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

Friday, 13 October 2023

BBC News

• Work could start on Meir's new station by end of year - MPWork on a new railway station in Stoke-on-Trent could start by the end of year, a city MP said. Quite a "rapid process" by Network Rail was under way to build the Meir station, Jack Brereton, Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent South, said.
• Morpeth station sets up owl decoys for pigeon poo problemPlastic owl decoys have been set up at a railway station in an effort to tackle a pigeon poo problem.
• Barry: Bus hub with no buses a £3m waste, says councillorNo bus company has agreed to stop at a transport hub built to boost footfall in Barry docks.

ITV News

• Government transport minister campaigns to reopen 'transformational' County Durham rail lineA transport minister has claimed that the reopening of a disused rail line would be "transformational" for the North East.

Financial Times

• Deutsche Bahn nears sale of red London bus operator ArrivaInternational transport group with strong UK presence being pursued by investor I Squared
• EasyJet to buy new planes and restart dividends after summer’s record profitsAirline strikes deal with Airbus for 157 short-haul aircraft and targets £1bn in profits over medium term
• Cost of London-to-Birmingham leg of HS2 jumps by a fifth to £54bnIncrease comes after UK government axed rest of line to Manchester in bid to save £36bn

Times Online

• Drivers a ’£1bn cash cow being milked by council parking charges’. [subscription]Cash-strapped councils have turned parking into a “huge cash cow” as they seek to use motorists to bolster their coffers.

City AM

• Cameron Smith, Talor Gooch and Bryson DeChambeau battle for £18m prize Big money is on offer at the last LIV Golf individual event of the season.

Daily Record

• Bus passengers give their reaction to news rival company will take over from McGill'sBus passengers have been giving their reaction after Lothian Country Buses dramatically stepped in yesterday to take over bus routes axed by McGill's.

Sky News

• Vale of Glamorgan Council spends £2.7m on bus hub with no busesPlaid Cymru's group leader on the council told Sky News the situation was "surreal". The council said the project was completed at a "very difficult time for the bus industry".

Daily Post (North Wales)

• The new Welsh bus station costing millions which doesn't have any busesThe station has a taxi rank, bike shelters and bus stops - however no buses stop there

Liverpool Echo

• Metro Mayor gives update on plan for 'wonderful' Liverpool tramsSteve Rotheram elaborated after suggesting trams could be reintroduced to the city under a Labour government

Nation. Cymru

• Plaid accuses Labour in HS2 funding rowPlaid Cymru has accused the Welsh Government of refusing to fight for funds that Wales is owed on the ill-fated HS2 rail project.

The York Press

• Dine through the decades as LNER opens special 1923 RestaurantVISITORS will have the chance to travel back in time and dine through the decades as as York-based rail firms launched a special restaurant.

Wales Online

• New road proposed for Swansea's SA1 areaThe Welsh Government plans aim to provide a road and pedestrian link along the south of Prince of Wales Dock
• The multi-million pound new bus station which doesn't have any buses It includes a taxi rank, bike shelters and bus stops - but no buses stop there

Yorkshire Post

• Hull to Selby railway electrification should be one of first projects funded with HS2 money, says council leaderThe Hull to Selby railway electrification should be one of the first projects undertaken with funding freed up from scrapping the northern leg of HS2, Hull’s Labour leader has said.

Bucks Free Press

• Arriva reveals bedbug measures in Bucks after outbreak fearsA bus company in Bucks has reassured passengers after the bedbug panic in London and Paris.

Other Regional Press

• Keir Starmer sets out vision for Lancashire public transport after HS2 decisionThe Labour party leader spoke about campaigns for a railway station in Skelmersdale, reopening the Skipton to Colne line and 'more devolution in Lancashire'
• Electrifying North Wales railway line will be a “once-in-a-generation boost”Business leaders have hailed news that the North Wales main line is to be electrified as a “once-in-a-generation boost” for the region.
• The shambles of HS2 is down to a miserable failure of governmentThe UK’s first high-speed rail project, HS1, was a success in both time and budget, but the second, HS2, has been an embarrassment – why?
• Cash pledged in full as Oswestry to Gobowen rail link to cost between £5.3m and £14.6mA light railway linking Oswestry with the mainline at Gobowen would cost anything between £5.3 and £14.6 million to built, with operating costs estimated at £196,000 a year.
• Transport Minister confirms pledge Government will 'fully fund' Shrewsbury's North West Relief RoadMark Harper MP's comments reiterate the pledge to 'fully fund' the road, which was issued after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced he was scrapping the northern leg of HS2.
• Transport Secretary Mark Harper: Why scrapping HS2 up North will be a good thing for YorkshirePrime Minister Rishi Sunak says the high speed route will now go no further than Birmingham

Calling All Stations - The Transport Podcast

• Calling All Stations with Christian Wolmar, Episode 4, Season 2In this special episode recorded in Liverpool focused on the 2023 principal UK political party conferences, Christian and co-presenter Mark Walker discuss the Conservatives announcement on measures designed to protect the interests of motorists [1:10] along with the cancellation of the remaining sections of the HS2 high speed rail line and the diversion of investment

New Civil Engineer

• Elephant & Castle upgrade sees progress in basement works and prepares for tunnellingThe construction of a new integrated ticket hall at Elephant & Castle station has completed construction to basement level five while preparation for new passenger tunnels is underway.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• National Express Transport Solutions to close Gillingham, SydenhamNational Express Transport Solutions (NETS) is to close the Clarkes of London depot at Sydenham in London and its base in Gillingham that came with purchase of The Kings Ferry, although no changes to those two respective brands are proposed “at present,” and work is expected to be moved to spare capacity elsewhere, parent Mobico Group has confirmed.
• DfT clarifies next Bus Fare Cap Grant allocation processOperators taking part in the Bus Fare Cap Grant (BFCG) scheme will receive allocations for November and December based on existing data due to time constraints and will be reimbursed later if underfunded, the Department for Transport (DfT) has said.
• West Yorkshire bus franchising plans revealed as consultation is goBus franchising could be introduced in West Yorkshire from June 2026, with a decision on whether such an avenue will be followed due to be made by Mayor Tracy Brabin on 14 March 2024.

News from Europe

• SNCB unveils first phase of ’ambitious’ rail expansionSNCB, the national rail operator in Belgium, will begin the first phase of its ambitious expansion plans this December, which will include a new service connecting to Brussels South Charleroi Airport.