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

Thursday, 11 May 2023

BBC News

• TransPennine Express loses contract over poor serviceTransPennine Express has lost its contract to run its service following customer complaints of poor service and cancelled trains.
• Edinburgh Tram Inquiry: Final report sent to printersA long delayed report into what went wrong with the £776m project moves a step closer to publication.
• Westminster Council: E-bike users face having to park up or pay upWestminster Council says riders who fail to park e-bikes could be incur extra charges or be fined.

Department for Transport

• Transpennine Express to be brought into operator of last resortTransport Secretary has announced he will not renew or extend Transpennine Express's contract.

Financial Times

• Virgin Atlantic forecasts delayed return to profitability as costs riseAirline fails to capitalise on air travel boom and now expects to turn a profit in 2024
• Ryanair wins EU court case against Lufthansa’s pandemic aidCourt judgment is major setback for regulators in Brussels
• National Express to change name to MobicoUK-based transport group seeks to become ‘world’s premier shared mobility operator’

The Guardian

• TransPennine Express nationalised for catalogue of failings and poor serviceTransport minister says northern rail network will be taken under state control when contract expires on 28 May

The Independent

• TransPennine Express services brought under government control after ’continuous cancellations’Train services run by TransPennine Express (TPE) will be brought under government control due to “continuous cancellations”, transport secretary Mark Harper has announced.

Times Online

• Flights are latest booking for Uber. [subscription]Uber users in the UK will soon be able to book flights on the transport group’s app as it attempts to build the service into a “one-stop travel solution”.
• Why city driving rules mean motorists are running out of road. [subscription]Councils have been clamping down on speeding and exhaust fumes with fines and clean air zones. It has proven politically divisive

Mail Online

• One of Britain's biggest car dealers warns that demand for EVs is 'cooling' Vertu Motors slammed the 'inadequate public charging infrastructure' as contributing to the slowing momentum around electric vehicles. It said the UK needed to up its game towards electrification.

Birmingham Post

• The Port of Milford Haven posts strong profits after 'record-breaking' year for shipping The UK’s largest energy port reported profits of £3.3m in 2022
• Bristol Airport begins solar farm project on airfield as part of ‘net zero’ plansThe South West transport hub said it expected the 2.8 acre array of solar panels to be completed by the summer

Leicester Mercury

• Have your say on huge rail hub plans set for Leicester countrysideLeicestershire residents are being encouraged to have their say on a controversial plan to build a huge rail hub in the county. The £750 million rail freight terminal has been proposed for a huge section of countryside between Leicester and Hinckley.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• All change on LNER as train operator rolls out more flexible tickets from SundayEast Coast Main Line travellers should find buying a ticket easier after operator expands single-leg pricing to cover whole network

Northern Echo

• Flexible LNER train tickets on East Coast route from SundayNorth East train passengers using the East Coast Main Line will have more flexible ticketing options from Sunday.

Yorkshire Post

• Train ticket prices: MPs urged to fix 'broken' system for train ticket pricesMPs have been urged to help fix "the broken system" for selling rail tickets, to make it easier for passengers to find cheap fares.

Bucks Free Press

• Longer lorries on UK roads criticised as 'alarming' by cycling groupCycling UK have criticised a decision to allow longer lorries on UK roads

Carlisle News & Star

• Settle-Carlisle Railway Development Company joins Community Rail WeekSettle Carlisle Railway Development Company will join community groups and volunteers across Britain for this year's Community Rail Week.

Other Regional Press

• North London commuters say 'businesses will go bankrupt' as operator scraps services from stationAngry North London commuters have said the axing of key train services from their local station will mean they will struggle to travel to work in central London and fewer rail options will cause difficulties for local businesses. Greater Anglia announced last week that it would no longer serve Edmonton Green station from May 21 due to a change in demand following the coronavirus pandemic.
• Council boss makes case for Coventry Very Light Rail in rousing speech to MPsCouncillor Jim O'Boyle delivered a presentation in the House of Commons

New Civil Engineer

• Landslip damage repairs on the rail network cost £38.6M last yearNetwork Rail spent a total of £38.6M repairing damage to its network caused by landslips last year, a Freedom of Information request made by NCE has revealed.

Other News Sources

• Network Rail reacts to changing travel patternsI wonder how many of you can remember the rail piece we posted in September 2020 regarding changing rail travel patterns in the UK.