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

Thursday, 16 August 2018

BBC News

• Rail cost rises should be reduced, says transport secretary [video]Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said passengers who were putting up with rail problems shouldn't be expected to pay such high fare increases every year.
• Rail fares: Commuters 'pay fifth of salary' on season ticketRail commuters in England's biggest cities are spending up to a fifth of their take-home pay on an annual season ticket, BBC analysis has found.

The Guardian

• UK rail fares to rise by 3.2% as commuters voice frustrationCall for freeze on train fare increases after year of mass cancellations and strikes
• Fare rises enrage rail commuters 'in this terrible mess'For Biraja Ghosal, traversing Britain’s rail network has been an almost-daily burden for the past nine years. The 46-year-old data scientist, from Barnet in north London, travels across the country five days a week as part of his job. He is no stranger to smelly loos, late trains or missing plug sockets – and that was just Wednesday morning.

The Independent

• UK RAIL FARES TO JUMP 3.2% IN JANUARY AS CHRIS GRAYLING CALLS FOR RAILWAY WAGE CHANGESCommuters from the transport secretary’s constituency will pay an extra £65 to get to work in London next year – with season ticket prices set to rise nearly twice as fast as wages.

Times Online

• Squeezed rail passengers hit with new fare rises of £100 [Subscription]Rail fares will rise by 3.2 per cent next year, angering commuters who could have to pay more than £100 extra to get to work.
• Rising fares will price passengers out of rail travel, Labour warns [Subscription]The cost of a season ticket to commute between Scotland’s two biggest cities will be more than £4,000 next year in a series of increases that Labour claimed would price some Scots off the railways.
• We need a new vision for our railways, no matter who owns them - Paul PlummerRail commuters found out yesterday how much next year’s season tickets would rise by, as the government pegs the increase to July’s retail price index. Given recent disruption, this news was met with dismay by many. Debate about the role of private companies running a vital public service inevitably followed.
• Ministers must be sidelined to get railways back on track [Subscription]Railway companies have called on the government to stop micro-managing the industry and set up an arm’s-length body, similar to the disbanded Strategic Railway Authority that supervised train operators.
• Chris Grayling angers unions with pay and train fare rise suggestion [Subscription]The transport secretary has caused anger after telling rail unions he wants to stop the industry basing increases including pay rises on inflation linked to the retail price index.

Bolton News

• More rail trouble with three days of Northern strikes confirmedTHE UNION responsible for a string of recent strikes on Northern trains has confirmed three more days.

Liverpool Echo

• First look inside futuristic new Merseyrail trainsMore space than ever, a sliding step for wheelchair users, and bins and tables on trains for the first time - welcome to a new Merseyrail train.

London Evening Standard

• South Western Railway strikes: Commuters face fresh disruption as union announces three 24-hour walkouts in SeptemberCommuters are set for disruption throughout September with workers on South Western Railway planning a fresh wave of strikes.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Funding bid to re-opoen Easter Ross railway fails to make tracksThe long shadow of Dr Beeching’s axe will continue to hang over an Easter Ross railway halt for the foreseeable future – but the fight to have it re-opened will continue.

Yorkshire Post

• The Yorkshire Post says: Who’ll pay for rail price rise? Another day, yet another headache for beleaguered rail commuters with the news that unions are pressing ahead with above-inflation pay claims.
• Paul Plummer: Post-Brexit plan to smooth way for freight traffic THE topic that doesn’t take a summer holiday: Brexit. It’s the biggest issue to people in the United Kingdom according to national opinion polls and, with seven months to go until ‘Brexit Day’, the rail industry, with many other sectors, is looking to life after we leave the European Union (EU).

East Anglian Daily Times

• Will Ipswich commuters see their season ticket prices rise by more than £200 in January?The average cost of regulated rail fares – mainly season tickets and one-day tickets – is set to go up by 3.2% in January.

Rail Advent

• Grand Central Rail launch special William Shakespeare trainGrand Central Rail has announced that they have launched their special edition train to celebrate York’s Shakespearean Summer.

Rail Magazine

• Stadler trains confirmed for Transport for WalesA deal has been confirmed for 71 Stadler trains for Transport for Wales.
• HSTs bought for charter useRedundant High Speed Trains have been bought by Locomotive Services Ltd, and will enter traffic next year.

Aviation Industry

• Emirates Airline to codeshare with Italy train operator Emirates Airline plans to codeshare with Trenitalia, Italy’s national railway company, which plans to add 27 train stations to the Dubai-based carrier’s network. read more

Other News Sources

• APPROVAL FOR NEW RAILWAY SECTIONA Network Rail proposal to construct a new section of railway underneath the East Coast Main Line has been approved by the transport secretary.