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

Wednesday, 19 July 2017

BBC News

• Cardiff to Swansea rail electrification commitment urgedThe economy secretary wants Westminster to deliver electric trains from Cardiff to Swansea - or give Welsh Government the power and money to do so.

Department for Transport

• CMA considers proposals to protect London to Exeter rail passengersThe CMA is considering proposed fare controls to protect London-Exeter rail passengers following the award of the South Western franchise.
• Transport Minister speaks at the Backing Beauty ReceptionThe Rt Hon John Hayes CBE MP discusses good design in transport at an event hosted by ResPublica, the Woodland Trust and the National Trust.

Financial Times

• Former HS2 chief faces questions over redundancy payoutsSimon Kirby was at helm when publicly funded regime was proposed that cost �1.76m

Times Online

• HS2 chiefs gave staff nearly £2m in redundancy [Subscription]Bosses at the new high-speed rail line will face questions after defying ministers and signing off a £1.76 million redundancy package for staff.

City AM

• From London Bridge to Clapham Common: The Tube stations facing severe overcrowding by the early 2030s if Crossrail 2 gets derailedTransport for London (TfL) has named the 17 London Underground stations set to face chronic overcrowding and measures such as regular closures and one-way systems by the 2030s, should Crossrail 2 fail to go ahead.
• London's Oyster card is getting a revamp with a new app that will send low balance alerts to your phoneTransport for London (TfL) has announced a flurry of changes to the Oyster card, including a new app for passengers to get phone alerts when their balance is running low.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Brakes slammed on bid to bring vintage Swiss locomotive to Snowdonia The Snowdon Mountain Railway is the only compatible rack-an-pinion railway in Britain although they are common in Switzerland

London Evening Standard

• Simon Jenkins: It's not too late to make HS2 somehow work for LondonAs the first contracts are signed, the focus now needs to be on preventing complete chaos at Euston and Old Oak Common
• Southern Rail workers announce fresh strike amid warning dispute could last 'an awful long time'Southern Rail workers have announced another strike in the dispute over staffing and driver-only trains as commuters were warned disruption could last "an awful long time".

The York Press

• MP calls for scrutiny of ‘every inch’ of HS2 EVERY inch of the proposed HS2 route in Yorkshire and further south needs to be scrutinised, according to a York MP.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• HS2: Staffordshire MPs vow to fight 'monstrous' rail project MPs have vowed to fight against HS2’s second phase branding it a ‘monstrous’ white elephant which will put some parts of the county ‘in peril’.

Yorkshire Post

• YP Comment: Yorkshire’s railway woes must not be forgotten in push for HS2Less than 24 hours after Transport Secretary Chris Grayling made the eyebrow-raising claim that it is “incredible, inconceivable and simply nonsense” to suggest the eventual cost of the multi-billion pound HS2 project could spiral far past its budget, it is alarming to learn of the ongoing issues due to affect thousands of Yorkshire rail passengers.

Other Regional Press

• MPs across Kent and Bromley demand Crossrail extension to Ebbsfleet in next rail franchiseSome 12 MPs wrote a six-page letter to rail minister Paul Maynard in response to a recent consultation
• Consultation begins into HS2 hub station for CheshireGovernment wants to see viable business case to build hub station along HS2 route
• Rail Minister reuses to meet unions involved in Southern industrial actionCOMMUTERS could face disruption for “an awful long time”, transport unions involved in the Southern Railway dispute warned.
• More success for Bombardier as contract extended for London's Elizabeth Line A train-maker with a branch in Barton under Needwood is set to be busier than first expected as it is set to make more trains than originally planned for London's Elizabeth Line.
• Controversial plans for HS2 depot at Yarnfield to go ahead despite mass opposition Controversial plans for an HS2 depot in Staffordshire are set to go ahead – despite hundreds of objections from residents.
• Rail bosses: Nine-day closure will have 'minimal impact'RAIL bosses have promised ‘minimal impact’ on commuters despite a nine-day blockade of one of Oxford’s busiest routes.
• Rail services must improve, says ministerRAIL services in south Wales must improve when the new 10-year contract is awarded, a Welsh minister has said.

Rail Technology Magazine

• PPM to be recorded on punctuality of trains 'to the minute' by 2019Rail companies have today said that they are working together to adopt the most transparent method for recording train punctuality in Europe by measuring services to the minute. At present, train punctuality, or the public performance measure (PPM) is taken for when a train arrives at its...
• Calling all women: have your say on the barriers of the rail industryWomen have been instrumental in delivering large-scale projects in the rail industry, such as the Northern Powerhouse, and organisations like Network Rail have recently been relentlessly vocal about their commitments to diversifying the workforce. But women are still woefully underrepresented in...
• Grayling confirms HS2 phase 2 routeThe route that HS2 will take from Birmingham and onto Manchester and the north as part of phases 2a and 2b has today been confirmed by DfT. It has been revealed that Phase 2b will run towards the East Midlands Hub, then on to Chesterfield and Leeds, before joining on to the existing network to...
• Duo of shortlists revealed for HS2 station design and master development contractsThe names of the designers and engineers who are formally in the running to develop detailed plans for three brand new stations and majorly expand London Euston have today been named by HS2 Ltd. The station design contract shortlist, revealed today as part of a string of announcements around the...
• Businesses and MPs at odds over HS2 Sheffield route decisionLocal politicians and business leaders in South Yorkshire are firmly at odds over the government’s decision to link HS2 services to Sheffield city centre, as opposed to Meadowhall or the mothballed Sheffield Victoria station. The decision of where to connect high-speed services in the...
• Major players win big as HS2 awards £6.6bn construction contractsA number of high-profile joint ventures (JVs) have been revealed as the winners of £6.6bn worth of major construction and civil engineering contracts for the first phase of HS2 between London and Birmingham. In March last year, the tender for the main civil engineering works contracts...

Railway Gazette

• Abellio takes full ownership of WestfalenBahn as market gets more competitiveGERMANY: The Abellio GmbH German subsidiary of Dutch state passenger train operator NS has reached...
• Bi-mode trains in prospect as HS2 northern routes confirmed UK: Transport Secretary Chris Grayling issued a Command Paper on July 17 confirming the planned...

Transport Times

• A Heathrow that meets its targetsAt last an agreement has been reached that will allow Elizabeth line (Crossrail) services to reach Heathrow's Terminal 5 from December 2019.

Other News Sources

• Meet the MD: Patrick Verwer of London MidlandPatrick Verwer of train operator London Midland charts his career so far and explains why it is an exciting time to be in the Midlands...
• MPs across Kent and Bromley demand Crossrail extension to Ebbsfleet in next rail franchiseMPs from across Kent and Bromley have united to demand an extension of Crossrail to Ebbsfleet in the next south eastern rail franchise.