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

Wednesday, 23 August 2023

BBC News

• LNER centenary show in Newcastle highlights 'memorable' firstsLondon North Eastern Railway (LNER) has unveiled a collection of 100 stories depicting unique and memorable firsts over the last century.
• Newark: Warning of train delays during viaduct refurbishment workRail passengers have been warned to expect major changes to services when work starts on a £2m renovation of a viaduct in Nottinghamshire.
• Stonehaven crash: Network Rail to face fatal derailment chargesThree people died when a train hit a landslide after heavy rain near Stonehaven in 2020.
• P&O Ferries to axe Liverpool-Dublin routeThe firm says the route is being cut due to the unavailability of a berth at the Port of Liverpool.
• French airport to be renamed after Queen Elizabeth II in tributeLe Touquet says it has blessing from King to rename its airport after his late mother.

Financial Times

• Network Rail faces court case over fatal Scotland train crashPublic body to appear at High Court in Aberdeen over 2020 collision

The Guardian

• The Guardian view on canals: a national success story under threat | EditorialA government plan to cut funding to the charity that manages inland waterways is shortsighted and out of step with the timesThe restoration of much of Britain’s vast canal network has been a notable and uplifting success story. Originally saved in the 1960s from Beeching-style closures by Labour’s transport secretary, Barbara Castle, many of these formerly working and polluted waterways have become modern urban oases.Otters, kingfishers and dragonflies can be glimpsed along the 100 miles or so of Birmingham’s canals. In Manchester, barge users and walkers can trace the origins of the Industria...
• Cathedral forests and drovers’ roads: Snowdonia’s new cycling routeThe Traws Eryri, a 140-mile mountain biking route in north-west Wales, heads away from the tourist trails and highlights the region’s rugged, changeable beautyAs befits a landscape that has been regularly repurposed and reimagined over millennia of dynamic human use and interaction, Eryri (or Snowdonia) is woven like a Welsh blanket with a multitude of tracks and paths. There are Neolithic ways leading to burial mounds, Roman roads past stone forts, snaking trails through coppiced woodland to abandoned mineral workings, drovers’ roads over bleak moorland, old narrow-gauge railway tracks and sl...

The Telegraph

• Austria offers free rail travel … if you get a tattoo. [subscription]Leonore Gewessler, the country’s climate minister, accused of taking advantage of young people to promote her policy

Times Online

• Network Rail faces charges over Stonehaven crash that claimed three livesNetwork Rail is facing court action over a train crash in Aberdeenshire in which three people died.

City AM

• Fivefold jump in freight train cancellations threaten to derail firms’ green logistics plansFreight cancellations between the financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23 rose from 2,492 to 12,708, according to data from a Freedom of Information request

The Mirror

• Guide Dogs sign up to Mirror's Save Our Ticket Offices rally as passengers share fearsThe Save Our Ticket Offices online rally will be live on The Mirror website and our YouTube channel at 5pm on Thursday as we fight the plan to shut counters at 974 railway stations
• Rail Minister's own constituents warn ticket office cull will be disastrousBexhill in East Sussex where Huw Merriman is the MP is one of 974 railway stations across England where the ticket office is set for the chop under the controversial plans

Bolton News

• Bromley Cross train station ticket office campaign underwayBromley Cross residents have been urged to support a campaign to save their local train station ticket office.

Liverpool Echo

• Major update on region's new train station after construction firm administration noticeMayor Steve Rotheram releases statement after financial issues for Buckingham Group revealed

The York Press

• Tricia Williams to replace Nick Donovan at Northern TrainsTricia, who is currently Northern’s chief operating officer, will take over from Nick Donovan when he steps down role in spring 2024.

Wales Online

• Residents to have their say on proposals for a jet fuel plant in Port TalbotGases from Port Talbot steelworks could be turned into sustainable aviation fuel if plans are given the go-ahead

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• 'Severe delays' on rails after train damages infrastructure near Stafford stationPassengers have faced "severe delays" this evening after a broken-down train damaged rail infrastructure near Stafford station, blocking all lines in the surrounding area.

Yorkshire Post

• Why Northern Powerhouse Rail needs to deliver for the city of Bradford Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) promised so much yet is set to deliver so little for the region. In fact all it has achieved is to leave Yorkshire in limbo as the Government tries to save face after watering down initial plans before parking them in a sidings.

Burnley Express

• SELRAP says East Lancashire ignored in Transport for the North’s (TfN) latest rail strategySELRAP says East Lancashire ignored in Transport for the North’s (TfN) latest rail strategy

Other Regional Press

• Leven rail link: Network Rail face backlash over plan to close crossingsPlans to permanently close historic crossing over a rail line as part of the work on the new Levenmouth line have sparked a huge backlash.
• Campaigner urges rethink on Rugby ticket office closure threatThe controversial bid to close Rugby station’s ticket office has seen a petition added to the efforts to force a rethink.
• Ayr Gateway: South Ayrshire Council draws up town centre plansPROPOSALS to transform the area around Ayr's railway station are being drawn up by council bosses.
• New Merseyrail trains to roll out on Chester line - but no date set for Ellesmere PortIt's more important than ever to stay informed - Get the free CheshireLive newsletter direct to your inbox
• New Torquay Gateway train station takes major step forwardThe station at Edginswell has been on the bay’s wishlist for decades

Train Operators

• Northern appoints Tricia Williams as new managing directorTrain operator, Northern, will be appointing Tricia Williams as its new managing director.

New Civil Engineer

• Global Centre of Rail Excellence £7.4M innovation competition gears up for second phaseInnovators selected for the Global Centre of Rail Excellence’s (GCRE’s) £7.4M Innovation in Railway Construction competition have been briefed on requirements for phase two.
• DfT details contracts for East West Rail and HS2 to be procured this yearThe Department for Transport (DfT) has outlined a pipeline of contracts for East West Rail (EWR) and High Speed 2 (HS2) that will see procurment commence before the end of the year.
• Investigation reveals improvement in prompt payment of invoices by HS2High Speed 2 (HS2) Ltd has paid 97% of its invoices within 30 days during the last 12 months, showing an improvement from its 92% rate in 2021, according to a Freedom of Information request by NCE.
• Roads regulator challenges National Highways to accelerate delivery of noise mitigation by 2025National Highways has been presented with a challenge by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to accelerate the delivery of noise mitigation measures by the end of the current Road investment Strategy 2 (RIS2) period, which runs from 2020 to 2025.

Rail Advent

• Stadler to build bi-level battery vehicle in US market firstStadler is to build four additional electric multiple unit trains and one bi-level battery vehicle for Caltrain. The represents an option from Caltrain's current contract with Stadler and was approved by the Caltrain Board.
• Students travelling to school by train supported by Trenitalia c2cThe rail operator has created a short film which will help pupils with unaccompanied train travel to school for the first time

Railway Technology

• Alstom and VMS reveal battery-powered trainThe new battery-powered train has a range of 120km, demonstrating a move towards catenary-free rail operations.
• Amtrak extends rolling stock purchase agreement with SiemensThe additional rolling stock will form part of Amtrak’s large-scale modernisation plan, which will expand services and build on capacity.

The Business Desk

• £2m railway upgrade set to begin in NottinghamshireStarting from September 2nd and continuing until September 11th, Network Rail is set to start work on the renovation of the River Devon Viaduct located in Newark. The project will see the viaduct which carries the railway across the River Trent fully renewed.

RMT

• RMT responds to P&O Ferries axing Liverpool to Dublin routeMick Lynch, RMT General Secretary said: “P&O Ferries said they unlawfully sacked nearly 800 seafarers to protect jobs elsewhere in their UK operation.

Other News Sources

• HS2: training the nationThe construction of HS2 has delivered a huge boost for regional economies, creating major contracts for UK businesses and delivering full-time job roles for thousands. In February this year, RailStaff reported on the recruitment and training opportunities the project was creating up and down the country.
• Award winning VR reduces complacency among signalling engineersSignalling engineers need to make sure they don’t become complacent. Keeping the consequences of accidents at the front of their mind is key.
• Rail Forum Vehicle Maintenance & Obsolescence event goes from strength to strengthRail Forum is delighted to welcome Gemini Rail Services as a fourth and final event partner for our Vehicle Maintenance & Obsolescence event on 28 September 2023, alongside Belvoir Rail, Train Bits & More and TVS Spares.
• Amtrak orders more new trains to meet growing demandAmtrak's next-generation of rail cars is set to roll out to even more passengers than originally planned. The U.S. rail carrier is ordering 10 more of its new Amtrak Airo trainsets to meet surging passenger demand, the rail carrier announced Monday.