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

Friday, 07 February 2025

BBC News

• Extra policing patrols after attacks on trainsExtra policing patrols have been drafted in after a spate of what officers branded "serious" attacks on trains.
• Rail services delayed by 'disruptive passengers'Rail services have been facing delays due to "disruptive passengers", a train provider said.
• Return fares on most Welsh trains to riseSome ticket fares will rise by 6% on Transport for Wales (TfW) trains next month, the Welsh government has decided.
• Safety fears mean 'cautious' 20mph reversalWrexham council will take a "cautious approach" to plans to reverse the 20mph limit on 52 roads.
• 'All the roads we're on, there's a lot of speeding'Speed limits on some roads in the Republic of Ireland will be reduced to 60km/h (37mph) on Friday.
• Speed limits on some Irish rural roads reducedThe changes impact small "rural local roads" with further reductions to be implemented later in 2025.
• Mayor denies £100m wasted on axed clean air zoneGreater Manchester's mayor says cash for the now-scrapped scheme has helped pay for cleaner transport.
• Cutty Sark station to close for new escalatorsThe third-busiest station on the DLR is to close to allow its four escalators to be replaced.

Department for Transport

• Millions to see faster journeys as government green lights £90 million for 4 essential road schemes across EnglandGovernment is investing in vital schemes to improve journey times in Wiltshire, Leeds, Essex and Buckinghamshire.
• Spades in the ground on £295 million West Midlands Metro extensionTrams will run from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill, providing faster and more reliable transport connections to centre of Birmingham and wider West Midlands.

Financial Times

• Maersk chief expects no ‘massive impact’ from tariffs and forecasts trade growthVincent Clerc makes prediction as shipping group reports rise in operating profit to $6.5bn for 2024

The Guardian

• "How patronising": rail bosses face anger over plan to hide train departure timesNew scheme, aimed at reducing platform dashes, will see schedules deleted from boards three minutes before departure

The Independent

• Could Gatwick's second runway plans be hindered by public transport rules?Gatwick says the condition is unnecessary, unreasonable and should not be imposed

The Telegraph

• King's Cross to remove trains from departure board three minutes before they leaveTrains from London King's Cross station will be removed from the departure board three minutes before they leave.

Times Online

• Why Lower Thames Crossing is taking so long 36 years and counting [subscription]The saga of the road linking Essex and Kent, with endless consultations and £300m spent on the planning application, illustrates why Britain struggles to build infrastructure

Local Government

• Rural intercounty on demand bus service expands to more communitiesAn on demand responsive bus service connecting communities in the Staffordshire Moorlands and those in neighbouring Derbyshire has been expanded.

Network Rail

• Full service resumes between Tamworth and Nuneaton following repairs to overhead line equipmentA normal timetable has been restored on the West Coast Main Line between Tamworth and Nuneaton after successfully installing a prop to an overhead line structure.
• Network Rail appoints new deputy regional managing director to its North West & Central RegionNetwork Rail has today announced the appointment of Julien Dehornoy, CEO of Keolis Downer, the largest intermodal public transport provider in Australia, as their new NW&C deputy regional managing director.

Bristol Live

• MPs criticise Bristo's bus route cuts and funding disparitiesBristol's bus route cuts and unreliable services have left rural communities struggling

Derby Telegraph

• Railway station for Derbyshire town would be 'transformational', says council chiefA Derbyshire town regaining a railway station after decades without one would be 'transformational' a council chief has said. Swadlincote is a member of an infamous shortlist of eight large English towns which do not have a train station and are not within 5km of one.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Transport spending takes a hit - Sue WebberWhile the SNP was crow-ing about how it was increasing public spending, it turned out the news for transport wasn't quite so good.

Liverpool Echo

• Merseyrail responds to claims made about 'permanent changes'One concerned rail user has been handing out leaflets warning about the train operator's plans

Metro

• This is the worst London railway station to be a last-minute train catcherA new trial to prevent passenger rushes has cemented King's Cross as the worst London station for rail travellers who like to leave things to the very last minute.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Why the new Tyne and Wear Metro trains still aren't allowed to run to SunderlandNetwork Rail compatibility checks that will allow the new Metro trains to travel to Sunderland are yet to be completed, almost two months after the first Stadler carriage came into service

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham cabbies say new railway station rank 'marks a big achievement'Hackney Carriage drivers say the council is now working with them as taxis return 'to their roots' on Carrington Street

Peterborough Telegraph

• Summer start for new access works from Peterborough train station to city centre centreWork to open up Peterborough's train station to the city centre is expected to get under way this summer.

Other Regional Press

• Cambs authority could one day have more control over local bus servicesMayor Dr Nik Johnson will still need to make the final decision on the bus franchising scheme
• Delighted my bus shelter plan for Gaywood has come to fruitionIt's Liberal Democrat Rob Colwell's turn to write the Friday Politics column I am delighted that another of my plans to help the local community has just been implemented. The brand-new bus shelter outside of the Gayton Road Health Centre was finally installed at the end of January following conversations with Norfolk County Council and paid for from my Local Member Fund.
• Councillor backs £10K boost for Kilbarchan bus serviceA councillor has hailed a £10,000 funding boost as the first step towards a night-time bus service in Kilbarchan.
• New Lower Thames Crossing map shows exact spot a bridge on the edge of London is neededA map showing where in London a new footbridge could be built as part of the scheme to deliver the Lower Thames Crossing has been revealed. The graphic comes as part of a scheme from National Highways to put forward a design for the new crossing in East London.

New Civil Engineer

• £100M overhaul of M2 junction 5 in Kent completedThe £100M improvement scheme at the M2 junction 5 in Kent has reached completion, promising significant upgrades to one of the country's busiest and historically dangerous intersections.

Rail Advent

• Work begins on £295m West Midlands Metro extensionWork on the £295 million project to extend the West Midlands Metro tram network in the Black Country is starting today, Thursday, February 6th.

Rail Business Daily

• Rail devolution under Great British Railways local control or a directing mindRail Partners has launched a report urging the Government to clarify how Great British Railways will run the railway as a national network, while facilitating rail devolution. Read more from Chief Executive Andy Bagnall here:

Rail Magazine

• Rail minister and Network Rail CEO visit Oxford to apologise over three-and-a-half-year bridge closureRail Minister Lord Hendy and Network Rail Chief Executive Sir Andrew Haines have visited Oxford to apologise for the prolonged closure of a main road into the city.
• Provisional first dates and locations of West Coast Main Line renewals as operators welcome workWork to renew West Coast Main Line infrastructure is set to start in early 2026, when Network Rail will beginds replacing more than 100 miles of track and overhead line equipment (OLE).

Railway Gazette

• Great British Railways: Industry seeks clarity as reform makes slow progressThe biggest reforms to Great Britain's railways since privatisation 30 years ago are now being implemented. Andrew Grantham tries to cut through the noise and explain what is actually going on.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• National Express marks 100th anniversary of Greyhound serviceNational Express has marked the 100th anniversary of the first long-distance coach service with en-route stops by uniting old and new vehicles in celebration of the Bristol-London service.
• Baroness Vere joins consultancy Stonehaven to lead transport workFormer Under-Secretary of State for Transport Baroness Vere (pictured) has joined strategy and insights consultancy Stonehaven, where she will lead its work in transport as a Partner.
• Bus workforce strategy sought as labour costs reach record levelA long-term bus industry workforce strategy developed through collaboration between the sector and the government is being sought by the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT). That call comes after the trade body found that labour costs are at their highest point on record and now account for 57.4% of overall operating expenses.
• Gatwick Hoppa adds a trio of Volvo B8RLE MCV Evora busesGatwick Hoppa has taken delivery of three Volvo B8RLE single-deck buses with MCV Evora bodywork for use on a 24/7 service connecting hotels surrounding Gatwick Airport with its two terminals.

Other News Sources

• Commuter backlash after Network Rail 'erases trains from departure boards early' to 'ease passenger rush'Network Rail is facing a backlash from travellers after it began removing "long-distance" trains from station boards early, as well as bringing forward final departure calls in a bid to "ease the rush" of passengers.
• Alexander Dennis delivers first Enviro100EV for an independent operator to Shuttle BusesAlexander Dennis, a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc., one of the world's leading independent global bus manufacturers, today announced that it has delivered an Enviro100EV 'big small bus' to Scottish independent operator Shuttle Buses.
• Buses in Preston should be taken into public control for Greater Manchester-like systemThat was the demand and claim from city councillors who resolved to push for the creation of a local authority-owned bus company for the area, after condemning the deplorable state of the privately-controlled network.
• Phenomenal figures released for York's Park and RideFigures released today show that 2024 was the busiest year for York's Park and Ride since 2017, with the total number of journeys exceeding 4.5 million, almost one million higher than in 2023.
• Lower Thames Crossing announces even lower carbon emissions targetsThe team behind National Highways' Lower Thames Crossing the new road tunnel being planned under the River Thames, east of London has revealed a new target to reduce its construction carbon emissions by 70% compared to its original estimates.