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

Tuesday, 16 April 2019

The Guardian

• Virgin Trains and avoiding chaos [Letters]Iain Cameron Williams praises Richard Branson, but Robert Snape does not harbour such fond memories of his train service. Ian Pickles approves of the Guardian’s coverage of railway upgrades
• This is a final chance to scrap HS2. What the north really needs is ‘HS3’David Cameron’s vanity rail project should be ditched in the upcoming review. It’s commuter journeys that need investment

City AM

• MPs demand action from pensions regulator over 'staggering' deficit in rail sectorMPs on the Committee for Work and Pensions wrote to TPR chief executive Charles Counsell last week to demand he state how the watchdog aims to tackle the shortfall, which is estimated to be between £5bn-£6bn.

The National

• Rail staff strike fears over 'scandalous' pension threatsRAIL staff could be forced to take industrial action if pensions are threatened after firms were barred from bidding for franchises, a union has warned.

Derby Telegraph

• MP backs proposed plan to reopen Ivanhoe rail link between Burton and LeicesterSouth Derbyshire MP Heather Wheeler has thrown her support behind a campaign to reopen the Ivanhoe rail link between Burton and Leicester after 55 years.

Other Regional Press

• More than 1,000 passengers demand Fife Circle price cutTRANSPORT Minister Michael Matheson has been urged to do the “right thing” after rejecting a call to reduce fares on the Fife Circle.

Rail Technology Magazine

• First of CAF’s new Nova fleet accepted by TPE ahead of rollout across north of EnglandThe first of TransPennine Express’s (TPE) Nova 3 fleet has been officially accepted after completing testing with its manufacturer CAF. The new fleet has been hit by delays due to technical issues and was due to roll out before the end of 2018, but are now expected to enter service “in the coming months” between Liverpool Lime Street and Scarborough and later on the Manchester Airport to Middlesbrough service.
• RAIB launches investigation after 'vulnerable' man fell on Metrolink tracks as tram departedAn investigation has been launched after a “vulnerable” passenger fell onto the track on the Manchester Metrolink after the tram he was leaning on pulled away, the RAIB has said. The man, described by the RAIB as “in a vulnerable condition” had alighted from a tram at...

Other News Sources

• Ticketless parking introduced at Greater Anglia stationsTICKETLESS parking has been rolled out at train stations across Essex.
• The old Waterloo International station platforms have reopened to trainsThe Eurostar is undeniably brilliant. You can get from London to Paris in 2 hours and 23 minutes, as well as Amsterdam, Brussels, Strasbourg and Cologne.

EIN News Subscription

• Let Virgin Trains connect with Orlando, just leave taxpayers out of it | EditorialRemember back in 1999, when Central Florida was just one Orange County Commission vote away from building a light rail line along Interstate 4? Remember back in 2011 when newly elected Gov. Rick Scott turned down $2 billion in federal money for high-speed rail between Orlando and Tampa? Let’s hope we’re not going to remember 2019 as the year Florida passed up yet another …
• EUROSTAR LATEST: Union warns delays in Paris could worsen over EasterAfter more than a month of travel chaos at the Paris terminal of Eurostar, things had seemed to be returning to normal in recent weeks. However on Sunday evening and Monday morning passengers were again reporting long queues for passport control with delays on trains. One Twitter user reported "500m long queues and no information on what's happening".