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

Monday, 23 September 2024

BBC News

• Rail staff trained to help vulnerable passengersStaff at a major rail operator have been given extra training in order to protect vulnerable passengers.
• Disabled UUP politician's anger over lack of airport liftA Northern Ireland politician, who is a wheelchair user, was left frustrated after his plane took off without him, because there was no lift ready to assist him onto the aircraft in Birmingham Airport.
• Station refurb makes 'real difference' - campaignersCampaigners have welcomed the completion of work to install new passenger lifts at a North Yorkshire town's railway station.
• No donuts or drifting: Police tackle car cruisingThe BBC looks at how police, councils and the courts have worked to prevent dangerous car cruising.
• TfL income from fines on major routes rises to £89mThe AA says TfL is reliant on drivers breaking the rules for its own income - the body denies this.

Financial Times

• ‘Mobile phone on wheels’: Toyota and VW fall further behind in the software race Legacy carmakers have struggled to keep pace as the focus has turned from the engine to computing power
• Looming US ports strike threatens fresh supply chain crisisBusiness groups warn of ‘devastating impact’ on economy if dockworkers walk off the job
• UK ministers plan recruiting drive to plug train driver shortage, says union One in five are due to retire this decade, warns Aslef, as staff-shortages continue to be felt

The Guardian

• Fallout from TfL cyber-attack is slow burning and potentially costlyPhysical services have been unaffected but limited access to online services continues to cause headaches. As cyber-attacks go, it could have been worse. In Nightsleeper, the new BBC thriller airing just after Transport for London revealed its systems had been breached, passengers are locked aboard as a train seized by hackers hurtles dangerously towards the capital.In real life, the troubles for TfL customers are far less dramatic. The actual physical transport services, the buses, trains and tubes – many of which are effectively remote-controlled – have been unaffected

Times Online

• I'm not allowed to fall in love on a train now? [subscription]One of the UK's largest train operators has issued a stark reminder to passengers that its onboard wi-fi does not allow people to use dating apps
• More flights to China boost Manchester's soaring ambition. [subscription]The largest British airport outside of London has long wanted to be a Heathrow of the north for international connections

City AM

• Rolls Royce closes in on European nuclear reactor deals as UK process delayed Rolls Royce is closing in on two deals to build miniaturised nuclear power plants in Sweden and the Netherlands after a successful deal with the Czech Republic announced last week. Rolls-Royce boss Tufan Erginbilgic had warned that the firm would start building small modular reactors (SMRs) in Europe should UK ministers fail to speed up

Daily Record

• ScotRail passengers face 'disaster' as peak time fares to return this weekScotRail has slashed services in recent months and is now set to hammer passengers with the return of peak time fares.

i News

• HS2 to pay £300m in compensation to train firms and it won't go to customersWork on the High Speed rail project will cause a number of closures this Christmas lasting for another six years

Mail Online

• Disabled people 'are being put in danger' by Lime bikes dumped on dropped curbs across LondonBen Spencer, 51, (pictured) said he sees the bikes blocking dropped curbs nearly every time he travels into London.

The Mirror

• Magical UK village frozen in time where steam trains still used by localsThe village of Goathland featured in the background of hit movie Harry Poter and it is just as magical in person. The village is home to a world-famous railway which King Charles once visited

Labour List

• Tourist tax or more government cash for public buses, says Andy BurnhamGreater Manchester's mayor Andy Burnham has floated the idea of a tourism tax as a means of helping fund stronger bus services across the country at Labour conference in Liverpool.

Bolton News

• Children returned home in Bolton as police carry out transport crime crackdownPolice have been out in force in Bury and across Greater Manchester as officers crack down on crime on the transport network
• Updated clean air plan to be submitted after controversial and 'unworkable' planGreater Manchester is preparing to submit an updated clean air plan after the controversial policy was paused

Bristol Live

• Major motorway link road to close for five nights leaving 18-mile diversionIt will affect drivers using the M5

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Welsh marinas taken on by new group after administration troublesCardiff and Aberystwyth marinas are among those now being run by Western Marinas Limited

Wales Online

• Commuters being 'priced off railways' as unions call for renationalisation Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, and Mick Whelan, of Aslef, says bringing the railways back into public ownership is the answer to lower fares

Bucks Free Press

• Chiltern Railways 'delighted' to have scooped a prize at the National Rail AwardsChiltern Railways has been recognised at the recent National Rail Awards.

Wrexham.com

• Rail service between North Wales and London branded a complete messA North Wales MS has criticised the deteriorating rail service connecting the region to London, labelling it the worst-performing route in the country.

Other Regional Press

• Golborne Station is a step closer with plan to buy landA NEW station looks a step closer with bosses poised to compulsorily buy land for its £32m development at Golborne.
• Northern Rail rolls out special training in how to spot vulnerable people on the railwayEmployees working for Northern are being given special training to help protect the rising number of vulnerable people using the railway.
• Replacement buses launched as landslide prevention work gets underway on railwayCommuters will have to use a bus replacement service for four days while Network Rail carries out landslide prevention work.
• ‘It's money in the bin!': Empty buses on the Park & Ride losing £30k a monthA mothballed Park &; Ride site reopened to much opposition is causing more pollution than it prevents and losing almost £30,000 a month.
• UK drivers face 'slap in face' from government over road tax riseA radical shift is on the horizon from April 2025, as even electric vehicle (EV) owners will now be hit by road tax

Bus-News

• Wrightbus Electric Buses to Serve Belfast City AirportWrightbus has supplied new electric buses to serve passengers travelling to and from Belfast City Airport (BHD) on Translink's 600 route.

Rail Advent

• Six Hertfordshire and North London stations open homes for natureGovia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and the Bee Friendly Trust have completed more than twenty homes for nature at six Great Northern stations in and around north London and Hertfordshire: Bayford, Cuffley, Grange Park, Hadley Wood, New Barnet and New Southgate.

Rail Magazine

• Opinion: GBR starts to take formOur anonymous industry insider asks whether the new organisation will be a regional or business-led structure.

Railnews

• Railway 200 is launched in Darlington Next year’s Railway 200 festival has been launched with a day of events in Darlington, the town which was one terminus of the pioneering Stockton & Darlington Railway and which saw a steam-hauled train carry members of the public as passengers for the first time on 27 September 1825. Railway 200 will be a national event throughout the United Kingdom, and is being supported by the rail industry, the government, Transport Scotland, Transport for Wales, the Northern Ireland Executive, rail and business bodies, educational institutions, civic and community groups, and many other partner...

Other News Sources

• DB presents 2027 restructuring programme Comprehensive plan to improve infrastructure and profitability.
• First West begins bus depot electrificationFirst West of England has commenced work on two multi-million pound projects to electrify bus depots in Bristol and Weston-super-Mare.
• Signage plans at St Helens Junction railway station approvedAN application to install new signage at a railway station has been granted consent.
• Bid for new Devon railway station ramps up as promise madeLocal leaders have rallied together to step up the fight to bring millions to the South West for rail improvements.
• Educational rail safety programme launched in WalesA rail safety educational programme was today (Friday 20 Sept) launched in Wales by Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, Ken Skates.