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

Friday, 20 September 2019

BBC News

• South Wales Metro: Extending rail lines 'could boost valleys'Calls have been made to extend two railway lines in the south Wales valleys as part of the £738m South Wales Metro project.
• Tyne and Wear Metro: Halting contract talks 'illegal'Halting the bidding process for a £500m fleet of Metro trains to help a firm in the north-east of England would be illegal, transport bosses insist.
• Why doesn't the UK take monorails seriously?A proposal to build a monorail in Derby received a lukewarm reception. Does the technology have an image problem?
• Birmingham burial site excavated for HS2 stationArchaeologists excavate 6,500 skeletons from a 19th-Century burial ground in Birmingham.
• South Wales Metro: Lack of toilets tram-trains 'dehumanising'Passengers will be forced to wait to use facilities at stations on the new South Wales Metro.
• Hull Trains worst for punctuality, figures showHull Trains has the worst record in the country for punctuality, new figures show. Only 36.8% of the company's services arrived on time, followed by TransPennine Express (38.7%) and London North Eastern Railway (41%).

Financial Times

• Why HS2 is way over budget and badly delayedUnexpected mix of soil conditions, miscalculated land values and poor governance are all to blame

The Herald

• One in three British rail services run late under tightened standardsHull Trains has worst and c2c the best record under new measurements, data shows

The Telegraph

• Trains are late three times as often as previously thought, Office of Rail and Road figures revealTrains are late three times as often as previously thought, Office of Rail and Road figures reveal, as a new method of measuring punctuality is introduced.

City AM

• Crossrail could need an extra £400m and open behind schedule, bosses warnCrossrail could end up needing an extra £400m in a worst case scenario and open later in 2021, bosses have revealed.
• Grant Shapps says rail firms should be rewarded for running trains on timeTransport secretary Grant Shapps has suggested rail firms should be given financial rewards for running trains on time, admitting that they still get paid when services are late.

Network Rail

• Scotland’s Railway gets ready for autumnScotland’s Railway is more prepared than ever before to keep trains moving during autumn.

Bolton News

• Rail union boss hits out at Northern's improvement claimsA RAIL union general secretary has accused Northern bosses for 'glossing over' serious problems in the wake of last year's timetable chaos.

London Evening Standard

• Crossrail 'could open even later and cost extra £400 million'Crossrail could cost an additional £400 million and open even later than already planned, it has emerged.
• Row over 60 per cent spike in number of 'mental health' sick days taken by TfL workersAn
• Rail firms should not be paid when trains run late, says Grant ShappsRail firms

Morning Star

• Shapps suggests companies that run trains on time should be rewardedTRANSPORT Secretary Grant Shapps was lambasted today after suggesting that train companies should be financially rewarded for running services on time.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• 'Fund it properly!' demands MP as the shocking scale of late LNER trains to Newcastle are revealedThe figures make grim reading for passengers on the East Coast Mainline

Northern Echo

• Nexus: Halting Metro contract process 'would be illegal'CALLING a halt on the £500m race to build a new Metro fleet to help a North East-based firm would be illegal and risk heavy delays in the upgraded trains arriving, transport bosses insist.
• Nexus: Halting Metro contract process 'would be illegal' CALLING a halt on the £500m race to build a new Metro fleet to help a North East-based firm would be illegal and risk heavy delays in the upgraded trains arriving, transport bosses insist.

Yorkshire Post

• Hull Trains and TransPennine Express get fewer trains on time to stations than any other operator in the countryTwo of the region's rail operators have been revealed to be the worst-performing in the country for the number of trains arriving on time after a regulator unveiled tougher new measurements.

Other Regional Press

• Ancient woodland still being cut down by HS2 - despite supposed government 'halt', say campaignersCAMPAIGNERS claim ancient woodland continues to be cut down to make way for HS2 – just days after an announcement work was set to stop during a review into the high speed rail line.
• Scottish Government ready to take over ScotRail franchiseTHE Scottish Government has put plans in place to run the railways as an “operator of last resort” if ScotRail’s performance fails to improve, the Transport Secretary has confirmed.
• 'Live occupancy' shows available spaces at station car parksA TRAIN operator has made it easier for drivers to see if there are spaces available at its car parks.

Train Operators

• Scotland’s Railway flourishes at Beautiful Scotland AwardsCommunity projects across Scotland’s Railway flourished at the Beautiful Scotland Awards in Dumfries last week.

Rail Advent

• Station cycle lockers donated to West Midlands schoolChildren at a primary school in Birmingham are enjoying the benefit of a West Midlands Railway scheme to install thousands of cycle spaces on its network.

Rail Technology Magazine

• New 'On-Time' train statistics welcomed by Transport SecretaryGood news for rail users today as a new way to measure train performance has been published (Thursday 19) by The Office of Rail and Road (ORR). New ‘On-Time’ statistics have been welcomed by the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, who has dubbed it “a step in the right direction...
• Plans for new £362m North East metro train fleetA £362m train fleet for the Tyne and Wear Metro was ordered yesterday by public transport body Nexus. A company for the designing and building of the fleet hasn’t been officially decided but there are three in the running – Hitachi Rail, Stadler and CAF. Although claims...
• Manchester Metrolink's greener futureTransport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) are to renew and upgrade Manchester Metrolink’s electrical infrastructure in a bid to support and maintain TfGM’s green transport strategy for the city. The Greater Manchester transport body has ambitions of a cleaner, greener and more...

Railway Gazette

• Keolis operating contract terminated because of driver shortageGERMANY: Rhein-Ruhr transport VRR has decided to terminate a contract for Keolis to operate two S-Bahn services from December, and will instead directly award incumbent DB Regio an emergency contract while it runs a new competitive tendering process.