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Monday, 17 January 2022

BBC News

• Blue Monday: Samaritans on hand at railway stationsSamaritans volunteers hope to debunk the myth of "Blue Monday" by handing out free tea bags at railway stations across the West and South West.
• Regular West Midlands Metro services to return by month endEngineers have been
• Nextbike resumes in Cardiff after vandalism and theftsSome bike stations at a

ITV News

• Merseyrail to reduce services due to Covid related staff shortagesMerseyrail is cutting its services to cope with staff shortages due to Omicron.

The Independent

• Hundreds more trains axed over staff shortages caused by Omicron waveHundreds more daily train services are being cut in response to pandemic-related staff shortages.

The Telegraph

• Biggest rail fare rises for a decade will push commuters into cars, campaigners fear [subscription]Jump in prices could push commuters away from trains despite green agenda, critics say
• Hydrogen can’t power the green flight revolution [subscription]Aviation is an unforgiving battleground – review the physics and reality bites very quickly

Times Online

• All power to the pedal on A-roads where bike numbers overtake cars [subscription]There are more bicycles than cars, lorries and other motor traffic on many A-roads, according to government figures. On eight main roads, cycles outnumbered all other vehicles, and in 35 locations they outnumbered cars and taxis on an average day, according to an analysis of Department for Transport figures for 2020.
• Times letters: Smart motorways have run out of road [subscription]Sir, Janice Turner makes an eloquent attack on so-called smart motorways (“Smart motorways were a tragic misjudgment”, Jan 15). One aspect not mentioned is that the work to turn conventional motorways into smart ones takes years. During this time the hard shoulder is taken out of use and the remaining lanes are often narrowed. The result is all the dangers of smart motorways with none of the mitigations: no refuges, no gantries to mark lanes as closed, and no technology to detect stopped vehicles.
• Broken speed cameras allow drivers free reign to break limits [subscription]Edmund King, president of the AA, said the number of broken cameras had resulted in a “postcode lottery” for whether drivers will be caught. The minimum penalty for speeding is a £100 fine and three penalty points. Those drivers with a clean licence may be offered the chance to attend a speed awareness course. Drivers are disqualified for up to three years if they accumulate 12 points.

City AM

• Campaigners fear rail increase will push commuters to carsEnvironmental campaigners believe the increase in rail fares – which is set to go up 3.8 per cent starting from March – will push commuters back to using their cars.
• Rail operators scrap hundreds of trains amid Covid-induced staff shortagesSeveral railway operators – including Avanti West Coast and South Western Railway (SWR) – were forced to introduce a reduced timetable as a result of Covid-induced staff shortages.

Birmingham Post

• West Midlands transport chiefs agree priorities for £1.3bn investmentThe list of preferred schemes will now be submitted by the combined authority to the Department for Transport for final approval

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Railway group supports Samaritans' Brew Monday campaignLONDON North Eastern Railway (LNER) is joining charity, Samaritans, in a bid to power through the cold winter months to encourage customers and colleagues to share a cuppa and a catch up with someone they care about for ‘Brew Monday’.

Other Regional Press

• Bridge of Weir: Controversial plans for housing development that 'could destroy hopes of reviving railway' to be debatedCONTENTIOUS proposals for a Bridge of Weir housing development that villagers fear could destroy hopes of reviving a railway will be debated by Renfrewshire Council’s planning board again next week.
• Decision to axe train services into Colchester town stationPASSENGERS have been left frustrated following a reduction in train services, which will see no direct Greater Anglia services between Walton and Colchester town station.

British Trams Online

• Light rail operators enjoy dialogue with DfTOver the years it has often been said that the Department for Transport haven’t been engaging with tram and light rail operators but all that looks set to change after a senior civil servant from the DfT attended a meeting organised by UKTram.

New Civil Engineer

• Work resumes to strengthen Portsmouth’s Landport rail viaductEngineers returned to Portsmouth on Saturday to finish strengthening the Landport Viaduct, one of the city’s most prominent Victorian railway structures.
• Crossrail cost confidence voiced by TfL boss as opening dates discussedTransport for London (TfL) commissioner Andy Lord has said he is "confident" Crossrail Ltd will not need the full £1.1bn of additional funding that was estimated as necessary to complete the project.

Rail Business Daily

• Artists tea-m up to depict power of talking for Samaritans ‘Brew Monday’ station takeoverToday Samaritans, the leading suicide prevention charity, is calling on rail passengers to forget so-called Blue Monday and make time for a cuppa and a chat with someone they care about for the charity’s alternative ‘Brew Monday’, supported by Network Rail and the wider rail industry.

Transportxtra

• HS2 pledge to be net zero from ‘day one’ of operationHS2 Ltd has pledged to use 100% zero carbon electricity to power its trains to help ensure it is a net zero operation from “day one” of the operation in  2035.

Other News Sources

• Edinburgh to London train services to be cut over next two months due to staff shortagesAvanti West Coast are the latest rail operator who have decided to reduce their services as the Omicron variant continues to cause disruption across the country
• Port of Felixstowe reports record container cargo handlingHutchison Ports-operated Port of Felixstowe has handled the largest number of containers ever on a single ship in Europe, when the UK port's dockers handled 23,773 TEU of MSC Diletta.