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

Friday, 19 January 2024

Government

• CMA response to West Yorkshire Combined Authority Bus Reform ConsultationThe CMA has published its response to West Yorkshire Combined Authority Bus Reform Consultation.

BBC News

• Bristol rail services to be hit by maintenance workRail journeys around Bristol will be affected for nine days while essential engineering work is carried out.
• London transport: TfL fares frozen by Sadiq Khan until 2025He says freezing fares helps with the cost of living but City Hall Tories accuse him of buying votes.
• Ferry disruption after safety fears at Ayrshire portThe Irish Berth at Ardrossan is out of action for at least a week after an inspection by divers.
• Planning protection ends on scrapped HS2 routeThe land earmarked for the project's axed second phase may now be used for other development.

Financial Times

• Electric cars are not the future In cities at least, e-bikes make more cultural and consumer sense 
• EU lawmakers agree deal to curb diesel truck pollutionLaw will in effect ban sales of almost all new diesel trucks in the bloc by 2040
• UK train drivers plan new industrial action over use of anti-strike lawLegislation triggers extra walkouts in February by rail workers on LNER line from London to Edinburgh
• Hands-on US aviation regulator flies into a new Boeing stormFAA head Mike Whitaker must also navigate air traffic control, safety and funding challenges

The Guardian

• London's single tube and bus fares to be frozen, Khan saysMayor pledges £123m to keep prices down as opponents accuse him of trying to buy re-election votes. Londoners will not pay anything more for single tube and bus fares until at least March 2025 after the mayor, Sadiq Khan, announced a fare freeze.Transport costs will however continue to rise for people making multiple journeys, as travelcards and daily and weekly fare caps for contactless pay-as-you-go journeys will rise in line with national fares, which are due to go up by 4.9% in the spring.

Times Online

• LNER only train operator to use minimum service law. [subscription]Rail operators are ’running scared’ of Aslef and only one operator, which is under government ownership, has told the union it will use the new powers
• Electric cars ’lose up to 30 per cent of battery in the cold’. [subscription]Drivers are being warned to keep their cars on charge overnight during the cold snap
• Sadiq Khan freezes London’s Tube and bus fares at a cost of £123m. [subscription]Tories accuse mayor of trying to buy votes before election in May

City AM

• Sadiq Khan freezes TfL fares after drumming up extra £123m Tube and rail fares will be frozen until March 2025 after Mayor Sadiq Khan drummed up an extra £123m in funding for TfL.

Birmingham Post

• Transport Secretary ends safeguarding of land on scrapped HS2 routeMark Harper said land on the phase 2a section between Birmingham and Crewe would be released for development

Bolton News

• Daisy Hill Station lift installation to begin in springFollowing years of campaigning, a lift will finally begin to be installed this spring.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Transdev bus firm unveils plans for new app and websiteA bus company which operates in the Bradford district has unveiled plans for a new app and website.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Delighted at campaign taking battle for new Winchburgh railway station forwardOver the past year I’ve been arguing hard for a new railway station for Winchburgh, taking the battle for badly needed transport infrastructure in the burgeoning West Lothian village to UK ministers as well as to the Scottish Government.

Northern Echo

• There could be as few as TWO DOZEN projects left for Hitachi workersThe Transport Secretary has been told to urgently back North East manufacturing as the number of trains Hitachi has left to work on at its vast Newton Aycliffe site starts to reach a crisis point.

The York Press

• Decision on some York bus services put back to FebruaryCity of York Council’s Executive will be asked to authorise the future of some York bus services on February 20, instead of January 25.

Wales Online

• Trainline up the west coast of Wales to link Carmarthen and Bangor would cost £2bnParts of the line have been closed since 1960s, and in recent years there has been a campaign to have routes reopened
• People in Cardiff have very big questions about e-scooters being looked at to replace NextbikesIt could be out with the old and in with the new as e-scooters are being considered to replace Nextbikes in Cardiff

Other Regional Press

• HS2 works have turned peaceful local village into 'hellish building site' say residentsWork for HS2 has continued to plague the once-tranquil streets of Water Orton in Warwickshire
• M42 overnight closures announced as HS2 works continueThe overnight closures will be on the M42 and M6 Link southbound where new viaducts are being built
• The new petrol and diesel rules at 12 major retailers including Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury'sPetrol stations across the UK must share their daily pump costs to a price comparison scheme to allow drivers to save money

Coach and Bus Week

• West Midlands passengers to benefit from compensation promiseTransport for West Midlands (TfWM) and bus operators have made a commitment to deliver a minimum standard of service under the West Midlands Bus Passenger Charter, which includes for the first time a ’last bus promise
• Luton Airport orders new CitarosAs part of its drive to net zero, London Luton Airport has chosen Mercedes-Benz to supply new buses. The airport has confirmed an order for six more Mercedes-Benz Citaro Euro VI diesel buses, with delivery planned for this spring
• First Bus to become UK’s largest ’Living Wage’ operatorFirst Bus says it is delighted to announce that it will become a real Living Wage (RLW) employer from 1 April. The move means that 1,300 members of its staff across the UK will benefit from a rise in wages in line with the new commitment, bringing every employee up to a rate of at least £12 per hour, including workers employed through third party contractors.
• Still in Service in 2024As we enter the new year, Richard Sharman shares his thoughts on some of the rare types and older buses that are still in service with some of the big groups in 2024

New Civil Engineer

• Hope of reinstating railways in west Wales corridor dashed as cost estimate hits £2bnThe reopening of two disused railway lines in the west of Wales is unlikley as it would cost £2bn and take over 10 years to complete, Transport for Wales (TfW) chief executive James Price has revealed.
• Government lifts safeguard on HS2 land between West Midlands and CreweThe government has officially lifted safeguarding directions for land between the West Midlands and Crewe, which had been protected for the construction of High Speed 2 (HS2) Phase 2a.

Rail Advent

• Stadler to supply more hydrogen-powered trains to ItalyStadler has secured a contract from Italian railway operator Ferrovie della Calabria (FdC) for three new narrow-gauge hydrogen-powered trains.
• Hull Trains running extra and longer trains on Wednesdays to SundaysTo accommodate ever-increasing numbers of passengers travelling by its trains, Hull Trains is now running extra and longer trains with ten carriages on its services from Wednesdays to Sundays.

Rail Business Daily

• ORR gives approval for enhancements at University station to openThe Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has authorised two new station buildings and other significant enhancements at University railway station in Birmingham, allowing them to enter into service.

Railway Gazette

• Alstom selected for Romanian loco orderROMANIA: Railway reform authority ARF has named Alstom preferred bidder for a contract to supply 16 four-axle electric locomotives.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Bus funding in England: Central and local government conflict clearRingfenced funding given to local authorities in England for buses and bus services is welcome, despite its largely short-term nature. But it sits against a growing trend of some of those same councils having no alternative to the butchering of discretionary bus spending in the name of balancing overall budgets.
• Newbury & District take four ADL Plaxtons for Heathrow serviceNewbury & District has taken delivery of four Volvo B8Rs with Plaxton Panther bodywork from Alexander Dennis (ADL) for its services to Heathrow Airport.
• Road transport ’has politicians’ full support’, minister tells gatheringRoad transport has “the full support of politicians,” and the government wants an improved relationship with it, Under-Secretary of State for Transport Guy Opperman (pictured) told a parliamentary reception organised by RHA on 10 January.
• BSOG reform being ’progressed’, minister tells CPT ConferenceLong-awaited overhauls of the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) and concessionary travel scheme in England are being “progressed”, promised Under-Secretary of State for Transport Guy Opperman in delivering a recorded video message at the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) Conference in London today.

Other News Sources

• Alstom will equip DB Regio with 18 Coradia Max trainsThe order features 9 three-car and 9 five-car trains to be supplied on the RE1 line between Hamburg and Rostock.
• Buckingham MP raises concerns of overcrowding on trainsBuckingham's MP has highlighted the issue of overcrowding on services in the county.
• Welsh foot tunnel to demonstrate hyperbotsUnorthodox tunnelling company HyperTunnel has secured a grant for a demonstration project at the Global Centre of Rail Excellence in Wales.