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

Tuesday, 06 February 2024

BBC News

• 'Mindless' vandalism blights Sunderland's railway stationRail bosses say they are working with transport police and councillors in a bid to stamp out vandalism at a newly refurbished train station.
• London transport: DLR line extension proposals backed by mayor and MPExtending the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to cross the River Thames could allow 30,000 new homes to be built and offer better public transport links, Transport for London (TfL) has said.
• East Midlands Railway releases list of most bashed bridgesEast Midlands Railway (EMR) has urged drivers to make sure they know the height of their vehicles after bridges on its network were hit 54 times last year.
• Electric cars: Lords urge action on 'misinformation' in pressThe Lords Climate Change Committee called on the government to push back against mistruths on range and cost.
• Northern Ireland bus and train workers cancel planned February strikeWorkers cancel 24-hour strike but will go ahead with further action if there is no pay offer.
• CalMac bosses quizzed by islanders at summitManagement take questions on cancellations to services and lengthy delays to new ships.
• Arrival: Electric van maker's UK arm enters administrationThe UK-based operations of Arrival - once worth billions - have been placed in administration.
• Lack of accessible taxis is 'absolutely ridiculous'A man who travelled to Gloucester by train from Bristol had to then get a Bristolian taxi to pick him up due to the lack of accessible vehicles at his destination.

ITV News

• Andy Burnham: Train services in the North poorer since Northern Powerhouse promisedTrain services in the North have got poorer in the 10 years since the Northern Powerhouse was promised, according to Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.

Department for Transport

• Transport for the North annual conference - Speech [Huw Merriman MP]Our plans to increase government funding through the Network North plan and wider transport investments.

The Guardian

• UK electric vehicle maker Arrival enters administration with 170 jobs at riskNew York-listed company, once valued at $15bn, failed to launch its debut electric vanThe British electric vehicle maker Arrival has collapsed into administration – putting 170 jobs at risk – just three years after it was valued at more than $15bn.The company, which had two manufacturing sites in Oxfordshire, has appointed consultancy firm EY as administrator, after failing to launch its debut electric van. Continue reading...

The Independent

• One in three passengers will use trains less following rail strikesOne in three regular rail passengers say they are travelling by train less often due to the frequent strikes – and that their travel patterns have changed permanently.
• Trains have got worse in decade since Northern Powerhouse promise, mayor saysAndy Burnham was speaking at the Transport for the North annual conference in Liverpool.

Times Online

• Stansted Express passengers fined £100 for contactless payment. [subscription]The rail group that runs the Stansted Express is making up to £1.6 million a year in fines from passengers who ­mistakenly use contactless cards to pay for their journey to the airport from central London.
• Private buyers slam brakes on electric vehicles. [subscription]Britons appear to be turning their backs on new electric cars, with the number of zero-emission vehicles sold to private buyers falling by 25 per cent last month.

Reuters News

• Rubble in British railway town raises red flags for PM SunakA grand project to help revitalise the railway town of Crewe lies buried under mounds of earth, serving as a bleak warning for Britain's Conservatives and their fight to retain power. The large building site at the centre of the town in northwest England was supposed to be transformed into a glossy retail and entertainment complex that would crown a bus terminal and car park already under construction.

Local Government

• Devolution: Transport and rail electrificationImproving transport links, in particular rail electrification, is a key component in Hull and East Yorkshire’s devolution proposal.
• £425,000 of grants awarded to improve community transport in OxfordshireTwelve organisations are to share nearly £425,000 to help improve community transport in Oxfordshire.

Birmingham Mail

• HS2 plan to send massive HGVs down tiny lane 'impossible'Jeanette McGarry has urged HS2 to reconsider using a small country lane to transport 18-metre beams

Birmingham Post

• PD Ports wins access battle over South Tees Development CorporationThe expensive legal battle saw Teesside's largest private employer battling with the area's mayor Ben Houchen

Liverpool Echo

• The North has had enough of talking about better transportFifth Transport for the North Conference brought with it understandable cynicism and weariness after years of broken promises

Manchester Evening News

• Government WILL sell HS2 land despite Andy Burnham's plan for a new line on itThe rail minister said the government will press on with plans to sell off land on the cancelled high-speed train line to Manchester
• Andy Burnham: I hope a new Manchester-Liverpool rail line will happen in my lifetimeMayor Andy Burnham says the creation of a new rail line between Manchester and Liverpool has been handled so badly he now only hopes the project can be delivered in his lifetime.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Morley train station: Plans for new building with shop and car park at train station in Leeds revealedPlans to convert a current construction yard in Morley into a car park and new amenity building with shop and toilets has been revealed.

Cambridge News

• Closed Cambridge Guided Busway section could reopen soon after two years Part of the Guided Busway will undergo safety improvement works for six weeks before it can reopen

Other Regional Press

• Lostwithiel footbridge plan hits the buffersSOUTH East Cornwall’s Conservative MP made a desperate plea for help during the Prime Minister’s Question Time last week after the long-promised footbridge at Lostwithiel Railway Station was delayed indefinitely.
• West Bridgford: Rushcliffe MP welcomes Transport Minister to see new on-street charging solution in actionRushcliffe MP welcomes Transport Minister to West Bridgford to see new on-street charging solution in action Are you thinking of switching to an electric vehicle but worried you don’t have a drive or garage where you can charge it?
• Oxfordshire community transport receives funding boost12 organisations across Oxfordshire have been granted a total of nearly £425,000 to improve community transport facilities.
• HIF1 road scheme set to be examined in public inquiryA major infrastructure plan for Didcot is to be scrutinised in a public inquiry after being refused by the county council's planning and regulation committee.
• Eight-week road closure planned ahead of launch of Fastrack bus routeAn eight-week road closure is planned in three phases as part of works to complete a new zero-emission bus route.

New Civil Engineer

• £70M Ebbw Vale railway upgrades completedNetwork Rail, Siemens and AmcoGiffen have completed the £70M project to upgrade the Ebbw Vale railway line in south Wales.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Nottingham City Transport Yutong electric order grows to 48Nottingham City Transport (NCT) will take delivery of at least 48 Yutong E10 and E12 battery-electric buses as part of a successful bid by Nottingham City Council to the first round of Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) funding, the operator has confirmed.

Other News Sources

• Stadler to Supply 10 Intercity Trains to Saudi ArabiaStadler has been contracted to supply 10 next-generation intercity passenger trains to Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR).
• The Go-Ahead Group sets out plans to recruit 850 bus and rail apprentices during 2024The Go-Ahead Group, the UK’s largest employer of transport apprentices, aims to recruit 850 apprentices during 2024 to train as bus drivers, rail drivers, engineers and in a variety of administrative roles. The new recruits will all be taught functional skills, including English and maths, while working in Go-Ahead’s depots, stations, and offices.
• Tarom would sell its slots at Heathrow airport if it found buyerRomania’s state airline Tarom in an ad-hoc statement on February 5 confirmed that its activity restructuring strategy includes measures such as selling part of the slots it holds at major airports, but denied that it sold its slots at Heathrow airport in London to Virgin Atlantic and stated that the frequency and schedule of its flights to London remains the same.
• Mayor Driscoll – unreliable rail links are holding back the North EastSpeaking ahead of the Transport for the North (TfN)Annual Conference in Liverpool, Independent North of Tyne Mayor, Jamie Driscoll, said:
• Transport for London investing £150 million in technology capable of enforcing pay-per-mile road chargingTransport for London (TfL) is investing £150 million into a new platform for existing road user charging schemes, such as ULEZ, and it’ll have the capability to enforce pay-per-mile road chagrin in the future. Read on for all you need to know.
• Buses, bikes and cycles are key in zero emission battle in WinchesterWINCHESTER is facing a huge challenge to hit its carbon reduction target by the end of the decade, a meeting heard.
• Lewes cabbie says taxi drivers are being impacted by white car policyTaxi drivers in Lewes are being forced out of the industry because of a council policy which dictates vehicles have to be white, a cabbie has said.