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

Sunday, 25 May 2025

BBC News

• 'Low demand' bus route dropped after three monthsAn "isolated" community is to lose its first bus to a nearby town in a decade after only three months of operation.
• South Western first rail firm renationalised by LabourThe first service under new public ownership will be partially operated by a rail replacement bus.

Department for Transport

• Great British RailwaysUpdates on the programme to transfer rail services into public ownership and establish GBR as the body responsible for passenger services and infrastructure.
• New dawn for rail as South Western services return to public handsTrain operators will have to meet rigorous performance standards and earn the right to be called Great British Railways.

Financial Times

• First Group dispute threatens to overshadow Labour’s rail nationalisation plansNationalisation of South Western Railway, one of UK’s busiest train operators, is first by the current government

The Guardian

• ‘New dawn’: first train service renationalised under Starmer beginsMinister hails ‘cultural reset’ before the 6:14 South Western Railway service from London Waterloo to SheppertonMinisters have hailed a “new dawn” for Britain’s railways as the first train services renationalised under the Labour government started operating on Sunday.The 6.14 from London Waterloo to Shepperton was due to be the first rebranded train out on Sunday, its carriages adorned with a union jack and the logo “Great British Railways: coming soon” as part of a publicly owned South Western Railway (SWR).

The Telegraph

• Transport Secretary: Public doesn?t care who runs railways [subscription]I am not going to be able to bring ticket prices down, admits Heidi Alexander, as South Western Railway is renationalised

Times Online

• Will a rail link make Somerset?s trendy towns even posher? [subscription]Property hot spots like Frome and Bruton are buzzing ? and a proposed new rail service could be a first-class upgrade for the people who live there

City AM

• How EV charging points could be used to help the high street EVs could help revive our high streets – if we put charging points where people actually go, writes Robin Heap.

i News

• The rail replacement bus rip-off continues on Labour's first nationalised trainC2C, which operates between London and Essex and Greater Anglia, will be nationalised later this year

Sky News

• First renationalised rail service begins today… with replacement busSouth Western Railway (SWR) has been renationalised this weekend as part of the government's transition towards Great British Railways.

Birmingham Post

• Transport giant Arriva seals multimillion-pound public transport deal in CroatiaThe new deal will add around 600,000 kilometres each year to Arriva’s operations

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Up to £50k available for West Yorkshire 'active travel hubs'West Yorkshire Combined Authority is offering up to £50,000 in grants to community groups to establish 'active travel hubs' promoting walking, wheeling, and cycling through equipment, training, and guided activities.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• New road could be built to alleviate A55/A494 bottleneck but Red Route 'very divisive'Transport Minister says there is still a 'real problem' with congestion at key border crossing
• Sixty roads, paths and bridges in Gwynedd to be repaired but will mean more roadworksWelsh Government has provided the money for major repairs to take place

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• As the old Tyne and Wear Metro fleet is phased out - recalling their 1970s arrival in 10 photos10 archive images from a time when the new Metro system would revolutionise public transport in our region

Burnley Express

• Knife arch brought out at train station as cops tackle knife crimePolice were on patrol in Blackburn and Darwen as part of Operation Sceptre looking for those carrying knives.

Other Regional Press

• Midlands Rail Hub will 'speed up housing developments'A major new rail project which will bring 20 million extra seats in and out of Birmingham could speed up housing schemes, a new report claims.
• Free bus travel for over 60s campaign gets government responseCurrently free bus passes in England are granted at 66
• 'Isolated' community's first bus to Billingham in a decade is to stop after just three monthsStagecoach has decided to end the service from the Clarences to Billingham after it brought in just £12.58 a day during a three-month trial period

Railnews

• A new beginning, as South Western Railway is renationalised The first train run by renationalised South Western Railway from London Waterloo left at 06.14 this morning, bound for Shepperton. SWR is the first of ten former franchises being returned to public ownership between now and 2027.

TaxiPoint

• Heathrow taxi feeder park chaos continues as LTDA demands urgent meeting over driver sanctions Perry RichardsonThe Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association (LTDA) has strongly criticised Heathrow Airport Ltd (HAL) for threatening to penalise taxi drivers amid ongoing problems at the airport's taxi feeder park.