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

Friday, 15 December 2023

BBC News

• South East rail passengers urged to plan ahead for festive travelRail passengers have been urged to plan ahead if they intend to travel over the festive period.
• Hastings: Stagecoach diverts buses due to vandalismA bus operator has stopped serving part of a seaside town in East Sussex due to repeated vandalism, it has said.
• Council defends 'disappointing' station entranceA multimillion-pound railway station entrance which has recently opened to the public is "disappointing" and "bare", according to locals.
• New Street named busiest station outside of LondonThe London station has replaced Waterloo as the busiest after the full opening of the Elizabeth line.
• Translink: Widespread disruption expected in transport strikeTranslink bus and rail staff are taking part in a 48-hour strike in a dispute over pay.
• Liverpool Street becomes Britain's busiest stationThe London station has replaced Waterloo as the busiest after the full opening of the Elizabeth line.
• Driverless car firm Cruise to cut 900 jobsThe move comes as the company faces an investigation by regulators into the safety of its cars.

Department for Transport

• Great British Railways: Williams-Shapps plan for rail - UpdateUpdate on centralised Great British Railways online rail ticket retailer: December 2023 As set out in the white paper, we are committed to improving passenger experience on the railways.

Financial Times

• British Airways turns to AI to improve flight operations This includes maintenance of its more than 250 aircraft

The Guardian

• Cheshire East council says it faces bankruptcy due to HS2 link cancellationLocal authority covering some of richest areas in England says it spent £11m preparing for rail line. A council in one of the wealthiest parts of the UK has warned it faces potential bankruptcy due to the devastating impact of cancelling the northern leg of HS2. Leaders of Cheshire East council in north-west England said the authority had spent £11m preparing for the high-speed rail link, and this would now have to be written off. Most of this money £8.6m had been funded by borrowing and would now have to be funded from the council's already stretched revenue budget.

Times Online

• Minister knew of A9 dualling delay in 2018Michael Matheson, then Scotland’s transport secretary, was told project was ’unachievable’ five years before announcement to Holyrood
• British Airways to improve 600 problem areas in £7bn overhaul. [subscription]Boss is ’fed up’ with technical issues that have led to UK flag carrier trailing its Middle East rivals

Daily Express

• Britain's 'best' train ride may disappear forever as top bosses raise safety concernsScotland is a must-visit for Harry Potter fans and for years many of them have been making the pilgrimage to Scotland to witness the magnificent Jacobite steam train as it chugs across the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct.

Office of Rail and Road (ORR)

• All change for most used stations as Elizabeth line shakes up top 10The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has today revealed that London Liverpool Street has replaced London Waterloo as the most used railway station in Great Britain. The opening of the Elizabeth line was a principal contributing factor in the almost 80.4 million entries and exits to Liverpool Street between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023, an increase of around 50 million.

Birmingham Post

• Plymouth's Sutton Harbour Group sees losses as interest rates riseThe AIM-listed company has published its results for the six months ended September 30
• Bristol Airport reaches Level 4+ international carbon accreditation schemeIt is the first UK regional airport to attain the status
• Andy Burnham: There will never be a Clean Air Zone charge while I am mayor'I don't think we'll get working class people behind the drive to net zero if it's about tax, charges, bans on things'

Bristol Live

• New transport police base at Bristol Temple Meads and Clifton Suspension Bridge lights among latest plans to city councilRailway station and nine-hole golf course among weekly planning round-up of applications to city council
• Jacob Rees-Mogg calls for WECA's funding to be cut over controversial A4 bus lane plansThe North East Somerset MP spoke on behalf of Saltford residents in the House of Commons this morning (December 14) as he called for the West of England Combined Authority's funding to be cut

Manchester Evening News

• Calls to scrap first-class carriages on Avanti trains over Christmas periodNorthern leaders say the level of service is 'unacceptable'
• Major motorway upgrade delayed with work to continue until 2025Work on the motorway started in March 2021

Nation. Cymru

• Ebbw Vale social enterprise awarded £2.5m contract by Transport for WalesTransport for Wales (TfW) have awarded a social enterprise based in Ebbw Vale a £2.5 million contract for four years to produce and deliver the rail operator’s staff uniform.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• New figures show how many, or how few, passengers passed through region's stationsA new study has shown the volume of passengers passing through the region's railway stations.

Yorkshire Post

• Leeds Station: Demolition uncovers 'piece of history' and paves the way for 'fantastic gateway to the city'The main entrance to Leeds Station will be turned into “a fantastic gateway to the city” when construction gets underway in the new year.

Cambridge News

• Cambridgeshire's most and least used railway stations – with one seeing just 142 passengersThe Office of Rail and Road has released figures which reveal the most and least used railway stations in the UK

Coach and Bus Week

• Bretherton’s invests in ’human detection’ safety systemRibble Valley-based coach operator Bretherton’s has become one of the first transport operators in the UK to install new technology from Spillard Safety Systems that has been designed to protect passengers, drivers, cyclists, and the public.
• Shuttle Buses orders new Enviro100EVThe Scottish operator will be the first independent to receive one of Alexander Dennis’ new small buses
• Go-Ahead and Google launch new feature to help track spending on bus journeysThe Go-Ahead Group is working with Google to introduce a new feature aimed at enhancing the customer experience for bus travel. In collaboration with Google and Littlepay, Go-Ahead’s Brighton & Hove Buses is unveiling what it says is an industry-first initiative which will simplify the way passengers manage their mobile payments for bus journeys

London TravelWatch

• Most used stations - transport watchdog responds to latest ORR statsAll of the top ten most used rail stations are in London. The TfL Elizabeth line has clearly shaken up the rankings with Paddington, Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road all making the top ten.

New Civil Engineer

• Government threatened with law suit over HS2 cancellation as Sunak blames transport secretaryA campaign organisation is on the brink of taking legal action against the government over the cancellation of HS2 Phase 2a, but the prime minister has pointed the finger at the transport secretary for the decision.

Railnews

• Council gives green light to railway upgrades in Cornwall Cornwall Council has given the green light to another scheme in the Government’s Restoring Your Railway programme. Mid Cornwall Metro involves the upgrading of railways so that direct trains can run every hour between Newquay, Truro and Falmouth, alongside intercity services to Newquay. In the longer term, there are plans to increase frequencies still further. The Government has contributed almost �50 million, and the remainder will come from Cornwall Council and other funders.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Zero-emission coach infrastructure prioritisation call from RHAInfrastructure rollout for zero-emission coach and HGV fleets should be prioritised on operators’ depots, followed by public provision such as at motorway services areas and then at destinations, RHA has told the government.
• Smart Dash among Scania legislation-driven vehicle developmentsScania has announced a range of upgrades to electrical architecture in its vehicles to ensure compliance with the EU General Safety Regulation and cybersecurity legislation, including what it has called Smart Dash.
• Claire Haigh named incoming head of Zemo PartnershipClaire Haigh has been appointed head of Zemo Partnership. She will take up the post in January 2024 and succeed CEO Andy Eastlake, who steps down after more than a decade leading the organisation.
• More than 100m free bus journeys made via Scotland under-22 schemeThe Scottish Government has hailed its free bus travel for under-22s scheme as “transformative” after announcing the landmark of 100 million free journeys had been breached.
• Asset Alliance establishes coach and bus rental operationAsset Alliance Group has established a coach and bus rental operation, representing a diversification of its existing vehicle finance offering.

Other News Sources

• Edinburgh rail passengers face cancellations and delays after train crew 'shortages'LNER updated passengers as a string of trains in and out of Edinburgh were cancelled or delayed due to a "shortage of train crew", with advice now issued for travellers.
• Trainline notes UK government decides against GBR appTrainline PLC on Thursday noted the UK Department for Transport will no longer pursue creating a ticket retailing website and app.
• Railway station catering market lacks competition, rules regulatorThe Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has found that the railway station catering market is not working as effectively as it should be – arguing that greater competition in the market would drive better value for passengers and for taxpayers.
• Surrey's quietest train station used by just 33 people a day on averageMeanwhile at Surrey's busiest train station there were over five million entries and exits through the turnstiles