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

Friday, 16 June 2023

BBC News

• ScotRail fares to increase by 4.8% from JulyA peak return ticket between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley will cost £1.30 more.
• TransPennine train drivers' overtime ban called off by unionThe ban on rest-day working for train drivers has hit rail services across the north of England.
• Glasgow Airport flights diverted over air traffic staffing issueTwo flights were diverted to Prestwick Airport and several others were delayed.
• Ryanair sacks chief pilot over sexual misconduct claimsThe pilot allegedly remarked on female colleagues' bodies and altered rosters to fly with cadets.
• iPhone maker Foxconn to switch to cars as US-China ties sourFoxconn, which makes over half of the world’s Apple products, seeks its next big growth driver.
• Sunderland station made 'fit for purpose' by £27m revampA revamp of Sunderland railway station should prove to be an "economic win" for the city, council bosses have said.

Financial Times

• Virgin Galactic set to start commercial space flights this month Richard Branson's company has endured numerous delays on the path to getting operations under way
• Paris Air Show to spotlight aircraft order rush, emissions targets and rising defence budgetsIndustry executives next week gather for the world's biggest international aerospace event for the first time since 2019

Times Online

• ScotRail ticket prices to rise 5% next month [subscription]ScotRail ticket prices will rise by almost 5 per cent next month in a move that will add £7 to the weekly cost of an Edinburgh to Glasgow return fare.
• A9 dualling delays are not deliberate, Yousaf insists. [subscription]Humza Yousaf has vowed to turn one of Scotland’s most notorious roads into a dual carriageway after civil engineers suggested the “glacial” progress on the scheme may have been deliberate.

Senedd Cymru

• Deputy Minister leads the way to get troubled service back on trackThe Deputy Minister with responsibility for transport wanted to experience problems that have been reported by passengers over recent months and front up to criticism.

City AM

• Sunak defence deal takes off as UK and US launch space rocket A new space rocket is catalysing a defence deal struck by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and president Joe Biden between the UK and the US last week. Oxford-based startup Pulsar Fusion and aerospace company Princeton Satellite Systems are joining forces to build a “hyper-fast” rocket

Birmingham Mail

• Buses should be run in 'public's best interest' say campaignersThe WMCA is investigating if it should take over running the buses from private companies

Birmingham Post

• Go-Ahead wins £110m contract to operate Kent commuter bus serviceThe Newcastle transport group is aiming to introduce trams to the network

Daily Post (North Wales)

• 'Mass cancellation' of bus routes in Wales avoided after extra £46m in fundingA "mass cancellation" of bus routes in Wales has been avoided after a funding deal was agreed. The Bus Emergency Scheme - which supported operators after the pandemic slashed passenger numbers - is due to end in late July.

Manchester Evening News

• Rail union makes 'positive' announcement after MONTHS of chaos on TransPennine ExpressThere's a boost for passengers following 'productive negotiations'

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Newcastle Clean Air Zone: Accusation of 'secret plan' to put new toll on car drivers branded 'scaremongering'A Labour transport chief insisted on Wednesday that private cars "are not in the CAZ and they will not be in the CAZ", accusing opposition parties of "scaremongering"

Northern Echo

• Hope new Darlington Railway Station can be 'gateway' to regionTwo rival political leaders have pledged to put politics aside and Darlington first as the redevelopment of Darlington Railway Station took a step forward.
• Several Arriva County Durham bus routes saved after council dealSeveral bus services threatened with being scrapped or significantly reduced have been saved, as a local campaign to protect them increases. 

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Clean air day marked by celebration of electric busesA celebration of electric buses is being made to mark a day of action around clean air.

Oxford Mail

• Oxford Bus Company buys Cotswold coach firm PulhamsOxford Bus Company's owners have bought Pulham & Sons (Coaches) Limited, a long-established family-run bus and coach operator in the Cotswolds.

Other Regional Press

• Welsh Government minister vows improvement of Wrexham-Bidston serviceTHE WELSH Government's minister for transport admits that the train service on the Wrexham to Bidston line is "not good enough" and vows to see it improved.
• TfL Superloop: Extra ’£500m-£600m’ needed for whole bus fleet to be zero-emission by 2030Transport for London (TfL) anticipates it will need an additional £500m-£600m to meet its target of running a 100% zero-emission bus fleet by 2030, a finance chief has said.
• Oxford Bus Company buys Cotswold coach firm PulhamsThe Go-Ahead Group has bought Pulham & Sons (Coaches) Limited, a long established family run bus and coach operator in the Cotswolds.

Coach and Bus Week

• Bus Centre of Excellence launches Knowledge HubThe Knowledge Hub will help bus operators and local authorities to access best practice

Intelligent Transport

• First Bus launches innovative EV charging hub in Cornwall, UKMarking Clean Air Day 2023, First Bus unveils an innovative electric vehicle charging hub at its Summercourt depot in Cornwall, aiming to promote cleaner air and foster the widespread adoption of EVs in the local community.

New Civil Engineer

• Network Rail announces six design winners of remote track buckle detection contestSix winners will have their designs for track buckle detection solutions assessed on a rail test-rig after Network Rail announced the winners of its innovation contest.
• East West Rail route criticised for having more twists and turns ’than many an alpine climb’An MP has criticised the route chosen for the Bedford to Cambridge section of East West Rail (EWR) during a parliamentary session while others condemned the lack of clarity over whether the line would be electrified.
• HS2 | Would a 4-platform underground through station at Manchester Piccadilly actually work?A four-platform underground through station for High Speed 2 (HS2) and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) will be an operational headache, according to rail experts.

Rail Advent

• Regulator launches market study of railway station cateringThe Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is to investigate railway station catering, aiming to make the market work as well as possible for passengers.
• East Midlands Railway launches multi-modal journey plannerEast Midlands Railway (EMR) is introducing a new journey planner which allows people to plan their entire journey, door-to-door.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• ’Keeping people moving’In the first of a two part feature, Jonathan Welch looks at the combined operations of Citylink and megabus in Scotland
• Survey highlights concessionary travel slumpMore than one third of bus passholders are not using the bus any more than a year ago, suggest preliminary results from a Transport Focus survey.
• Wales’ first battery-electric coaches delivered to NewportNewport Transport has further expanded its fleet of Yutong battery-electric vehicles with arrival of the first zero-emission coaches in Wales in four TCe12 models.
• NEWM to have 180 ZE buses by this summerIn marking Clean Air Day on 15 June, National Express West Midlands (NEWM) has highlighted it expects to have 180 zero-emission buses in operation by this summer.
• Scania global coach and bus changes: ’Little’ UK impactWork by Scania to reshape its global coach and bus business will have little impact on the UK for the short- to medium-term, although the OEM “will need to realign our future UK strategy, which we are in the process of doing,” a spokesperson has said.
• Go-Ahead gains 15-year Kent Fastrack BRT contractGo-Ahead Group has won a 15-year, £110 million contract with Kent County Council (KCC) to run the Fastrack bus rapid transit network on Thameside from November 2024. Talks are underway to deploy a fleet of 28 Irizar ie Tram battery-electric buses on those routes.

Other News Sources

• Cabinet approve proposals to bring Northampton Railway Station Multi-storey car park back on trackPlans to increase spaces and provide improved facilities at Northampton Railway Station, by building a new 1,198 space multi-storey car park (MSCP), have moved forward as West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) approved proposals at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, 13 June.
• Getting the Transpennine rail Route’s digital upgrade on trackDigital expert Catherine Dodds gives a ’how to’ for firms in industry looking to boost digital and innovative efforts, with reference to the Transpennine Route Upgrade project
• Government minister Huw Merriman launches this year's First of a Kind (FOAK) competition to improve Britain's railwaysCutting edge companies again have the chance to receive government funding in the First of a Kind (FOAK) competition, now in its seventh year, in a bid to improve Britain’s railways.
• Harrogate bus firm completes move to biodiesel to slash carbon emissionsA switch to a revolutionary high-blend biodiesel fuel is helping a Harrogate-based bus operator cut carbon emissions by thousands of tonnes – the equivalent of taking 1,745 cars off the roads every year.
• Majority of bus services will be protected thanks to £46m fundThe majority of bus services in Wales will be protected thanks to a new transitional scheme announced by the Welsh Government today (Friday, June 16).