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

Saturday, 15 July 2017

BBC News

• Work begins on restoring Liverpool to North Wales rail linkThe development is seen as a milestone in travel between north-west England and North Wales
• Southwold railway enthusiasts adopt old locomotiveTrain enthusiasts, who are hoping to reopen an old seaside railway line, have been given a 1913 engine.

Financial Times

• HS1 railway line sold for EV of £3bn, below initial expectationsCanadian pension fund owners bought asset for£2.1bn in 2010

The Guardian

• Channel Tunnel rail link sold on to consortium for £3bnCanadian pension funds Borealis and Ontario Teachers sell HS1 in deal thought to value track, stations and lease at £3bn
• Philip Hammond in row over 'even a woman can drive a train' jibeChancellor reported to have made sexist remark at cabinet meeting, with Theresa May believed to have been less than impressed with his commentPhilip Hammond appears to have irked the prime minister by making a sexist remark in cabinet, exposing the tensions at the highest level of government.Reports suggest that in a discussion about transport, the chancellor quipped that driving trains had now been made so easy that “even a woman” could do it. Continue reading...

Times Online

• Millions more rail passengers face strikes as driver-only row spreads to South West Trains [Subscription]Britain’s busiest rail company could face a wave of damaging strikes after union bosses warned of a repeat of action that has already crippled networks across northern and southern England.
• Hammond: Even a woman could drive a modern train [Subscription]Philip Hammond was caught up in a sexism row after telling the cabinet that driving trains was so easy that even women could do it.
• What’s coming down the track at Carillion? [Subscription]The scale of the crisis at Carillion is summed up by the text sent to friends by one respected fund manager soon after the company’s shock profit warning last Monday: “Is Carillion toast?”

The Mirror

• 'Even a woman can drive a train': Chancellor Philip Hammond in sexist jibe rowSources close to Mr Hammond have strongly denied that he made any such comment and insisted the phrase was uttered by another minister

Network Rail

• Sixth formers reinterpret the future railway in The Apprentice-style skills challengeIn the week leading up to World Youth Skills Day on Saturday 15 July, 16 students took part in a classroom-to-boardroom challenge. The aim was to develop their business skills and introduce them to potential future opportunities in the rail industry.
• Lichfield MP goes trackside with Network Rail and London MidlandThe MP for Lichfield, Michael Fabricant, met with Network Rail and London Midland today (Friday 14 July) to see first-hand how the railway in his constituency is run and maintained.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Direct rail link from North Wales to Liverpool takes giant step forward today Work gets underway on the Halton Curve that could transform rail links in the area

East Anglian Daily Times

• ‘End our train hell’ says watchdog as Suffolk and Essex rail group gets behind campaignRail campaigners in Suffolk and Essex have lent their support to a petition launched by consumer group Which? pledging to “end our train hell”.

Get West London

• Crossrail services for Elizabeth line increased by Transport for London as new map revealedOff-peak services from Paddington will be increased from previous plans

Plymouth Herald

• Ceremony in Plymouth for one of the last ever class 66s trains built On Monday afternoon, July 10, the newly built GBRF class 66 no 66775 worked down from Westbury to Devonport Dockyard light engine, for a naming ceremony, and on early Tuesday evening, this loco returned from Saltash to Eastleigh, writes Thomas Mills.

Other Regional Press

• North Warwickshire MP demands greater transparency on HS2 documents NORTH Warwickshire MP Craig Tracey has demanded that High Speed 2 chiefs be more transparent on their plans for the project.
• Halton Curve upgrade starts as 'first spade put in the ground'The return of the Halton Curve rail line is on as the upgrade has officially begun.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Is a Siemens-Bombardier joint venture a real possibility? Siemens and Bombardier are reportedly in talks to merge their rail operations to compete more effectively with Chinese state-backed giant CRRC. The challenges and implications, however, should not be understated.

Railway Gazette

• EU funding for Skopje – Sofia link EUROPE: Two international rail projects in the Western Balkans region are to benefit from European...
• Prototype Rhein-Ruhr-Express EMU unveiledGERMANY: The prototype for the fleet of 82 Desiro HC electric multiple-units which Siemens is to...

Other News Sources

• Next generation of the ScotRail Alliance get career on trackThe ScotRail Alliances’s fourth intake of Modern Apprentices has celebrated securing permanent employment on the railway and completion of the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
• Preston's railway station has been nominated in a search for the worst new building Preston Railway Station’s new Butler Street entrance has been nominated for an unwanted award.