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

Thursday, 30 June 2022

BBC News

• East-West Rail: Bicester to Bletchley phase 'on time'The second section of a £5bn rail link is on time and on budget, according to the company behind it. Work began on the 21-mile (33km) £760m Bicester to Bletchley stretch of the Oxford to Cambridge East-West Rail project in 2020.
• Shapps: Rail strikes 'could be easily settled'Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said that rail strikes could be "easily settled" by modernising "antiquated" working practices. He described calls for him to intervene to settle the ongoing dispute between the RMT transport union and rail employers as a "red herring" and a "stunt".
• Night Tube services to return on Northern lineAll night services on the London Underground were suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Times Online

• SNP backtracks on vow to simplify ScotRail ticket prices [subscription]SNP ministers have reneged on a promise to publish the cheapest fare for every ScotRail journey, independent parliamentary researchers have found.

City AM

• Adding agency workers into the strikes row will nurture a prolonged political headacheLast week, Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, defended plans to allow businesses to use agency staff to plug gaps caused by striking workers. For the unions, this is tantamount to cutting them off at the knees.
• Aslef chief calls Grant Shapps ‘either inept or a liar’ after speech earlier todayThe Aslef union has slammed Grant Shapps for lying in a speech he made earlier today, where he accused railway unions of standing in the way of modernisation by carrying out strike action.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Transport for the North board meeting looks at prioritiesTransport for the North (TfN) has set out its business plan for the coming year. Political and business leaders – all members of 20 Local Transport Authorities and 11 Local Enterprise Partnerships - are meeting at the TfN board meeting in Harrogate this week.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottinghamshire train passengers to benefit from £1 billion upgrade to major lineNottinghamshire train passengers heading to London or Edinburgh - as well as many places in between - will soon benefit from faster trains on the East Coast Main Line. Nottinghamshire stops in Retford and Newark North Gate will gain from a new scheme, as well as though transiting through Grantham, which is a short train journey from Nottingham Railway Station.

Other Regional Press

• East Coast Main Line £1bn upgrade green-lighted as Transport Secretary slams unionsTransport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced a £1 billion investment in digital signalling on the East Coast Main Line (ECML), which runs through Yorkshire. At the same time, he hit out at rail unions for their recent strike action.
• New train station near Horsham, M23, A27 upgrades and reopening railway line included in £45bn planThe proposals lay the transport investment framework for the next 30 years

Business Live

• Northumberland rail line could start next year after official approval of plansThe line will link towns in the south-east of Northumberland with Newcastle

New Civil Engineer

• What HS2 can learn for HS1’s ‘missed opportunities’It’s remarkable that we are approaching HS1’s 15-year anniversary of full running and nearly 20 years since the first section opened. I can remember the coverage of that inaugural journey from Paris Gare du Nord to St Pancras which took just over two hours, and the wonder that many people experienced as we were finally connected to continental Europe by high-speed rail.
• Milestone hit on £227M Birmingham Eastside Metro extensionThe £227M Birmingham Eastside Metro extension has achieved a key milestone with the demolition of a recently vacated college building in Digbeth.
• HS2 construction complaints dip despite work ramping upHS2 Ltd has seen a decline in construction-related complaints, according to the latest quarterly report from Independent Construction Commissioner Sir Mark Worthington.

Other News Sources

• Businesses in Crewe step forward to play their part in HS2’s constructionA business event hosted in partnership with Crewe and Nantwich MP, Dr Kieran Mullan, has attracted interest from more than 40 companies in the local area who are all keen to play their part in HS2’s construction and seize the opportunity for future business growth.