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

Thursday, 27 July 2023

BBC News

• Rail consultation extended after criticism from North East leadersA consultation into plans to close railway ticket offices has been extended after it was branded unfair, confusing and "unduly short".
• E-bike battery fires spark call to regulate like fireworksA charity says batteries for e-bikes should require third-party approval before being sold in the UK.
• Heathrow told to improve safety after worker deathA coroner has written to the airport's operator after the death of a worker in a van crash.
• Rail ticket office mass closure consultation extendedThe public now has until 1 September to respond to the plan to shut hundreds of rail ticket offices.

ITV News

• Mayors to continue legal action over rail ticket office closures despite consultation delayMetro Mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram have said they will continue with their legal action against proposals to close rail ticket offices.

Financial Times

• Painfully slow grid holding up UK electric car shift, says trade bodyWarning from SMMT amid record production figures for battery and hybrid models
• Stellantis to deepen cost cuts to fend off Chinese carmakers invasion in EuropeFiat owner posts record first-half revenues but chief executive warns Chinese EVs are 25% cheaper

The Herald

• McGill's boss hits back at Paul Sweeney over Glasgow night busesThe boss of the UK’s largest independent bus operator has hit back at calls to franchise Glasgow's buses - but admits passengers are being failed by a dearth of routes in some communities.

The Independent

• Ticket office closures consultation extended by five weeks after public backlashThe deadline of a public consultation on plans to close nearly all railway station ticket offices in England has been extended until September, the Rail Delivery Group has confirmed.

The Telegraph

• Plans to bring railway ticket offices to a halt delayed. [subscription]Ticket offices across the country have received a reprieve after rail firms extended the consultation period over proposals to close them.

Times Online

• Rolls-Royce hails start of its ’transformation’. [subscription]Gains in production, an improved profit outlook and claims from its new chief executive that “we are starting to see the early impact of our transformation in all our divisions” put a rocket under Rolls-Royce yesterday.
• SNP ’ignored advice to relax alcohol ban’ on ScotRail trains. [subscription]SNP ministers ignored police advice to relax the alcohol prohibition on Scotland’s rail network after a total ban was introduced during the pandemic.
• Prue Leith: ’Dire’ Caledonian Sleeper train serves ’miserable food’. [subscription]It is billed as an idyllic, relaxing and sophisticated way to travel between London and the highlands of Scotland. But for Prue Leith and her husband their trip on the Caledonian Sleeper couldn’t have been more different as she complained of a litany of calamities.

City AM

• British car production rebounds thanks to record electric vehicle boost UK car production jumped 11.7 per cent in the first six months of the year, industry figures show, marking a major rebound from the pandemic-induced lows of 2022.

Daily Record

• Masterplan for improving Dumfries and Galloway transport links signed offA 20-year masterplan for improving transport links across the region has been signed off by Dumfries and Galloway Council.
• University students to benefit from improved bus service thanks to Lanarkshire groupClimate Action Strathaven (CAS) has announced the expansion of its 3C bus service which will see even more journeys to and from Scotland’s largest cities.

Mail Online

• Another delay on the railways! Plot to axe station ticket offices hits the buffers as consultation period over their closure is extended after outcry from campaignersCampaigners trying to save railway station ticket offices were thrown a lifeline yesterday as a consultation period over their closure was extended.

The Mirror

• 'It's vital for disabled people that you oppose train station ticket office closures'It’s been announced at the eleventh hour that consultation on the closures of train station ticket offices has been extended until 1st September, this means we have slightly longer to try and stop this.
• Train companies delay plan to shut almost every ticket office in win for campaignersPassengers have been given an extra five weeks to have their say on devastating plans to close ticket offices at 974 railway stations across England as the consultation is extended until September 1

This is Money

• Airports in new rallying cry against tourist tax with Heathrow blaming tax for fall in salesSome of the country's busiest airports have urged the Government to commission more research into a 'disastrous' tourist tax.

Network Rail

• Network Rail and Natural Resource Wales’ partnership ’on track’ to securing a greener future, combating climate change and improving rail links for passengersThe two organisations have solidified their commitment to working more closely together following the renewal of their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Sky News

• Shell profits cut by half due to plunging energy pricesShell has revealed a big fall in the second quarter of its financial year, largely due to energy prices plunging from their Russia-Ukraine war peak.

Birmingham Post

• Rolls Royce raises profit forecast after turnaround strategyThe aerospace giant, which has UK bases in Bristol and Derby has raised its full-year operating profit forecast

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Using older taxis could help reduce disability discriminationA public consultation will be held over whether older cars should be used

Liverpool Echo

• Knowsley Council throws spanner in works of Steve Rotheram's landmark bus plansCouncil leader submits motion that could provide major headache to city region leader and his signature bus reform policy

Manchester Evening News

• Andy Burnham says railway ticket office closure consultation extension not enough'Mayors across England, including myself, will continue to pursue legal action if they do not completely stop this flawed consultation'

Northern Echo

• North East council leaders slam closure of ticket officesNorth East council leaders have called for the plans to close ticket offices to be halted, saying that they will have a detrimental impact on passengers, particularly elderly people and those with disabilities.

Other Regional Press

• Local MP urges take up of £12 Devon and Cornwall Digital RailcardCENTRAL Devon MP and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Mel Stride has urged his constituents to take advantage of Devon and Cornwall’s new digital railcard – the first regional railcard in the UK to go digital.
• Campaign launched to bring back Stoke train services slashed during pandemicPeople are being asked to get behind a campaign to reinstate lost train services linking Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire to Crewe and Derby. North Staffs Community Rail Partnership is campaigning to bring back an hourly service on the route - which would also pass through Alsager, Kidsgrove, Longport, Stoke, Longton, Blythe Bridge, Uttoxeter, and Tutbury & Hatton.
• Cycle lanes and bus lanes are scrapped by BCP CouncilA LARGE portion of planned active and sustainable travel in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole has been cut.
• Council work with First Bus to improve transport services in WestonBUS services in and around Weston are set to see major changes from September 3.

New Civil Engineer

• Network Rail signs with Swiss national railway operator to share AI asset inspection technologyNetwork Rail will work with SBB, the operator of Switzerland’s national railways, to look at using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to inspect steel bridges and track on the UK network.
• Morgan Sindall to start construction of three more stations on restored Northumberland lineNorthumberland Country Council has announced that construction of three more stations as part of the Northumberland line restoration project will begin as Morgan Sindall Infrastructure has now signed the main construction contract.
• Government must ’reconsider portfolio of expensive, complex road enhancement projects’Cross-party MPs have called for a reconsideration of the planned enhancements to the strategic road network (SRN) as they are expensive and complex, leading to delays that cause confusion and uncertainty.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Alstom and RAILPOOL sign €260 million contract for TRAXX LocomotivesAlstom, and European rail vehicle leasing company RAILPOOL, have signed a contract worth up to €260 million for 50 Traxx Universal multi-purpose locomotives.

Railnews

• Ticket office closures consultation extended The Rail Delivery Group has confirmed reports this morning that the consultation period for proposed ticket office closures has been extended from today until 1 September. The RDG said train operators had been ‘listening to feedback and hope that more people will have the opportunity to have their say in to changes to how tickets are sold at stations’.
• Now union challenges lawfulness of ticket office closures consultation The legality of the consultation about closing the ticket offices at most stations in England has been challenged by the RMT union, which has called for ˜the whole disastrous closure programme to be abandoned.

Railway Gazette

• Swedish company buys SBB Cargo diesel locomotivesEUROPE: Nordic Re-Finance has bought 44 Am843 diesel locomotives from Switzerland’s SBB Cargo, saying this will enable it to offer ’future-proof’ locomotives for lease in the Swedish market.

Aviation Industry

• How Does London Heathrow Airport Manage Its Runway Usage?The facility has to consider the impact of noise pollution on local residents when it comes to its operations.

Other News Sources

• DB Cargo pulls the plug as energy costs signal red for electrified rail freightEscalating energy costs are holding back electrification of European rail freight, which supply chain insiders warned could force more freight back onto roads.
• Exeter needs improved transport to help people get around cityIf we are to realise our ambition to improve our communities locally and improve our air quality, we need to start with the basics, and that is the need for people to move around the city in a sustainable way, and public transport is key to that.
• Whatever Happened To Sorting Out Bus Regulation?“A man who, beyond the age of 26, finds himself on a bus can count himself as a failure,” Margaret Thatcher is reputed to have once said.
• First Bus announces closure of Bridgwater bus depot as changes revealedThe "difficult" decision was made due to "extremely challenging circumstances"
• Siemens Mobility receive order from MSC for 15 Vectron locomotivesSiemens Mobility has received an order from MSC subsidiary MEDWAY Belgium NV for 15 Vectron MS locomotives. MEDWAY plans to use the locomotives for cross-border freight transport in Europe and also for supplementing container transport by ship in serving the eastern hinterland of Antwerp.