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

Friday, 20 January 2017

BBC News

• ScotRail Alliance managing director Phil Verster steps downThe managing director of ScotRail Alliance has stepped down, BBC Scotland understands.
• RMT Southern rail strikes to go aheadA strike by conductors on the Southern rail network will still go ahead next week after the RMT was barred from ongoing talks, the union says.
• Rail commuters facing disruption in and around GlasgowRail commuters in and around Glasgow face delays due to vandalism and problems with electricity supplies.
• UK looks for HS2 train-builderA company is needed to take on a �2.75bn contract to build 60 high speed trains.
• People tired of old and cramped Arriva trains, say MPsThere is an "urgent need" for new trains on Wales' rail network, a committee of MPs has said.

ITV News

• Hitachi bids for £2.75bn HS2 contract to build trains in North EastHitachi Rail Europe will bid for the contract to build the HS2 trains in the North East, which could mean hundreds of jobs.

Department for Transport

• Search underway for company to build HS2 trains in £2.75 billion government rail investmentHundreds of jobs will be created by the investment, boosting Britain's skills and expertise in this sector.

Financial Times

• US railways: business bucket listThe ambitions of a chief executive never grow old
• CSX shares soar as rail industry veteran takes aimHunter Harrison quits as Canadian Pacific chief to pursue new rail opportunities

The Scotsman

• Alastair Dalton: Dramatically cut fares to fill empty seats? You might think from all the coverage of ScotRail’s overcrowded trains that there’s not a spare seat to be had. That might be the case on many commuter trains, but it’s a very different picture at other times of the day.

The Telegraph

• Competition to find HS2 train builder launched

Daily Record

• Scotrail boss admits they can't afford free travel scheme promised by Humza Yousaf Transport Minister Yousaf announced last month that monthly and annual season-ticket holders would get a free week as a thank you but Phil Verster says Scotrail haven't agreed a deal to pay for it.

Birmingham Mail

• Bids invited for �2.75 billion HS2 high speed trains contract Winning firm will build new HS2 trains to run between London and Birmingham

London Evening Standard

• Southern rail strike: RMT to hold 24-hour walkout after 'exclusion' from talksSouthern strikes by RMT members will go ahead next week after its "exclusion" from talks between Aslef and the company, the union has said.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• HS2 bidding can begin - will Hitachi be heading for �2.1billion contract?The contest to build the £2.75 billion contract to build a fleet of high speed trains has been launched

Wales Online

• Another Cardiff bridge is closing for Network Rail worksAnother city bridge will close to traffic as the city gears up for electric trains.
• You'll soon be able to get free wi-fi on more trains in WalesFree wi-fi is being introduced into more trains in Wales. Work to install wi-fi capability in 70% of the Arriva Trains Wales fleet is under way.
• More trains are needed to overcome the 'huge failure' of the franchise run by Arriva Trains WalesThe franchise agreement made no provision for extra trains but passenger numbers have surged by 75%

North Wales Live

• New Merseyrail station for Maghull within sightDevelopment on Northern Line has been granted planning permission

Other Regional Press

• Network Rail admits huge mistake for not including lifts on new bridge Network Rail has admitted it made a huge mistake by not including disabled access in plans for a new footbridge over a level crossing in Lincoln.
• Bring Welsh trains into public ownership, says report THE Wales and Borders rail franchise should be taken into public ownership, a group of Welsh MPs have said.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• World-class West Coast Partnership announced The government has released further details of a new rail franchise, which will combine the existing Inter City West Coast services with the development and introduction of services on High Speed 2. The new franchise, West Coast Partnership rail franchise, will deliver services on the West Coast Main Line from 2019 as well as designing and then running the initial high speed services from 2026. The Department for Transport has published a ‘prospectus’, providing information on this exciting proposition for companies interested in this unique opportunity. Secretary of State, Chris...

Rail Magazine

• New rolling stock needed to generate Welsh rail developmentUsing modern rolling stock and replacing some of the oldest trains in the UK forms part of the Welsh Affairs Committee’s suggestions to tackle “long-term underdevelopment in the Welsh rail network”.
• West Anglia capacity under reviewRail Minister Paul Maynard has told fellow MPs that he hopes capacity concerns on the West Anglia Main Line will be tackled.
• DfT reviews Southeastern capacity plansProposals made by Southeastern for additional capacity have been rejected by the Department for Transport.
• The search begins for manufacturer of HS2 trainsUp to 60 trains to be built in deal worth �2.75bn

Rail Technology Magazine

• DfT outlines need for WCP bids to meet 'creative and ambitious' plansThe government has revealed further details about its new West Coast Partnership (WCP) franchise which is scheduled to start in 2019, including more specific timescales about when the franchise integration will take place. The WCP would combine the existing InterCity West Coast franchise with...
• Government agrees 'fair' HS2 compensation for Camden residentsThe government has accepted the House of Lords’ call to be fairer to residents of Camden affected by HS2, committing to offer them a “fair, reasonable and proportionate” amount of compensation. This will include amending the HS2 Bill to offer residents the chance to sell their...
• Chiltern to pilot innovative 'ticket-free travel' on new Oxford routeChiltern Railways has announced that it will be piloting a new initiative enabling passengers to travel ticket-free on its trains. The scheme will be developed in partnership with travel technology company SilverRail Technologies and is one of six Arriva UK Trains’ proposals which have...

Railway Gazette

• �300m to improve Brighton Main Line resilienceUK: The Department for Transport has confirmed funding of �300m to improve the resilience of the...

Other News Sources

• A first for Stadler: trams for the Czech Republic Stadler won the tender to develop and build 40 trams for the Dopravn� podnik Ostrava a.s. (DPO) operating company in Ostrava. The order is worth a total of approximately CHF 45 million. The Ostrava trams are being planned and constructed by Stadler Prague. Stadler will work closely with Czech suppliers. This is the first time that Stadler has received an order for trams from the Czech Republic. Daniel Morys, Executive Director of Dopravn� podnik Ostrava a.s., and Peter Jenelten, Executive Vice President Marketing & Sales at Stadler, signed the contract for the delivery of 40 adapted Tango tra...
• New Security Control Centre for Eurotunnel Eurotunnel yesterday, 18 January 2017, inaugurated its new Security Control Centre on the French Terminal at Coquelles in the presence of Madame Fabienne Buccio, Pr�f�te of the Pas-de-Calais and Paul Booth, Deputy Director of Border Force, South East and Europe Region.The decision to embark on this major investment was taken following the meeting on the site during the summer of 2015 between Theresa May and Bernard Cazeneuve who were at the time Home Secretaries for the United Kingdom and France.The new building which has a floor space of 547m�, is equipped with the latest technology and can ...
• First Minister expects next rail provider to deliver more rolling stockFirst Minister Carwyn Jones has said the Welsh Government expects the next rail provider for Wales to demonstrate a “higher quality” of rolling stock.
• New trains needed in Wales to end underdevelopmentNew trains are needed to put an end to long-running underdevelopment of the rail network in Wales, MPs have warned.
• Free WiFi on all Chiltern Railways routesYou'll be able to get free WiFi across all of Chiltern Railways commuter routes from mid-February.