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

Wednesday, 31 January 2024

BBC News

• Victoria Bus Station safety calls after fatal crashWestminster MP Nickie Aiken says she is worried about passenger safety after the death of a woman.
• Leatherhead: Work starts on £6.2m rail station accessibility upgradeWork has begun on £6.2m of improvements to make a train station in Surrey fully accessible.
• East Midlands Railway launches new BSL service for deaf passengersA train operator in the East Midlands has launched a new British Sign Language (BSL) service for deaf passengers.
• Confusion over Sadiq Khan's plans for off-peak Friday fares trialTalks are under way between Transport for London (TfL) and train operators amid confusion over Sadiq Khan's plans for off-peak Friday travel.
• New technology aims to tackle ghost busesNew technology should reduce the number of “ghost buses” which show up on digital timetables after being cancelled, transport bosses said.

Department for Transport

• £24 million boost to deliver improved rail journeys in BradfordNew platform at Forster Square Station to increase rail services, reduce delays and better connect the city.

Financial Times

• Boeing withdraws request to expedite approval of 737 Max 7 jetPlane maker will incorporate an engineering solution during certification process instead of seeking safety exemption
• Red Sea vessel diversions spur fuel tanker rates and diesel pricesThe latest Houthi attack on a vessel working for Trafigura has tightened fuel tanker and oil products markets
• China's big airlines set for fourth straight lossmaking yearDoubts over country's economic recovery and lack of direct flights to US weigh on travel demand

The Guardian

• North of England faces travel disruption amid train drivers strikeAs all Northern and TransPennine Express services stop, passengers in the region have been warned not to try to travel by rail on Wednesday

The Scotsman

• Scotland storms: Why close railways, but not curb riskier road travel? – Alastair DaltonUnprecedented double shutdown of train network may have prompted more people to drive instead
• ScotRail train crash: Network Rail communication problems delayed alarm being raised – Aslef unionTrain drivers claim vital minutes lost by emergency call over fallen tree not being passed on

Times Online

• Government ‘should force its rail firms to use minimum-service strike law’. [subscription]Industry leaders criticise Department for Transport over ‘double standard’ after Rishi Sunak insists private firms should deploy the measures
• The Times view on rail walkouts: Striking Inaction. [subscription]Railway companies must force unions to provide a minimum service

City AM

• Network Rail must improve performance after Elizabeth Line and Paddington disruption, says Sadiq KhanThe Mayor of London has called on the UK’s rail infrastructure manager to get its act together following a dip in performance on the Elizabeth Line and disruption on routes from Paddington in recent months.

Belfast Telegraph

• PM accused of ‘playing games’ as rail strike continuesThe Prime Minister has been accused of “playing games” rather than trying to help resolve the long-running train drivers’ dispute as another strike caused travel disruption across parts of England.

Bolton News

• Westhoughton Train Station undergoes huge transformationWesthoughton Train Station is undergoing a huge transformation as part of a national electrification project, which will also see major additional upgrades to the station.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Forster Square to get new platform after £24m investmentBRADFORD Forster Square station will get an extra platform and up to five extra London services a day thanks to a £24m Government investment.
• Work on new platform to begin in Spring after £24m boostWORK on a new platform at a Bradford rail station will begin this Spring, a Minister revealed as he visited the city today.

London Evening Standard

• London transport news: Train strike travel chaos as RMT announces two 48-hour Overground walkoutsDrivers are on strike at Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, Thameslink, South Western Railway and Great Northern

Yorkshire Post

• Bus scheme guaranteeing £2 single journey fares in Leeds extended as people ditch cars for public transportThe bargain fares were introduced in West Yorkshire more than a year ago in an effort to make travelling across the region easier and cheaper.

Other Regional Press

• Steve Barclay MP attends official opening of Manea car parkThe North East Cambridgeshire MP attended the official opening of the Manea Railway Station car park, which has been open to the public for use since August 2023.
• ScotRail boosts safety with £1.6m body camera investmentThe train operator will roll out more than 1,000 new body cameras by the end of this month, replacing its existing suite of 350 body cameras, while increasing the number of units available to frontline staff.
• Rail bypass needed to stop village near Bedford being 'severed in half' by East West Rail“It would sever the village in half and destroy the community, which would be a disaster”
• Avanti West Coast apologises for cancelled trains after less than half ran on time over ChristmasA train operator has apologised for the number of cancelled trains over the Christmas period, saying a combination of strikes, sickness and bad weather had all played a role.

Railnews

• As ASLEF strikes start, Overground faces walkouts too ASLEF members at Govia Thameslink Railway, Southeastern and South Western Railway are staging the first in a series of 24-hour strikes today which will affect most operators in England between now and 5 February, while a continuous overtime ban will disrupt services at all these operators until next Tuesday. Meanwhile, the RMT has announced two 48-hour walkouts at London Overground on 19-20 February and 4-5 March, after the Transport for London Overground contractor Arriva Rail London made what the union is describing as ‘a below inflation pay offer

Shipping News

• ‘Game-changing’ Red Sea conflict could soak up container ship newbuilding deliveriesAnalysts believe the market is pricing in longer vessel voyages for eight months
• Hapag-Lloyd Earnings Hit as Global Supply Chains Returned to Normal in 2023Hapag-Lloyd reported a significant decline in its 2023 earnings due largely to lower freight rates as global supply chains returned to normal, the company said Tuesday.

Other News Sources

• Wes Streeting tells Secretary of State: Pull your finger out and negotiate with rail bosses to end miseryWes Streeting has demanded an end to the “misery” inflicted on Britons by the ongoing train strikes.
• Switch-On Of New Signalling System In South London RescheduledThe switch-on of a new signalling system in South London, which was due to close large parts of the National Rail and London Overground networks, from Saturday 10 to Sunday 18 February, is being re-planned to later in 2024.
• Electric shock? | Cheap Chinese wind turbines help transport trump renewable energy in $1.8 trillion transition spendChinese wind and solar kit contributed to slowing growth in renewables investment despite big jump in deployment, say BNEF
• Electrified Transport Investment Soared Globally in ’23, Passing Renewable EnergyElectrified transportation sped past renewable energy last year to become the world’s largest category of energy transition investment. This finding, part of a report BloombergNEF released Tuesday, shows a shift that is “absolutely critical to getting to net zero,” said the lead author, Albert Cheung.
• New plan to link Devon with distant railway stationTiverton families may soon be able to hop on a shuttle bus to catch a train, instead of driving or cycling to the station that is miles away from the town. This is the vision of some local councillors, who have proposed a new service that would link Tiverton and Tiverton Parkway railway station.