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

Tuesday, 22 September 2020

BBC News

• Rail franchises axed as help for train firms extendedThe rail franchising system has been scrapped and a £3.5bn survival scheme for train firms extended.
• Airbus looks to the future with hydrogen planesThe aerospace giant said its hydrogen-fuelled passenger planes could be in service by 2035.

Financial Times

• UK railway rescue spells end of franchising system Government wants to move towards a contracts-based system in biggest shake-up in 25 years
• Lufthansa warns of more staff cuts and disposal of more planesGerman airline blames ‘significantly lower’ recovery in air traffic
• Airbus forecasts first zero-emission jets to take flight by 2035Aerospace manufacturer unveils hydrogen-powered concepts with an eye on carbon-free future

The Guardian

• Rail franchises have hit the buffers but what next for Britain's trains?Long-overdue reform of the network must concentrate on who will ultimately be in chargeThe pandemic has shown that rail franchising is no longer working, declared the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, on Monday, killing the model of privatisation of the past 25 years. His analysis is not quite right. The proof of franchising’s failures arrived long before Covid-19, which has merely provided more evidence. Reform should have happened years ago.The franchising mess can be summarised as follows: baffling fare structures; prioritisation of revenues over investment; constant squabbles over infrast...

Times Online

• The Times view on helping railway companies: Right Track [subscription]Government support to keep the trains running during the crisis is justified
• All aboard the new Covid express [subscription]Slammed into the buffers. That’s it for our unloved rail franchising regime. And to think all it took was Covid. Fancy making everyone wait for that.
• Fixing the railways needs to start now - Lord McLoughlin [subscription]But for a string of events that consumed government bandwidth — first Brexit, then a general election and most recently coronavirus — Britain’s railways would now be going through their most radical restructuring since privatisation in the 1990s.
• Airbus unveils hydrogen-powered jets in plan for zero-emissions flights within 15 years [Subscription]Zero-emission passenger planes will operate within 15 years under plans drawn up by Airbus for a new generation of full-size hydrogen-powered jets.
• Rail firms will pay price for running late and dirty trains [subscription]Train companies will be penalised for operating late and dirty trains after the government scrapped the 25-year-old rail franchising system.

City AM

• Airbus unveils first ever zero emissions commercial aircraft designsEuropean aerospace giant Airbus has today unveiled concepts for the first ever commercial zero emissions aircraft, which it said could The post Airbus unveils first ever zero emissions commercial aircraft designs appeared first on CityAM.

The Mirror

• UK airport has flights disrupted after two unexploded torpedoes foundBristol Airport was disrupted as a 1.5km exclusion zone was put into force on the ground and in the air after a coastal walker came across the World War Two explosives

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Clean Air group calls on Bradford Council to scrap road schemes A LOCAL campaign group has called for a number of road schemes in Bradford to be scrapped.
• MPs among those to object to airport expansion plan LEEDS city councillors will meet this week to discuss the latest on Leeds Bradford Airport’s proposed £150m rebuild, as thousands have voiced their opinions both for and against the plans.

Bristol Live

• E-scooter trial in doubt after pilot scheme stopped five days inToo many people were riding on the pavements
• Workers facing rise in ‘aggression and hostility’ over Covid rulesFirst Bus has also confirmed an increase in assaults on its drivers in recent weeks

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Ministers under pressure to ensure £2.75bn HS2 trains are built in UKTrains for the long-awaited HS2 high speed rail line and Northern Powerhouse Rail should be built in the UK, Ministers have been told.

The York Press

• York taxis to be electric or low emission under new plans MORE environmentally-friendly taxis will appear on York roads - as the council moves towards only granting licences to electric and hybrid vehicles.

Other Regional Press

• Greater Anglia welcomes train service changes as Government scraps franchisesIn the biggest change to the country's railways in a quarter of a century, the Government scrapping of franchises to restructure services has been welcomed by local train operator Greater Anglia.
• Conservative MP Danny Kruger caught not wearing face mask on trainDEVIZES MP Danny Kruger has publicly apologised after a photograph was posted on social media showing him not wearing a face covering on a train to London.
• Timetable changes ‘kill off’ chances of three trains an hour at Warrington WestCOUNCILLORS fear timetable changes have ‘killed off’ the prospect of getting the promised three trains an hour at the £20.5 million Warrington West railway station.
• £1.2million Leamington train station improvement planWarwick District Council have revealed £1.2 million worth of improvements will be made to Leamington Spa's train station.
• What does 'end' to rail franchising mean for passengers?After the government announced a change in the way trains are operated, we ask what it means for Kent's railways.
• ‘Taxis are public transport and masks should be worn’ Further to other recent letters regarding the wearing of face masks in public enclosed spaces, I would like to remind the public, students and education leaders that taxis are part of the “public transport “ system and masks need to be worn.
• Rail franchising: DfT explains why has it ended - and what will happen next The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that rail franchising has been “endedâ€� after measures introduced to keep trains running after the Covid-19 outbreak were extended.
• British Airways launch £35 seat sale - but bargain-hunters will have to be quick British Airways have released one million seats across a range of routes across Europe as part of a September sale.
• Weymouth roads to close as harbour rail lines to be removed DRIVERS are being warned of disruption, road closures and temporary changes to parking as a major project to remove Weymouth's Weymouth harbour tram lines gets under way.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• FirstGroup release statement about further rail agreements with UK GovernmentFirstGroup is pleased to announce that the Department for Transport (DfT) has extended the emergency funding arrangements for the UK rail industry for the next six to 18 months.    New Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements (ERMAs) came into force yesterday for our South Western Railway (SWR), TransPennine Express (TPE), and West Coast Partnership (WCP, comprising HS2 shadow operator and Avanti West Coast) operations.    The ERMAs replace the Emergency Measures Agreements, which were put in place by the DfT in March to provide continuity for rail passengers and the industry...
• Rail franchising reaches the terminus as a new railway takes shapeMinisters have ended rail franchising after 24 years as the first step in bringing Britain’s fragmented network back together. The new system will create a simpler, more effective structure and will take shape over the coming months. The first stage, today, is moving operators onto transitional contracts to prepare the ground for the new railway. From this morning, franchising is replaced with more demanding Emergency Recovery Management Agreements (ERMAs). These address the continuing impact of the pandemic on the railway and delivers on a government commitment to replace the current f...

New Civil Engineer

• Labour commits to HS2, rail electrification and hydrogen trainsLabour shadow rail minister Tan Dhesi has reaffirmed the party’s commitment to High Speed 2 (HS2) and long-term investment into the railways despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on passenger numbers.
• Last-ditch appeal for HS2 Chiltern tunnel rethinkLord Tony Berkeley and Wendover Parish Council have again appealed to the Department for Transport (DfT) to review plans for the Chilterns section of the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail line.
• Atkins wins lead role on £1.5bn Crossrail extension studyAtkins is to head up a major study into proposals for a £1.5bn extension of Crossrail to Ebbsfleet in Kent.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Rail franchises to end, making way for a new railway After 24 years, the Department for Transport (DfT) has today (21st Sept) announced that rail franchising is to end, forming the early steps towards bringing Britain’s fragmented network back together. Over the coming months, the new system will be created to form a simpler and more...
• Ely rail capacity upgrade open for public consultation Network Rail have today opened their first round of public consultation for proposals to upgrade the railway in and around Ely and will run for six weeks. The Ely area capacity enhancement (EACE) programme is a proposal to allow more trains to run through Ely. The aim is to advance connectively...
• Ep.17 Becoming a data-driven railway, Kelley Quirk and Martin Mason This week host Ailsa Cowen is joined by two guests from Network Rail. Martin Mason, Programme Manager, at Network Rail’s Digital Railway and Kelley Quirk, Programme Manager, at Network Rail’s Intelligent Infrastructure programme. They discuss Network Rail’s Intelligent...

Railnews

• Monday essay: has franchising finished? Yes, it has. A Virus has done it. Covid-19 has finally pushed the tottering franchising system over, and changed the course of railway history. In the conclusion of a two-part special Sim Harris considers the future now.
• Rail franchising comes to an end – official The Government has announced that rail franchising is over, after more than 24 years. The Emergency Measures Agreements introduced in England on 23 March have been extended by 18 months and will be known from now on as Emergency Recovery Management Agreements or ERMAs, while the Scottish Government announced just before the weekend that it has extended its support for ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper for another six months. The DfT said the new ERMAs are ˜more demanding™, and has reduced the 2 per cent management fee to 1.5 per cent at most. Taxpayers will see savings in the longer term, said ...

Other News Sources

• Darlington mayor targets global cities to help mark railway birthTHE Mayor of Darlington is set to approach 200 cities or places from around the world with claims to ‘railway firsts’ to help mark the 200th anniversary of a key meeting between two men who are both referred to as Father of the Railway.
• Transport for Wales continuing with station improvements on Wrexham-Bidston lineWork on a “Station Improvement Vision” between Wrexham and Bidston and plans to “transform transport” throughout the Wales are continuing despite the “challenges faced by coronavirus”, say Transport for Wales (Tfw)
• Brighton electric car charging point next to double yellowsBLUNDERING contractors installed a charging point for electric cars on a road with double yellow lines so it was impossible to use.