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

Monday, 20 February 2017

BBC News

• London Underground passengers face 24-hour Tube strikeMembers of the RMT union will walk out on Tuesday from 21:00 GMT in a row about staffing.
• Environmentalists and libertarians unite in HS2 criticismFriends of the Earth and Taxpayers' Alliance are normally at odds on policy, but both criticise HS2

Financial Times

• EU on collision course with China over rail planProbe of Beijing-funded Belgrade-Budapest link hits Xi’s hallmark project

The Guardian

• More than half UK investment in transport is in London, says studyThinktank IPPR North warns gulf in investment between regions is at cost of greater northern productivity. More than half of the UK’s total spending on transport networks is invested in London, research has found, prompting warnings of “chronic underinvestment” in northern infrastructure projects.The gulf in transport infrastructure investment between London and the rest of England is set to get worse, according to the analysis by the thinktank IPPR North, with £1,943 being spent per person in London on current or planned projects compared with just £427 in the north.

The Herald

• Scottish Labour to vote on 'people's railway' Scottish Labour members are to vote on proposals to take railways into public ownership at the party's conference.

Daily Record

• 'Jampacked trains are safer than empty ones' Passengers shocked by Scotrail's response to overcrowding complaints ScotRail is under fire again over a response to complaints about extreme overcrowding on services - by telling passengers it is safer.

The Mirror

• The North suffers as London gets the lions share of transport cash, according to report £1,943 is being spent per person in the capital compared with £427 in the North – four-and-a-half times more

Derby Telegraph

• Bombardier vows to battle on despite £460m Merseyrail deal A contract worth hundreds of millions of pounds to build new trains which was won by one of Bombardier's rivals has been signed - despite an ongoing legal challenge from the Derby train-maker.
• Plans to move section of M1 between J25 and Trowell Services to make way for HS2 rail line Derby drivers using the M1 could face disruption if a proposal to move a mile-long stretch of the motorway to make way for the HS2 rail line is given the go-ahead.
• Petition to reopen railway link between Buxton to Matlock is gathering steam A petition calling for a feasibility study to be carried out into the re-opening of a rail link in Derbyshire which closed almost 50 years ago appears to be gaining traction - after attracting more than 6,000 signatures.

London Evening Standard

• Southern Rail strike: RMT union accuses train company of bullying staff as strike loomsRail union leaders have accused Southern Rail of bullying and intimidating its staff ahead of another walkout this week.
• Network Rail in new rent rise row with businesses after 200 per cent hikeBusinesses at a set of east London railway arches warn they could be forced to close after Network Rail announced a rent hike of more than 200 per cent.
• Tube strike February 2017: Commuters warned of rush-hour queues and chaos during planned walk-outLondon transport bosses have warned commuters to prepare for rush-hour queues and overcrowded stations during a Central line Tube strike planned for next week.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• London transport spending equivalent to £1,500 more per head than North EastThink tank evidence suggests the Northern Powerhouse policy is good for Manchester rather than the North East

Northern Echo

• North-East MPs criticise Government over transport infrastructure spending findings NORTH-EAST Labour MPs have hit out after a report published today suggested more than half of transport infrastructure spending is going to London.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Mid Suffolk Light Railway hopes popularity will steam ahead after line extension approvedThe team behind a Suffolk heritage railway hopes it can become one of the county’s foremost attractions after it received approval for its extension plans.

Rail Technology Magazine

• East Wind: a new era of freight between the UK and China China has launched a direct rail freight service to London, as part of its drive to develop trade and investment ties with Europe through the New Silk Road. What will this mean for rail freight between the UK and Asia’s superpower?

Other News Sources

• £50m plan to upgrade rail networkNetwork Rail has started work on a £50m North Wales rail upgrade which includes a new signalling system on the line between Shotton and Colwyn Bay.