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

Wednesday, 06 May 2020

BBC News

• Staffordshire rail freight hub plans approved by governmentPlans to build a new rail freight hub on land off the M6 in Staffordshire have been given the go-ahead by the government. The West Midlands Strategic Rail Freight Interchange will link to the motorway and the West Coast Mainline.

London Evening Standard

• Tube only able to carry less than 15 per cent of rush hour passengers under social distancing rulesJust 50,000 commuters could board every 15 minutes if they had to keep two metres apart - when rush-hour usually sees 320,000 on board
• Union demands Sadiq Khan make travel free for Tube cleaners who are 'integral' to capital's coronavirus responseUnion bosses have written to Sadiq Khan to demand a reversal of Transport for London's

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• 'We won't give up yet', say rail groupCampaigners who have battled against the West Midlands Interchange rail depot say they may push for a judicial review - as they declared they were not ready to give up yet.

Other Regional Press

• HS2 protesters block compounds from Euston to WarwickshireDemonstrators have blocked access to more than a dozen building sites for the HS2 high-speed railway, in protest at construction work continuing amid the coronavirus crisis.
• Anti-HS2 protesters set up tree-top camp in Warwickshire woods during lockdownThey have spent the last six weeks camping out in ancient trees

Rail Technology Magazine

• Manchester Piccadilly 'super hub' proposed A Manchester Piccadilly ‘super hub’ has been proposed as part of the High Speed North rail project. The ‘Revisiting High Speed North’ report by rail research company Greengauge21 sets out the need to speed up plans for a northern transport revolution, and proposes...
• Cumbrian Coast line damaged by storm set to reopen in one month A section of the Cumbria Coast line, which was badly damaged at the beginning of the year following three consecutive storms, will reopen in one month as repairs come close to completion. High tides, strong winds and heavy rain brought by Storms Ciara, Dennis and Jorge caused structural damage...
• NR: Stay off the tracks. Stay home. Stay safeNetwork Rail has launched a new awareness-raising campaign to warn of the dangers of trespassing on the railway during the Covid-19 outbreak. The ‘Stay off the tracks. Stay home. Stay safe’ campaign will run on commercial radio stations across Scotland and on social media channels...

Railnews

• North™s rail upgrade ˜must not wait for HS2™ A report from the high speed rail pressure group Greengauge 21 is urging the government to improve railways in the north of England soon, and not to wait until HS2 arrives in the 2040s. The group says important work should be carried out over the next five to ten years, to ease congestion in the centre of cities like Manchester and provide frequent ˜metro™ services based on the example of Thameslink in the London area. It points to the building of motorways in the 1960s and 1970s, when new sections were added progressively, and says an ˜incremental™ approach would work for the rail network as...
• TfL confirms earlier warnings about Underground limits The London Underground will not be able to carry as nearly as many passengers as before while social distancing is required, according to a leaked report from Transport for London. TfL™s conclusions essentially confirm those of the London Strategic Coordination Group, whose calculations for several scenarios were leaked last week. The LSCG had warned that the effective capacity of the Underground could be reduced to 15 per cent, even with services restored, and the railway could be ˜rapidly overwhelmed™. The RMT, which is concerned about unconfirmed reports that train services could be increa...