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

Wednesday, 18 July 2018

Cogitamus

• The Rail Network in WalesThe Case for Investment – Summary

BBC News

• Network Rail: 'Record number' of young people dying on railwaysThe railway industry launches a campaign to educate young people about the dangers of railways.

Times Online

• Ryanair cancels 24 flights as 100 pilots go ahead with strikeHolidaymakers face further disruption on Friday after Ryanair was forced to cancel 24 flights because of a strike by directly employed pilots.

Mail Online

• Network Rail signalman sacked after taking a break during rush hour Peter Lee, 60, was sacked for gross misconduct after taking a 20 minute break following a six-hour shift, a break he was entitled too. But bosses at Arundel Station in West Sussex got rid of the signalman.

Other Regional Press

• Train companies will soon be held to account by new complaints processFrustrated train passengers unhappy with the outcome of their complaints, can take it to a free-to-use ombudsman service from November
• Wheels fall off of rail upgrade plan in Somerset - for the time beingProblems across the network has meant the introduction of a new timetable has been postponed
• Complaints about trains rise by 60 per cent as Weston commuters struggle to get to work on timeComplaints about the service run by train operator Great Western Railway (GWR) have risen by 60 per cent in the past year. From December 2017 to March this year, 6.1 per cent of trains were significantly delayed by 30-120 minutes, or were cancelled.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Grayling confirms electrification will form part of £3bn TransPennine upgradeThe transport secretary has confirmed to the UK rail supply sector that the TransPennine route upgrade will include both major civil engineering projects and electrification as part of its future plans.
• More delays hit GTR after third timetable in two months, leaving passengers furiousServices on the renewed timetable for struggling rail firm GTR have already been hit by a spate of cancellations despite the operator introducing its third timetable in two months. Networks under GTR’s control— Southern, Thameslink, and Greater Northern— were marred by...
• iRail: investing in the future The rail industry today faces many challenges, one of those being the skills gap in high- speed rail. However, events like iRail are doing their part in engaging young people and investing the future workforce of our railways. RTM’s Daniel Broadley reports. After a successful event back in...
• Hydrogen trains: bringing the success story to the UKHydrogen-powered trains are already a reality in other rail networks in Europe. Now, working alongside Eversholt Rail, Alstom UK plans to bring these same benefits to Britain in light of the country’s decarbonisation and electrification agendas, writes Mike Muldoon, its head of business...
• HS2: collaborate to innovate Dr Chris Goodier and Dr Steve Yeomans, of Loughborough University’s Centre for Innovative and Collaborative Construction Engineering (CICE), talk about four new HS2 research projects which are set to challenge how we design, build and monitor high-speed rail projects. No one doubts that...
• Elizabeth Line: a greener approach Howard Smith, operations director for TfL Rail and the Elizabeth Line, outlines the key features of the brand-new, eco-friendly Old Oak Common depot which recently opened its doors in the capital. Operations have begun at the new, purpose-built train depot at Old Oak Common which will support...
• DfT said East Coast bid was 'low-risk' despite very ambitious growth targetsStagecoach and Virgin’s original bid for the failed Intercity East Coast franchise was “ambitious” and not fully believed by the DfT to succeed, MPs have been told. Speaking to the Commons Transport Select Committee yesterday, Stagecoach chief executive Martin Griffiths said...
• Grayling confirms electrification will form part of £3bn TransPennine upgradeThe transport secretary has confirmed to the UK rail supply sector that the TransPennine route upgrade will include both major civil engineering projects and electrification as part of its future plans. The future of TransPennine infrastructure improvements has been in the public eye: in July...
• Up north: a long-term strategy Until April, David Hoggarth was director of Rail North. Now, after the amalgamation of Rail North with subnational body Transport for the North (TfN), he is the latter’s strategic rail director. Here, he talks about the importance of a long-term strategy. When Rail North was formed six...

Railnews

• ‘Stark’ lack of Welsh rail investment revealedTHE amount of money being invested in the Welsh rail network is proportionately much lower than elsewhere in Britain and the result is poorer services, according to economy and transport secretary Ken Skates.

Railway Gazette

• Alstom shareholders approve Siemens Mobility mergerALSTOM: All proposed resolutions related to the proposed merger of Alstom and Siemens Mobility were...

Other News Sources

• The Rail Network in WalesThe Case for Investment – Summary
• Tees Valley Mayor: £2.8bn HS2 train contract should go to Hitachi RailTees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen is today (July 18) calling on the Secretary of State for Transport to award a £2.8bn train contract to North East-based Hitachi Rail Europe.