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

Thursday, 30 November 2017

BBC News

• TfL may take over suburban rail linesThe Transport Secretary is urged to resign after a leaked letter shows he opposed rail devolution to keep it

Financial Times

• Network Rail and train operators shunted towards closer integrationShake-up involves major reform of structure pursued since privatisation

The Guardian

• East Coast rail 'bailout' could cost taxpayers hundreds of millionsUnions and Labour criticise government as Virgin Trains East Coast’s contract is terminated three years earlyThe East Coast rail franchise will be terminated three years early, avoiding the embarrassment of another private firm handing back the keys to the government but potentially forfeiting hundreds of millions in premiums due to the Treasury.

The Telegraph

• Rail routes axed under 1960s Beeching cuts could reopen to ease overcrowding

Times Online

• Stagecoach reaches end of East Coast line three years early [Subscription]The troubled East Coast rail franchise will hit the buffers three years early after warnings that the private operator was on the brink of handing it back to the government.
• Series of strikes to derail Christmas plans [Subscription]Union bosses have announced a series of strikes over the Christmas period.
• Ticket-free train travel means end of inspections [Subscription]The end of traditional ticket inspections is in sight after rail bosses launched a trial of “hands-free” fares yesterday that automatically charge passengers as they board trains.

Bolton News

• 'No viable option' to restore disused railway line, despite new Government plan to bring back old routesBOLTON is unlikely to benefit from plans to re-open train lines that have been closed for decades, rail users believe.

London Evening Standard

• Pictured: how Knightsbridge Tube station will look after multi-million pound revampThis is how Knightsbridge Tube station will look when a multi-million pound redevelopment is completed in five years.
• TfL could take control of Southern Rail routes in major transport overhaul, Chris Grayling announcesTransport for London could be handed control of some major commuter routes run by Southern Rail in an overhaul of the capital's train services.
• 'Decaying tracks' led to Paddington commuter train derailment"Decaying tracks" led to the derailment of a commuter train as it left London's Paddington station, investigators have found.
• How to make the most of your 'millennial railcard': the best day, weekend and long weekend trips from LondonFrom Edinburgh to Arundel, these are the best places to visit by train from London
• Virgin Trains strikes: Train workers to stage six 24-hour walkouts in December and JanuaryVirgin Trains West Coast workers are to stage six 24-hour strikes in December and January in a dispute over pay.

Other Regional Press

• Rail lines and stations closed in 60s could re-open in new 'rail strategy' OXFORDSHIRE rail lines closed during the notorious Beeching cuts of the 1960s could be reopened, the Transport Secretary has announced.
• Rail fans say Transport Secretary could do a lot more for rural OxfordshireRAIL champions have hit out at Chris Grayling for not doing more for Oxfordshire in his new national rail strategy yesterday.
• Trains, social care and housing - Colne Valley MP Thelma Walker delivers her alternative budgetLabour MP on what Chancellor Philip Hammond should have done

Rail Technology Magazine

• DfT reveals new franchising model for upcoming South Eastern contractPlans revealed today by the DfT detail a 40,000-passenger capacity increase expected from the next operator of the South Eastern franchise. The new operator will also have to work under the new ‘one team’ model of franchising, which was announced by transport secretary Chris Grayling...
• Grayling shakes up franchising and plans to overturn Beeching cutsA new franchising model will be brought in, some old routes may be reopened, and more details have been revealed on the break-up of GTR and Great Western as part of the government’s ‘Strategic Vision for Rail,’ released today. Transport secretary Chris Grayling has used the...
• Union threatens six days of strike on Virgin West Coast servicesFollowing a vote earlier this month, members of the RMT union working on Virgin West Coast services have announced six days of strike action in December and January. The dispute revolves around disparities between support staff and drivers, after a deal between Virgin and both sets of staff left...

Railnews

• Grayling report sets out new vision for rail Plans to reform almost every aspect of the railway industry have been set out by transport secretary Chris Grayling. In a new report, entitled ˜Connecting People: a strategic vision for rail™, Mr Grayling™s ambitions include further reorganisation of Network Rail as well as more reintegration of track and train, new forms of passenger franchise, boosts for railfreight and the reopening of some lines which were closed by British Rail. However, it is not clear at this stage how reopenings would be funded. Both Labour and the RMT are critical.

Railway Gazette

• Strategic vision to bring infrastructure and operations closerUK: On November 29 Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling published the government’s...
• Containers by rail from China to FranceINTERNATIONAL: For its customer PSA, Gefco has operated its first trainload of 40 ft containers...