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

Tuesday, 03 July 2018

ITV News

• Rail punctuality stats show damaging impact of new timetablesThe damaging impact of new train timetables has been demonstrated in the latest punctuality figures.
• RAIL DELAYS: 'SORRY YOUR TRAIN IS LATE. HAVE AN ICE-LOLLY’, COMMUTERS TOLDCommuters on Merseyrail are to be offered ice-lollies and chilled water by way of apology for disruption attributed to the heatwave.

Times Online

• Commuters can smell way to quick exit [Subscription]A public transport ticketing system is being developed that uses passengers’ sense of smell to help reduce congestion at station gates.

Conservative Party

• Gove floats scrapping HS2 because he believes it to be a policy with a growing appealAmid all the whispering and jostling for position ahead of the expected leadership election – whenever it might come – it’s fascinating to see which particular topics are apparently being raised, and by which candidates. Brexit, of course, is the backdrop to just about everything at the moment, but one detail caught my eye in the weekend’s newspapers.

London Evening Standard

• TfL Tube delays: Rush hour commuters face misery on Central and Victoria linesRush hour commuters faced a miserable journey on two of London’s busiest Tube lines on Tuesday morning after they were struck with delays.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Petition for Metro to run through the night gathers hundreds of signaturesGary Spedding, who started the petition, says a night-time service would allow people who work late to get back home using public transport

Yorkshire Evening Post

• The Yorkshire Post says: Celebrating rare rail successes In recent months, news relating to Yorkshire and the railways has rarely been positive. But while it may not make any commute quicker or carriage less packed, a local success story is bringing a smile at last.

Blackpool Gazette

• Resort hit by raft of new summer rail closuresBlackpool’s hopes for extra holidaymakers from London on direct trains have been hit by the news of a new closure of the West Coast Main Line.

Other Regional Press

• MP writes letter over severe train delays Fareham MP Suella Braverman has wrriten to Andy Mellors, managing director of South West Railway, to raise concern for commuters, including many Fareham residents, who have been hit by severe delays, sometimes lasting hours, or cancellations which have left them stranded.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Urgent clarity needed amid claims that TransPennine electrification will be scrappedThe government has come under fire after claims it will reverse its decision to electrify the TransPennine rail route connecting Manchester to Leeds and York. Last summer, transport secretary Chris Grayling suggested that the government could pull the plug on the scheme when he announced that...
• GTR could lose its franchise if services don't improve after new timetableGovia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is at risk of losing its franchise if it fails to improve the slumping performance across its services since late May’s timetable shake-up, which led to a string of cancellations and delays. The BBC received this information from a government source, who...
• New trams on the way for Manchester as TfGM signs £72m contract27 new Metrolink trams will bolster Manchester’s light rail network in a new £72m contract signed by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) today. The fleet will provide 4,800 extra spaces and increase capacity on the network by 15% with the first tram expected to arrive in February...
• State-of-the-art maintenance trains on the way to support Elizabeth LineNew top-of-the-line maintenance trains used on the Elizabeth line are being tested ahead of delivery to London later this year. Manufactured by Austrian company Lisinger in Steyrermühl, a new milling train and two multi-purpose engineering trains manufactured in Germany will deliver the...

Railway Gazette

• World rail freight news round-up A part of government proposals to provide a more level playing field for rail freight, Dutch...

Transport Network

• MPs call for rail reform to restore 'damaged reputation'MPs have called for a raft of reforms to rail infrastructure funding, financial methodology and delivery, suggesting that action needs to be taken to restore the public's faith in the Government.

Other News Sources

• £1bn infrastructure spend for Old Oak HS2 siteAround £1bn of infrastructure investment is needed to develop the district that will surround the new HS2 station in West London.
• Dundee Railway Station changing places toilet ‘open by end of the year’Campaigners hope a changing places toilet at the revamped Dundee train station could be open by the end of the year....
• Disabled train passengers victim of ‘years of underfunding’ and delaysOne in three disabled people have experienced problems using trains in the past year due to their disability – and campaigners in North Somerset have been calling for better access for 10 years.