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

Thursday, 21 December 2023

BBC News

• New bus route to link town to train stationA new bus service, connecting a train station to a town, will launch in the new year.
• Freight wagons that blocked port were 'susceptible to derailment'A freight train derailment that disrupted access to a port for two weeks was caused by a wagon type "susceptible to derailment".
• Coach boss apologises after company goes bustThe company's director is apologising to creditors and customers after the firm went into liquidation.
• Christmas: 21 million cars expected for festive getawayMotorists told UK roads will be busiest between Friday and Sunday this festive season.
• Manchester bus lane fines make £10m from one city streetManchester City Council brought in the cash through thousands of fines over 17 months, data reveals.
• Elizabeth line: Four stations get mobile coveragePassengers can stay connected at Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon and Liverpool Street.

Department for Transport

• Government invests £235 million to upgrade and repair roads across LondonFunding to maintain the capital’s roads over the next 11 years will improve journey times and save motorists money on damage caused by potholes.

Financial Times

• Global trade shudders over blockages in the Suez and Panama canalsGeopolitical risk and climate change highlight the need for resilience in core supply routes
• US-led coalition to create safe corridor in Red Sea as ship diversions mount Naval grouping and shipowners look to bolster security against threat of Iranian-backed rebel attacks
• E-scooters: wheels come off start-up with Bird-brained business planRental pioneer is fastest ever to reach a unicorn valuation above $1bn
• Electric scooter rental pioneer Bird files for bankruptcyOnce high-flying company gained a $1bn valuation five years ago, but has since struggled to make profits
• Network North HS2 savings spent on London pothole repairGovernment draws ire of northern mayors after redirecting £235mn for road surfacing in the capital

The Guardian

• Disbelief at plan to fix London potholes as part of Network North project£235m funding for capital’s roads is possible only because of investment that comes from scrapping northern leg of HS2 “It’s like a bad Christmas cracker joke,” said one northern leader in England as the government announced its latest Network North transport project: fixing potholes in London.

The Telegraph

• Britain’s most lucrative bus lane revealed. [subscription]Drivers had to fork out £10.2 million in fines in less than two years for travelling through prohibited spaces on Manchester's Oxford Road

Times Online

• Warning of more deaths as A9 dualling delayed by decade. [subscription]The SNP’s manifesto pledge to dual the A9 road has been delayed by ten years as critics warn more people will die as a result of the setback.
• HS2 money rerouted to repair roads in London. [subscription]Government brags about spending money earmarked for north of England in the capital
• ScotRail fares increase but no return of peak pricing. [subscription]Passengers will pay nearly 9% more to travel but scheme to scrap higher-rate tickets extends until June
• Low-traffic zones ’not taking buses into account’. [subscription]Congestion outside some LTNs is so bad buses are taking up to an hour to travel two stops

The Mirror

• Tories mocked after boasting of £235million 'Network North' road project - in LondonRishi Sunak announced the transport project 'Network North' at Tory Party conference after he scrapped the northern leg of the HS2 rail line in a shameless betrayal of the North

The National

• Disbelief as rerouted HS2 money spent on LONDON roadsMONEY saved by scrapping a high-speed rail link to Manchester will be spent on repairing roads in London – sparking disbelief from MPs in the north of England.

Network Rail

• Cambridge South station environmental legacy will deliver net gain in local biodiversity and wildlife.Network Rail has entered into an agreement with Cambridgeshire County Council to restore habitats disrupted during the construction of the new station in Hobsons Park and deliver the targeted local biodiversity net gain of 10%.

Sky News

• Government sparks anger and ridicule with multi-million pound 'Network North' road project... for LondonRishi Sunak had pledged to use Network North to "join up our great towns and cities in the North and the Midlands". But the latest announcement from the scheme is to fix the capital's roads.

Liverpool Echo

• Government achieves peak irony with 'Network North' announcementJust when you think irony is dead, it roars back to life. Today the Department for Transport set the world of social media alight with the latest announcement in its so-called Network North campaign.

Manchester Evening News

• Network North? Government says cash from cancelled HS2 leg will go to... LondonThe government has been ridiculed about the announcement on social media

Yorkshire Post

• HS2 may not reach the North but at least London’s roads are getting smoother - The Yorkshire Post saysThe Government has made many promises to the North when it comes to investment in transport infrastructure. However, all of those promises invariably resulted in u-turns and disappointment.

Other Regional Press

• New train timetable for North East could cut servicesA “reprehensible” new train timetable that could see services slashed at smaller stations across the North East looks set to be imposed next year.

New Civil Engineer

• Mace chief slams government over Euston private finance lullA key figure leading delivery of the Euston High Speed 2 (HS2) station has accused the government of dithering over attempts to get private cash in to rescue the paused project.

Railway Gazette

• Deliver gauge clearance in Kent to boost northern economy, urges Channel Tunnel operatorUK: The Channel Tunnel risks remaining ’essentially inaccessible’ to rail freight without investment to enhance the loading gauge of the conventional main line through Kent, the CEO of Eurotunnel’s parent company Getlink has warned.

Transport Scotland

• Delivery plan for remaining A9 dualling projects announcedCabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition, Mairi McAllan, updated Parliament today on the delivery plan for dualling works for the remaining single carriageway sections of the A9 between Perth and Inverness. This plan anticipates completion of the entire A9 Dualling programme between Perth and Inverness by the end of 2035.

Other News Sources

• HS2: Meet the farmers and residents still disrupted by the cancelled schemeIt's been two months since the northern leg of the HS2 rail line was cancelled by the prime minister, but for some of the people living along its proposed route, the disruption is far from over. 
• ’The reality is the North didn’t get to keep all of the money from HS2’, says Northern Powerhouse Partnership bossThere's been more fallout from the cancellation of the HS2 project today after the Department of Transport posted a tweet highlighting how some of the money formerly allocated to HS2 will now be spent.