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

Friday, 22 September 2023

BBC News

• Alstom: Derby council calls for decisive action over train jobsA potential threat to hundreds of jobs at a Derby factory has prompted the city council to call on the government to take "swift and decisive action"
• Wales' 20mph limit: Give locals more say - Lib Dem leaderEd Davey says it should be easier for people to exempt roads in their areas from speed reduction.
• Car makers split on decision to delay petrol banSome manufacturers have raised concerns that the move to 2035 could put drivers off switching to electric.
• Firms forced to sell more electric cars despite petrol ban delayCar makers will still have to ensure over a fifth of cars sold are electric from 2024.

Financial Times

• Will oil price rally mean even higher air fares?Ticket prices have already soared as airlines make the most of demand for travel

The Guardian

• Bargain bus trips save the pennies and the planet | LettersIt isn't as good as a Luxembourg-style free pass, but the £2 cap on bus tickets in England and Wales has been a boon for Nicola Baird.

Times Online

• Cost of HS2 is getting ’totally out of control’, says Jeremy Hunt. [subscription]Chancellor says government needs to deliver infrastructure projects that do not cost billions

City AM

• Sunak’s hands off approach won’t make electric vehicles more affordable in 2035 The auto industry want to make the prohibitively expensive Tesla the outlier, they’re now doing it without the backing of government.

i News

• HS2 costs spiralling out of control, Jeremy Hunt says, in biggest hint yet Manchester leg could be ditchedJeremy Hunt has given the strongest indication yet that the HS2 high-speed rail link will controversially stop in Birmingham and never reach the North of England.

Mail Online

• Tory rebels could block Rishi Sunak's plan to delay the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in parliamentThe Prime Minister indicated on Wednesday that the government believed it could avoid a parliamentary showdown over his plans to slow the rush to net zero.

Local Government

• First Bus and North Somerset Council working to tackle bus challengesNorth Somerset Council and bus operator First Bus are acting to reassure bus users about work being undertaken to improve services and reliability in the local area. 

Network Rail

• One month to go: Work set to start next month to improve the reliability of a key commuter line between London Waterloo and PortsmouthFrom Sunday 21 to Saturday 28 October, the railway between Guildford and Petersfield will be closed, extending to Havant on Sunday 29 October only, with buses replacing trains.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Halifax Bus Station to open at start of next monthA NEW £20.5 million West Yorkshire bus station has reached a major milestone.
• New data on Bradford Clean Air Zone's impact on pollutionThe lowest levels of air pollution since the introduction of Bradford’s Clean Air Zone have been recorded, Bradford Council said

Derby Telegraph

• Alstom: Under-threat Derby factory given chance to bid for new work contracts by GovernmentThe city's biggest political leaders are rallying behind the Litchurch Lane firm's workers

London Evening Standard

• Britain's problem with big projects that begin with the letter 'H' - Jim O’Neill is Chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, Chair of Northern Gritstone, Senior Advisor to Chatham House, and ex Commercial Secretary to the TreasuryThe country has a problem with infrastructure starting with the letter “H”. Whether it be Heathrow, Hinkley Point, HS2, Housing, and of course, Hammersmith Bridge. There are endless others, but I make my point.

Manchester Evening News

• Warning over e-scooters as bus operators announce new rules from next weekThe changes will take place on a big day for transport in Greater Manchester

Other Regional Press

• Dumbarton commuters to get cheaper peak time train to GlasgowA GREEN MSP believes Scotrail's upcoming peak-time ticket price trial will be "game-changing" for Dumbarton commuters.
• Peterborough MP hits out at 'suspension' of £200,000 bus depot fund and vows: 'we'll find the money ourselves'Peterborough MP Paul Bristow has vowed to find £200,000 to keep the city’s hopes of building an electric bus station on the road.
• Call to end 'spiral of decline’ of bus services by handing control to councilsOrganisations are calling on the Government to give councils more power to control their bus services.
• Reversal of fortune for North Yorkshire's threatened bus servicesNorth Yorkshire’s transport boss is optimistic that all existing bus services will be saved and the network expanded over the coming years, just over a year after raising fears nearly 80 routes were close to being wiped out.
• Bus service set to return after gap of nearly a year!A bus service at Statham in Lymm is set to return following a gap of nearly a year, following a campaign by local Cllrs. and a petition signed by more than 600 people.
• First three bus lane routes confirmed by Liverpool Council despite ’traffic mayhem’ concernsLiverpool City Council has confirmed a new plan which will lead to the readoption of five routes across the city to give buses priority on the roads
• Jaguar Land Rover welcomes Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delay on ban on petrol and diesel carsIt has said it will bring the UK in line with other countries
• Readers say cycle lanes in Coventry are not used enough and we don't need moreResidents in a Coventry council survey had said we need more cycle lanes in the city
• Brighton councillor open to pedestrianising Bond StreetThe chair of a council transport committee has said he would be open to creating a “pedestrian walkway” through the North Laines by shutting some roads in the neighbourhood to cars.

Train Operators

• Rail the top choice for World Car Free Day participants this FridayWith the UK set to mark World Car Free Day on Friday (22 September), Northern is preparing to pick up the slack as road users across the North of England ditch their cars for alternative forms of transport.

New Civil Engineer

• How is the rail industry reaping the benefits of blockchain technology?With blockchain technology soon to be implemented on the Core Valley lines in Wales, NCE explores ways the wider rail industry can benefit from its use.
• $5bn high-speed railway between Miami and Orlando opens after four year constructionA privately owned railway has started an eco-friendly high-speed service today, 22 September, between Orlando and Miami in Florida, USA, having taken four years and $5bn (£4bn) to construct.

Rail Business Daily

• Rail & HS2 Minister Huw Merriman supports UK rail businesses at TRAKO Expo, in PolandHuw Merriman, the Minister of State for Rail & HS2, has been supporting UK businesses at 2023’s TRAKO Railway Expo, which is taking place in Gdańsk, Poland. As part of a wide programme of support, the Minister had an in-depth meeting at the Railway Industry Association (RIA) lounge in the UK’s GREAT Pavilion with Andrzej Adamczyk, the Polish Minister of Infrastructure & Construction, before introducing him to exhibitors around the Pavilion.

Rail Magazine

• Operator of Last Report reveals TPE plans“This industry has really quite gone to sleep in the last two or three years. It has lost its place in the sun. We need to push to think differently.” 

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• The Green Bus ’could return under West Midlands franchising’The Green Bus may yet return to the road in the longer-term should bus franchising ever be adopted in the West Midlands, Chief Executive Ian Mack has said.
• Bus operators to offer free rides on World Car Free DayBus operators around the country are offering free and discounted travel tomorrow (22 September) to mark World Car Free Day.
• Lothian Buses orders 50 Volvo BZL double-deckersLothian Buses has ordered 50 Volvo BZL battery-electric double-deckers. It represents a spend of over £24 million and the buses will be introduced in two tranches during 2024, with the first entering service in early spring.
• Lydia Horbury appointed as Director for England at Bus Users UKLydia Horbury, formerly of British Airways, will be stepping into the role of Director for England at Bus Users UK.

Green Miscellany

• The changing face of electric cargo bikesAre the latest electric cargo bikes taking styling cues from car design? The Cannondale Wonderwagen e-cargo bike is the new kid on the block, and its twin headlights frame a distinctly car-like front end. Perhaps its simply a clever ploy to encourage more people to ditch the car for the school run and local errands. The Komodo is a another… The post The changing face of electric cargo bikes appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Greater Anglia maintains excellent performance recordFigures released by Greater Anglia (GA) today show that it is continuing to deliver very high levels of punctuality, on an ongoing basis, for customers across East Anglia.
• Next step on £116m Levenmouth rail project sees footbridge installedNETWORK Rail has installed the footbridge at Cameron Bridge station as part of the new £116 million Levenmouth rail link development.
• HS2 Phase Two: Birmingham to Manchester expected to be cancelled within daysInsiders have revealed that the HS2 Phase Two project, the high-speed rail line from Birmingham to Manchester, is expected to be cancelled.