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

Friday, 29 October 2021

BBC News

• Stoke Mandeville: Roman sculptures HS2 find astounding, expert saysArchaeologists have uncovered an "astounding" set of Roman sculptures on the HS2 rail link route. Two complete sculptures of what appear to be a man and a woman, plus the head of a child, were found at an abandoned medieval church in Buckinghamshire.
• TikTok HGV driver: 'Lorry driving is for anyone'A 22-year-old HGV driver has turned to TikTok to show people it can be a

Department for Transport

• Restoring Your Railway: new winners announced, as government returns lost railway connections to level up communitiesTowns and communities across England and Wales left isolated when their railways were closed are one step closer to having their connections restored, as part of the government’s Restoring Your Railway programme.

The Independent

• London’s Crossrail project facing £150 million funding gap, MPs warnThe predicted cost of finishing the Elizabeth Line, which runs east-west under the city, is now £18.9 billion.

The Telegraph

• Crossrail faces £150m black hole, MPs warn [subscription]Public Accounts Committee warns the rail project risks further delays to its opening, which is now due between January and June next year

Times Online

• Archaeologists dig up Roman statues along route of HS2 [subscription]Archaeologists were digging in the final stages of a ditch around the Norman church of St Mary the Virgin, at what was believed to be an Anglo-Saxon tower, when the treasures were uncovered. Two of the statues’ heads have been separated from the shoulders, while the third consists only of a child’s head.

City AM

• Airbus's performance prompts increase in full-year guidanceAirbus’s third quarter results performed better than expected, prompting the company to increase its full-year guidance for 2021 to 600 The post Airbus's performance prompts increase in full-year guidance appeared first on CityAM.

Daily Record

• ScotRail to run 'as many trains as possible' as Sunday services return after seven monthsMost Scots have been unable to board a ScotRail train on a Sunday since March due to strike action.

Belfast Telegraph

• London’s Crossrail project facing £150 million funding gap, MPs warnCrossrail is facing a “seriousâ€� funding gap and there is uncertainty over how loans will be repaid, MPs have warned.

Birmingham Post

• Levelling Up Fund provides £18m to take Leicester Railway Station back to 'Victorian glory'It is hoped construction will begin in early 2023 and be completed by mid-2024
• Manchester Airport set for direct sustainable aviation fuel feed in UK firstManchester Airports Group has partnered with Fulcrum BioEnergy Limited UK

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• New documents reveal more details of £13.2m Interchange redevelopmentMORE details of the planned transformation of Bradford Interchange have been revealed.

London Evening Standard

• TfL: Waterloo & City line to restore full weekday service from NovemberThe Waterloo and City Tube line will fully reopen from November following a partial reopening in June as passenger numbers gradually recover.
• Bring back full London Night Tube, urge West End leadersDozens of the most influential figures in the West End have demanded an immediate full restoration of the Night Tube to protect women travelling home.
• London's Crossrail project facing £150 million funding gap, MPs warnThe predicted cost of finishing the Elizabeth Line, which runs east-west under the city, is now £18.9 billion.
• Cross-border rail line closed as bridges washed away amid floodingNetwork Rail said two road bridges had been washed away

Northern Echo

• Northern train firm saves £10m in fraud claimsA TRAIN operator that runs services throughout the region has revealed it has saved more than £10m in fraudulently claimed refunds in the past 18-months.

Yorkshire Post

• York to Hull rail link would get green light if cities in South East, says Tory MPPLANS to reopen the railway between York and Hull would automatically qualify for Government funding if the two cities were located in the South East, a former Tory Minister has claimed.

Other Regional Press

• £5m “guarantee” station will happenWellington’s hoped for train station became a near-certainty after yesterday’s Budget. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced £5 million of development money specifically to fund re-opening the stations in Wellington and Cullompton.
• MPs react with anger after Leamside Line reinstatement rejected by GovernmentNorth East MPs have reacted with anger to news that a bid to reinstate the mothballed Leamside railway line has been rejected by the Government.

Train Operators

• ScotRail to provide more net zero carbon travel during COP26ScotRail is confirming that it will provide more seats and more net zero carbon trains during the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) at the SECC in Glasgow.

Bus and Coach Buyer

• Autumn Budget and PCVsFunding welcomed, but assurances needed. Plus, coaches left out of Government aid again

Coach and Bus Week

• Bus and Coach All Party Parliamentary Group brings bus manufacturers together at WestminsterAlexander Dennis joined the Bus and Coach All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) in Westminster on Thursday 21 October to remind the Government to deliver on its promise of 4,000 UK-made zero-emission buses. The recently-formed group is chaired by former Transport Minister and Scarborough constituency MP Robert Goodwill.
• UK Hydrogen Roadshow visits National Express West MidlandsThe first-ever hydrogen double-decker tour of the UK stopped off at National Express West Midlands on Tuesday 19 October to see the progress being made in decarbonising public transport in Birmingham.
• Edward Hodgson to remain Managing Director at Stagecoach SouthStagecoach announced on 22 October that Edward Hodgson has made the decision to stay with the company and will be continuing in his role as Managing Director at Stagecoach South. Edward, who has had a thirty-year career in the bus industry, had made plans to take a career break, but after discussions with Stagecoach colleagues and careful consideration, has decided to remain in his role as Managing Director South.

New Civil Engineer

• East West Rail | ‘Immediate clarity’ needed on Oxford to Cambridge railwayThe regional body behind the East West Rail scheme has called on the government to provide clarity on whether the full route will be funded following the Budget.
• HS2 defends Chilterns tunnelling in High Court battleHS2 Ltd and the Environment Agency appeared in High Court yesterday, October 28, defending the practices undertaken as contractors tunnel through the Chiltern hills.

Rail Business Daily

• Stadler and Houghton International to deliver fleet renewal maintenance program for Tyne & Wear MetroSwiss train manufacturer Stadler has signed a contract with electro mechanical repair specialist Houghton International to extend maintenance support for the Tyne and Wear Metro until October 2023. Houghton International will work with Stadler to deliver an accelerated maintenance plan, increasing contracted volumes to extend the life of the current fleet of trains until the transition to a new fleet of trains from 2023.
• Restoring Your Railway: new winners announced, as government returns lost railway connections to level up communitiesTowns and communities across England and Wales left isolated when their railways were closed are one step closer to having their connections restored, as part of the government’s Restoring Your Railway programme.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• EV bus charging infrastructure: ‘Open it to others’, say suppliersOpening battery-electric charging infrastructure in bus depots to other businesses that run electric vehicles “would help to accelerate the UK’s transition to low carbon transport,” energy industry businesses SSE and Swarco Smart Charging have said.
• £1.2bn bus funding release for cities in England ‘falls far short’Concern has again been raised that ministers are unduly dragging their heels in delivering the promised £3bn funding towards better bus services in England outside London that they committed to some time ago. 
• £70m for first five Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas winnersCambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Kent County Council, Leicester City Council, Milton Keynes Council and Warrington Borough Council are the first five local authorities (LAs) that will receive money from an expanded Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme in England that is now worth £270m in 2021/22.
• Transport leaders approve £804m North East BSIP bidMulti-modal fares, investment in frequency and punctuality and commitment to the highest possible emissions standards are among commitments approved by local operators in the North East region’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) bid, announced at a meeting of the North East Joint Transport Committee.
• Passenger completes web platform roll out for Go-AheadPassenger has completed the roll out of its customer-facing platform for the Go-Ahead Group with the launch of eight new operator websites.

Other News Sources

• Transport leaders approve region's Bus Service Improvement PlanOn Tuesday 26 October, transport leaders approved the region's Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) at a meeting of the North East Joint Transport Committee.
• Local Transport StrategyWe are updating our Local Transport Strategy, to demonstrate our vision and action plan for managing Fife’s transport system over the next ten years.
• Daimler and BP partner on UK hydrogen refuelling network Mercedez-Benz's sister brand, Daimler Truck, has partnered with BP to develop a network of up to 25 hydrogen truck refuelling stations across the UK this decade.