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

Wednesday, 12 April 2017

BBC News

• Queen Street rail services resume after landslipThe line from Glasgow Queen Street station is open after a week of engineering work.
• Bombardier and Siemens 'in train deal talks'Shares in the two manufacturers rise on reports they are discussing a tie-up of their train businesses.

Times Online

• Train operator drops plans for northeast cuts[subscription]Plans to reduce CrossCountry train services to and from northeast Scotland have been scrapped.

Reuters News

• Siemens, Bombardier in talks about rail JV -sourcesFRANKFURT/BERLIN, April 11 Germany's Siemens and Canada's Bombardier are in talks to combine their rail operations, two people close to the matter told Reuters on Tuesday, an action that could strengthen their hand against Chinese state-backed market leader CRRC Corp .

Derby Telegraph

• Is Derby train-maker Bombardier set to merge with rival Siemens? Reports have suggested that Derby train manufacturer Bombardier is in talks with German rival Siemens about combining their train-making businesses.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Plans to cut north-east rail services scrappedThe train company CrossCountry has now withdrawn a proposed timetable that would have resulted in four of the six services operating between Aberdeen and Edinburgh cut from December 2017.

Plymouth Herald

• Map of ambitious 'Plymouth Metro' network with new train stations revealed A new train line between Plymouth and Tavistock could be in place within five years, connecting up with a cross-city tram-style Metro system by 2024.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Think tank provides guide for rail development Drawing on international and national best practice, a new report by the Independent Transport Commission (ITC) –
• Hitachi on track to recruit for 250 jobs at newly built Doncaster rail depot Hitachi Rail Europe (HRE), the company building and maintaining new intercity trains, is on schedule to employ 250 people at their newly built Doncaster depot. The depot is hiring a brand new team to maintain new fleets of intercity trains inspired by Japanese bullet trains, which are due to start running next year, connecting northern cities to London and Scotland. Hitachi has invested £80m in the Doncaster site to create a facility that is clean, light and packed with the most advanced industry technology. The leading rail firm has breathed new life into the region’s rail sec...

Rail Magazine

• Introducing the Big Rail Diversity Challenge 2017 - June 9

Rail Technology Magazine

• New study to consider extending Borders railway to CarlislePlans to potentially extend the Borders railway to Carlisle are to be considered, as Transport Scotland has commissioned a new report looking at ways to improve public transport services in the region. Subject to completion of the mandatory standstill period, Jacobs UK Ltd has been awarded the...
• Hendy: Rail industry must learn to relate to the world outside of itThe railway must be adaptable, relatable and must improve its planning processes in order to grow wider economic growth in the future, a report by the Independent Transport Commission (ITC) backed by Network Rail chair Sir Peter Hendy has stated. The report, ‘Classic Rail and Connected...
• ORR to request process for improving NR route risk managementThe ORR is to request that Network Rail puts in place a process to improve risk management at a local level across all its devolved routes, ensuring that any changes occur safely and in compliance with health and safety law, its business plan for 2017-18 has stated. The regulator also said that...
• Digital service to reunite passengers with lost valuables trialled in WalesCustomers pulling their hair out at constantly leaving their valuables on the train may be in luck, as an innovative new system may help them track down their possessions. The system, FindMyLost, is a digital service which allows passengers and railway staff who find an item to put it online...

Railnews

• Borders Railway could be extended to Carlisle The Borders Railway could be restored completely to Carlisle, as one of a series of projects which is set to be examined by Transport Scotland. TS said it intended to award the contract to�carry out�the study to Jacobs UK. The�study is expected to take about seven months to complete, and the prospect of reopening the rest of the line beyond Tweedbank through Hawick to Carlisle will be welcomed by transport campaigners.

Railway Gazette

• Electrification fabrication facility to support just-in-time delivery UK: VolkerRail and Unipart Rail have opened a third overhead electrification equipment preassembly...
• RENFE poised to join Virgin’s HS2 franchise bidUK: Spanish national operator RENFE is understood to be the front runner to join the Virgin Rail...

The Business Desk

• Derby train maker in Siemens merger talksBombardier, the Derby-based train maker, could be about to merge with Siemens according to reports.

Other News Sources

• Contractors partner with operators for £5bn Wales and Borders franchise bidsExclusive: Four of the UK’s biggest rail contractors have partnered with train operating companies as part of a bid for the £5bn Wales and Borders franchise contract.
• Supporters of a civil engineering plan that involves repurposing defunct London rail track say it could provide better value for money than the floundering Garden Bridge scheme.This unloved-looking bridge (pictured above) forms part of a derelict rail route that could be brought back into use as a flower-filled walkway under plans backed by an influential coalition of London businesses, E&T can reveal for the first time.
• South West Trains passengers warned of disruption during Easter bank holiday due to engineering work Rail users have been warned to check before they travel  due to planned work around Waterloo and Twickenham
• Siemens, Bombardier to merge their rail operations? (From DW, Germany)Germany's Siemens and Canada's Bombardier are in talks to combine their rail operations, media reports have said. If successful, the move would strengthen their hand against the market leader from China, CRRC.
• Siemens shares spike on reports of Bombardier mergerGerman industrial giant Siemens chugged higher on Tuesday after reports that it has entered negotiations with Bombardier to merge the two companies’ train operations.
• Nationalism may derail Bombardier deal logicNEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Combining the Canadian firm's rail unit with Siemens' - and perhaps Alstom's - would help them compete with a Chinese rival. Past merger talks have failed, though, and growing government involvement in Bombardier signals the difficulty in keeping these discussions on track.
• TSX ends lower despite Bombardier shares rising on merger reportCanada's benchmark stock index ended barely lower on Tuesday as financial stocks weighed, while a flight to safety helped gold miners and shares of Bombardier Inc jumped on reports it was discussing a merger of rail operations with Siemens.
• Shares of Bombardier rise after reports of merger with SiemensMONTREAL -- Shares of Bombardier were up more than four per cent Tuesday following a report that the company and German-based Siemens AG are in talks to merge their train businesses.
• Siemens, Bombardier Said in Talks to Combine Rail UnitsSiemens AG and Bombardier Inc. are in talks to combine their rail operations, according to people familiar with the matter, potentially creating a business that could better fend off increasing competition from China.
• 'I’ve never had a career plan, I just did what I enjoyed' says Crossrail 2 chiefSpeaking to members of the Institution of Civil Engineers at the second Inspiring Engineers event, Michele Dix, Managing Director of Crossrail 2, gave a personal account of her career and what being an engineer means to her.