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

Wednesday, 31 August 2016

BBC News

• Extra 20,000 passengers on London and Birmingham trainsA new West Midlands Rail (WMR) franchise will accommodate another 20,000 passengers in London and Birmingham at peak times.
• Rail firm to test Uber-style mobile payments systemSmartphones could soon replace the traditional rail ticket if an experiment by Chiltern Railways is successful.
• Tube 'Please offer me a seat' badges for hidden disabilitiesTransport for London will trial a
• Southern rail to reintroduce a third of trains axed in JulySouthern rail is to reinstate a third of the trains it dropped in July

The Guardian

• The railways are no longer just a man's domain: meet the female train driversSome depots don’t have female toilets, and children still stare when they see a woman in the driver’s seat, but more is being done to bring gender balance to the railways
• Southern to reinstate one-third of cancelled train servicesLib Dems say it is a ‘small step in the right direction’ but does not go far enough, and further strikes loom next weekThe train operator Southern will restore more than 100 cancelled services next Monday, bringing some relief after a summer of misery for passengers. The operator, which is owned by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), said 119 services – more than a third of the 341 cancelled on 11 July – would be reinstated. It blamed “unprecedented levels of train crew sickness” for the cancellations. Continue reading...

Birmingham Post

• Calls for Birmingham International station to be renamed Transport chiefs say hub must be called 'Birmingham Airport & NEC' as part of measures to bring major changes to InterCity West Coast franchise
• Free wi-fi and more peak time trains into Birmingham under new rail contract Two firms battling it out to take on new West Midlands Rail franchise from October 2017

London Evening Standard

• TfL launches 'Baby on Board-style' badges for disabled passengersLondoners with disabilities or hidden ailments are to be offered badges urging other passengers on London's transport network to give up their seat.
• Southern strikes: Train drivers' strike ballot called off as hopes rise for end to rail disputeHopes of an end to the long-running Southern rail dispute affecting hundreds of thousands of commuters were raised today as passengers returned to work after the bank holiday.
• Southern Railway confirms return of over 100 services cut in emergency timetableSouthern Railway will reinstate more than 100 daily train services which were cut to make its timetable more "resilient".

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• More evening trains, free wi-fi and a new direct service to London: West Midlands passengers set for rail shake-upExtra late Saturday night train services between Wolverhampton and Birmingham have been announced among a raft of new rail measures for the West Midlands.

Buying Business Travel

• Buyers booking ‘smarter’ to find savings on rail travelEvolvi data sees year-on-year prices fall 1.7%

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Alstom to provide Amtrak with its new generation of high-speed trainAlstom and Amtrak have announced that they have signed a contract for Alstom to design and build 28 new high-speed trains, which will run on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) between Boston and Washington D.C. Amtrak and Alstom also signed a long-term contract under which Alstom will provide Amtrak with long-term technical support and supply spare components and parts for the maintenance of the new trainsets. Together, these contracts are worth €1.8 billion ($2 billion).  Amtrak and Alstom also signed a long-term contract under which Alstom will provide Amtrak with long-term technica...

Rail Magazine

• GWR shows off the first of its new Class 387 EMUsNew electric multiple units for Great Western Railway have been unveiled, ahead of their introduction into traffic on September 5.
• Network Rail study targets faster freight on enhanced networkLonger and faster freight trains running on a higher-capacity rail network form the cornerstone of Network Rail’s draft Freight Network Study.
• Electric switch needed to increase freight speeds - NRSwitching from diesel to electric traction will have more effect on freight train speeds than simply increasing speed limits from 75mph to 90mph, says NR.
• Time Lapse Shows Network Rail Bank Holiday Upgrades CompletedNetwork Rail has thanked passengers for their patience after engineers successfully completed bank holiday weekend engineering projects on time.
• Train failures and crew shortages hit Borders operationReliability problems with ScotRail Class 158s and shortages of traincrew combine to hit performance on the Edinburgh-Tweedbank Borders Railway.
• Rail fares increase of 1.9%, as watchdog urges Southern fares freezeRegulated rail fares are set to rise by 1.9% in January 2017, following the announcement of the Retail Price Index figure on August 16.
• EXCLUSIVE: Labour: nationalisation will lower fares and save moneyShadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald says nationalisation will save money and not lead to additional expenditure if Labour is elected to power.

Rail Technology Magazine

• How a summer meltdown helped deliver real-time feedbackDavid Sidebottom, passenger director at Transport Focus, reflects on the lessons learned during the recent Southern disruptions by using passenger feedback.
• Night Tube to launch on Jubilee Line in OctoberNight Tube services will launch on the Jubilee Line on 7 October, London mayor Sadiq Khan has said. Khan made the announcement after the service was successfully launched on the Victoria and Central lines on 19 August. It is expected that it will open on the Northern and Piccadilly lines by the...
• Network Rail promises �20m to fund new stationsNetwork Rail and the DfT have opened the next round of funding for building new stations or reopening closed ones. Councils and TOCs are invited to bid for a share of the £20m second phase of the New Stations Fund, which will fund up to 75% of their proposals. The first round of money...