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

Friday, 04 February 2022

Cogitamus

• The Chris Stokes Column Hot off the virtual press, here's the latest column from Chris Stokes containing three interesting and topical pieces on the post-pandemic railway. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotrail shines light on post-Covid numbers 🇬🇧 Where's the GBR ’guiding mind’ in creating coherent timetables? 🚊 Value for money challenge for well-intentioned Beeching reversals

BBC News

• Warrington celebrates 'levelling up' bus services boostWarrington has welcomed a "huge boost" for its plans to transform bus services after the government unveiled its "levelling up" strategy.
• On-demand bus service expanded in CoventryThe buses can be booked using a smartphone app or telephone to pick up passengers for any chosen journey within the zone.
• Glasgow Airport unveils plans for 15MW solar farmOwner AGS says it is part of a drive to decarbonise its infrastructure and achieve net zero by the mid-2030s.
• Fuel and excise duty must be replaced with new tax, MPs sayThe UK will be left with a £35bn

ITV News

• Government faces legal threat over Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern Rail
The Government's being threatened with potential legal action over the future of the UK's largest rail franchise.

Financial Times

• UK bus operators warn 30% of services at risk of disappearingUK bus operators are warning up to 30 per cent of services are at risk of ending when emergency government financial support ceases in April

The Guardian

• Green opportunities missed in UK levelling up strategy, say expertsGovernment white paper criticised for overlooking opportunities along road to net zeroThe need to reach net zero carbon emissions, and the green jobs that could be created in doing so, received scant attention in the government’s levelling-up strategy, an omission slammed by green campaigners and businesses.The mention of “the green industrial revolution and transition to net zero” came second bottom of the list of 16 priorities in the levelling-up paper published on Wednesday, promising £26bn of capital investment, though green analysts said it was not clear if any of this was new money or ho...

The Scotsman

• ScotRail to go ahead with cutting 250 daily trains from pre-pandemic timetable

Times Online

• Tax on electric cars needed ’to avoid black hole’ [subscription]Ministers should urgently tax electric car use to avoid a £35 billion black hole in Treasury coffers, MPs have said.
• Jenny Gilruth: new Scots transport minister said train cuts were unacceptable [subscription]The Scotsman found that she wrote on Instagram: “The proposed changes to the service between Markinch and Edinburgh [are] not acceptable and do not serve the interests of local people. At a time when the Scottish government is encouraging people to use public transport to reduce their carbon footprint these proposed changes will mean that many commuters from Fife now choose to drive to work to get on time.”

City AM

• MPs call on government to deliver new motoring tax to avoid £35bn holeThe UK Government could find itself with a £35bn financial hole if it doesn’t introduce an alternative motoring tax before 2030, according to a new transport committee report. MPs have argued that by banning the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030, the Treasury could lose two sources of income, fuel duty

The Mirror

• Pay-as-you-go driving 'would help prevent £35bn Treasury black hole'The idea is being pushed by MPs on the Commons Transport Select Committee as more motorists switch to electric vehicles

Birmingham Post

• Free bus travel in Newport announced by the Welsh GovernmentThe scheme, which will run throughout March, hopes to encourage people to switch to sustainable travel

South Wales Argus

• Plans to improve Severn Tunnel Junction rail station accessA NEW motorway link to Severn Tunnel Junction railway station is among proposals intended to improve passenger access to the site.

Coach and Bus Week

• New MD announced for Stagecoach in YorkshireFollowing the announcement that Phil Medlicott is to retire next month, Stagecoach has announced the appointment of a new Managing Director for its bus services in Yorkshire. Matt Kitchin, 42, will be joining on 1 March from Stagecoach Manchester, where he is currently Operations Director.
• Bus Back Better funding cutThe Government’s pledge to ’level up’ bus services throughout England has been hit with a funding cut

New Civil Engineer

• Integrated Rail Plan opponents have ’lost the plot’ says Network Rail bossNetwork Rail has broken its silence on the Integrated Rail Plan, published last November, to defend its contents and commend the focus on the Transpennine Route Upgrade.

Railnews

• TOCs call for minimum controls THURSDAY BRIEFING: TOCs call for minimum controls as part of ‘levelling-up’ ++ Brighton Main Line to be closed ++ Recently reopened line to close again for repairs ++ Train cleaners vote for strikes ++ Revised Forth Bridge plan ++ Work begins on new Bristol station

Railway Gazette

• UK: GB Railfreight is undertaking a three-month trial with a Clayton Equipment Class 18 Hybrid+ CBD90 diesel-battery shunting locomotive owned by Beacon.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Arriva and TfW bring tap on, tap off to North WalesArriva Cymru has introduced tap on, tap off capped contactless payments to its services in North Wales in partnership with Transport for Wales (TfW). The concept will be extended to the multi-operator 1bws product in the region later in 2022, the operator says.
• Bus Recovery Grant grows as DfT calls for no deregistrationsMoney has been added to the Bus Recovery Grant (BRG) mechanism in England as the Department for Transport (DfT) asks operators to avoid “pre-emptively deregistering” services ahead of its planned end on 5 April. The Department has also again hinted that further support may be provided beyond that cut-off date.
• ADL is first bus manufacturer to join Women in TransportAlexander Dennis (ADL) has become the first bus manufacturer to join the Women in Transport network as a corporate member.
• Early BSIP funding beneficiaries named in levelling up planIdentities of the first Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) submissions in England that are to receive funding have been revealed by the government in its Levelling Up the United Kingdom white paper, which has been cautiously welcomed by some in the industry.

Other News Sources

• New under-22s free travel scheme could see Glasgow subway operators lose up to £3m per yearSPT has warned it could lose up to £3 million a year if young people move to use the bus instead of the Subway. 
• Borders Railway extension project 'dead in water', says chiefHOPES of extending the Borders Railway are “dead in the water”, according to the council’s transport chief.
• A27 Arundel Bypass protesters unite with XR with banner dropCAMPAIGNERS against a controversial bypass joined a nationwide “banner drop” protest with Extinction Rebellion to show their discontent.