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

Tuesday, 22 October 2024

BBC News

• 'Noisy' work begins to demolish old A1 bridgeWork is under way to remove a bridge that once carried traffic on the A1 over the East Coast Mainline railway.
• Great British Railways: What we still don't knowTo some, it feels like we've been talking about Great British Railways (GBR) - the government's attempt to overhaul and modernise the railways with a new public body to oversee them - for a long time.
• Fears children at risk due to taxi driver licensingChildren are being put at risk of abuse across the UK due to less stringent taxi rules, a Labour MP warns.
• Major £17.6m roadworks scheme finishes earlyTrafford Council says the work ensures the Kingsway and Barton Road junction is safer and greener.
• Jobs boost as bus network welcomes new fleetGreater Manchester's Bee Network has ordered a new set of buses in a boost for local industry.
• Noise levels on Tube are louder than at a gigNoise levels on the Victoria line are higher than a music concert but lower than a chainsaw.
• Vulnerable customers had VW cars taken away with little warningVW Finance showed "a lack of empathy", according to the Financial Conduct Authority.

ITV News

• Powys train crash: Man dies after two trains collide near LlanbrynmairA man has died and 15 people have been taken to hospital following a collision between two trains near Llanbrynmair in Powys on Monday evening.

Financial Times

• Three lessons from the US port crisisThere’s a massive gap between the profits of the big global shipping groups relative to port workers’ wages
• Ministers outline plans to redraw airspace over London airportsRedesigning flight paths could lead to greener flights but also new noise pollution
• Tokyo Metro gets retail investors on board Japan’s biggest IPO since 2018Capital’s underground railway network has raised $2.3bn in heavily oversubscribed listing

The Guardian

• Yes, review HS2’s ‘dire’ delivery – but contract renegotiation matters moreTo unpick this debacle, the transport secretary will have to cajole companies to go against their shareholders’ interestsLouise Haigh, like many transport secretaries before her, wants to know what the hell has gone wrong at HS2, why the costs jump every time the numbers are added up, and whether anything can be done to get a financial grip on the project. “I have seen up close the scale of failure in project delivery – and it’s dire,” she says.Nobody would argue with that assessment.
• Northumberland is back on track: a new railway line is opening up this lesser-visited countyThe Northumberland line will soon return passenger services linking Newcastle to coastal towns such as Blyth, giving a much-needed boost to the regionSome of Northumberland’s attractive coastal towns, wild countryside and interior villages are about to become more accessible thanks to a new railway line from Newcastle to Ashington set to open in December. Coupled with the Tyne and Wear Metro receiving its first new fleet of trains in more than 40 years,visitors without a car will find travelling around the county so much easier.

Times Online

• Glen Sannox cannibalising Glen Rosa for parts after new technical issues [subscription]Decision attacked as 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' but Ferguson Marine insists it will not delay completion of the second ferry
• One dead after low-speed train collision in Wales. [subscription]Fifteen people were taken to the hospital after the incident near Llanbrynmair, Powys
• Dogfight over Heathrow and Gatwick runways has a logical landing [subscription]Why not allow all five of London's airports to expand? That would relieve the pressure

Daily Express

• Mid-Wales train crash: One dead, multiple injured in Llanbrynmair collisionEmergency services rushed to the scene of the low-speed collision between two trains in Powys, near Llanbrynmair, shortly before 7:30pm on Wednesday

Mail Online

• American Airlines unveils new tech that'll stop very irritating airport etiquette breachAmerican Airlines has launched a trial of new technology intended to put an end to the irritating airport etiquette that gets ignored during the boarding process.

The Mirror

• Wales train crash: What we know so far as one person killed in rail smashThe horrific crash happened on Monday night near Llanbrynmair in Powys and saw all passengers get evacuated from both trains, with some needing treatment in hospital

Network Rail

• First train completes test run between Oxford and Milton Keynes for East West RailA key milestone for Connection Stage One of the East West Rail project has been reached today (Monday 21 October) after a test train successfully completed its first run between Oxford and Milton Keynes.

Sky News

• One dead and 15 in hospital after two trains collide in WalesA man has died and 15 others have been taken to hospital after two trains collided in Wales on Monday evening.

Birmingham Mail

• Two trains collide in Wales with 'mostly minor injuries' as services cancelled and police at sceneThe incident has taken place in the Talerddig area of Powys and all services between Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth have been cancelled, Transport for Wales said. Emergency services including paramedics, firefighters and police are at the scene

Birmingham Post

• UK Government explores PFI-style funding for HS2 Euston station redevelopmentThe Conservative government abolished PFIs for new infrastructure projects in 2018 following criticism that they failed to give the taxpayer value for money
• Ministers to oversee building of HS2Transport Secretary demands reports and updates as costs spiral on high-speed rail project
• UK's Volkswagen Finance to pay £21.5m in compensation after FCA fines for unfair practicesThe Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Volkswagen Finance had agreed to pay out more than £21.5m in compensation to roughly 110,000 affected customers.

Bolton News

• Train operator gives back to the community to help empower womenA dozen TransPennine Express volunteers have helped a Manchester women's employment charity.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Works are 'reclaiming' city centre for pedestrians - chair of national group claimsTHE chair of a national heritage group says work to pedestrianise some of Bradford’s main streets is helping “reclaim” the city centre for pedestrians.

The York Press

• Special livery for York-based train company model in ‘thank you’ tributeThe train joins the fleet ahead of Remembrance Day.

Wales Online

• Still no opening date for £6m transport hub delayed by nearly a year Work on Porth Transport Hub was supposed to be finished by spring 2023, but the building is still empty and an opening date is yet to be announced
• Man dead as Powys train crash claims life of one victim and sees 15 others injured as pictures of scene emergeThe British Transport Police have confirmed the first fatality from a low-speed collision between two trains in Mid-Wales on Monday evening - pictures of the scene have also been released

East Anglian Daily Times

• Manningtree railway station car park set for judicial reviewA legal challenge against a railway car park compared to the "Berlin Wall" is being taken to the High Court.

Other Regional Press

• A40 dual carriageway plan is 'SCRAPPED'Upgrades to the A40 between Witney and Eynsham have been scrapped following a review into the scheme in Oxfordshire.
• £41m link road project delayed againA controversial £41m highway project has been delayed again by at least another 18 months because of potential funding hiccups.
• Overwhelming support for new speed limit on busy A-roadResidents have voiced their support for reducing the speed limit on a key section of road from 40mph to 30mph.
• New plans to ban all vehicles on 8 roads in Kirklees town after 'fatally flawed' consultationSeveral green lanes, at least in part, would be made off-limits to all drivers except emergency vehicles and those given a permit

New Civil Engineer

• DfT to 'get a grip' on HS2 with urgent measures after 'years of failed delivery'The Department for Transport (DfT) has launched an independent review of High Speed 2 (HS2) among other urgent measures to 'get a grip' on the megaproject following 'years of failed delivery'

Rail Business Daily

• Greater Anglia announces formation of new Ipswich to Cambridge Community Rail PartnershipGreater Anglia has announced the formation of a new Community Rail Partnership (CRP) for the Ipswich to Cambridge rail route. The aim of the CRP is to help develop and promote rail services along this key regional rail corridor, helping to align the evolution of services in line with local needs.
• c2c appoints first Chief of StaffRail operator Trenitalia c2c has announced that it has appointed Stephanie Michael as its first Chief of Staff.
• Transport for London appoints Director of Business ServicesTransport for London (TfL) has announced the appointment of Natalie Conway as its new Director of Business Services.

Rail Magazine

• Former minister Huw Merriman to lead Partnership BoardFormer Rail Minister and Chair of the Transport Select Committee Huw Merriman has been appointed to lead the Liverpool-Manchester Railway Partnership Board.
• East West Rail: Chiltern and GWR run first test trains between Oxford and West Coast Main LineThe first test train journey on the East West Rail route between Oxford and Milton Keynes ran on Monday October 21.

Railnews

• Derby is ‘beating heart’ of railway, but industry is ‘failing to pull together’ Transport secretary Louise Haigh was among more than 200 guests at the official opening of Derby’s Rail Campus, and during the event she emphasised that major railway reforms are already under way. The opening follows the recent creation of Shadow Great British Railways, which is to be based at Derby, and where the GBR Transition Team is already at work.

Railway Gazette

• High Speed Rail Group sets out what is needed to attract private finance for infrastructureUK: The High Speed Rail Group has published its Driving Investment in Rail Infrastructure report, outlining what it says is needed to develop a comprehensive long-term rail infrastructure strategy that actively engages with the investment community and explores a broad range of funding options, including private investment.

The Business Desk

• Mayor pledges full consultation on new rail link amid criticismThe Mayor of the West Midlands has vowed that everyone will have a voice in plans for a new rail link between the Midlands and North.

Other News Sources

• HS2 was never the north's salvationWe have to abandon our obsession with this sinkhole of hope and money.
• New sensors reveal most polluted streets in the cityBrighton and Hove City Council has placed over 40 sensors across the city and launched a new website in a bid to tackle air pollution.