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

Friday, 16 August 2024

BBC News

• Concerns raised over new Eastbourne bus laneConcerns have been raised about a controversial proposed bus lane in Eastbourne.
• Trust 'lost' over railway line closureThe public have lost trust in transport bosses over planned closures to an island railway line, a voluntary group has said.
• Warning as fines to be issued on more train linesPassengers who board trains without a ticket face being fined on more lines, starting next month.
• Tram services to restart after landslip repairsTrams between two Greater Manchester towns are to restart after month-long repair work.
• Watch: New Clyde road bridge links up for first timeThe first opening and closing road bridge across the River Clyde has been successfully tested.
• Is this the end for the magnetic stripe?Once common on tickets and cardkeys the magnetic stripe is being phased out.

Financial Times

• Dubai’s DP World hit by higher financing costs and Red Sea crisis Port operator's profits plummet 60% but group confident second-half earnings will improve
• Six UK train operators wrongfully prosecuted passengersRail groups named as judge orders repayments for up to 75,000 customers

STV

• McGill's bus chief says Manchester mayor knows 'nothing about Glasgow'CEO Ralph Roberts rails against Andy Burnham's suggestion that taking buses in the city under public control is the 'right thing to do'.

The Guardian

• Tens of thousands of train fare fines to be quashed in England and WalesFour firms including Northern and Greater Anglia unlawfully prosecuted more than 74,000 alleged fare dodgers
• Wizz Air’s €499 ’all you can fly’ offer can’t mask its deeper woesBad luck, and war in Ukraine, have been factors in its plunging share price but so have bad decisions and hubris

The Telegraph

• Train drivers keep right to restart lunch break if spoken to by a manager. [subscription]Restrictive policy includes the right to re-start one’s lunch break if spoken to by a manager

Times Online

• Fury at reappointment of ’absentee’ CalMac board members. [subscription]Ministers have been accused of ignoring island communities after re-appointing three absentee board members to the board of Scotland’s beleaguered ferry network.
• Thousands of train fare evasion prosecutions to be quashed. [subscription]Judge declares six test cases ’void and a nullity’ after train companies misused single justice procedure
• Britain’s railways are still in crisis. Can Labour fix them? [subscription]The new government has a plan for the dysfunctional rail network but critics say it is destined to fail unless it includes reform of working practices
• Labour ’favouring unions over pensioners’ with train drivers deal. [subscription[Ministers have refused to say how much taxpayers will have to contribute towards the 15 per cent pay rise

Birmingham Post

• Rolls-Royce supplier workers to strike over 'unacceptable' pay offerThe employees at SPS Technologies in Leicester will begin industrial action later this month after rejecting a two-year pay rise

Bolton News

• Warning young people could be banned from public transportYoung people in Greater Manchester face a potential ban from public transit over persistent antisocial behaviour.
• No trains to run between Bolton and Wigan for 10 days due to worksThere will be no trains running between Bolton and Wigan for 10 days due to electrification works

Wales Online

• 'How to drive passengers away': People react to major Transport for Wales rules changeThe change will come into force on September 9 and will affect the majority of trains in south Wales. It will mean people will have to buy a ticket before they get on board on many more services than previously

Blackpool Gazette

• Blackpool Transport make changes to bus services after listening to feedbackBlackpool Transport have made some changes to their bus services after listening to resident’s feedback.

Oxford Mail

• Bus companies urge Labour to extend £2 bus fare capThe £2 bus fare will currently end on 31st December 2024, per the government. However, bus companies said it is vital the cost of using their services is kept low for young people to “enhance their access to education and jobs”.

Other Regional Press

• Mayor wants to shake-up the bus system in York and North YorkshireThe future of York and North Yorkshire’s bus system and transport network is among the issues at the top of the region agenda, its mayor has said.
• ’We plan our lives around barriers’: number of disability access complaints made to Transport for Greater Manchester level for past three yearsThe number of complaints made to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) relating to disability access has stayed almost level for the past three years.
• MP sounds worry warning over South West transport projectsHerefordshire should not expect the new Labour government to do it any favours, county MP Jesse Norman has warned. Having represented Hereford and South Herefordshire for 17 years, Mr Norman was among only 121 Conservatives to win seats in last month’s sea-change general election, fending off a close local challenge from Labour.
• 'Colossal' HS2 bridge running under and over a main Coventry road is completeThe self-contained ‘box’ bridge structure has taken 18 months to build

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Office of the Traffic Commissioner to leave Hillcrest House in LeedsThe Office of the Traffic Commissioner (OTC), including all licensing teams, will vacate its longstanding Hillcrest House, Harehills address in Leeds from 16 September. Those functions will move to premises in Leeds city centre at Quarry House on Quarry Hill, LS2 7UE.

The Business Desk

• Merseyrail to finally introduce eight-car train servicesMerseyrail is finally set to introduce eight-car train services on its network. Transport authority, Merseytravel, invested £500m in its new Class 777 trains built by Swiss trains maker Stadler, but has been unable to operate a full rush-hour service with the new fleet due to problems at its three major stations – Southport, Liverpool Central and Hunts Cross.

Other News Sources

• Hyundai Rotem to Supply 34 Hydrogen Trams: $201 Million ContractHyundai Rotem has secured its first contract to supply hydrogen trams of the H2 model by signing an agreement with the city administration of Daejeon, this is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.
• Glasgow rail depot welcomes first train since reopeningA RAIL depot in Glasgow has welcomed its first train since it reopened earlier this year, heralding a new chapter for rail engineering in the city.
• UK new bus sales continue post-pandemic resurgenceThe new coach, minibus and bus sales sector spiked by 61.7% in the second quarter of 2024, according to figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
• A9 dualling investment is safe – for now but transport secretary Fiona Hyslop warns Labour’s ’austerity’ spending will cause pressures amid the Scottish Government ’emergency controls’ on spendingInvestment in the A9 is safe – for now. That is according to transport secretary Fiona Hyslop who was speaking shortly after news broke that the Scottish Government had to put in place “emergency controls” on spending.
• Chinese trackless trains to shuttle Indonesia Independence Day attendeesWhen Indonesia marks its 79th Independence Day this Saturday, it will not only be showcasing its ambitious plans to build a new capital more than 1,200 kilometers from the crowded city of Jakarta, but new trackless train technology built by China.