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

Tuesday, 13 August 2024

BBC News

• First electric bus arrives ahead of switchThe first of a fleet of zero-emission buses has arrived in Kent as a local service prepares to go electric.
• Staff describe terror as rioters attack stationStaff at Hull railway station have spoken of the terrifying moments rioters threw missiles at the building and tried to ram the doors.
• Trains halted after 15 fires lit 'deliberately'Firefighters who extinguished 15 grass fires alongside a railway line believed they were started deliberately. Five crews attended Mucking Wharf Road, in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, at 15:30 BST earlier

Financial Times

• Reeves weighs PFI-style deal for £9bn new Thames crossing Treasury in talks over using private finance to deliver possible toll road and other projects amid tight spending constraints

The Guardian

• Heathrow says it lost 90,000 transfer passengers after new £10 feeETA scheme introduced last year by the Conservatives is ’devastating’ for competitiveness, the airport says

The Herald

• £1.3billion in Network Rail contracts handed out in ScotlandFive organisations have been awarded contracts worth up to £1.3billion to keep Scotland’s railways safe and reliable over the next five years.

The Independent

• Heathrow blames Government scheme for ’lost 90,000 transfer passengers’It described the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system as ’devastating for our hub competitiveness’.

Times Online

• Los Angeles sets wheels in motion for car-free Olympic Games [subscription]City dependent on roads reveals plan for a greener contest in 2028 with expanded public transport system and working from home to ease congestion
• Glasgow Subway trains failed operator’s own reliability testing. [subscription]Rolling stock was put in to service despite not meeting targets, according to FoI request by The Times. Glasgow’s new Subway trains have broken down more 20 times — in three cases forcing passengers to leaving through tunnels — after being put in to service without meeting testing targets.

The Mirror

• Heathrow Airport blames £10 Government charge for '90,000 lost passengers'With 1.8 million passengers in a single week for three weeks starting July 8, Heathrow topped the charts as the premier holiday take-off spot

Local Government

• Have your say – Leicestershire’s Local Transport Plan goes liveFrom Monday 12 August, you have the chance to comment on our fourth Local Transport Plan (LTP4) Core Document, our strategy for transport up to 2040. This is the first of three phases which will set out our vision and objectives for transport up to 2050.

Network Rail

• Protecting lizards and snakes on the railwayOur railway is home to several types of reptiles including snakes and lizards. Protecting these scaly neighbours is an important part of our work in creating a more sustainable, more environmentally friendly and an even more reliable railway for all.
• Network Rail announces up to £1.3bn contract awards for next five yearsFive organisations will receive a share of up to £1.3bn worth of contracts to keep Scotland’s Railway safe and reliable for the next five years.

Sky News

• 90,000 fall in Heathrow passenger numbers blamed on 'devastating' new £10 travel permitAirport bosses have called on Labour to reform the scheme, which was introduced by the previous Conservative government last year.

Birmingham Mail

• Cyclists in England who haven't 'kept receipt' face losing £3,000New cyclists have been warned of six common mistakes that could invalidate their bicycle insurance.

Bristol Live

• Council claims 'significant drop' in controversial bus gate finesCouncil chiefs have defended the way they have implemented a controversial bus gate on a road in Bristol city centre, which is on course to catch the most motorists of any camera in the country, despite a judge at a tribunal saying the signage was not ’compromised’.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds Bradford Airport: GALBA climate group vows to fight 'irresponsible' flight expansion plansA climate group has vowed to fight “irresponsible” plans to expand the flight schedule at Leeds Bradford Airport.

Yorkshire Post

• Future of Northern Powerhouse Rail to be announced in spring 2025, Louise Haigh saysThe future of Northern Powerhouse Rail, the key piece of infrastructure to connect the North, is set to be delayed again due to a review by the new government.

Hull Daily Mail

• 'Lives saved' by Hull Interchange workers on riot day, Transport Secretary saysLouise Haigh visited the station on Monday and spoke to staff along with British Transport Police officers who were on the front line

Oxford Mail

• Plan to introduce lifesaving kit outside Oxford StationFresh plans have been lodged to introduce "lifesaving equipment" outside Oxford's city centre train station which the proposer says will bring "very significant benefits".

Other Regional Press

• Airport expansion is not sustainable – will Labour listen?The Climate Change Committee opposes expansion plans by Leeds Bradford Airport and other airports, and the new government should take note
• Croydon’s highways benefit from £12m investmentCroydon’s executive mayor has approved a program worth over £12 million to bring the borough’s highways in line with the law, using re-allocated HS2 funds.
• The next train to London via Shropshire will be leaving...? – MP steps in to urge speedy decisionAn MP has urged railway regulators to make a quick decision on a new train service between Wrexham and London, via Shropshire.
• Transport secretary Fiona Hyslop briefed Inverness-Nairn dualling would not happen this decade but said nothing as Fergus Ewing slams ’cover-up and secrecy’Fresh revelations about how much it will cost and how long it will take to dual the A96 from Inverness to Nairn has prompted the local MSP to ask why people should trust the Scottish Government.

Bus and Coach Buyer

• Nottingham City Transport to host ALBUM ConferenceNottingham City Transport (NCT) is to host ALBUM’s 2025 Conference, with Pelican Bus and Coach and technology provider Passenger announced as headline sponsors.
• Cambridgeshire to launch franchising consultation this weekCambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) has announced the launch date for its formal bus franchising consultation.

Construction Enquirer

• Scottish railway £1.3bn civils deal winnersVolkerRail has secured its first major contract to work on Scotland’s Railway as part of Network Rail’s new Scotland Civils Framework to deliver up to £1.3bn of work.

New Civil Engineer

• New rail lines eyed in £31bn Republic and Northern Ireland visionThe creation of a new railway line from Belfast to Derry/Londonderry via Portadown is included as a proposal in a report on improving rail across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Rail Business Daily

• Transport Secretary warning to CrossCountry over performanceThe Transport Secretary has said she has “serious concern” about the performance of CrossCountry services.

Rail Magazine

• More West Midlands Class 730s enter trafficWest Midlands Railway has put more Class 730s into passenger traffic, with 730029 making its debut on July 9, paired with 730036 on the 0531 Bletchley-Euston.
• HSTs used as NMTs set for scrapPorterbrook has confirmed that two HST Power Cars that have recently been on hire to work the Network Rail New Measurement Trains are due to be scrapped once all reusable components have been removed.

Railnews

• Heathrow Western Rail Link axed in government economiesThe west-facing rail connection from the Great Western Main Line to Heathrow Airport is the latest casualty following the announcement of a £22 billion ’black hole’ in national budgets by chancellor Rachel Reeves on 29 July.

Railway Gazette

• GB Railfreight deploys diesel-battery hybrid shunting locosUK: GB Railfreight has leased four Clayton Equipment Class 18 Hybrid+ shunting locomotives from Beacon Rail to support its work delivering materials for infrastructure manager Network Rail.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Latest-generation eCitaro sees success during Bus Vannin trialA latest generation battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eCitaro demonstrator has completed evaluation with Isle of Man Transport via Bus Vannin in a second all-electric Mercedes-Benz bus trial for the operator.

Other News Sources

• New research hub will pioneer use of digital twins to decarbonise UK transport systemsA new research hub will use digital twins to help determine how transport systems, including logistics supply chains, can be decarbonised as quickly, safely and cheaply as possible.
• Cranfield joins 46 million research hub to decarbonise UK transportCranfield University is part of a new national hub focused on rapidly decarbonising transport in the UK using digital twinning. The TransiT research hub is a collaboration of six universities and 67 industry partners, jointly led by Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow.
• Tiger bus pass 'making difference' to Cambridgeshire, claims deputy mayorThe deputy mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has said a scheme giving young people bus travel at lower prices is making a difference.
• This small UK airport is launching its first ever long-haul flightsThanks to ambitious plans at Leeds-Bradford Airport, you could soon be flying direct from Yorkshire to the US
• Hydrogen refuelling station at Teesside Airport takes step forward as plans submittedProposals for a hydrogen refuelling station at Teesside Airport have been submitted to Darlington Borough Council
• HS2 completes eight-month bridge launchHS2 has published timelapse video showing how a 3,700-tonne viaduct deck was slid into place near Wendover, Buckinghamshire.
• South East London tunnel reopens after £10m repair worksThe Blackheath Tunnel had been closed for 10 weeks
• £46m investment in digital twins to decarbonise UK’s transport systemsResearchers will pioneer use of digital twins to decarbonise the UK’s transport systems.