cards at the end of December

London Evening Standard

• Supersonic car Bloodhound on track to break 800mph land speed recordA supersonic car known as the Bloodhound is set to break the land speed record and sound barrier after successfully reaching speeds over 600mph.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Shareholders take £210m from North East rail passengers in what unions call 'modern train robbery'The TUC on Monday accused rail companies of taking millions from their passengers and called for a public rail service

Sheffield Star

• Sheffield tram train services ‘to resume tomorrow morning’Tram train services between Sheffield and Rotherham will resume tomorrow morning, Stagecoach have announced.

The York Press

• Road safety fears about young cyclists in Tang Hall A ROAD safety campaigner fears it is “only a matter of timeâ€� until a young cyclist is involved in an accident on or near York’s Tang Hall Lane after an incident earlier this week.

East Anglian Daily Times

• New trains go into service on East Suffolk LineThe arrival of Greater Anglia’s new trains onto the East Suffolk Line has been heralded as a “significant milestone”.

Reading Evening Post

• Several M4 junctions to be closed overnight this weekThe closures come as part of work to upgrade the M4 into a smart motorway

Other Regional Press

• Rail passengers set to look for other options to complete journeys as fares set to rise by 2.7% in 2020With rail fares set to rise by 2.7% in 2020 readers have said they will be priced out of travelling by train.
• Parents had to carry wheelchair over rail bridge because of crossing's reduced hours DORSET Council has apologised after the parents of a disabled child had to to carry him over a footbridge because they were unable to use the controversial crossing at Wareham rail station.
• Passengers face weeks of disruption in South Western Railway strikeWEYMOUTH-Waterloo line passengers face weeks of disruption from today due to strikes in the long-running dispute over guards on trains.

Railnews

• Labour promises to cut regulated rail fares by a third The Labour Party says it would cut regulated rail fares by 33 per cent if it gains power after the general election, and claims that the ˜average™ commuter would save £1,097 a year. Season tickets would also be updated to allow part-time travel, and the basis for rail tariffs nationally would be converted a ˜simple, London-style ticketing system™. Labour said it would guarantee ˜fair fares™ for part time workers by ensuring that workers who commute fewer than five days a week pay no more for each journey than full-time workers who use weekly season tickets – meaning that part-time workers who...

Other News Sources

• Skates Calls Out Tory ‘Half-truths’ Over RailWelsh Labour Minister Ken Skates has hit out at Grant Shapps after the UK Transport Secretary wrongly claimed on BBC Any Questions that rail electrification was not his responsibility.
• Liverpool John Lennon Airport crowned Best Medium-sized UK AirportLIVERPOOL John Lennon Airport (LJLA) has been crowned the winner of the Best Medium-sized UK Airport at the 2019 British Travel Awards.
• Heathrow: what does Boris Johnson really think about a third runway?Boris Johnson once promised he would do everything possible to stop a third runway being built at Heathrow. Lately, he has been less committed, even though expanding airports makes no sense in a time of climate change.
• M4 open nine hours ahead of schedule after bridge demolition finish early The motorway had been planned to be back up and running at 6am on Monday but reopened to traffic at 8pm this evening (December 1)