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

Wednesday, 11 December 2019

BBC News

• Worcestershire Parkway rail station delayed until 2020The opening of England's newest railway station has been hit by fresh delays. Trains were due to start calling at Worcestershire Parkway, near junction seven of the M5, this month.
• Greater Anglia: Delivery of new Bombardier trains delayedThe fleet of 111 new Bombardier trains will not enter service until the spring, says the operator.
• General election 2019: Your questions on HS2 answeredReaders share their thoughts on the high-speed rail link and ask what each party pledges to do.
• Unearthing Scotland's first railway track at TranentA dig is planned at a site in East Lothian, which is listed among Scotland's top archaeological discoveries in 2019.
• Lorries topple and train lines close as wind and rain cause disruptionRoads are closed and trains and ferries cancelled as heavy rain and strong winds batter Scotland.

The Herald

• ScotRail services chaos due to floods, high winds and safety issuesTrain services across Scotland have suffered cancellations and delays

The Scotsman

• Heritage railways getting steamed up over coal supply John YellowleesWhen the use of steam power on Britain’s railways ended in 1968, the notion of heritage rail was unknown. No one foresaw the huge role that heritage railways would come to play in Britain’s railway scene today.

City AM

• All change at Stagecoach as chairman steps downStagecoach suffered a fall in revenue in the first half of the financial year, as chairman Sir Brian Souter said he planned to step down this morning.

Mail Online

• West Coast line's new bosses suggest bringing in extra tier of carriage - let's hope it's like theseAfter the war, UK society became more equal, so third-class was dropped in 1956. But was it as awful as it sounds today? Pictured: 'Pub' in train open to 3rd class passengers.

The York Press

• Queen's honour for York rail tech firm Incremental SolutionsINNOVATIVE work in transport safety has led to a Queen's Award for Enterprise for a York-based company.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Still no solution to Greater Anglia’s rural trains’ crisis – but older trains restore Ipswich to Cambridge serviceEngineers at Greater Anglia and Network Rail have still not found the cause of the signalling problems that have emerged since the introduction of new Stadler trains on many routes.

Other Regional Press

• Electrification costs have tripled and passing loop may take 10 years - Devon's railway improvements may be delayedConcerns were registered over the lack of electrification of railways in the South West beyond Bristol, the stalled progress over the Okehampton line, the delay in the attempt to reopen the line to Tavistock from Bere Alston, as well as the capacity issue due to the single track running in East Devon that restricts the numbers of trains that can run between Exeter and London Waterloo.
• Hitchin and Harpenden parliamentary candidates vow to improve train servicesThe Hitchin Rail Commuters Campaign group and Harpenden Thameslink Commuters Group invited Conservative parliamentary candidate Bim Afolami, Liberal Democrat candidate Sam Collins and Labour candidate Kay Tart to speak about how they would address the problems faced by commuters.
• Greater Anglia to axe food and drink on numerous trainsHard-pressed train passengers have been dealt another blow, with Greater Anglia axing a host of its early morning catering services on the Norwich to London line in the New Year.

Train Operators

• So long, farewell, ScotRail’s Class 314 goodbyeIt’s the end of the line for ScotRail’s Class 314 fleet, as the train operator has confirmed it is withdrawing the last of the trains from service.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Avanti starts running West Coast Main Line after Virgin franchise endsAvanti West Coast has taken over from Virgin Trains as the operator running the West Coast Main Line. The new operator's parent company is a partnership between Aberdeen-based firm FirstGroup and Italy's Trenitalia. Avanti's first train left Euston for Manchester on Sunday at 08:10 GMT and arrived three minutes late, according to the National Rail app. It replaces Virgin Trains, which was Britain's longest-running rail franchise after 22 years of service. The end of the Virgin Trains franchise comes after Virgin Group and Stagecoach had their bid to continue running trains on the line disq...

Rail Advent

• New trains for Nottingham arrive EARLY!Northern has announced that it has introduced two of their new Class 195 diesel trains between Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham, one week ahead of the proposed introduction!
• More trains from Middlesborough to Whitby from NorthernNorthern has announced that they are to introduce more train services to help passengers between Middlesbrough and Whitby.

Railnews

• Three classes planned for Avanti West Coast New Intercity West Coast operator Avanti has revealed that it is planning another class of travel, which would be inserted between Standard and First. Passengers buying tickets for the intermediate 'premium economy' class would sit in first class areas but have fewer at-seat extras than first class ticket holders, with snacks, for example, rather than meals. Full details of catering on board Avanti trains have yet to be spelt out, although Avanti has said that a buffet counter or 'shop' area will be retained, as well as at-seat trolleys. One major food supplier is expected to be Marks and Spe...

Other News Sources

• Hundreds of South Western Railway trains will be cancelled on general election voting day Union members will return to work on Thursday, but it doesn't mean there will be a full train service running