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

Friday, 28 July 2023

BBC News

• Ulez expansion across London lawful, High Court rulesThe expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) across all of London is lawful, the High Court has ruled.
• Coventry-Leamington railway line to close for HS2 workThe railway line between Coventry and Leamington Spa will close for eight days so a bridge can be built for HS2.
• Vegetable oil fuelling Chiltern Railways trains in UK firstThe fuel will minimise the impact of trains on the environment, Chiltern Railways says.
• Birmingham airport staff call off strike over new pay dealBirmingham security officers and terminal technicians have accepted the 10.5% pay increase.
• Haddiscoe: Train stranded after poor flood managementThe washout caused damage to the rail track and the supporting ballast.
• Croydon tram crash: Operators fined £14m after seven people killedTransport for London was fined a record £10m for its failings over the Croydon tram crash.
• Disabled flyers angry at airline 'double charging'Many carriers do not follow official guidance on reduced prices for care assistants, the BBC finds.
• E-bike battery fires prompt call for better regulationA charity says batteries for e-bikes should require third-party approval before being sold in the UK.
• Gatwick strikes called off by ground staffA planned four-day walkout from Friday is cancelled after revised pay offers are accepted.
• Wizz Air passengers may get refunds as claims reopenedThe aviation regulator is concerned passengers have not been compensated properly for disrupted flights.

ITV News

• Network Rail failed to manage flood risks before track washed away under Greater Anglia trainNetwork Rail has been criticised for failing to properly manage flood risks after a passenger train ran on to a washed-out section of track.

Department for Transport

• Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern 2022 rail contractThe rail contract between the Secretary of State for Transport and Govia Thameslink Railway Limited, dated 24 March 2022, which ends on the expiry date of 1 April 2025. This direct award rail contract replaces the previous Thameslink Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) 2014 rail franchise agreement contract.

Financial Times

• Everyone loses if net zero becomes the new partisan divideCross-party support for green policies provided one of Britain’s few recent success stories, but this progress is now under threat
• MPs call for subsidy of UK’s green aviation fuel producersMainly Tory group pushes for a ‘price stability mechanism’ to incentivise greater production
• Spain’s curbs on Uber-style apps face probe over breach of EU law Ride-hailing groups fighting to unlock potential growth market complain over new rules protecting the taxi industry

The Herald

• First Glasgow announces enhanced routes after night bus axeFirst Glasgow has now announced the improvements that will be made to bus services using drivers redeployed from the axed night buses.

Times Online

• Wizz Air ordered to re-examine passengers’ compensation claims over flight delaysRegulator takes action against low-cost Hungarian airline after complaints
• Drink-driving deaths hit 12-year high despite pubs closing for Covid. [subscription]The number of people dying in drink-drive crashes has hit a 12-year high, figures have revealed.
• Croydon tram crash: TfL fined £10m over fatal derailment. [subscription]Tram Operations Limited were also fined £4 million over the incident in which seven died
• Teslas ’rigged’ to display optimistic battery range. [subscription]Tesla has been accused of rigging the dashboards of its electric cars to show “rosy” estimates of how far they can travel before needing to recharge.

i News

• Rail passengers like me are fed up with not getting a seat – and it’s becoming a problem on weekend trainsLast autumn, 14 per cent of passengers were standing on commuter hour trains across all major cities in England and Wales

Network Rail

• New £4.2bn five-year plan to deliver for passengers and freight on Scotland’s RailwayMajor investment in the Scotland's Railway planned for next Control Period. Network Rail Scotland published its £4.2bn, five-year plan today as it set out its ambition to deliver a safe, greener and more reliable railway.

Leicester Mercury

• Council leader meets rail bosses to try to save train station ticket office in Market HarboroughThe leader of Harborough District Council has met local rail bosses in an attempt to try to save the town's railway station ticket office. Market Harborough is one of the five stations in Leicestershire that could lose its ticket office as part of a government plan to modernise the rail network.

Wales Online

• The excuses, deflections and half-truths that lift the lid on Wales' HS2 scandalWales has been shafted by the UK Government over rail funding. There is no other way to put it. A deliberate decision to treat HS2 as an England and Wales project (despite none of the track being in Wales) has robbed Wales of an estimated £5bn of funding. This sum of money would be totally transformatory to the Welsh railways.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds trains: Buses to replace Huddersfield services as part of multi-billion-pound track upgradePassengers across West Yorkshire are being warned of impending rail disruption ahead of the latest stage of the multi-billion-pound TransPennine upgrade.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Ipswich West End Road bus lane only used every 20 minutesThe controversial new bus lane in Ipswich's West End Road has caused friction between the councils in the town because of its limited effect.

Kent Online

• Bus-first strategy for Canterbury city centre to include reopening park and ride despite service recording £550,000 losesCouncil chiefs will scrap controversial plans to divide a city’s traffic into zones to make way for a new “bus-first strategy”.

Other Regional Press

• Yorkshire bus users missing doctor's appointments and paying for taxis as they slam ’unreliable’ servicesBus users across West Yorkshire are calling for action as they speak out on how they're impacted by 'unreliable services that are often cut'.
• WHBC raises concerns over ticket office closure plansWelwyn Hatfield Borough Council has raised serious concerns about proposed plans to close ticket offices at railway stations across the borough.

Train Operators

• Chiltern Railways on track for a greener future with vegetable oil powered trainsChiltern Railways has launched vegetable oil powered trains on its network – the first instance of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) being used in passenger service in the UK. 
• Avanti West Coast’s new Hitachi train makes first test run to North WalesAvanti West Coast’s new Hitachi-made fleet marked a major milestone yesterday with its first journey to North Wales

Bus and Coach Buyer

• Call for Cambridge ’roadmap’ as complaints riseCambridgeshire County Council is to clamp down on coaches using the west side of Queens Road in Cambridge as a pick-up point.
• CPT sets up zero-emission rural bus taskforceA new taskforce to help rural bus services smoothly and sustainably transition to zero-emission technologies has been convened by the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT).
• ’Historic low’ for rural busesA report from the County Councils Network (CCN) said rural bus services are at a ’historic low’.

New Civil Engineer

• Rejected £300M Oxfordshire road scheme to be assessed by Planning InspectorateThe government has decided to call in a planning application for a £300M road scheme in Didcot that was rejected by Oxfordshire County Council last week.
• Ground investigations for Scotland’s Old Military Road resilience improvements beginTransport Scotland has begun ground investigations for a scheme to improve the condition of Old Military Road in the Cairngorms before its use as a long-term diversion for the A83 Rest and Be Thankful.

Rail Advent

• Avanti West Coast’s brand new trains head to North WalesTwo Class 805 trains, built by Hitachi for Avanti West Coast, have completed their first test run to North Wales as part of their testing programme.

Rail Business Daily

• New £4.2 billion five-year plan to deliver for passengers and freight on Scotland’s RailwayNetwork Rail Scotland published its £4.2 billion, five-year plan today as it set out its ambition to deliver a safe, greener and more reliable railway.

Railway Gazette

• HVO fuel switch starts Chiltern Railways decarbonisation driveUK: Chiltern Railways has switched to using hydrogenated vegetable oil in its fleet of Class 68 diesel locomotives, as part of a long-term strategy to decarbonise London’s last remaining all-diesel suburban network.
• Railway supply industry news round-upThis week’s news from the global railway supply chain.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Manchester presents strategy to boost bus patronage by 30%An ambitious Bus Strategy is today being presented to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Bee Network Committee.
• Coach Tourism Association hosts first seminar on ZE coachesThe Coach Tourism Association (CTA) has hosted its first seminar on zero-emission coaches, beginning the conversation for its members on the journey towards cleaner drivelines.
• TfL seeks public input on new sections of Superloop networkTransport for London (TfL) is urging the public to share their views on the proposed addition of new express bus routes to the Superloop bus network.
• Coach and bus traffic still well down on 2019, DfT data showsCoach and bus traffic in Great Britain fell by 12.3% in 2022 compared to 2019, newly published figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) show in confirming research from elsewhere.

Other News Sources

• Billionaire bus-brothers shortlisted for an impressive four awards at the prestigious UK National Transport AwardsMcGill’s Group, the UK’s largest independent bus operator, is pleased to announce that it has been shortlisted for an impressive four awards at the prestigious UK National Transport Awards 2023.
• Network Rail works to shield iconic coastal railway lineUK infrastructure manager Network Rail will carry out resilience work on the cliffs along a coastal railway in southern England. The project is part of the wider South West Rail Resilience Programme, which was initiated in 2014 to protect the line between Dawlish and Teignmouth. The resilience works will commence this week. 
• Network Rail finally confesses: We’re building 17 inaccessible footbridgesNetwork Rail has been forced to admit that it has plans to build 17 inaccessible footbridges across England, Scotland and Wales.
• Analysis of ticket office documents shows impact of closures would be ’disastrous’Detailed evidence prepared by disabled campaigners shows the “disastrous” impact that proposals to close hundreds of ticket offices across England would have on disabled rail passengers.
• Historic Chester railway station commemorates 175 years of continuous serviceAs we approach August, Chester station, a vital hub in the rail network, prepares to commemorate its 175th anniversary. ‌ ‌‌‌ ‌‌‍‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‍‌ ‌‌‌ ‌
• Speed limit on notorious A217 'mad mile' between Banstead and Sutton to be cut“It's a high risk road, and it's not safe for pedestrians or cyclists”
• Images reveal progress of Barrhead to Glasgow rail worksBARRHEAD’S train station is set to reopen next week following a month-long closure to electrify the line.
• Blackburn 'could be next for axe' after railway ticket offices shut at Accrington and Burnley"Having a staffed office in Blackburn means that there is a station within reasonable distance for those who aren’t willing or able to buy online"
• New Bristol railway station set to take first passengersBristol’s first new railway station in almost a century is preparing to open to paying passengers.
• HS2: Production of London tunnel segments starts at Strabag facilityThis week, the production of more than 83,000 concrete tunnel segments for High Speed 2's London tunnels has begun at Strabag's new facility at Hartlepool's docks in County Durham.
• Scotland’s railway set for mammoth £4.2 billion upgradeNETWORK Rail Scotland has unveiled a £4.2 billion five-year investment plan to improve the country’s railway.
• Train for the future: TPE invites ’future train drivers’ to #TalkTPE eventHave you considered being a train driver? TransPennine Express (TPE) is hosting a virtual event where prospective future drivers can learn about the role from the comforts of their own homes.
• Kirklees Liberal Democrat group calls for urgent action to protect bus services in the districtThe Kirklees Liberal Democrat group has called for the Government to do more to protect the district’s bus services, saying any further cuts would “devastate our local communities, damage our local economies and affect livelihoods”.

News from Europe

• Deutsche Bahn reports rail “boom” amid H1 profitsGerman rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) has reported a “boom” in demand for rail travel across the country after posting an operating profit of €331 million for the first half of 2023.