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

Tuesday, 04 August 2026

BBC News

• Campaigners welcome start of rail-link busA new bus link between a busy, rural railway station and a popular town has been launched.
• No start date for Oxford to Milton Keynes trainsMore than a year after an operator was chosen to run the new East West Rail service, passenger trains on the first section of the route are yet to begin.
• Train operator cracks down on fare dodgersSouth Western Railway says there is widespread misuse of electronic tickets by passengers.
• Half price rail travel extended to 18-year-oldsThey'll be able to buy the 16-17 Saver railcard up until the day before they turn 18.

Department for Transport

• More students to save from September as changes to 16-17 Saver railcard come inFrom 17 August 2026, 16-17 Saver railcards will be valid for a full year from the purchase date and will not expire when the holder turns 18.

The Guardian

• The ultimate guide to travel etiquette: how to handle 36 tricky situations, from manspreaders to smelly armpitsIt’s easy to lose your cool when you’re crammed into a train, bus or plane with a bunch of strangers and one of them is playing music without headphones or fighting you for the armrest. Here are the rules everyone should be following. Public transport can be a hot, noisy, cramped and stressful environment – and that’s before you add in people with pungent food, questionable hygiene and giant backpacks. Most of us know the general rules – though we don’t all follow them – about letting people off first, not putting bags on seats, where to stand on escalator

Times Online

• Passenger-tracking app expanded to tackle 'short faring' cheats [subscription]The app, which checks the user in at their starting station and charges them when they disembark the train, aims to prevent up to £400m of fare evasion

The National

• The people who own and profit from public transport in ScotlandThe Easdale brothers are among three sibling pairs who have significantly influenced Scotland's transport network.
• Princes Street fire reveals true value of Edinburgh's tramsTRAMS were not an unusual sight on the roads of Scotland's cities in the 1950s. But by the 1960s, all networks apart from Glasgow had been lost, with the final service, Glasgow's, to close in 1962.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• UK railcard August 17 rule change 'lowers cost at critical time'People aged 18 will be able to travel for half price on most train services when railcard rules are relaxed later this month, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced. The change relates to the 16-17 Saver railcard, which can be bought by people aged 16 or 17.

Other Regional Press

• 'Significant safety risk' at York station for passengersA York-based train operator has applied to reduce the increasing risk of "slips, trips and falls" at the city railway station which it said it has tried to control over several years.
• £7 billion East West Rail Oxford to Milton Keynes row solvedA dispute that halted the much-anticipated introduction of new trains to Milton Keynes could soon come to an end, but not through the recruitment of guards.

New Civil Engineer

• Oxfordshire council appoints Graham for Didcot-Culham road river crossingOxfordshire County Council has appointed Graham to build the Didcot to Culham River crossing marking the final major contract in a multimillion-pound infrastructure package aimed at easing travel and supporting new housing around Didcot.

Rail Business Daily

• New support for transport and construction innovators to scale their businessConnected Places Catapult has announced the opening of applications for the Scale-Up Support Programme: Transport and Construction.

Railnews

• New Okehampton Interchange station opens A new station was officially opened in Devon on 31 July, and trains started calling the following day. Okehampton Interchange is on the outskirts of the town, where the new £18 million station has a 200-space car park, sheltered cycle storage and a covered bus interchange, with electric vehicle charging points also planned.

The Business Desk

• HS2 resets major construction contracts in bid to rein in costsHS2 has renegotiated contracts with two of the joint ventures responsible for delivering more than 100km of the high-speed railway between London and the West Midlands as it seeks to improve cost control and delivery performance.

UKTram

• UKTram encourages members to contribute to Government's Mass Transit Taskforce Call for EvidenceUKTram is encouraging members to contribute to the Government's Mass Transit Taskforce Call for Evidence, helping shape the future of mass transit delivery across the UK. The newly established Taskforce has been created to examine how mass transit schemes can be planned, funded and delivered more effectively, while exploring the economic, social and environmental benefits they bring to towns and cities.

Other News Sources

• Northern landlords call on government to invest in regeneration outside of rail hubsLandlords in the North of England have urged the government to invest in regeneration projects outside of train station catchment areas so as not to leave other places behind.
• UK's first railway station wine to be producedDenmark Hill rail station in south London will next year release its first vintage, made from Bacchus vines grown mere metres from the train tracks.
• Saltley Viaduct section to be installed over August bank holidayA section of the replacement Saltley Viaduct road bridge crossing the railway between Birmingham and Water Orton is to be installed over the bank holiday weekend of August 29 to 31.
• HS2 'reset' sees new civil engineering deals signedAs part of the HS2 reset programme, the company responsible for Britain's new high-speed railway, HS2 Ltd has renegotiated contracts with two of the civil engineering joint-ventures building the railway.
• Continuity at DfT is welcome but attention is just as importantAs the dust settles on Andy Burnham's cabinet appointments, continuity in the Department for Transport with Heidi Alexander remaining as transport secretary is welcome. Rail reform is one of the largest undertakings the Labour government has embarked on; an agenda that's been years in the making. Switching political leadership now would cost momentum the industry can't afford to lose.
• East Croydon station's closed footbridge finally set to open after 14-year waitA long-running saga of a footbridge across East Croydon station that's been closed to the public since it was built in 2012 may finally be heading to a resolution.