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

Friday, 22 July 2022

BBC News

• London bus art: Inspiring artwork to travel round cityAn artist who left her job in a gallery 16 years ago has realised a long-time ambition by seeing her paintings on the side of a fleet of London buses.
• London Underground: Long-running weekend Night Tube strikes called offThe RMT union accepts a concession on driver rotas but says the situation will be reviewed again.
• London bus art: Inspiring artwork to travel round cityAn artist's inspirational paintings can be seen on the side of London buses until the end of August.
• Central line: U-turn on early closure of Tube line due to sicknessTfL says the Central line will now continue running past 17:30 BST after sickness cover was found.
• Drivers warned of delays around Dover as summer getaway beginsRoads around Dover are expected to be extremely busy as most schools in England and Wales break up.

Financial Times

• UK regulators warn airlines over ‘serious problems’ ahead of summer peakFailure to look after passengers after cancellations among ‘harmful practices’ causing concern for CAA and CMA

The Independent

• UK rail review launched after heatwave causes train chaos‘With extreme weather events becoming more frequent as our climate continues to change, we’ve got to pull out all the stops to make our railway as resilient as possible,’ says Network Rail chief

The Scotsman

• Office of Rail regulator raises concerns about Network Rail Scotland’s remedial work after fatal Carmont crashThe rail regulator has raised concerns about Network Rail Scotland’s work to help prevent a repeat of the fatal Carmont crash in which three people were killed.

Times Online

• Supermarkets accused of exploiting fuel prices for ‘blatant profiteering’ [subscription]The cost of petrol will stay at £1.80 a litre or more unless supermarkets cut their artificially high prices, a fuel campaign group has warned.

City AM

• Rail can’t take more than its fair share, says head of new trade bodyThe railway sector can’t take more than its fair share from both fare and tax payers, according to Andy Bagnall, chief executive of the new trade body Rail Partners. 

The Mirror

• Fuel price protestors to slow traffic to crawl TODAY on busiest summer getaway in yearsFuel price protesters will cause chaos with 'slow-moving roadblocks' on the M4, M5, M32 motorways and the A38 as schools break up for the holiday season - with more protests planned nationally

Birmingham Post

• Airbus completes assembly of first eco-wing prototypeThe aerospace giant is investing in technology it believes will make flying more environmentally friendly in the future

Liverpool Echo

• Concerns as major bus route 'temporarily suspended' due to staff shortageA popular bus service has been withdrawn due to "staff shortages" but will "return in full" later this year under a new operator.

Manchester Evening News

• Calls for tram conductors to be introduced on Metrolink to clamp down on crime and antisocial behaviour“There are more instances of anti-social behaviour on the Rochdale to Oldham line than on any other part of the network."
• Transport Secretary sticks it to Andy Burnham for supporting rail strikes and the mayor is NOT happy"The North’s economy has an eye to the future; it cannot be served by a railway, nor elected Mayors, stuck in the past."

Nation. Cymru

• Plan to outline rail link between the south of Wales and Aberystwyth by 2027Plans for a rail link between the south of Wales and Aberystwyth could be outlined by 2027 according to a new Welsh Government transport planning document.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Co-owner of Gateshead pub slams Network Rail for blocking their entrance with metal fencingDoug Musgrove said he has lost customers as a result of the ongoing work

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham trams waiting to be repaired after extreme temperaturesNottingham might be experiencing cooler temperatures on Thursday, July 21, but the heatwave experienced at the starts of this week is still having an impact.

Cambridge News

• Combined Authority install zero electric vehicle charging points depsite £20m budgetA total of zero Electric Vehicle Charging Points (EVCPs) were installed using the "Metro Mayor Capital Investment Fund"

Other Regional Press

• Airlines are told to cut summer disruption or face actionWith the school holidays just days away, airlines have been issued with a strongly-worded warning about summer cancellations.
• South Yorkshire leaders urged to take Doncaster Sheffield Airport into public ownershipDoncaster Sheffield Airport is facing closure after the owners said it is no longer commercially viable
• Locals 'being treated like second class citizens' over HS2 viaduct plansOne MP says that the design is not in keeping with the local area
• People feel unsafe to use Nuneaton's two biggest car parks admits councilAction will be taken to help reduce fear of crime and anti-social behaviour

Coach and Bus Week

• Traton, Daimler and Volvo launch European charging joint ventureThe Traton Group, Daimler Truck, and the Volvo Group have completed the final step in forming their planned joint venture for charging infrastructure in Europe. The new joint venture, with Anja van Niersen as CEO, is expected to have a significant role in supporting the European Union’s Green Deal for carbon-neutral freight transportation by 2050, and wider implications for access to charging facilities for coaches.
• Abellio London opens the doors of new Hayes electric depotThe new electric bus depot in Hayes is powered by Enel X, and will serve Transport for London routes operated by Abellio
• New contactless ticketing for City Red customersA new flexible, contactless ticketing system that promises to save City Red customers in Southampton time and money was launched on 12 July. Passengers can now use their contactless device such as a bank card, smartphone or smartwatch to tap on when they board the bus and also tap off when they alight; as long as they remember to tap off, the system will automatically work out the best and cheapest fare.
• First look at new Liverpool hydrogen busesThe first images of the interior of the new zero-emission hydrogen bus fleet for Liverpool have been released, with CGI visuals offering a peek at the highly-specified interiors and features which passengers on the new vehicles will be able to expect when they come into service.

New Civil Engineer

• Regulator concerned by widespread non-compliant examinations of Network Rail’s bridges and tunnelsThe Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has raised concerns about the number of non-compliant structure examinations carried out across Britain’s railways.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Bus punctuality measuring: Call for evidence ‘shortly’A call for evidence will be issued “shortly” on the long-promised review of how bus punctuality is measured, the Traffic Commissioners (TCs) have revealed in their annual report for 2021-22. 
• Kura partners with parking management expert WayleadrShared transport specialist Kura is partnering with parking management software provider Wayleadr to reduce the need for parking spaces and encourage more travel by shared transport.
• Keolis rolls out multi-operator ticketing in Nottingham Contactless ProjectMultinational public transport operator Keolis, which operates the Nottingham Express Transit (NET) tram network, has rolled out an initiative to improve passenger mobility in Nottingham. The project has been supported by INIT, NET’s ticketing provider, and smart ticketing provider TransMach.
• Scania continues diesel work ahead of zero-emission shiftScania continues cautious steps towards a zero-emission future, but its plans, including for the coach market, are firming up, the manufacturer told interested parties in June.

Other News Sources

• Milestone of 20,000 bus engines provided by Cummins to OtokarCummins and Otokar are celebrating a 16-year long partnership which has seen the delivery of more than 20,000 engines for bus and coach applications. The occasion was marked with the presentation of a celebratory plaque to Otokar from the Cummins team at its engine plant in Darlington, UK.
• Nottinghamshire councils turn to gamification to increase bus useA collaboration between local councils in Nottinghamshire will see members of the public encouraged to use buses through a gamified mobile app that offers discounted journeys.
• Modified rail cars clean air of CO2 and help mitigate climate changeResearchers from the University of Sheffield are working with US-based CO2Rail Company to design Direct Air Capture equipment which can be used within special rail cars placed with already running trains