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

Thursday, 24 March 2022

BBC News

• Stocksbridge funicular railway link plans droppedProposals for a funicular railway to link a South Yorkshire town's main street and nearby shopping centre have been dropped.
• Doubt over PM claim that P&O sackings may be illegalThere is doubt over a Boris Johnson claim that P&O Ferries may have broken a law by sacking 800 staff suddenly.
• Translink: First zero-emission buses set to hit the streetsThe electric and hydrogen-powered buses will be launched in Belfast from next week.
• London Tube workers to get 8.4% pay rise, mayor agreesTransport for London is locked into a binding agreement made four years ago.
• Ferguson ferries deal awarded without financial safeguardsAudit Scotland says it cannot explain why Ferguson shipyard was given a contract without guarantees.
• Fuel duty cut by 5p a litre to help motoristsThe cut aims to deal with soaring costs, but the RAC says prices will remain at a high level.

The Independent

• Network Rail boss slams FA for cup semi-final during main line closure’We’ve effectively given the world two years’ notice of the closure,’ says Sir Peter Hendy

Times Online

• Britain falling behind in the race to electric vehicle targets [subscription]The gap between the ambition of the prime minister and his government to put Britain in the lead of the global electric vehicle revolution, and actual policy implementation to produce a net-zero transport sector is widening, according to an industry report.

Mail Online

• Electric car boom will hit revenues from fuel tax, ministers will find new ways to raise moneyThe Office for Budget Responsibility predicts electric vehicles will make up 59 per cent of all new vehicle sales by 2026/27 - up from the previous forecast of 29 per cent, eating into tax revenue.

Bolton News

• Bolton town centre chosen over Horwich for Great British Railway HQ bidBOLTON rather than Horwich has been put forward as a possible destination to become the new headquarters for Great British Rail.
• Bolton is worst place in UK to own electric carBolton has been named one of the worst places to drive an electric car, according to a study by Car Guide UK.

The York Press

• Harrogate Bus Company boss fears over fundingThe boss of Harrogate Bus Company says the government's Bus Back Better strategy for cheaper and reliable services will be hollow without more funding.
• Boss of under-fire P&O Ferries defends sacking of 800 staffTHE boss of under-fire P&O Ferries has apologised to those affected by the sacking of 800 seafarers without notice - but says 'it was the only way to save the business'.

Yorkshire Post

• P&O Ferries: People of Hull urged to join march to stop Pride of Hull from sailing on SaturdayThe people of Hull are being urged to join a march and demonstration at the city’s docks to stop the “unsafe” Pride of Hull from sailing on Saturday.

South Wales Argus

• Rail delays from Cardiff to the Vale due to signal issueAN ISSUE with the signal system between Cardiff Central and Cardiff Queen Street rail stations has caused delays to routes covering the Vale of Glamorgan.

Other Regional Press

• London Underground: First look at new Piccadilly line trainsHalf of the 94 new Piccadilly line trains, which passengers will see in 2025, are being built at the Siemens Mobility site in Goole.
• Horsham public meeting on plans to reopen disused rail linkA public meeting is to be held in Horsham on Saturday (March 26) to discuss the possibility of rebuilding a Horsham-Shoreham-Guildford rail link.
• Hungerford Town Council steps up campaign to fight Great Western Rail service cutsTHE mayor of Hungerford wants to mobilise the public to fight cuts to the town's direct London Paddington rail link.
• Work to revamp Lea Green railway station to beginWORK is set to start on a new station booking office and decked car park at Lea Green Railway Station this April.
• Upsurge in cycling numbers confirmed by Scottish Transport figuresFriends of the Earth say that new Scottish Transport statistics for 2020-21show that people will cycle if they feel safe, and if car traffic is low.
• Keir Starmer questions Boris Johnson about P&O Ferries owner DP World's link to freeportLABOUR leader Sir Keir Starmer has accused the prime minister of “handing £50million” to Southampton port terminal operator DP World despite its sacking of 800 P&O Ferries staff.
• Electric vehicle charging points to go live in five car parks in weeksElectric vehicles can soon be charged at five car parks in West Oxfordshire.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Northern cities transport networks lag behind European equivalentsMajor cities across the North are lagging behind their European counterparts in providing access to quality public transport networks, costing more than £16bn in lost productivity, research from Centre for Cities has found. Data published shows more than 4 million people living in Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, and Newcastle are unable to travel to their city centres via public transport within 30 minutes, restricting them from employment and education opportunities. Compared to similar-sized cities in Western Europe, including Hamburg, Marseille, Bilbao, Turin and Lille, the...

New Civil Engineer

• Spring Statement | Industry bemoans lack of funds for energy and infrastructure decarbonisationThe construction industry has reacted to chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement with disappointment at the lack of funds or attention given toward the pressing need to decarbonise infrastructure.
• Network Rail changes tack on Forth Bridge Experience after receiving no bids for jobNetwork Rail has been forced to change its approach for procuring a contractor for its Forth Bridge Experience, after its initial tendering round resulted in no releveant bids being accepted.

Railway Gazette

• Rail research institute opens motion simulation and pantograph behaviour laboratoriesUK: The Institute of Railway Research at Huddersfield University has opened two more laboratories with a focus on full-train motion simulation and the study of pantograph-catenary behaviour.

road.cc

• Cycling UK says government’s Spring Statement is a “sticking plaster for the problems we face today”Charity Cycling UK has criticised the government’s Spring Statement, unveiled by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the House of Commons today, describing it as “a sticking plaster for the problems we face today”.

Other News Sources

• HS2 reveals noise-cancelling Chiltern Tunnel north portal designHS2 today revealed the designs for the north portal of the Chiltern Tunnel, which has been specially designed to cut noise from trains entering and exiting the project’s longest tunnel at speeds of up to 320km/h.
• Andrew Jones MP urges Northern to ’rethink’ cuts to Harrogate trainsHarrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has written to the chairman of rail operator Northern urging him to “rethink” reductions to the service between Harrogate and Leeds.
• Online virtual tour of Stansted Airport’s rail station will help people travel with confidenceTRAIN operator, Greater Anglia, has launched an online virtual tour of Stansted Airport rail station to help people travel with confidence – which is especially useful for disabled customers wanting to check how accessible their journey is.
• Network Rail to deliver £10m Easter investment programmeNetwork Rail engineers will be working around-the-clock this Easter bank holiday to deliver £10 million of improvements for passengers.
• Network Rail set to unveil proposal to reopen rail route after 56 yearsNETWORK Rail is preparing to unveil proposals to reopen a Hampshire branch line that closed almost 60 years ago.
• Cycling Minister pleaded with children not to cycle on “terrible” roads, pledges actionEngland’s new cycling Minister admits she has “pleaded” with her kids not to cycle on her local roads, decrying the state of some “terrible”, “so-called cycle infrastructure” – and says building safe cycling routes to enable disabled people, women and children to cycle more is a priority.
• Bus depot with 63 spaces approved in Woking for Bustler community transportRelocation to Boundary Road will 'allow the service to go fully electric'