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

Friday, 17 November 2023

BBC News

• Police crackdown on overburdened vehicles and 'unsafe driving' on M62A van packed with chicken and an overburdened car transporter were among the 435 vehicles stopped.
• Heathrow services reduced due to planned repairsPeople travelling to Heathrow have been warned about planned track repairs next weekend
• Jeremy Hunt to pledge millions to woo electric car firmsThe chancellor is set to announce hundreds of millions more in subsidies and grants for battery makers.
• Train drivers announce new strikes in DecemberAslef announces a
• Rishi Sunak sets out how pothole funding from HS2 savings to be usedCouncils say the money is a

Financial Times

• UK train strikes announced for DecemberAslef outlines 'rolling programme' of walkouts at 16 train companies

The Guardian

• Every week brings a fresh HS2 scandal. It’s time to shut it down “ all of it | Simon JenkinsIn an astonishing white paper, Rishi Sunak rips into the project he once lavishly funded. But he doesn’t t go far enough. The most astonishing government document I have ever read sits on my desk. It is called Network North: Transforming British Transport and it purports to explain why Rishi Sunak cancelled half the HS2 project last month. In fact, it does not explain anything. It is an angry rant, tearing the entire HS2 project to bits: ridiculing, smashing and intellectually humiliating it.The white paper is apparently an announcement of new transport projects in the north and elsewhere, perhaps...

The Herald

• ScotGov award of new ferry contract to CalMac is 'preferred option'The Scottish Government said a direct award to state-owned CalMac is the preferred option for the next contract over the future of lifeline ferry services.
• ScotGov warned of ferry privatisation threat after decision 'fudge'Ministers have been warned against a 'first step' towards ferry services privatisation - after the transport minister was unable to rule out the possibility that Scots ferry services will be open to competitive tender.

The Independent

• Levelling up projects unlikely to be delivered on time, says watchdogThe National Audit Office blamed inflation, skills shortages and delayed decision-making for the slippage.

Times Online

• CalMac to get multimillion ferry deal without competitive tender [subscription]The beleaguered state-owned ferry operator CalMac is to be re-awarded the contract for all Clyde and Hebrides routes without going through a competitive tender.
• Paris Olympics’ flying taxis ’for elite’ may not take off [subscription]Electric flying taxis may not, as hoped, be whisking visitors over Paris during next year’s Olympics after the city council rejected the pioneering scheme as noisy, elitist and pointless.

City AM

• Transport for London gets Moody’s upgrade despite funding concerns Credit ratings agency Moody's has given TfL's finances a vote of confidence, amid city calls for more funding ahead of the Autumn statement.

Mail Online

• The next boss of HS2 could be paid even more than his predecessor's £676,000 package despite the project being severely curtailed, MPs toldFormer HS2 chief Mark Thurston (pictured), who stepped down in September, was paid £676,000 in the last financial year, including a base salary of £635,814 and bonus of £39,958.

The Mirror

• Tories' flagship levelling up plan in chaos as watchdog details project delaysDespite some projects allegedly being 'shovel ready' the National Audit Office says delivery across three government funds worth up to £9.5billion is behind schedule

Birmingham Post

• Train operator Northern faced losses of almost £600m without Government helpNorthern is owned by the Department for Transport after previous operator Arriva Rail North had its franchise terminated at the end of February 2020.

Liverpool Echo

• City region could take control of entire Merseyrail networkMayor Steve Rotheram will sign trailblazer deal with Mark Harper that will open up discussions about a huge new wave of devolution for the region's rail network

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Road resurfacing cash announced by Government for North East after HS2 leg scrapped Local authorities in the North East will each receive a share of the money to fix potholes and carry out other road repairs
• Pub landlord 'picking up customers in car' as County Durham market town suffers from Go North East strikesGo North East workers started an indefinite strike on October 28 and Chester-le-Street has suffered badly since it's started

The York Press

• YORK: Fears over parking restrictions in Tadcaster RoadBusiness owners on a road in York where a 'no waiting at any time' restriction will be implemented say it will damage their trade.
• York 'wasting' much of its £17million of bus funding - claimYork 'wasting' much of its £17million of bus funding - claim

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• £8 a year on council tax as £500,000 Bridgnorth Cliff Railway repairs to paid by 25-year loan Bridgnorth Town Council is to take out £500,000 government loan over 25 years to pay for the repairs to the damaged wall that closed the town's Cliff Railway.

Bucks Free Press

• Concern over another HS2 sinkhole in Hyde HeathCampaigners fear there could be even more sinkholes during tunnelling works under Chiltern Hills.

Cambridge News

• Mayor's plan for 'modern transport system' in Cambridgeshire to face new vote after setbacksA change in leadership at Peterborough City Council could have led to a change in fortunes for the Mayor's Local Transport and Connectivity Plan

Other Regional Press

• Council plan to give Sheffield people 'bus service they deserve'The plans will see Sheffield's bus services brought back under public ownership and tramlines extended
• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledges to tackle 'scourge of potholes' with £8.3bn fundThe RAC claims there are around 1m potholes across the UK. It says it is dealing with the highest number of pothole-related breakdowns it has seen in any third quarter since it began recording this data in 2006
• West Yorkshire bus firms say passengers should reject full public control of services and go for 'quicker, cheaper' alternativeMayor Tracy Brabin will next year choose whether to pursue bus franchising or an alternative option
• Major Oxfordshire link road begins final stage of workThe final stage of construction of the Wantage Eastern Link Road (WELR) linking Wantage and Grove has now begun, Oxfordshire County Council has confirmed.

New Civil Engineer

• HS2 Phase 1 ’cost close to exceeding benefit’ as officials blame civils contractsThe cost of building High Speed 2 (HS2) Phase One is moving closer to being less than the benefit it will bring, according to Department for Transport (DfT) analysis, while HS2 Ltd chiefs say the civils contracts give them little leverage to improve contractor performance.

Railnews

• Alstom set to end train production in Derby Alstom has warned Derby City Council that it intends to end the building of trains in the city. The news follows fears that more than 1300 workers, or two-thirds of the employees, were set to lose their jobs because of a lack of new orders. It has now emerged that Alstom is planning to go further by ceasing to build rolling stock at Litchurch Lane, bringing to an end a tradition in Derby which goes back to 1840. The decision raises a question mark over where Alstom will now play its part in building trains for HS2, in conjunction with Hitachi.

Route One

• DfT grants will fund local transport decarbonisation projectsThe government has launched a £2 million competition in which UK businesses will apply for grants of up to £500,000 each in funding for innovations aimed at decarbonising local transport.

Other News Sources

• Buses in Wales head in a new direction  Progressive and coherent in its approach to transport policy, the Welsh Government has plans to transform public transport   Revamped:The Snowdon Sherpa network   As you've probably noticed, it's all happening in Wales. Of the four nations of the UK, Wales is taking by far the most progressive and coherent approach to transport. Making pretty speeches about climate is easy. Taking bold action at scale is what real leadership looks like. So when you hear transport organisations talk green it's always good to check the annex of their documents to find out what they are actually ...
• Rail industry baffled by sluggish reform plansRail Reform Bill, aimed at legislating rail reforms, was included in last week's King's Speech but concerns linger about the pace of the process     The recent King's Speech has drawn attention to industry frustration with the sluggish implementation of rail reform and the implementation of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail. While the Rail Reform Bill, aimed at legislating rail reforms and creating Great British Railways, was confirmed to be in progress, concerns linger about the pace of the process. In particular it seems unlikely that the legislation will get anywhere before the ne...
• Sussex train services face disruption due to Aslef strikesTrain drivers across Sussex are to stage two days of strike action and a nine-day ban on overtime next month in an ongoing dispute over pay
• Surrey's pothole-plagued roads targeted by massive funding injectionCommon vehicle problems caused by potholes include damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels.