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

Monday, 04 December 2023

BBC News

• Wales' public transport priorities all wrong, expert saysThe Welsh government has got its priorities wrong over public transport, an expert has said.
• Cheltenham bus lane enforcement cameras go liveNew cameras to stop motorists from using bus lanes have gone live.
• Bristol bus cuts leave elderly in Ashton Vale 'isolated'A community containing many elderly and disabled people has been left feeling "abandoned" after recent bus cuts.
• New Walk: Trees to be felled on part of historic city routeTrees that risk undermining a railway bridge that forms part of Leicester's historic New Walk are to be felled.

ITV News

• Train drivers strike brings further disruption to rail passengersRail passengers were hit by further disruption on Sunday as large parts of the network ground to a halt amid ongoing strikes by train drivers.

Department for Transport

• Service announcement: £3.9 billion boost for more reliable train journeys in the NorthPassengers will benefit from a fully-electrified line, accessible stations and more frequent services.

The Scotsman

• A9 dualling: Three mega contracts to speed up completion being considered by ministersCritics fear multi-billion project will not be finished until after 2030

Times Online

• Big airlines set to lose their grip on take-off and landing slots. [subscription]The grip of Britain’s biggest airlines on lucrative UK take-off and landing slots could be loosened under government proposals intended to give travellers “smoother getaways and cheaper prices”.
• TfL raked in £5.3m in first week of Ulez expansion. [subscription]The number of charges for driving in London leapt by almost 300,000 in the week after the expansion of the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez).

Transport Committee

• Transport Committee warns Government not to overlook risks as it presses ahead with plans for rail ’strikes’ regulationsThe Transport Committee has urged the Government not to overlook risks as it prepares to introduce its Minimum Service Levels ’rail strikes’ regulations, and be ready to learn lessons where necessary.

City AM

• Octopus charges up EV leasing business with £550m funding Octopus Energy's electric car-leasing business has secured an additional £550m in funding, the firm announced today.

The National

• Government pledges almost £4 billion to improve rail links in northern EnglandThe Government has pledged £3.9 billion for a rail project which will improve connectivity in northern England.

Network Rail

• Scotland’s Railway working hard to beat big freezeEngineers will be working around-the-clock to keep Scotland’s Railway running as freezing conditions continue to grip the county.

Sky News

• Government pledges almost £4bn to improve rail links in northern EnglandThe government has pledged £3.9bn to accelerate the Transpennine Route Upgrade between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds, and York.

Liverpool Echo

• Night bus news is great but our transport expectations are so lowThere was much celebration in Merseyside this week at news of the return of night buses between Liverpool and Wirral.
• The city Liverpool can learn from when it comes to public transportDüsseldorf in Germany is a similar size to Liverpool yet over 83,000 more commuters travel by public transport, so why is this the case?

London Evening Standard

• Sadiq Khan's plan to get Londoners out of cars and onto bikes and buses is 'stuck in slow lane'61.5 per cent of journeys were walked, cycled or made on public transport in 2022/23

Nation. Cymru

• Conwy Valley station access fixedA village railway station is now accessible to disabled passengers and parents with pushchairs after Network Rail finally fixed a problematic gate.

Yorkshire Post

• Tory mayoral candidate for North Yorkshire Keane Duncan makes bus franchising pledgeThe Conservative Party candidate to be the first Mayor of York and North Yorkshire is prepared to use franchising to improve local bus services.

Other Regional Press

• Simon Fell Column: Rural connectivity, transport and businesses… On Friday I brought the Roads Minister Guy Opperman to Barrow to join a meeting to discuss the transport issues in the area with local Council leaders and BAE to discuss how we can best work with his Department to deliver tangible improvements to the A590, A595, the Furness and Energy Coast Lines, and also our local transport networks too.
• Third award for HiTrans for ground-breaking transport project Go-Hi for the Highlands and IslandsA pioneering transport accessibility app for the Highlands and Islands has picked up a third award.
• Scrapping of railway bridge plan by Network Rail 'not a surprise', says Easter Ross councillorSCRAPPING of a multimillion-pound plan to replace a deadly Easter Ross railway level crossing with a bridge is not a surprise, a local councillor believes.
• New research reveals financiers’ beliefs and behaviours on shipping’s transition to a low carbon futureA new research paper published in Journal of Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions by researchers from the UCL Energy Institute explores the role ship financiers can play in shipping’s transition to zero emission fuels.
• Relief as residents win battle against new HS2 rail depot on their doorstepsStone Railhead Crisis Group (SRCG) will now campaign to improve rail services for passengers
• Work hub removed from Harrogate rail stationSheffield-based Workfromhub designed the facility to create private working space for an “ever growing remote workforce”.
• Network Rail report discusses ambition to electrify Peterborough to Doncaster line which serves Spalding, Sleaford and LincolnSouth Holland could get a ’surge’ of benefits if a new vision for electrifying our railway line comes to fruition.
• 'Reopening railway really should not be a priority'Railways are reopening across the UK. The previously mothballed rail line, which runs between Okehampton and Exeter, opened two years ago.

New Civil Engineer

• Rail minister confident private investment will turn Euston into ’life science quarter’Rail minister Huw Merriman is confident the government can “harness the power of the private sector” to deliver a transformative “life science quarter” at London Euston and other rail investments.

Rail Advent

• Volunteers spend a day cleaning up Greater Manchester stationHindley station has been given a makeover thanks to a team of volunteers from the station's operator Northern, construction company Kier, and Network Rail.
• Business and civic leaders step up efforts to save Derby Alstom plantNearly two centuries of train manufacturing in Derby could come to an end in a matter of weeks.
• Northern’s new chemical-free cleaner leaves surfaces ’Ultra-Clean’Train operator Northern has introduced a new cleaning product which will cut down on plastic waste and, according to the company, leave its train interiors clean enough to eat from.

Railtech

• Vossloh to provide Deutsche Bahn with 600 switchesVossloh signed their first four-year framework agreement for complete switches with firmly committed delivery quantities with Deutsche Bahn. Over the next four years, Vossloh’s Customised Modules Division will supply at least 600 switches to the German rail giant. In parallel, Vossloh will continue to supply DB with switch components.

Railway Technology

• Siemens Mobility set to deliver 200 Vectron locomotives to ELLThe European Locomotive Leasing Group (ELL) has signed a framework agreement with Siemens Mobility for 200 Vectron locomotives.

The Business Desk

• Government pledges £3.9bn to create more reliable train journeys in the NorthThe Government has unveiled plans to spend another £3.9bn to accelerate the Transpennine Route Upgrade between York, Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester.

Other News Sources

• Urban Transport Systems Market Expected to Grow Exponentially by 2029 Statsndata has published a report on the process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting Urban Transport Systems Market data. It has published reports on how companies collect, analyze and interpret their market data. This helps businesses better understand the Urban Transport Systems Market, identify customer needs and preferences, and assess industry competition. is an important step in developing a business strategy or launching a new product it-telecom.
• A9 dualling: Three mega contracts to speed up completion being considered by ministersCritics fear multi-billion project will not be finished until after 2030
• Derby leaders warn Government of “terrible consequences” as efforts stepped up to save Alstom jobsCity and business leaders have warned the Government that there will be “terrible consequences” if it fails to step in and save nearly 180 years of train manufacturing in Derby.
• Porterbrook Invests in Rail Charging Converter for Battery-Powered TrainsPorterbrook and Siemens Mobility have signed a 1.7 million GBP deal to install a Rail Charging Converter (RCC) at the Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre.
• Arriva’s “successful partnerships” recognised in UK Bus Awards 2023ARRIVA has won a host of awards at the 2023 UK Bus Awards in London. The leading bus operator was especially commended for how well it works with others.
• Cambridgeshire: Funding to continue for 18 bus servicesA number of bus services put under review by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority will continue to receive funding.
• Concerns for Windsor and Slough bus service as consultation launchedLeaflets have been seen on bus routes 305 and P1 asking members of the public to "have your say" over bus services between Windsor, Datchet, Wraysbury and Staines in 2024.
• Glasgow bus services should be returned to public, campaigners sayCampaigners from several sectors have joined forces to demand that bus services be returned to public ownership.
• Shock figures lay bare state of Exeter's bus servicesA study into bus services says that Exeter has suffered a huge decline in the number of buses now running
• Green Corridors Expand In Number And Maturation, New Report FindsA new report from the Global Maritime Forum, prepared on behalf of the Getting to Zero Coalition, reveals a doubling of green corridor initiatives, increased maturity of existing projects, and a significant increase in the number of stakeholders involved.
• HS2’s River Blythe Viaduct designs reflect community feedbackHS2’s designs for the River Blythe Viaduct, including landscape plans responding to community feedback, will be on show at an event in Hampton in Arden, Solihull, on 5 December.