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

Wednesday, 24 January 2024

BBC News

• Villagers let down by bus service, says councillorVillagers are suffering because their local bus services are a "shambles", a councillor has said.
• Merseyrail battery-powered trains 'transformational' - mayorA city mayor has said the introduction of battery-powered trains has been "transformational", despite teething problems.
• Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Minister blocked £30m funding bid, emails showThe transport secretary blocked a request to reallocate £30m of funding to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA), emails suggest. South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard had asked Mark Harper to use funding from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements.
• North Yorkshire: Council considers £3m cuts to free school transportLimiting the number of children eligible for free school transport in North Yorkshire could save the council £3m.
• Wales 20mph: Tell councils if a road is too slow, says ministerWales' transport minister says the public can take part in a review of the 20mph speed limit.
• Transport strike: Translink workers to strike again in FebruaryUnite, GMB and Siptu say there will be four further days of action, beginning on 1 February.
• HS2: Tunnel completion takes line closer to Euston, engineers sayThe high-speed line reached a milestone when the tunnelling machine arrived at Old Oak Common.
• Rush-hour ScotRail trains cancelled as Storm Jocelyn hitsMet Office yellow and amber warnings are in place for severe weather across much of Scotland.

Financial Times

• Lufthansa's bid for ITA Airways stake faces EU scrutiny In-depth probe into the deal comes as Brussels has been toughening its rules for airline mergers
• Carlyle seeks early loan repayment from London Southend Airport ownerUS private equity group and aviation group Esken have been embroiled in a legal row for months over convertible loan
• Pressure builds on Boeing as customers vent anger over groundingUnited Airlines warns large order is in doubt as Alaska Airlines says many planes had loose bolts

The Guardian

• UK roads being built without ministerial oversight, say environment campaignersGovernment-funded road schemes worth up to £500m are being built without ministerial oversight and most likely based on outdated emissions targets, according to freedom of information requests obtained by environmental campaigners.

The Herald

• Electric buses axed as ScotGov cut a SPT transport budget to zeroMinisters have come under fire for slashing a budget to transform public transport and make it greener in a large part of Scotland to zero without warning - as moves are made to ban older cars from city centres.

Sky News

• Transport secretary to look at HS2 revival plans with 'open mind'Mark Harper said he was "sceptical" about a scheme being pursued by local mayors to use private sector investment to build the high speed line, but promised he would "listen".

Bristol Live

• New train stations set to open in Bristol and nearby - full list of locationsThe West of England is expected to sign off spending £100,000 on the project on Friday

London Evening Standard

• Sadiq Khan says TfL fare dodging 'too high' and urges public to report it to staffTory mayoral candidate Susan Hall has called fare evasion 'a slap in the face of every honest commuter'

Nation. Cymru

• Transport for Wales share Taffs Well Depot and station updateTransport for Wales has shared an update as they work to upgrade the access road that leads into the station car park and the new Taffs Well Depot.

The York Press

• Tadcaster Road cycle path improvements axed by councilPlans to improve a cycle path next to Tadcaster Road in York have been axed by the council - in a move branded as

Wales Online

• Young drivers 'should be banned from driving at night and giving their friends lifts'The suggestion to save lives on the roads comes from Public Health Wales

Other Regional Press

• New taxi rank opens as part of the new Gosport bus interchange scheme is completedPeople travelling in the Gosport area will benefit from a relocated taxi rank and passenger drop-off on South Street, next to the existing bus station, as the first phase of the new bus interchange is completed.
• Go North East recruiting 200 bus drivers across North EastA bus operator is recruiting 200 new drivers as part of Britain’s biggest-ever recruitment campaign for bus drivers.

Coach and Bus Week

• “Next Government must prioritise bus and coach,” says CPTFollowing its annual conference on 18 January, the CPT has announced its priorities for the next UK Government, with the launch of its manifestos for bus and coach. ’Access All Areas’ sets out how the next Government can help to unleash the full potential of the coach network, while ’Driving Britain Forward’ outlines six key points to unlock the economic, net zero and social well-being potential of buses.

New Civil Engineer

• Your View | Northern Powerhouse Rail; generating capacity; Mersey Barrage; Bradford stationDenise Bower’s article “Maximising benefits for the North” (Institution of Civil Engineers, Record last month) is to be commended for her enthusiasm and for extolling the benefits that Northern Powerhouse Rail will bring, or could bring, if ever built. This project, as part of Levelling…
• TBM breaks through at HS2’s Old Oak Common site completing logistics tunnelAn 847t tunnel boring machine (TBM) called Lydia has broken through at HS2’s Old Oak Common station, completing the 853m long logistics tunnel.
• Is procurement used effectively for carbon reduction on highway and transport projects?Procurement could be instrumental in decarbonising the highways and transport sector but there are factors that limit the extent to which it can drive change.

Rail Advent

• £1bn for North Wales electrification welcomed by Growth Track 360Rail transport improvements in North Wales and North West England, which edged a little closer following publication of the Union Connectivity Review (UCR), have been welcomed by the Growth Track 360 (GT360) partnership. A number of issues, however, remain unresolved.

Rail Business Daily

• Transreport receives £10 million investment to expand Passenger Assistance technologyTransreport, the UK’s fastest-growing accessibility technology company has secured £10 million investment for its popular Passenger Assistance technology as it seeks to expand the reach of the system to more users and wider modes of transport and industries.
• Direct Rail Services announces retirement of Class 37 locomotivesDirect Rail Services (DRS) is to retire its iconic Class 37 locomotives, marking the end of an era for these stalwarts of the rail industry. The decision comes as part of DRS’s commitment to the environment, fleet modernisation and adapting to evolving operational needs.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• CPT launches coach and bus manifestos ahead of General ElectionAs the UK braces for the upcoming general election, the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) has launched two manifestos at its annual conference in London, addressing pivotal issues in the coach and bus sectors.
• Varied political approaches to coach and bus industry are now clearRespective political approaches to coach and bus from the Conservative and Labour parties were clear at last week’s Confederation of Passenger Transport Conference.

Other News Sources

• ALSTOM SA: Alstom’s third quarter 2023/24: good commercial momentum and Free Cash Flow guidance reaffirmed for FY 2023/24 Over the third quarter of 2023/24 (from 1 October to 31 December 2023), Alstom booked €5.5 billion of orders. The Group’s sales reached €4.3 billion in the quarter.
• Superloop bus network must expand to cover more of outer London, mayor toldSadiq Khan is facing calls to expand his Superloop network of express bus services to cover more of outer London.
• Hapag-Lloyd acquires UK container transport firmATL, a private firm founded in 2008, reportedly has a fleet of 120 contemporary trucks owned by the company and a network of over 100 more trucks provided by committed subcontractors.
• West Midlands Mayor Visits NatWest Clean Transport HubWest Midlands Mayor, Andy Street, today (23 January 2024) visited entrepreneurs who have taken part in the NatWest Clean Transport Accelerator at The University of Warwick to hear how the expertise it provided has helped them to grow their businesses.
• Calls for DfT to work across Whitehall to deliver on transport data planDepartment released a major strategy last year, but now needs to collaborate more widely and tackle barriers to data sharing to ensure its aims are met, experts have told MPs
• Transport for London’s tech chief on using technology to drive a business revolutionOver his two-plus decades with Transport for London, CTO Shashi Verma has driven a revolution in ticketing tech. He shares some of the insights he’s gained on the journey