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

Tuesday, 03 January 2023

Cogitamus

• Happy New Year from TransportInfoThe team at TransportInfo would like to send our very best wishes for a happy and healthy 2023 to all our readers

BBC News

• Train strikes: People returning to work face more strikesPeople returning to work after the Christmas break are being urged to avoid travelling by rail this week because of strikes.
• M42 reopens after huge HS2 bridge installedThe motorway has been closed for 10 days to allow the 12,600-tonne bridge to be slid into place.
• Tesla says it delivered record 1.3 million vehicles in 2022However, Elon Musk's electric car maker missed Wall Street forecasts for the last three months of the year.

Financial Times

• Favouring trains over planes may be smart for legacy airlinesKLM chief's comments might signal strategy to free up new avenues for her carrier's future growth
• Wave of strikes to bring more chaos to Britain's railways RMT locked in two separate disputes with 14 train operators and infrastructure provider Network Rail

The Guardian

• Deal to stop UK train strikes ’in touching distance’, says Network RailChief negotiator says better communications could sway union members, as first of five days of rail strikes begins
• England’s £2 bus fare cap may not save rural routes, campaigners fearThree-month subsidy widely welcomed but passengers may need longer-term incentives to use routes
• Britain's transport system is a creaking misery and an easy win for Keir Starmer To get the red wall back on board, Labour should commit to bold action on transport and show what levelling up really means. For those of us living and working in the north it has become achingly clear that our transport system is broken. Long before any strike action was announced, the region's public transport was suffering from creaking infrastructure, staff shortages and a daily dose of long delays and routine cancellations. For those of us who commute between northern cities by train, getting to work in decent time has become a game of chance.
• Most UK train services out of action as five days of strikes beginNetwork Rail advises people to travel only if absolutely necessary and to check online for updates The first of five consecutive days of national rail strikes have begun, closing much of Britain's rail network and leaving only a skeleton service for commuters on urban and intercity lines.Passengers were being urged to attempt to travel only if necessary, with about 20% of trains expected to run and scheduled hours of operation cut back to between 7.30am and 6.30pm.

The Independent

• Mick Lynch accuses Tory minister of lying about move to ’torpedo’ rail strike talksRail union boss Mick Lynch has accused transport secretary Mark Harper of “not telling the truth” about the negotiations aimed at ending train strikes, as five days of fresh industrial action begins.

The Telegraph

• Train firms haven't had their hands tied by Government, insists Mark Harper Updated 8 minutes ago [subscription]Mark Harper has rejected a claim from union bosses that ministers have tied the hands of train operating companies in negotiations on pay and conditions as tens of thousands of rail workers stage their latest walkout today.

Times Online

• Britain’s newest railway, the Luton Dart, to arrive two years late as costs pile up. [subscription]Britain’s newest railway, and one of its most expensive, is to arrive two years late and 33 per cent over budget.
• A fare day’s pay: students drive buses to beat debt. [subscription]Juggling a job with a university degree usually involves waiting tables or pulling pints in the hours after course work. For Jonas Nkala, a third-year undergraduate at the University of Bristol, it involves catching up on work on his laptop at the bus depot and arriving at lectures still dressed in his Stagecoach uniform.
• Millions will shun trains for ever, goverment tells unions [subscription]A generation of passengers will be put off travelling by train for good because of industrial action, ministers fear, as Britain enters the worst week of rail disruption for 30 years.
• 2 in 3 new charging points for electric cars will be in London. [subscription]Nearly two thirds of the electric car charging points planned by local authorities this year are in London, exacerbating the divide between the capital and the rest of the country.

City AM

• Jet2 crowned UK best holiday provider as Tui and Lastminute.com slump Jet2 has taken the crown as Britain’s favourite provider of package and resort holidays.  According to a survey published today by consumer champion Which?, the UK company has received the highest score in customer satisfaction alongside Swiss holiday provider Kuoni.  Respondents praised Jet2’s high levels of service and reliability, with one customer saying that “you [...] The post Jet2 crowned UK best holiday provider as Tui and Lastminute.com slump appeared first on CityAM.

i News

• Government plans to improve ’housing, education, transport and jobs’ for disabled people face delayThe National Disability Strategy is to be scrapped after the High Court deemed it unlawful but ministers are set to produce a new policy

Belfast Telegraph

• Rail strikes: Warning of disruption as passengers return to work after new yearRail passengers will face fresh travel disruption from Tuesday as tens of thousands of workers take strike action in bitter disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Transdev offer Bradford bus trips for £2 in new dealAS the cost-of-living crisis continues, Bradford people travelling on Yorkshire bus firm Transdev's entire network can travel for up to 87 per cent less as a Government-funded Help for Household scheme begins

Liverpool Echo

• Mersey railway station set for £15m upgradeWork began in summer 2022 on Lea Green railway station in St Helens, with £15m of investment being used to deliver "first class" services. Construction of a multi-deck car park is part of the plans, with aims to increase park and ride capacity to around 450 vehicles.

London Evening Standard

• Rail strikes: Minister tells RMT to ’hammer out a deal’Around half of Britain’s railway lines are closed and only a fifth of services are running as thousands of workers stage industrial action. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) should get “off the picket line and round the negotiating table” as passengers face fresh disruption from strikes, Transport Secretary Mark Harper has said.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham City Transport lower bus ticket prices arriveThe Government-funded initiative has come into effect

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Major transport changes to come during 2023 including Leeds Bradford Airport investmentIt has been a year of change for motorists and travellers in Leeds but 2023 is set to bring about a host of changes that will revolutionise city travel for decades to come.

North Wales Live

• Metro Mayor on trains, buses, ferries... and EurovisionSteve Rotheram looks back over a busy 2022 and ahead to a bumper year

Business Live

• Tough financial outlook for rail sector and Transport for WalesIt is likely that 2023 will be another challenging year, in economic and financial terms, for transport users, transport companies, Welsh Government and Transport for Wales (TfW).

New Civil Engineer

• Transport for Wales commits to development of Core Valley Lines and South Wales Metro in five-year planTransport for Wales (TFW) has committed to delivering its plans for the South Wales Metro after releasing a five-year corporate strategy.
• Key decisions on Stonehenge Tunnel, HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail needed in 2023 Key decisions on the country’s major infrastructure projects are expected in 2023. Over the course of the next 12 months, transport secretary Mark Harper will have to make big decisions on the country’s planned road building schemes with planning rulings needed in relation to the Stonehenge Tunnel, Lower Thames Crossing and the A66 upgrade among a number of other planned road upgrades.

Other News Sources

• Blind pensioner challenges transport minister Mark Harper over 'discriminatory' rail cutsThe pensioner presented petition to new Transport Minister who was challenged to explain how disabled people can travel without help from guards and other staff
• How the Leigh Guided Busway will change under new managementThe buses that whiz along the Leigh Guided Busway will transform from purple to yellow when the new contract holders take over the service in September 2023.

News from Europe

• How transport can drive economic and social progress in a world on the brink of recessionTransport workers move the world. The COVID-19 pandemic shone a spotlight on this. As the world shut down, transport workers were more visible than ever before. They transported medical supplies, kept supply chains connected, got cities moving so doctors, nurses and other key workers could continue to work and they delivered food and essential goods to our doorsteps so we could survive and stay safe.