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

Wednesday, 17 January 2024

BBC News

• Avanti sorry after leaked presentation cheers 'free money'Avanti West Coast has apologised after a leaked internal presentation described government subsidies as "free money".
• Cardiff Parkway: New station will 'rejuvenate' areaA major new railway station will "rejuvenate" the area, people living nearby have said. It was initially hoped that Cardiff Parkway and an accompanying business park near St Mellons would be up and running this year.
• Bradford Interchange passengers on 'fiasco' of bus station closureThe closure of Bradford Interchange bus station has brought fresh problems for travellers at a time when the borough's transport bosses are trying to build an infrastructure worthy of the 2025 City of Culture title.
• Bicester rail line reopens following landslideServices between London Marylebone and Oxford have restarted, having been cancelled since Thursday.
• Abellio bus company staff set to strike in south-west LondonSome bus workers in London are set to begin strike action this week after rejecting an offer of a 5% pay rise.

Department for Transport

• New government funding to boost jobs and hydrogen transport in the North EastGreen hydrogen refuelling station to be built near Middlesborough, helping to increase economic growth in the area and decarbonise the transport network.

Financial Times

• Ex-Rolls-Royce boss East joins carbon capture group as chairBusinessman pledges to devote much of rest of career to climate change
• More Heathrow shareholders plan to sell stakes alongside FerrovialUSS, Canada's CDPQ and Singapore's GIC push to exit, putting £2.4bn deal with Saudis and private equity at risk
• Ryanair doubles number of engineers overseeing Boeing's production linesSafety experts raise concerns over plane maker's request for a regulatory exemption on critical safety rules for the Max 7
• JetBlue's $3.8bn bid for rival airline Spirit blocked by US judgeShares of ultra-low cost carrier fall by about half after ruling

The Guardian

• ’Free money!’ Avanti West Coast bosses caught joking about UK government handoutsFirm regrets comments made in internal presentation slides, including managers calling performance payments ’too good to be true’
• LNER to scrap off-peak rail tickets between London and EdinburghFirm claims pilot will simplify fares but users say it means end of affordable train travel between two capitals. Off-peak tickets are to be scrapped on trains between London and Edinburgh, in a move that the operator London North Eastern Railway described as simplifying fares but rail users denounced as signalling the end of affordable, immediate travel on the route.
• The five stages of grief of the British train commuter | LettersReaders respond to George Monbiot's article on his recent nightmare journey on the UK's privatised rail network

The Independent

• This is Britain’s cheapest train ticket – costing just 70p (or 45p with a railcard)Britain’s cheapest rail ticket can be revealed: just 70p buys a nine-minute, six-mile journey on a Transport for Wales (TfW) train from Manchester Piccadilly to Stockport.

Times Online

• Avanti tells train managers to ’roll up’ for free taxpayer money [subscription]Presentation for senior staff mocks generosity of government subsidies for the west coast line operator

City AM

• Boeing 737 Max 9: Ryanair ’can’t rule out’ further delivery delays after Alaska Airlines blowout Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary has said he can't rule out further Boeing aircraft delivery delays.

The Mirror

• EXCLUSIVE: Inside Britain's broken bus system ruining lives - lost jobs and people isolatedChildren are struggling to get to school and locals are unable to get to work and miss important appointments because bus services are being cut which leaves them unable to get around

Local Government

• Launch of all-electric bus fleet to service Oxford passengersA partnership between Oxfordshire County Council and bus operators has launched what will be one of the biggest UK fleets of electric buses outside London.

Bristol Live

• List of Bristol Clean Air Zone areas where pollution dropped the mostSome areas saw pollution levels drop by almost a third

London Evening Standard

• Bus controllers to strike in move union claims will cause 'chaos' for LondonersBus control room staff in south London will strike for six separate days starting on Friday in a row over pay.

Sheffield Star

• Sheffield transport: Political row as MP Louise Haigh refuses to say which schemes Labour would supportThe shadow transport secretary was asked about Labour’s priorities for the north if it wins the next general election win.

Yorkshire Post

• Elland Railway Station: New £25m train station for Calderdale town will be delayed until 2026 'because of a variety of factors'Construction on the £25m project was expected to start last year, with a targeted opening date of 2025.

Bucks Free Press

• Chiltern Railways: National Rail apologises after landslip disruptionA railway company has thanked customers for their patience after a line was closed for emergency repairs following a landslip.

South Wales Argus

• Newport council ’subsidising’ bus fares from central stationTAXPAYERS in Newport will “effectively subsidise” bus fares for passengers leaving the city’s main station in the next financial year - with the council facing a £225,000 drop in revenue.

Other Regional Press

• Labour drag their feet on transport infrastructureResponding to the news that a major new railway station which was planned to open in 2024 will once again go before planners who will decide if work can even get started, Natasha Asghar MS, Shadow Transport Minister, said:
• 24/7 free bus travel to be offered to all disabled bus pass holders in the county, Norfolk County Council announcesThousands of disabled residents will become eligible for free bus travel 24/7 thanks to a decision taken by Norfolk County Council.

Rail Business Daily

• Mayor unveils £1 billion transport plan for Teesside, Darlington, and HartlepoolA huge package of vital transport projects to transform the region has been revealed by the Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, following a funding boost of £1billion from the scrapping of HS2.

Rail Magazine

• Wolmar: what a Labour government should do to reform railThe draft rail reform bill seems to have been stuck in the wastes of Whitehall. Transport Secretary Mark Harper has admitted that there are differences between ministers over precisely what powers the new body it is supposed to create (Great British Railways) will have.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Hampshire is next to plot bus support cuts because of budget woesHampshire County Council (HCC) is a further local authority in England to plan swingeing cuts to its support of bus services because of a mounting financial crisis.

Other News Sources

• Legacy systems meet cloud technology... If we draw comparisons between banks, especially traditional bricks-and-mortar financial establishments and the systems used by Transport for London (TfL), we can find common ground. The infrastructure of TfL, with its Victorian-era tunnels and inherited rolling stock, could be seen as a ’transportation museum.’
• Utah’s Stadler rail plant rolling out clean trains to replace dieselSwitzerland-based Stadler’s only North American plant, near SLC airport, quenches California’s thirst for emissions-free travel. Contracts promise to bring more jobs to the Beehive State.
• Renfe approves corporate restructuring to pursue improved competitivenessTHE board of directors of Spanish national operator Renfe has approved the Renfe28 project, which aims to better position the company to address the challenges posed by liberalisation across its various business segments over the next four years.
• Commission to consider transfer of commuter and regional services to CataloniaAgreement between Spanish government and regional government could also cover infrastructure.
• TfL to pilot new tech on Elizabeth line to solve annoying issue with digital ticketsA different sort of technology is set to be tried out on London's newest railway line to simplify journeys and catch up with the times as digital tickets become more popular
• FirstGroup secures £150m green financing to support the purchase of electric bus bodiesFirstGroup announces it has signed a new £150m Green Hire Purchase Financing Facility with a syndicate of three banks to support the purchase of electric bus bodies (FirstGroup specifies it means “the chassis and drivetrain, excluding the battery”). This follows the strategic Joint Venture with Hitachi to purchase up to 1,000 electric bus batteries announced […]
• Virginia Railway Express budget approved, including start of Saturday service...Also approved was a six-year, $1.3 billion capital improvement program, including purchase of rolling stock, along with improvements at 12 stations, three maintenance and storage facilities, and one parking lot, among other times.