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

Monday, 30 September 2024

Cogitamus

• What future for price competition as franchising ends?One of the conundrums facing Great British Railways (GBR) is how to deal with price competition between different operators. The original privatisation structure encouraged this, and one way Train Operating Companies could increase their profitability was by introducing lower fares between stations primarily served by another company.

BBC News

• Port change plan could end ferry hopesThe possibility of the return of cross-channel ferries sailing from Weymouth may be ended over changes being considered to the port's status.
• Game changer as night bus route returns to cityUniversity students could have an easier journey home in the early hours after a night bus route was brought back into service.
• Railway line to London will shut over ChristmasTrain services running between London and the many parts of the East of England will shut down over Christmas for engineering work.
• Rail bridge to Sheppey to be closed over half-termThe Kingsferry Bridge, which provides the rail link between mainland Kent and the Isle of Sheppey, is to close for another eight days.
• Peak fares return to train services in ScotlandPeak time rail fares have returned to train services in Scotland after the end of a pilot scheme that scrapped higher prices.
• Rail services disrupted by lack of crew - operatorWest Midlands Railway says it has drawn up an action plan to improve driver availability.
• Fears major landslip may shut Snake Pass for goodThere are four landslips along the famously twisty stretch of road currently.
• Views on cycling and footway upgrade soughtA council is proposing two-way cycle lanes on parts of a main road between Chichester and Bognor Regis.

Financial Times

• Freight rates rise as companies plan for costly US port strikeAnalysts say a stoppage from next week could cost the economy $5bn a day and raise prices for consumers

The Guardian

• Euston, we have a problem: how can London fix the 'worst main station'?Ugly, overcrowded and undermined by dithering over HS2, the unwieldy terminus needs an urgent rethink or at least a few less digital billboards

The Herald

• Claims of peak time travel up by 40% during ScotRail pilotThe decision to scrap the ScotRail peak fare removal scheme has been branded senseless, with politicians claiming passenger numbers soared by 40% during peak periods.

The Scotsman

• Why the return of ScotRail peak rail fares leaves SNP ministers needing a new answerPeak rail fares will today return on all ScotRail services, marking an end to a year-long trial aimed at encouraging people to travel in greater numbers by train.

Times Online

• Minister 'threatened walkout' in tense meeting with Ryanair. [subscription]A Fianna Fail minister is said to have threatened to walk out of a meeting with Michael O'Leary after the Ryanair boss refused to move past only one solution to the issue of the cap on the number of passengers at Dublin airport.
• A 600m tunnel is key to making most of high-speed rail [subscription]The decision the transport secretary, Louise Haigh, must take before Christmas 'whether to connect High Speed 2 (HS2) to London's Euston station' is surely a no-brainer. The mistakes that have beset the wider HS2 project are well documented (not calling at Heathrow, not following existing transport corridors to minimise impact) but, £40 billion later, we are where we are.
• Worst station in Britain? Welcome to the Battle of EustonWhether you're kettled on the concourse or sprinting for a seat, commuters think the chaos at London's oldest terminus is a disaster waiting to happen
• 7 years and £800m later, will a Thames tunnel save Dartford Crossing? [subscription]Ministers have until Friday to grant planning approval for the £9bn Lower Thames Crossing but have yet to decide how to pay for it

Daily Record

• Scots hit by triple whammy of price hikes as rail fares, booze and energy go upScots will be hit by the return of peak rail fares, the increase of minimum unit pricing and the hiking of the energy price cap.

i News

• Ditch peak-time rail fares across UK, campaigners sayCall comes as Scotland ends pilot scheme - hailed as a 'rare success story' - where all peak fares were scrapped
• Labour rail plan 'won't fix delays as Northern gets worse under public ownershipNorthern's poor performance under government control presents a challenge for Haigh's plans for the railways

Mail Online

• Rachel Reeves 'set to sign off HS2 running to Euston' despite multi-billion pound price tag... amid signs she will rewrite fiscal rules in Budget to borrow moreRachel Reeves is believed to be preparing to sign off HS2 running to Euston despite alarm at the multi-billion pound price tag.

Network Rail

• COMPLETED: New track between Yeovil and Thornford installed as part of Heart of Wessex Line improvementsTrain services resumed this morning (Monday 30 September) between Castle Cary and Weymouth following a week-long closure of the Heart of Wessex line for vital upgrades.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Leeds Bradford Airport issues statement after disruption causedLeeds Bradford Airport has issued a statement following a disruption to its water supply.
• 'Epidemic of young men thinking they can drive however they like in Bradford' - judgeA judge said there is an "epidemic of young men thinking they can get behind the wheel of a car and drive however they like" in Bradford.

London Evening Standard

• Train drivers' union calls on government to think again on peak rail faresThe decision to end the trial scrapping peak fares means an anytime return ticket between Glasgow and Edinburgh now costs £31.40 instead of £16.20.

Nation. Cymru

• HS2 'double whammy' will further disadvantage WalesProfessor Stuart Cole, CBE. Emeritus Professor of Transport Economics and Policy, Prifysgol de Cymru / University of South Wales The general view of HS2 in Wales is that it has brought us no benefits; worse it provided economic disbenefits.

Other Regional Press

• Moray active travel routes upgrades welcomed during Scotland's Climate WeekTwo popular active travel routes in Moray have been upgraded to make walking, wheeling and cycling more accessible.
• Welsh bus users have waited long enough says Plaid Cymru MSSIONED Williams MS writes to Transport Secretary about the four-year wait for legislation to improve buses.
• Glasgow to Edinburgh train prices double in 'short-sighted tax on workers'The Aslef union described the government's decision to end a nearly year-long trial scrapping peak time fares as 'a tax on workers'. The change has seen the price of an anytime return ticket between Glasgow and Edinburgh rise from £16.20 to £31.40.
• Shrewsbury station upgrades on agenda for MP's meeting with train bossesUpgrades for Shrewsbury's historic railway station will be at the centre of discussions this week when Shrewsbury MP Julia Buckley meets with a team of bosses from Network Rail.
• Discovery at Hampshire sewage plant unveils 19th-century artefactsWorkers modernising a Hampshire sewage plant unearthed historical items more than 160 years old.
• Roadworks this week in Coventry as HS2 works beginThe A429 Kenilworth Road is set to close for a month, so ensure you know which roadworks are in place for Coventry this week

Rail Magazine

• Discontinuous third-rail idea for West of England lineIslands of third-rail electric power are being assessed for the West of England line between Basingstoke and Exeter.
• RSSB backs calls for lowering age for train driversA new study by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) has recommended lowering the minimum age requirement for train drivers from 20 to 18. The research found that existing training, competency, and safety systems are sufficient to accommodate younger drivers.
• Funds to speed up EU border checksThe government is providing £3.5 million each to Eurotunnel at Folkestone and Eurostar at St Pancras, to prepare for the EU's new digital Entry/Exit System which is due to start on November 10.

Railway Gazette

• HS2 Ltd awards post-excavation archaeology contractUK: High speed line project promoter HS2 Ltd has awarded what it says is the largest ever archaeological post-excavation contract to the Access+ consortium.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• David Astill presented with BCoE Lifetime Achievement AwardNottingham City Transport (NCT) Managing Director David Astill (pictured, right) was presented with the Bus Centre of Excellence (BCoE) Lifetime Achievement Award at the Quality Bus Conference in Manchester in late September.

Other News Sources

• New ferry terminal in Whitehaven?An MP in Cumbria says he's hopeful the Steam Packet Company can start sailings to his constituency, after a meeting with the chief minister.
• Engineers and experts say rail safety standards are slippingBritain's railways are among the safest in the world, but those who work on them say the culture has changed.
• RSSB research supports lowering minimum train driver age to 18Research on reducing the minimum age of train drivers has found that no new cost or special allowances need to be brought in because existing training, competence, and safety systems could be deployed for younger entrants.