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

Tuesday, 16 May 2023

BBC News

• LNER names first Azuma train to mark 100 yearsLNER has unveiled its first named Azuma train in a ceremony marking 100 years of the train operator's services.
• Gatwick Airport: No drone found after flights disruptedNo drone was found after a suspected sighting of one led to flights being disrupted at Gatwick on Sunday, the airport said.
• Reading's Green Park Station to open at the end of MayA town's new £20m railway station will open by the end of the month after delays due to the Covid pandemic.
• City ring road to become 'green way' in new plansA 20-year transport plan for Birmingham, due to be published on Tuesday, seeks to end car dominance.
• UK's first driverless bus begins passenger service in EdinburghStagecoach's fleet of autonomous buses will run every half hour between Fife and Edinburgh.
• Tube noise concerns raised by London AssemblyCross-party City Hall politicians want more data on Tube noise to assess long term health impacts.
• London Underground safety criticised after worker hit by trainThe agency worker still suffers from the effects of the accident, the rail safety investigator says.

Financial Times

• UK rail inspections backlog risks safety and reliability, watchdog warnsOffice of Rail and Road calls on infrastructure owner Network Rail to address limited progress on non-compliance

Times Online

• All aboard Britain’s first self-driving bus. [subscription]The UK’s first autonomous bus service has begun taking paying passengers across the Forth Road Bridge. The vehicles have two staff: a safety driver who can take control of the vehicle and a “captain” to sell tickets and provide customer service.
• Motorists risk accidents as repair bills soar. [subscription]Almost two thirds of motorists are worried about being able to afford vehicle repairs after the cost of parts and labour rose sharply. This figure increases to 84 per cent of drivers aged 17 to 24, the majority of whom use their car every day.

i News

• UK risks rail safety and reliability from inspection backlog, watchdog warnsThousands of ’vital’ rail bridges, tunnels go uninspected, rail regulator warns

Network Rail

• Transpennine Route Upgrade reveals plans to slash carbon emissions, generate thousands of jobs and deliver billions of pounds in social value in the North of EnglandThe Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) has today revealed its strategy to improve the lives of millions of people in the North by:

Office of Rail and Road (ORR)

• Network Rail required to clear backlog on examining structuresORR has today written to Network Rail over concerns about a backlog in examining the condition of its railway structures such as bridges, tunnels and culverts.

Leicester Mercury

• East Midlands Airport gearing up for 'busiest summer since Covid'East Midlands Airport is expected to see more passengers than even before the pandemic as the summer holidays edge closer. Airports across the country saw a mad dash to escape after travel restrictions were lifted after the last lockdown but this year could be the busiest since 2019 for the Castle Donington-based airport.

Liverpool Echo

• New hydrogen bus launch marks 'huge step forward' for regionPlans to revolutionise the Liverpool City Region's public transport network took 'another huge step forward' today as the first of the region's new hydrogen buses came into service.

Manchester Evening News

• Warning issued to passengers as TransPennine Express releases final timetableA warning has been issued to rail passengers ahead of TransPennine Express' (TPE) final timetable change. The company's contract to run services in northern England and Scotland is not being renewed, with the franchise being brought under Government control from May 28.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Newly refurbished Bulwell bus station looks 'lovely' as it re-opens to publicPassengers say Bulwell's new-look bus station looks 'lovely' as it finally re-opens to the public. Since January 2023, there have been temporary bus stops until the bus station near Main Street was completed.

The York Press

• York-based LNER launches first named Azuma train with new designYork-based LNER has marked 100 years in business by naming a train and unveiling a new design.
• Noise from TransPennine Express depot stops enjoyment of gardenA Scarborough resident has complained that noise from the TransPennine Express depot near their home has stopped the enjoyment of their garden.

Bucks Free Press

• Amersham: Sinkhole opens above HS2 tunnelling worksA giant sinkhole has appeared above HS2 tunnels in the Chilterns over the weekend.

Oxford Mail

• Oxford Bus Company invests £2m in new coaches to HeathrowA new range of luxury coaches will be able to comfortably transfer more passengers to Heathrow Airport from Oxford.

Other Regional Press

• Cabinet member says he’s totally dissatisfied with the situation at Swansea Airport A MEMBER of the ruling Labour administration in Swansea said he was “totally dissatisfied” with the situation surrounding the county’s airport, which the council owns.
• The ’ugly’ train stop in Bristol named ’loneliest railway station in the world’Its name stirs the imagination to picture a quiet leafy city suburb with cosy traditional pubs, a line of thatched cottages and a beautiful 15th Century stone church. Even a village pump on The Green, maybe.
• Westham and Southill bus pass holders urged to pay fareWeymouth Town Councillor David Harris has urged bus pass holders to pay bus fares on a trial service instead of using their free bus passes.

New Civil Engineer

• Engineers jack up Nuneham Viaduct and remove abutmentNetwork Rail engineers led by Balfour Beatty have jacked up Nuneham Viaduct and begun removing the southern embankment in preparation for the new abutment to be constructed.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Bus ’must collaborate with other sectors’ on policyCollaboration with other parties including policy makers and different sectors of businesses is vital if the bus industry is to maximise its potential, but the sector must avoid pitting itself directly against alternative modes, delegates at the ALBUM conference in Edinburgh heard in a panel discussion on policy on 25 April.

The Business Desk

• Liverpool Airport post-pandemic recovery helped by deferment of £30m loanLiverpool John Lennon Airport has increased turnover and reduced losses in the year to March 31, 2022, its latest accounts at Companies House reveal.

Transport Scotland

• £58 million for zero emission busesThe Scottish Government has launched the second phase of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB), with up to £58 million available.

Aviation Industry

• Belgium's Ostend-Bruges Airport To Become One Of The Country's Largest Solar ParksThe solar park will be equivalent in size to 61 soccer fields, generating enough electricity to power both the airport and local residential areas.

Other News Sources

• Bus industry warns one in seven services at risk if funding haltedUp to one in seven bus services across England could be lost if Government funding is not extended, an industry body has warned.
• Birmingham Airport to transform passenger security experience with new CT screening technologySmiths Detection to provide Birmingham Airport with CT passenger checkpoint that allows passengers to leave liquids and electronics in hand luggage from June 2024