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

Thursday, 17 May 2018

BBC News

• Japanese train departs 25 seconds early - againA Japanese rail company has apologised after a train left a station 25 seconds early, the second such case in months.
• Give Scottish ministers a say on East Coast rail line, says YousafThe Scottish transport minister seeks input and assurances as the rail route is brought back under public control.
• Chris Grayling defends handling of East Coast lineThe transport secretary tells Laura Kuenssberg nationalising the whole network is not the answer.
• Millennial railcards 'still on track', says TreasuryThe Treasury and rail operating firms say they are committed to a railcard for 26-30 year-olds.
• Slough inquest: No missed opportunities in rail deathsA coroner has said there were "no missed opportunities" in the care of a mother who jumped in front of a train with her 10-year-old son.

Department for Transport

• LNER to run East Coast Mainline services from London to Yorkshire, the North East and ScotlandTrain services will continue to run as normal. Your tickets are still valid, your journeys won’t be affected and you do not need to change your journey plans.

The Guardian

• The Guardian view on renationalising rail: give it a chanceCorporate bungling means the state will run the east coast mainline. It should be left in government hands to better observe the relative merits of public and private ownership
• Nationalisation of east coast mainline is the only viable optionChris Grayling’s decision to bring route under public ownership avoids rewarding failure
• State takes back control of east coast mainlineThe East Coast rail service will be temporarily renationalised, the government has decided, after operators Virgin and Stagecoach could no longer meet the promised payments in the £3.3bn contract.

The Herald

• New high-speed trains row may end up in court, minister tells MSPsTrain row could go to court, transport minister admits

The Independent

• East Coast Main Line: as another franchise hits the rocks, is rail doomed to fail?Pity the poor shareholder: for every day that Virgin Trains East Coast has existed, the enterprise has lost somewhere in the region of £175,000
• East Coast Mainline renationalised by government after Virgin Trains deal terminated'Good to see Grayling implementing first stage of Labour’s Manifesto promise,' says shadow chancellor

The Telegraph

• Rail commuters to lose up to a third of scheduled services under timetable revolution, campaigners claimRail commuters face losing up to a third of scheduled services under a mass timetable shake-up, campaigners claim.

Times Online

• More rail firms could be stripped of lines after east coast is renationalised [Subscription]The transport secretary was under pressure to act over at least four struggling rail operators last night after announcing plans to renationalise services on the east coast main line.
• Virgin Trains ‘surprised’ to lose east coast [Transport]One of Britain’s busiest intercity rail services will be brought into state hands for up to two years after the private operator collapsed for the third time in a decade.
• Airport and rail caterer SSP set to serve up more of the same to its investors [Subscription]SSP is expected to demonstrate its confidence by considering a £100 million special dividend for a second year in a row.
• Grayling’s route to nationalisation [subscription]Who needs Jeremy Corbyn? Not when you’ve got Chris Grayling nationalising the railways. He’s already got things going on the east coast line.

City AM

• Government strips Stagecoach of Virgin East Coast franchiseThe government today renationalised Britain's East Coast railway, stripping Stagecoach of its loss-making franchise.
• Former John Lewis boss Andy Street brought on board as an adviser for government's East Coast rail shake-upFormer John Lewis boss and current mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street, is being brought on board to advise with the East Coast Main Line services being taken back under government control.
• Rail nationalisation? It's time Britain got on with a real privatisation insteadReturning the east coast mainline to public ownership yesterday prompted the inevitable calls for full renationalisation of Britain’s rail network.

Bolton News

• Andy Burnham's plans to investigate Northern will not solve problems, says rail users chairTHE CHAIR of a rail organisation has criticised Andy Burnham over plans to investigate train company Northern.

London Evening Standard

• Japanese train operator apologises for 'truly inexcusable' 25-second early departureA Japanese rail company has apologised after a train left a station 25 seconds early, describing the incident as "truly inexcusable".

Northern Echo

• Remember LNER? Government set to restore historic name to East Coast rail servicesWITH the Government set to restore the LNER name to Britain's railways, we thought we'd have a look back through the archives and came across these old railway posters.

Yorkshire Post

• The Yorkshire Post says: Grayling failing railways again. Minister accused of contempt in ParliamentCHRIS GRAYLING did himself no favours when he mishandled the official announcement that the East Coast Main Line was effectively being renationalised following the collapse of the Stagecoach and Virgin franchise – details emerged on Twitter before MPs were informed.

Other Regional Press

• MP urges government to break up Southern and Thameslink franchise ‘sooner rather than later’An MP and former Brighton councillor urged the government to break up the Southern and Thameslink rail franchise “sooner rather than later”.

Other News Sources

• GRAND CENTRAL SUBMITS APPLICATION TO RUN ADDITIONAL SERVICES ON ITS NORTH EAST AND WEST RIDING ROUTESGrand Central, an open access train operator and part of the Arriva Group, has submitted its application to operate additional services to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) for consideration.
• Plymouth's Railway Station and the £100 million pound questionGovernment ministers want foreign investors to pay for the scheme, which includes a hotel and car park