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

Tuesday, 28 May 2024

BBC News

• Disused rail buildings to get new community usesDisused railway buildings and spaces across Surrey could become community assets.
• Local leaders vow to fight for landslip fundingPolitical leaders in West Yorkshire have vowed to fight for additional funding to protect the region’s railways from being disrupted by landslips.
• Tens of millions spent ahead of new EU fingerprint travel rulesPorts are spending millions to prepare for a new European Union border IT system amid travel delay warnings.

Financial Times

• Six years of UK rail reform has "achieved very little", say MPsPromises of overhaul hampered by legislative delays and interdepartmental rows, finds public accounts committee
• The mounting strains on global shippingPirate attacks, Middle East instability and drought are causing disruption and congestion at the world’s ports

The Guardian

• Very little achieved on rail reforms in Great Britain in past six years, say MPsPerformance across network still poor as delays and cancellations continue, says public accounts committee. The government has "achieved very little" in reforms to Great Britain's railways six years after identifying the need for big changes to improve the situation for passengers and taxpayers, according to an influential parliamentary committee. MPs on the cross-party public accounts committee said the Department for Transport has not paid enough attention to the needs of passengers or taxpayers, six years after a botched introduction of new timetables led to chaos on the rail network

The Telegraph

• Taxpayer rail subsidies are ’unsustainable’, say MPs. [subscription]Subsidies have not fallen back to pre-Covid levels, despite the end of lockdown and the return to the office

Times Online

• How did trains become a phone noise nightmare? [subscription]Step aboard and you’re simultaneously entering a Zoom conference, a DJ set and the TikTok feed from hell — headphones very optional
• £128m: the bill we’re all paying for delay repay on trains. [subscription]As punctuality worsens, compensation rises — and the money comes from the state, not the rail companies
• Leather seat covers designed to soothe sensitive airline passengersA Scottish manufacturer is launching a collection in neutral tones to help neurodiverse people feel more comfortable flying

Public Accounts Committee

• Rail reform: No-one in Government putting needs of passengers and taxpayers first, PAC reportsThe report finds that Government has made little progress in implementing its ambitious plans for rail, with much of the proposed reforms and associated benefits now largely on hold until the next Parliament. In particular, the Department has not yet established Great British Railways (GBR), the new organisation intended to act as the ’guiding mind’ for the whole rail system and which it originally planned to have set up by March 2024.

i News

• Rail reform needs to make difference to travellers and taxpayers now, MPs sayGreater urgency needed to make the railways work better now for everyone as MPs warn of no 'convincing evidence' current reforms will 'bring about the improvements needed'

Mail Online

• Widower whose wife, 44, was killed by reckless cyclist vows he 'won't stop' putting pressure on MPs over new laws to stop killer cyclistsEXCLUSIVE: Matt Briggs's wife Kim, 44, was knocked down by a teen rider on an illegal bike in east London in 2016 and he has campaigned for a change in the law to allow cyclists to be jailed for life.

Birmingham Mail

• Spy trucks to hit M6 motorway and can see into your carHGVs will be on the lookout for drivers using phones, not wearing seatbelts and whose attention is diverted from the road

Birmingham Post

• Electric powertrain specialist Saietta failed with deficit of £2.89m, administrators saySaietta had ambitions to produce 'eDrive' motors to power small electric vehicles used in cities around the world

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Bradford Interchange: Update on review over FOI requestWest Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) has

Wales Online

• A Welsh rail line will be closed for 12 days due to engineering works Many people use this line in south Wales

Plymouth Herald

• Tories slam Plymouth airport masterplan as a 'land grab'Conservative leader left 'incredulous' after seeing proposals to build on 113-acre site

Other Regional Press

• Somerset planning: Railway station works among latest new schemesRepairs to the entrance of a busy railway station, the conversion of offices into flats and new light industrial units are among the schemes people are trying to get planning permission for in Somerset. Every week, hundreds of planning applications are submitted to Somerset Council for determination – and we have selected some of the most interesting proposals.
• Green Park Station marks one-year milestone after 160,000 passengersThe new Reading Green Park station has hit its goal of 160,000 journeys in its first year since opening.

Aviation Industry

• Airbus taps 3 airports for hydrogen studiesAs part of its plans for low-carbon aviation, Airbus announced three studies focused on developing hydrogen hubs at major airports across North America. The airports include:

Other News Sources

• SNP's flagship 'free' bus travel for under-22s costs taxpayers £222m in just two yearsExclusive: Despite John Swinney warning that Scotland's finances are in a perilous state, his SNP Government is handing out over £200m to bus firms to fund their free bus scheme.
• Hitachi Rail Retrofits TransPennine Express Train with Battery TechnologyIn collaboration with Angel Trains and Turntide Technologies, Hitachi Rail has retrofitted battery technology on a TransPennine Express train for trials in the UK.
• MPs Declare Rail Subsidies ’Unsustainable’ Amidst Stalled ReformsMPs have warned that rail subsidies are at unsustainable levels, criticising the Government for delays in rail reforms.