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

Thursday, 23 June 2016

BBC News

• Swansea electrification uncertainty 'affecting business'Uncertainty over the date when electrified trains start arriving in Swansea is affecting potential investment, it is claimed.
• Aslef drops legal action and accepts 12-car Gatwick trainsA train drivers' union decides against further legal action after losing a court battle over a strike ballot in protest at longer trains.
• Trains to be cancelled on second day of rail strikesCommuters are facing another day of disruption as ScotRail workers continue a planned series of one-day strikes.
• Hornby to cut number of toys in turnaround bidToymaker Hornby plans to cut the number of toys it makes as it strives to make the business profitable again.

London Evening Standard

• Revealed: London's most overcrowded Tube stations Oxford Circus has been revealed as London's most overcrowded Tube station, with passengers being prevented from entering the station more than 100 times each year.
• Night Tube to be expanded to extra line within weeks of launchThe new Night Tube is set to be extended to a third line within weeks of being launched.

Wales Online

• AM calls for valleys to regain lost rail services under Metro planValleys which lost rail services decades ago should get them back under future phases of the South Wales Metro transport scheme, Ogmore AM Huw Irranca-Davies has said.

Plymouth Herald

• Plymouth rail improvements delayed as key report is put back until after summer Campaigners are struggling to make the case for an improved rail network because businesses are not telling the Government how important faster services would be.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Liverpool rail connection provides environmental win for DraxSeven months after opening phase 1 of its biomass terminal, Peel Ports has dispatched more than 400 freight services from the railheads at the Port of Liverpool to Drax power station in North Yorkshire. The milestone was announced to delegates at TOC Europe in Hamburg today (15 June) by Port Director David Huck during a case study presentation about its partnership with the Drax facility. The site is both the single largest carbon saving project in Europe and the UK’s biggest single generator of renewable electricity. It produces almost 2,000MW of renewable power - enough for three mill...
• MTR joins FirstGroup’s bid for South Western rail franchiseUK: Shortlisted bidder FirstGroup announced on June 16 that MTR Corp (UK) is to join it in a joint venture to bid for the next South Western rail franchise. The Department for Transport has appoved the agreement, which will see the UK subsidiary of Hong Kong-based transport group MTR take a 30% stake in the joint venture. Both FirstGroup and MTR already hold Pre-Qualification Questionnaire Passports enabling them to express interest in franchises without resubmitting financial and other competence data.

Rail Magazine

• HS2 construction will inform West Coast Main Line capacityConstruction of Phase 1 of HS2 will allow rail industry to evaluate how capacity freed up on the southern section of the West Coast Main Line should be used.
• Higher demand for public transport in European UnionStudy by International Association of Public Transport (UITP) reveals 57.9 billion journeys were made on public transport in the European Union in 2014.
• Glos-Warks extension bid: share offer reaches halfway markThe Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway has reached halfway in its share issue plan to raise �1.25 million to extend the line to Broadway.
• New ‘Pop up’ depot to serve construction market and remove lorries from roadsDB Cargo and Cemex open ‘pop-up’ depot at Warrington, designed to serve the North West construction market. reduce number of HGVs in the High Peak area.
• Task Force delays publication of demands for South WestPublication of the Peninsula Rail Task Force’s 20-year plan on the needs for the South West has been postponed until after the summer.
• Perry: stock procurement remains a matter for operatorsProcurement and evaluation of rolling stock is a matter for the private operators, “as it has been since privatisation” says Rail Minister Claire Perry.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Rex Articoli Tecnici-Track Insulation Materials for Railway Lines Rex Articoli Tecnici SA specialises track insulation materials for railway lines, with or without ballast, including rubber to metal, rubber to plastic and rubber to rubber components. Specific railw...
• TfN must not reduce powers available to local transport authorities - WYCAA limitation on the use of concurrent powers by Transport for the North (TfN) must be included in the order to make it a statutory body to ensure powers to local areas remain protected, West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) has said. TfN is due to be established as a statutory body by the end...
• Publication of Peninsula Rail plan delayed until after summerA 20-year plan for improvements to the South West rail network will not be published until after the summer, it has been revealed. The Peninsula Rail Task Force announced yesterday that it has agreed with the DfT and Network Rail to postpone the report on improving the network’s resilience...
• SWT completes �65m roll-out of extra 108 carriagesSouth West Trains has completed the £65m roll-out of 108 additional carriages, allowing capacity for 23,000 new passengers on its services. The Class 456 and Class 458/5 carriages will be added to 34 morning services and 43 evening services, running on routes from London Waterloo to...
• Midland Metro extension to Wolverhampton approvedThe £18m Midland Metro tram extension to Wolverhampton was given formal approval yesterday by the transport secretary. Work on the extension can now begin later this year, and it is due to open in 2019. The route, part of a £120m redevelopment of the city centre, will take trams...

Railway Gazette

• Camcorder to test Thameslink ETCSUK: Network Rail is to make use of an ERTMSCamCorder to undertake integrated onsite testing of the...
• Midland Metro Wolverhampton extension approvedUK: Powers to extend the Midland Metro light rail line in Wolverhampton were granted on June 21 by...
• ERTMS business case confirmedEUROPE: A clear business case for the installation of ETCS throughout the nine European core...
• Independent freight operator launches in SerbiaSERBIA: Kombinovani Prevoz has become the first independent railway operator to launch...