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

Monday, 15 January 2024

Cogitamus

• The Chris Stokes Column - Liverpool Street is champion station as Britain’s railways strive for reliabilityReliability is emerging as the Achilles heel of the rail industry’s recovery since the pandemic.

BBC News

• Lifts to be installed at Tilehurst railway stationLifts are set to be installed at a railway station after years of campaigning by local residents.
• Pothole reports hit a five-year high in 2023Climate change will worsen potholes but scientists hope new technology will help make them a thing of the past.
• Elizabeth line trial to cover platform 'ghost' marksTrials are being carried out to cover marks on platform walls caused by Elizabeth line passengers.
• Boeing's mid-air blowout puts safety record in spotlight againAfter a door plug blew off one of its planes, questions are being asked about how seriously Boeing undertakes safety.

Department for Transport

• Government to crack down on disruptive street works to cut congestion and improve roadsNew measures could generate up to £100 million extra over 10 years to resurface roads across England.
• Government looks to the future of aviation with new set of aviation ambassadorsMentors selected to nurture next generation of aviation professionals and 10 schemes to share £750,000 in the Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund.

Financial Times

• It ain't working: Boeing's quality pledges in question after Max 9 incidentUS group’s efforts to strengthen engineering processes are coming under scrutiny after mid-air door plug blowout

The Guardian

• Letter - Let’s have fair fares on the busesThere was plenty of resistance 50 years ago from middle-class motorists in Sheffield, says John Kirkwood – and it’s even harder now to persuade people to ditch the car
• An aged hobby: enthusiasts struggle to keep model railway industry on trackAgeing population, rising prices and shrinking living spaces blamed for downturn, but creatives are fighting backHS2 isn't the only British rail project in trouble. Smaller ones are struggling too “ very, very small ones. An ageing population, rising prices and shrinking living spaces have all been blamed for a downturn in the model railway industry. This week, a historic shop announced plans to cease trading, while a national convention revealed that its 2023 meetup would be its last.

Times Online

• Plan for new Thames crossing runs to 359,000 pages [subscription]Project is seized as a symbol of ’what is wrong with our planning system’

Birmingham Mail

• AA and RAC issue warning to drivers over problem worst its been for 'five years'The AA and RAC reported the highest figures for at least five years and criticised local councils and also the government for a lack of permanent repairs.

Birmingham Post

• Tyne Tunnel operator TT2 sees profits and turnover soar in wake of new open road tolling systemThe company also said the river crossing was used by over 19 million vehicles last year
• Ford Fund investing £1m in community around its Mersey plantPhilanthropic arm of car giant investing in food provision and educational support

Bolton News

• Buses and trains could be alternative to Bolton MetrolinkImprovements to bus and train services could be a better alternative to bringing trams to Bolton, transport authorities say.
• Hopes to extend Metrolink to Bolton 'a train wreck'Hopes to extend tramlines to Bolton have proven to be a “train wreck”, opposition leaders claim after a report branded them “poor value for money.”

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• 'Our buses are too important to be kept in private hands', says MPOur buses are too important to be kept in private hands Each week, people across West Yorkshire make over 1.7 million journeys by bus to get to work, travel to school or college, see friends and relatives, and maintain their independence. For those unable or unwilling to travel moderate to long distances across the region by car, they are crucially important, and the flexibility that they can provide to our lives cannot be understated.

Bristol Live

• Nine days of disruption for Bristol train services as junction refurbishment work takes placeThere will be replacement buses for GWR services, and CrossCountry trains travelling between Bristol Temple Meads and Taunton will see a 55minute delay to journeys

Liverpool Echo

• Ford announces £1m investment into Merseyside Philanthropic arm of car giant investing in food provision and educational support

London Evening Standard

• Violent incidents on London Underground 'rise 75 per cent', British Transport Police sayViolent incidents on the London Underground have risen by 75 per cent in the past two years, British Transport Police data has shown.

The York Press

• Safety improvements are needed on York's Acomb Road, says councillorSafety improvements are needed on York's Acomb Road, says councillor

Carlisle News & Star

• MP raises importance of rural transport in House of Commons debateDr Neil Hudson MP spoke of the importance of rural bus and train networks to improve connectivity and combat rural isolation in the commons this week.

Other Regional Press

• North West rail network needs proper investment - Derry MLAProper investment in the rail network in the North West is needed following funding announcements by the British Government in December for rail projects in the North, a Derry MLA has claimed.
• The abandoned 'ghost roads' only used by dog walkersWe visited two roads linking new-build estates that have been closed to traffic for so long that moss has started growing on the tarmac.
• The reason why the M62 ends in the middle of nowhereThe last section of the motorway was laid in 1976, but it has never reached from coast to coast

Rail Advent

• 87% of users at 19 major stations say Wi-Fi enhances their experienceEvery month, almost half a million people access Wi-Fi at 19 of the UK's busiest mainline stations through Wi-Fi networks managed by Telent equipment.

Railway Gazette

• Siemens Mobility begins national deployment of geofencing technologyUK: Siemens Mobility has begun the national roll-out of Tended’s geofencing technology, following a successful six-month pilot programme involving various teams and work activities.

News from Europe

• “Greek railways are being put on a European track,” Transport Minister StaikourasThe government is planning a major reform of the Greek railway system that will fix the chronic problems and dysfunctionality of the past, creating a fast, modern, comfortable and safe railway network that is fully interoperable with those of Europe, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Staikouras said in an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA).