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

Friday, 08 December 2023

BBC News

• ScotRail consults customers on ending alcohol banThe online survey comes three years after restrictions were introduced to stop the spread of Covid-19.
• £3.3m for study on electrification of NI railwayProjects to get UK government funding include a £3.3m study into electrifying Belfast-border line.
• Tony Blackburn: Veteran DJ turns railway announcer for new London stationThe veteran DJ has recorded special railway announcements ahead of a new station opening.
• Work on £22m road project to start in new yearThe £22m road improvement in East Renfrewshire will start January and last for 12 months.

The Guardian

• TransPennine Express cancelled more than one in eight trains over summerRegulator says figures show much of Britain’s railway is ’still not delivering reliable journeys’

The Herald

• Forth Ports' chief to quit after 'most challenging' decisionCharles Hammond to be replaced as chief executive of Forth Ports by Stuart Wallace after 23 year tenure

The Scotsman

• Union Connectivity Review: Transport is devolved but the UK Government still has a role to play in Scotland – Alister JackThe UK Government is giving £8 million to the Scottish Government to find ways to improve the A75 and will also fund efforts to shorten journey times on Scotland-England trains

Daily Express

• 'Surreal' Elizabeth Line power cut chaos felt like a 'wartime' evacuationPassengers around Paddington were stranded for four hours after London's rail network was thrown into chaos

Daily Record

• Calls for 20mph speed limit on all urban roads in ScotlandScottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell said 20mph signs in built-up areas will slash road casualties and lead to 'safer streets'.

Office of Rail and Road (ORR)

• Rail regulator says train punctuality and cancellations remain challenging, but Network Rail starting to improve train performanceNew statistics from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) released today show Britain’s railway is still not delivering consistently punctual and reliable journeys. However, the regulator’s latest assessment of Network Rail’s performance shows that the company is beginning to turn a corner.

Sky News

• Revealed: How rising temperatures will affect our airports, rail network and power stationsBritain's critical infrastructure will be more at risk from extreme weather if the world wavers on its commitment to net zero targets, according to exclusive analysis for Sky News.

Birmingham Post

• Chancellor Jeremy Hunt says Government still taking 'big decisions' as he talks inflation, HS2, and Britain's science superpowersExclusive: BusinessLive meets Chancellor as he sets off a lightning bolt in Manchester

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Heckmondwike town centre to get new £8.6m bus stationPlans for a new £6.8m bus station have been approved today and construction work is expected to begin next month.

London Evening Standard

• Rail electrification among projects awarded funding to boost connectivityNorthern Ireland public transport provider Translink has been awarded £3.3 million for a study on electrifying the railway.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Rail electrification among projects awarded funding to boost connectivityNorthern Ireland public transport provider Translink has been awarded £3.3 million for a study on electrifying the railway.

Other Regional Press

• Grand Central welcomes progress on Hartlepool rail station and says new platform will improve service punctualityGrand Central’s Chief Operating Officer Sean English said he is delighted with the station’s soon-to-be-completed £12m enhancement.
• Government announces investment in North Wales rail linksTHE UK Government has announced North Wales will benefit from projects to boost rail connectivity across the country. 
• Armagh-Portadown rail link on course with £800,000 just announced for feasibility studyThe money - announced on Thursday - comes less than a fortnight after a technical study found the line to be 'feasible and deliverable'
• RMT reveal Network Rail workers morale at an all time lowLANDSLIPS and broken rails brought some trains to a halt this week with a recent survey revealing that railway workers fear a major railway incident is likely to happen in the next two years.

Coach and Bus Week

• Oxford continues zero-emission charge with new electric busesThe city of Oxford’s drive to achieve net zero by 2040 has been given a boost with the launch of new electric buses for Oxford Bus Company’s BrookesBus services. The new Wrightbus Electroliner double-deckers were unveiled by the university and its transport partners at an event at Oxford Brookes University’s Headington Campus on Thursday 16 November.
• What is it, and does it matter?Building on his comments in this week’s editorial column, Jonathan Welch takes a closer look at the ’trackless tram’ on trial in Stirling, Australia. Is it a bus? It’s not not a bus…

New Civil Engineer

• DfT re-commits to transport investments in response to Hendy’s Union Connectivity ReviewThe Department for Transport (DfT) has reiterated its commitment to funding several transport interventions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in its long-awaited response to Sir Peter Hendy’s Union Connectivity Review.

Rail Advent

• Rail regulator says Network Rail performance is improvingNew statistics from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) show that although the performance of Network Rail is beginning to improve, there is still inconsistency in the delivery of punctual and reliable journeys.
• East and West Midlands joined by quarter-hourly rail linkRepairs to concrete decks above platforms at Birmingham New Street have resulted in better rail connections between the West and East Midlands which will be introduced from Sunday 10 December.

Rail Business Daily

• Transport Secretary announces measures to improve transport connectivity across the UKWork on road improvements and rail upgrades will boost business and improve connectivity across the UK, Transport Secretary Mark Harper has claimed in his response to Lord Hendy’s Union Connectivity Review.

Railnews

• Alstom Derby only has a few weeks left The managing director of Alstom in Britain and Ireland has warned that the company’s Derby factory in Litchurch Lane will have run out of work by the end of January when the building of Aventra units is completed, and if it closes thousands of jobs will be lost. Nick Crossfield was giving evidence in Westminster to the Transport Select Committee, which is preparing a report on the future of Britain’s trains. While the Committee was in session, protestors from Derby and the union Unite were demonstrating outside.

Railway Technology

• ORR says Network Rail can do more on train reliability in UKThe rail regulatory body outlined five areas of improvement that could increase reliability from only 69%.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Glynn Barton named incoming Director of Buses by TfLGlynn Barton has been named incoming Director of Buses by Transport for London (TfL). He will take up the post in late March 2024 and succeeds Louise Cheeseman, who is to retire on 15 December.
• Shuttle Buses is first independent to order new Enviro100EVShuttle Buses in Ayrshire has become the first independent operator to place an order for the Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro100EV, which was launched last month.
• Alexander Dennis to supply seven Enviro500 to Spokane TransitAlexander Dennis has taken an order for seven examples of its Enviro500 tri-axle double-decker from Spokane Transit in the United States.

Other News Sources

• Electric “very light rail” units to be tested on UK networkThe Revolution Very Light Rail (RVLR) rolling stock will be developed in the UK at TDI thanks to a new funding deal with Eversholt Rail.
• Gatwick and Heathrow airport 2023 flight cancellations in numbersNearly 80,000 flights took off and landed at Gatwick in the three months