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

Friday, 21 April 2023

BBC News

• Birmingham New Street: Rail passengers get new BSL information screensGrace Davies-Friend, who has a hearing impairment, says stations need to be made more accessible.
• Trains in Wales can be awful, says transport minister Lee WatersLee Waters says Transport for Wales trains have been
• Newport: Train window blowout shocks rail passengersGreat Western Railway says a window seal was

The Guardian

• UK forecourt owners accused of charging more for diesel than necessaryCampaigners claim lower wholesale prices not being passed on, adding to soaring inflation as many businesses rely on dieselForecourt owners in the UK are adding to soaring inflation for consumers by charging many businesses that rely on diesel more than necessary at the pumps, campaigners have claimed.The pump price for diesel is about 10% higher than for petrol, even though the wholesale market price is lower, reigniting concerns that forecourt owners are profiteering at the expense of diesel drivers.

Times Online

• Quentin Letts: Minister for potholes shifts into top gear. [subscription]he most important person in politics may not be Rishi Sunak or Jeremy Hunt or even Dominic Raab. It is, arguably, Richard Holden, parliamentary under-secretary of state for transport. Holden is the minister for potholes. Potholes shift votes, never more so than when local elections are imminent. Holden was therefore much in demand when the Commons met for transport questions.

City AM

• If ULEZ was controversial, pay as you drive road pricing will face even more hurdles As more and more people buy electric cars, we will need to introduce a road pricing scheme to pay for our highways, but a litany of controversial concerns - such as data protection - will stand in the way, writes Dom Lacey. The post If ULEZ was controversial, pay as you drive road pricing will face even more hurdles

Daily Express

• Diesel drivers 'being fleeced at pump and its fuelling inflation' says campaign groupFuel suppliers are deliberately inflating the price of diesel at the pump, according to a new report. FairFuelUK says that if retail diesel was sold at a 'fair price', inflation would be below 10% and potentially closer to 9%. The campaign group insists that diesel pump prices are being kept 17.45p per litre higher than necessary.

Daily Record

• Council bosses step in to try and solve bus chaos in West LothianWest Lothian Council this afternoon pledged to find a solution, particularly to help people living in the Greenrigg and Blackridge areas where bus service will be cut

Birmingham Post

• Siemens' £7m rail components facility opened by Michael Gove in GooleNew addition becomes the forerunner for the £200m huge train building facility set to enter production early next year

Bristol Live

• Bristol bus cuts: Residents feel 'stuck' on estate after last service is cutBristol is the only major city in Britain that has working class communities with no bus services, and the situation is ’shocking’, a veteran transport campaigner said, as people in one part of Bristol now cut off from the rest of the city begin yet another campaign to get their bus service back.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Ambitious plans to extend narrow gauge railway in Snowdonia hit the buffersThe Rheilffordd Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake Railway) Trust want to extend the track from Penybont to a new terminus close to the town centre

Wales Online

• Trains in Wales 'will get less reliable in the next five years', transport minister warnsLee Waters launched a furious attack on the UK Government's plans for rail spending in Wales in a speech

Cambridge News

• Multi-million pound project to widen Cambridge busway agreed after recent deathsThe decision was unanimously agreed by councillors

Other Regional Press

• Opening event for Weymouth Railway Station forecourtAn event will be held today to mark the opening of Weymouth Railway Station's new look forecourt.

C.N.N.

• SpaceX's Starship rocket lifts off for inaugural test flight but explodes midairSpaceX's Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, took off from a launchpad in South Texas at 9:33 a.m. ET Thursday but exploded midair before stage separation.

Coach and Bus Week

• Timberbush invests but says more government action needed to help coaches move to net zeroThe owner of the coach tour company says parity with bus operators’ shift to electric and hydrogen vehicles is needed to help the coach industry
• Arriva London looks forward to more zero-emission deliveriesArriva London is to welcome 50 new zero-emission electric vehicles into operation this year, building further on its pledge to deliver a sustainable and environmentally friendly bus network.
• Ipswich Buses marks 120 years of historyIpswich Buses, which will celebrate 120 years of service later this year, is marking the occasion by repainting a double decker in a special heritage livery.

New Civil Engineer

• Transport secretary admits that delaying HS2 will not save moneyDelaying High Speed 2 (HS2) – and other major infrastructure projects – will not save money, the transport secretary Mark Harper has said in an evidence session for the Transport Select Committee this week.
• The Low Traffic Neighbourhood debate rumbles on, so how do we as engineers influence the discussion?The Low Traffic or Liveable Neighbourhoods concept aims to reduce through traffic on residential streets, encouraging drivers to stick to main routes designed for traffic, thereby making residential streets areas where people feel safe to walk, cycle, play and enjoy their community. What’s not to love?

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Cardiff road user payment ’highlights bus funding need’Early proposals around a road user payment scheme in Cardiff have added weight to the argument for ongoing financial support for the Welsh bus industry, one operator active in the city has said.
• Longer-term England bus funding plan likely before JulyAn as-yet undefined longer-term approach to funding buses in England looks likely to be announced before the end of the Bus Recovery Grant and Bus Fare Cap Grant (BFCG) on 30 June, Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper told the Transport Committee on 19 April.
• Bluestar takes on former First Bus Southampton depotGo South Coast has bought the former First Bus depot at Empress Road in Southampton, which will serve as headquarters for its Bluestar business including Unilink.

Transportxtra

• Prince is new director at Urban Transport GroupUrban Transport Group’s new director is Jason Prince, taking over from Jonathan Bray, who stepped down earlier this month after 15 years in the role.

Other News Sources

• Futuristic new Hitachi train spotted being tested in Milton Keynes in the dead of nightThe new trains should be in public use later this year by Avanti West Coast
• West Midlands Railways launch new trains on Hereford lineNEW trains have started running on the Hereford line.
• Esher Railway Station commuters up in arms as flooded pathway stops them accessing platformsThe bridge on one side of the station is closed, and the pathway is flooded, meaning commuters have missed their trains into London