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

Friday, 03 August 2018

BBC News

• Ely derailed train: Carriages were due in for a serviceAn investigation into a freight train that derailed in Cambridgeshire has recommended that wagon maintenance be improved.
• Northern Rail and my nightmare summerThis week, train services scrapped after a timetable shake-up at Northern have begun running again - but passengers have been facing more cancellations.

Times Online

• Sensors in train carriages will guide you to spare seat [Subscription]Sensors are being installed above train seats for the first time to detect which are being used by passengers and prevent carriages being left half empty.

City AM

• Tweets with hashtag #thameslinkfail rocketed by more than 12,000 per cent this yearThroughout the May rail timetable shambles and in its aftermath – which is still being felt – Twitter and Google lent a helping hand as the perfect outlet for passengers to vent their frustration.

London Evening Standard

• Crossrail set to turn forgotten west London corner into a commuter hubThis forgotten corner of the capital – with acres of green space nearby – is set to become a commuter hotspot, thanks to Crossrail.

Northern Echo

• Chris Grayling: The many failings on his watch as Transport SecretaryTHE Northern Rail timetable fiasco is one of several controversies to play out on Chris Grayling’s watch as Transport Secretary. Earlier this week, the Prime Minister was urged to step in personally to end rail “chaosâ€� in the North after it was estimated a summer of disruption has cost businesses more than £1 million a day at its height.

Yorkshire Post

• Franchise model needs to be reviewed says Grayling Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has said that the franchise model on Britain’s railways needs to be re-examined in order to avoid a repeat of the failures seen across the transport infrastructure in the last few months
• The Yorkshire Post says: Chris Grayling: I don’t run the trains. Minister abdicates responsibility TYPICALLY, CHRIS Grayling totally missed the point when he responded to criticism about his mismanagement of the Department for Transport by saying, once again, that it isn’t the role of politicians to run the railway.

Other Regional Press

• Airport 'not affected' by air rail link planTHE boss of a firm which is preparing plans for a £1 billion Heathrow rail link has stressed that regional air travel would not be impacted if a direct link was established with Dorset.
• Double win for commuters in Bicester with rail and road improvements announcedCOMMUTERS in Bicester were handed a double win this week with two sets of planned rail improvements which could 'open up other parts of the country'.
• Victory in rail bridge battle - but have they won the war? A HISTORIC railway bridge was saved from demolition after councillors voted against controversial plans to destroy the structure.

Rail Advent

• 125 Group purchases Mk3 coachThe 125 Group has announced that they have purchased an additional Mk3 Coach. The coach is Restaurant First Modular 10202.

Rail Magazine

• Permission sought to build East West Rail Phase 2Network Rail has submitted its final proposals for the construction of Phase 2 of East West Rail (EWR) to Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling.
• MPs seek acceleration of Northern Powerhouse RailA cross-party group of more than 80 politicians has written to Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond asking for Northern Powerhouse Rail to be brought forward to 2032.

Rail Technology Magazine

• TfWM partners up with another TOC in race for 'as many deals as possible'As part of its ambition to team up with as many operators as possible in order to “revolutionise” the rail network, Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) has signed a brand-new partnership deal with Virgin Trains and West Midlands Rail Executive centred around sustainability. Virgin...
• Return to full timetables in September may be stalled due to infrastructure failuresPlans to move back to full timetables from chaos-stricken TOCs such as Northern Rail and TransPennine Express have been thrown into doubt following a recent Transport for North (TfN) meeting. Northern Rail reintroduced three quarters of its services to daily schedule on Monday but the rollouts...
• Deliver NPR by 2032 and invest £100bn in northern transport by 2050, MPs demandA cross-party group of MPs have written to the chancellor calling for £100bn of investment to transform the north of England’s transport by 2050. The letter welcomed the Treasury’s “ongoing commitment to deal with this issue by reversing decades of underinvestment,”...
• ORR slams Network Rail over 'systemic failings' of May timetables, recovery plan due in AugustThe rail regulator has scolded Network Rail for its mismanagement of the chaotic new timetables that left many commuters stranded from 20 May. In a report released after a thorough investigation, the ORR demanded that Network Rail take four immediate actions to improve passenger services...

Railnews

• Edinburgh-Glasgow route goes all-electric for first timeTHE ScotRail Alliance has operated a wholly electric train service on its main Edinburgh-Glasgow Queen Street route for the first time, using a combination of new trains with two older types – one of which dates back to the last few years of British Rail.

Other News Sources

• £20M PLANS FOR RAILWAY STATION REDEVELOP ON TRACKA £20m plan to redevelop Solihull Railway Station could take a major step forward next week.