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

Wednesday, 05 June 2019

BBC News

• Heartbreak to happinessPeople living near the M4 and proposed relief road are split over the decision to axe the scheme.
• East Coast Main Line to shut service over August bank holidayNo trains will run between Peterborough and King's Cross on 24 and 25 August as part of a £1.2bn upgrade.
• M4 relief road: Newport motorway plans scrappedFirst Minister Mark Drakeford scraps the scheme due to its cost and impact on the environment.

The Guardian

• #stayontheground: Swedes turn to trains amid climate 'flight shame'The number of Swedes taking the train for domestic journeys has risen as plane journeys inside the country have fallen, reflecting rapidly growing public concern about the climate crisis.
• Wales scraps £1.4bn Gwent Levels M4 relief road schemeEnvironmentalists welcome move but business leaders and Tories criticise decision

The Herald

• First look: New high-speed bullet train for Glasgow and Edinburgh revealedTwo UK-based rail giants are today submitting a train proposal to High Speed Two (HS2) that would be the most advanced, customer-oriented train ever to run in the UK.
• Bus and rail giant hits back at activist investorFIRSTGROUP has launched a stinging attack on the US activist investor campaigning for the removal of its chairman and chief executive, branding its plans “inconsistent” and “irresponsible”.

The Independent

• Environmentalists rejoice as £1.4bn M4 relief road scrapped after 30 years of talksDecision to abandon proposals for dual three-lane motorway near Newport 'great news for Wales and the planet', Friends of the Earth says

Times Online

• Incredibly patient and on board long term, or in a hurry to get off the bus? [Subscription]The sale of Alexander Dennis Limited, the Falkirk-based bus manufacturer, to NFI Group, a Canadian rival, for £320 million has been portrayed by both parties as good news all round. Colin Robertson and Michael Stewart, ADL’s chief executive and chief financial officer, respectively, will continue to run the business and have been charged by its new owners “with leading NFI’s international growth ambitions”.
• First Group savages ‘irresponsible’ activist [Subscription]First Group called its largest shareholder irresponsible, opportunistic and self-interested yesterday as the bus and train operator battled attempts to remove more than half its board. ...Yesterday First in turn ridiculed Coast’s plans to sack most of the board and replace them with seven new directors, headed by Steve Norris, 74, the former Conservative transport minister
• M4 relief road project scrapped over £1.4 billion cost [Subscription]One of Britain’s biggest road-building schemes has been scrapped because of concerns over the £1.4 billion cost and environmental impact.

Reuters News

• UK might switch infrastructure focus away from high-speed rail - ministerLONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s next prime minister might decide to prioritise other infrastructure spending projects over the planned, 56 billion-pound High-Speed 2 (HS2) rail project, a government minister said on Tuesday.

City AM

• Uber under investigation by US and foreign tax authoritiesUber has revealed it is under investigation by a string of tax authorities in the US and abroad.
• HS2 chair to carry out project review to ensure ‘it is deliverable’, says Chris GraylingThe chair of under-fire HS2 is undertaking a review of the project to “make sure the costs and budget are right and that it is deliverable,” transport secretary Chris Grayling has said.
• Activist investor Coast Capital hits back at First Group claimsUS investor Coast Capital has said it “strongly disagrees” with claims made First Group that it is a “opportunistic, self-interested plater that is only interested in short-term gains”.

Office of Rail and Road (ORR)

• Boris Johnson says he would reopen Suggitts Lane level crossing if he becomes Prime MinisterCampaigners met the Tory leadership hopeful when they travelled to Westminster on Tuesday

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Update on proposals for North East to take control of train servicesTransport bosses have previously demanded greater powers to run rail services in the region

Wales Online

• M4 relief road decision: Why the planning inspector overwhelmingly backed the £1.4bn black route south of NewportOn nearly all grounds, inspector Bill Waldrup concluded in favour of the £1.4bn M4 relief road - yet his recommendation was rejected by First Minister Mark Drakeford

Other Regional Press

• Bosses at Norwich's bus service provider launch scathing attack on shareholderFirstGroup has launched an attack on its main shareholder calling them an "opportunistic, self-interested player that is only focused on short-term gains".
• Shropshire Council in U-turn on bus cuts planShropshire Council has bowed to public pressure and scrapped plans to make drastic cuts to bus services.
• Bettws residents set for increase in Newport Bus services to the city centreRESIDENTS in Bettws will be able to make the trip to and from Newport city centre a lot easier once new plans come into force.

New Civil Engineer

• Grayling awaits new HS2 delivery plan Transport secretary Chris Grayling has revealed that the new chair of High Speed 2 (HS2) promoter HS2 Ltd, Allan Cook, is undertaking a review of the project “to make sure the costs and budget are right and that it is deliverable”.
• Heathrow expansion rival claims construction will be delayedRival Heathrow expansion bidder Surinder Arora has claimed that Heathrow’s planned start date for construction on the third runway will be delayed by further legal challenges.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Network Rail's Julia Territt on working with the supply chain Ahead of TransCityRail Midlands this July, Julia Territt, Network Rail’s Regional Delivery Director for Route Services Supply Chain Operations joins us to discuss ‘putting the passenger first’ and working with the supply chain. What does your role as Regional Delivery Director...
• Toufic Machnouk, Network Rail's LNE & EM Route Programme Director, on rethinking digital technologyToufic Machnouk, LNE & EM Route Programme Director for Network Rail, joins us to discuss Digital Railway and rethinking Network Rail’s digital approach ahead of TransCityRail Midlands 2019. What does your role as LNE & EM Route Programme Director at Network Rail involve? I...
• Siemens' Rob Morris on the Rail Sector deal and Digital RailwayRob Morris, Managing Director at Siemens Rail Automation and Digital Railway Industry Champion for the Rail Supply Group Rail Sector Deal joins us to discuss how Digital Railway is developing a ‘transformative’ Rail Sector Deal ahead of TransCityRail Midlands 2019. What does...
• Maria Machancoses on the Midlands Rail Hub plans and futureproofing the Midlands network Maria Machancoses Director of Midlands Connect joins us to discuss the Midlands Rail Hub plans and futureproofing the Midlands network ahead of TransCityRail Midlands 2019. What does your role as Director of Midlands Connect involve? I’m tasked with establishing a strategic pipeline...
• Delivering Metro Plus in CardiffCllr Huw David, chair of the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) Transport Authority, and leader of Bridgend County Borough Council, explains why the recently announced Metro Plus plans will deliver local benefits to counties within the region. Earlier this month, we announced plans to deliver a...
• Our responsibility to shape a more diverse rail industryAngie Doll, passenger services director for Southern and Gatwick Express, outlines Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR) role in diversifying and inspiring the next generation of the rail sector’s workforce. At GTR, we have embarked upon the industry’s biggest rail recruitment drive...
• Dawlish rail investment must be the start of a new transport deal for our regionLuke Pollard, MP for Plymouth Sutton, gives his perspective on the opportunities the highly-anticipated Dawlish rail line refurbishment will create for the region for the future. As an MP, twice a week I get to ride up and down the trainline from Parliament to Plymouth. The route past Dawlish is...
• Out with the old: London Underground's track renewal worksAlistair McLaughlin, programme delivery manager for Balfour Beatty, and John Lambert, head of track programme for Transport for London (TfL), explore the intricacies of London Underground track renewal works as part of the new Integrated Track Team. In February 2019, Balfour Beatty was awarded a...

Aviation Industry

• NASA seeks demos of electric propulsion for commercial aircraftNASA is assessing industry proposals for flight demonstrations of electrified aircraft propulsion systems with the goal of rapidly maturing the technologies for use in commercial transports that could enter the fleet by 2035. read more
• US congressman to introduce bill on aircraft maintenance disclosureUS Rep. John Garamendi (D-California), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee, plans to re-introduce legislation this summer that would require carriers to disclose more information about their maintenance activities to the public. read more

Other News Sources

• Council calls for HS2 enabling works to be pausedThe first part of the high speed line from London is set to run up to the outskirts of Lichfield