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

Saturday, 06 April 2024

BBC News

• TfW not involved in strike action, operator saysWork is being carried out on overhead wires and the lack of service is not due to strikes, TfW says.
• Apple cuts jobs after dropping self-driving car plansThe tech giant is cutting 600 jobs from its abandoned self-driving car project, reports say.
• Passengers face delays after freight train derailsGreat Western Railway (GWR), Elizabeth line and Heathrow Express passengers' journeys are affected.
• Could this be the Clyde's last traditional ship launch?Next week's launch of MV Glen Rosa down a greased slipway could be the final chance to witness such a spectacle.

Financial Times

• UK train passengers hit by fresh wave of disruption as drivers strikeWalkouts to continue on Saturday and Monday, with much of the rail network impacted
• Boeing awards outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun a 45% pay rise$32.8mn package comes as the manufacturer tries to contain a crisis of confidence in its quality

The Telegraph

• Forty pc of British rail journeys now happen on state-run trains. [subscription]Of the 9.4bn miles passengers travelled in three months, 4.7bn were on franchises controlled by the Government, new analysis shows

Times Online

• Tesla ’scraps plan for affordable electric car’ [subscription]Shares in carmaker decline as speculation mounts over reported U-turn by Elon Musk
• First long-delayed ferry to be launched next week. [subscription]MV Glen Rosa will be launched on Tuesday but is not expected to enter service on island ferry routes until September

City AM

• Why this broker thinks the IAG share price can more than double Analysts say shares in British Airways owner the IAG could more than double as investors look forward to a first dividend since the pandemic.
• Meet the maritime surveillance chief tackling pirates, smugglers and Red Sea ship attacks from sleepy Bath City A.M. meets Simon Tucker. The eccentric chief executive heading up a pioneering Aim-listed maritime surveillance firm.
• Car insurance claims payouts hit a record £1.1m an hour in 2023 A staggering £9.9bn was paid out to motorists across 2023, according to the ABI, the highest annual figure since it began collecting data.

Daily Record

• New calls to extend free bus pass for older people to cover travel to any destination in the UKMore than 9,700 people have signed an online petition calling for the concessionary bus pass for people of State Pension age to be extended to cover travel across all parts of the UK. Petition creator, Charles David Smith, argues that giving older people the option to travel for free across Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland would “enhance their lives”.

The National

• Popular Scottish attraction set for £3.4m repairs amid erosion fearsREPAIRS to a bridge will not disrupt rail services and will not change its distinctive appearance, Network Rail has said.

Birmingham Mail

• Ryanair 40-minute rule that could see passengers charged £100 at the airportRyanair charges a 'missed departure fee' to passengers who arrive at the airport after the deadline

Birmingham Post

• Two key HS2 viaducts given the green lightProjects are among eight 'key design elements' which have now received the go ahead on the high-speed railway line
• Number of female train drivers at Transport for Wales on the riseThe increase in female drivers has helped to close its gender pay gap.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• No Northern services will run today due to strike actionRail passengers will suffer fresh travel chaos today when more operators are hit by strikes by train drivers in a long-running pay dispute.

London Evening Standard

• Government urged to guarantee orders to secure future of train-making in DerbyShadow chancellor Rachel Reeves claimed time is running out to ensure Alstom’s Litchurch Lane site is not mothballed.

Northern Echo

• Former Transport Secretaries call on PM to help save HitachiTwo former Transport Secretaries who were instrumental in bringing Hitachi to Newton Aycliffe write exclusively for The Northern Echo to share their fears for the factory's future.
• Echo Comment on former transport secretaries' Hitachi articleCONGRATULATIONS to Justine Greening and Patrick McLoughlin, who were Conservative transport secretaries from 2011 to 2016 when Hitachi came to Newton Aycliffe, for seeing so clearly exactly what the Government cannot see.

The York Press

• The level crossing at York Road, Haxby set to closeA LEVEL crossing at York Road, Haxby in York is set to close across two nights while rail engineers carry out track maintenance work.

South Wales Argus

• Newport Bus now showing Welsh and English route signsThe company’s new bilingual destinations went live on April 1 across all their routes.

Other Regional Press

• MP criticises HS2 over incorrect claim bridge would be built over the A38 in LichfieldHS2 has corrected a recently released document after incorrectly telling people a bridge would be built over the A38 in Lichfield.
• Economic partners want new Shropshire train link to London 'as quickly as possible'Industry experts from the private, public, education and voluntary sectors have thrown their weight behind plans for a new direct rail service to London.
• Road near Ross-on-Wye upgraded in Department for Transport's investmentA road near Ross-on-Wye is among the 133,000 square metres of Herefordshire’s C and U road network which have been improved as part of the Department for Transport’s £2.558m additional investment for highways.
• Do passenger trains sometimes get cancelled so expensive private trains can use the line? Kind of, but there's a good reason for itA train operator has confirmed that it does make 'minor amendments' to its timetable to allow charter services to run.
• PACTO launches Pembrokeshire community transport schemeA scheme to transform community transport in Pembrokeshire has officially been launched.

Bus and Coach Buyer

• East Yorkshire goes North Yorkshire in service shake upGo-Ahead-owned East Yorkshire is taking on some routes in North Yorkshire in a series of service changes.

Rail Advent

• Eight MPs sign letter in support of Jacobite steam trainMPs write to Huw Merriman regarding The Jacobite and its suspension

Rail Business Daily

• Greater Anglia unveils regional Pride trainGreater Anglia has unveiled a special Pride livery for one of the trains on its regional network.
• Claire Mann joins Transport for London as Chief Operating OfficerClaire Mann has returned to Transport for London (TfL) to lead as the organisation’s Chief Operating Officer.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Hitachi Rail’s new hybrid fleet to slash carbon emissionsHitachi Rail’s first long-distance hybrid battery train will help to cut carbon emissions by 83% when it enters service later this year.

Railway Gazette

• Next-generation Multi-Purpose Vehicle on testSWEDEN: Railcare is testing its second-generation Multi-Purpose Vehicle, which has been developed with ABB and can both operate and charge its batteries via overhead electrification.

Transport Network

• DfT stalls moving traffic enforcement roll-outThe Department for Transport (DfT) has shelved the further roll-out of powers for English councils to enforce moving traffic violations.
• Stoke councillors approve £5.4m transport planA plan to invest more than £5.4m on improving roads and transport in Stoke-on-Trent has received a green light.

Other News Sources

• Government commits to electrification of Nottingham Midland Main Line by early 2030 after ’snail’s pace’ commentThe Government says it remains committed to the electrification of a rail line connecting Nottingham with London by early 2030 after a council leader said the project was moving at a “snail’s pace”.
• Transport for Wales Stays on Track to Win Apprenticeship AwardA pioneering apprenticeship programme for train drivers helped Transport for Wales (TfW) to stay on track to win a coveted national award.