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

Wednesday, 30 July 2025

BBC News

• Council invests £16m in hydrogen busesThere are now 34 hydrogen buses on the streets of Surrey, the council has announced.
• Thameslink's oldest rail worker honoured with songAn 85-year-old railway worker from north London has been honoured with a folk song to mark his long service.
• Trains transfer to public ownership in West MidlandsWMT says customers can be "assured" the change will not impact its train services, timetables or stations.
• New train services from London approved on east coast lineThe rail regulator has approved proposals from operators Lumo, Grand Central and Hull Trains.
• US rail merger could create first coast-to-coast freight serviceUnion Pacific agrees to buy Norfolk Southern, establishing a $250bn colossus with 50,000 miles of track.
• Plan for 40,000 homes to be built on railway landThe UK government says first-time buyers stand to benefit from the plan to develop the brownfield sites.

Department for Transport

• First-time buyers to benefit from 40,000 new homes on brownfield railway landNeighbourhoods in Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Cambridge will be transformed with homes, green spaces, shops and hotels.

Financial Times

• UK rail regulator approves new ‘open-access’ passenger services Green light for FirstGroup and Arriva comes despite government pressure to curb growth of such operations

The Telegraph

• Heathrow can become the world's best airport here's how [subscription]Our expert assesses the airport's latest makeover plans and lists what it really needs
• Private rail expansion blocked to protect state-owned rival [subscription]Applications for train services turned down by regulator citing impact on Great British Railways

Mail Online

• All new UK cars will have breathalysers and black box-style recorders under Labour plans to align with the EULabour is looking at aligning UK and EU laws on pre-installed car safety technologies - but critics say it is a ploy by the government to reset its post-Brexit relationship with the EU.

The Mirror

• UK motorway stop is now unlikely food paradise just in time for school holidaysSedgemoor Services is home to the Sedgemoor Farm Shop, a celebration of local food and craftsmanship, turning a service station into a genuine destination for foodies

Local Government

• Surrey's new hydrogen buses make up the UK's largest zero emission hydrogen bus fleetSurrey County Council has invested over £16m in 34 zero emission hydrogen buses to ensure the county's bus service is cleaner and greener.

Birmingham Mail

• 'Virtually all roads' in Birmingham to become 30mph or lessMajor changes will result in a cut to speed limits across the city

Birmingham Post

• West Midlands Trains to be nationalisedRail operator which runs a host of key commuter routes across the region will be under public ownership from February
• East Coast Main Line train operators to run additional services from DecemberLumo, Hull Trains and Grand Central will put on new services including trains between the capital and Hull, Newcastle and Glasgow
• Vauxhall owner Stellantis to incur £1.3bn costs from US tariffs post EU dealThe automaker confirmed in a half-year update that it had already incurred levies of €300m on its US exports this year, and expects that figure to rise dramatically in the wake of the US-EU trade pact

Bristol Live

• Temple Meads station to be transformed with huge new multi-storey car parkThe development will massively change how people travel to and from the station

Manchester Evening News

• Major Bee Network bus rule change coming this week for 'hundreds of thousands' of passengersMajor rule changes are in store for hundreds of thousands of Bee Network passengers this week.

Nation. Cymru

• TfW rail tickets unlock big discounts at major attractionsRail passengers can use their Transport for Wales tickets to unlock big discounts at some of Wales and the borders best attractions this summer.
• Fears over 'transformational' rail testing plantConcerns are mounting over whether an ambitious project aimed at making Wales a world-class centre for railway testing will raise enough private investment to be viable.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham tram network 'a worthwhile investment' as overall debt continues to fall'We get an incredible amount of interest from other cities to come and look at our tram network'

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• West Midlands residents angry after £245m upgrade to tram system causes gardens to partially collapseA video shows large cracks in a number of West Midlands gardens, which residents say have been caused by work on a £245 million upgrade to a nearby tram system.
• West Midlands HS2: Video shows HS2 life-size model carriage with more leg room and multiple charging optionsA video shows the concept design of a HS2 Class 895 carriage - the trains will be maintained at a new HS2 depot in Washwood Heath, Birmingham.

Kent Online

• Kent County Council leader renews demand for cut of 'astonishing' £46m Dartford Crossing toll hikeThe government is due to rake in an extra £46m next year from the hike in Dartford Crossing charges.

Other Regional Press

• National Express brings back fast Ringwood to London busTOWN residents are celebrating after National Express agreed to reinstate fast coach services to London.
• Somerset Council encourages local residents to 'bus it' and keep services sustainableSomerset Council has this week urged locals to use bus services regularly in the Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge to ensure they are 'sustainable and remain that way'.

Rail Business Daily

• How W.H. Davis is shaping the future of rail wagon designCarl Baxendell is Engineering Manager at W.H.Davis, the UK's last independent wagon manufacturer. Speaking to RBD, he explains how a project to convert old coal hoppers for Porterbrook and Freightliner has resulted in a more durable and efficient box wagon design.

Rail Magazine

• Do West Coast Main Line rejections indicate the future for open access?Capacity issues on the West Coast Main Line, allied to a sense of growing government antipathy, suggest further proposals for new services might receive similar treatment.
• West Midlands Railway public ownership date announcedRail operators West Midlands Railway (WMR) and sister company London Northwestern Railway (LNWR) will enter back into public ownership on February 1, 2026, the Department for Transport has confirmed. WMR's initial franchise expiry date was September 20, 2026.
• Deal close for Chiltern to take Mk 5s and Class 68s from April 2026A £360 million deal for Chiltern Railways to take 13 sets of Mk5 coaches and 14 Class 68s is close to being agreed.
• Prison rail apprenticeship programme launched to provide 'critical sector' skillsUK: A programme of railway engineering apprenticeships has been launched at Highpoint prison in Suffolk.

Railnews

• ORR approves ‘limited’ open access additions The Office of Rail and Road has approved applications from three existing open access operators to run additional services on the East Coast Main Line and for Grand Central to call at Seaham for the first time, but it has refused First’s application for London-Sheffield and signalled to the Department for Transport that it will not be changing its ‘established approach to assessing the impact on funds available to Secretary of State’.

Other News Sources

• Government and mayors back UK bus manufacturing with zero-emission investment driveGreener transport, skilled jobs and stronger UK manufacturing were in focus in Westminster earlier this week as government ministers and metro mayors pledged to accelerate the transition to zero-emission buses and boost regional economies.
• Calls for Kent to get a slice of Dartford Crossing chargeThe hike in extra revenue resulted in renewed calls by Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran for a slice of the windfall, the size of which she described as 'astonishing and shocking'.