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

Thursday, 17 August 2017

BBC News

• Stranded: What happens if you can't pay your way home?The story of 16-year-old India Ballancore, who was gifted the £85 cost of a train ticket home by a kind-hearted stranger after she had missed her service, has captured the imagination of people on social media.
• Rail fares: Commuters to pay £100 more in 2018Analysis of six cities finds average season ticket price will increase to £2,840.
• TfL 'wastes' £45m on London Underground redundancy payoutsMore than 800 people were made redundant following the ticket office closure plan, but 325 jobs were reintroduced.

The Guardian

• Trains are too expensive. But transport’s real problem is subsidies for London | Wanda WyporskaLarger rail and bus subsidies for the capital and south-east mean many on low incomes lose out. The government needs to prioritise transport in poorer areasIf there is one piece of news guaranteed to draw ire from embattled commuters, it is the annual hiking of season rail ticket fares. As anyone forced to endure the nightmarish vagaries of public transport can attest, whatever the cost of a seat (if you’re lucky enough to get a seat), commuting on trains that are often overcrowded and late rarely feels like value for money. With price hikes of 3.6% now expected for many – the biggest annual i...

The Herald

• Azuma train on track to cut London-Edinburgh journey times visits ScotlandA new high-speed train aimed at cutting rail journeys between London and Edinburgh to four hours has travelled to Scotland for the first time.

Times Online

• Al-Qaeda calls for jihadists in the West to derail trains [Subscription]Al-Qaeda is telling supporters to target trains with homemade “derailment devices” to inflict mass casualties and regain the prominence it has lost to Isis.

City AM

• The death of presenteeism is the birth of flexible workingAs you're reading this article, perhaps trundling along in a crowded Tube carriage, try to imagine a saner, less stressful way of working.

Daily Record

• High-speed train rolls into Scotland as Virgin looks to cut Edinburgh to London travel to four hours The Azuma uses technology developed from Japan's world famous bullet trains.

Mail Online

• High-tech airport-style body scanners are being trialed on the LA subway to test for explosive compounds Los Angeles officials are running a two-day trial of new scanning technology that aims to spot firearms and explosives being carried onto the subway.

The Mirror

• Foreign-backed investors are pocketing £200m a year from Britain's privatised railways just by leasing them trainsForeign-backed speculators are making £200m a year out of Britain’s privatised railways just by leasing trains to train operating companies, official figures reveal. An analysis of government data by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union shows that rail users could see a fare cut of 2.1% if the ‘rip-off’ was ended.

London Evening Standard

• New high-speed train due to cut travel times from London to Edinburgh makes first trip to ScotlandA new high-speed train aimed at slashing journey time between London and Edinburgh to four hours has travelled to Scotland for the first time.
• TfL 'spent £45m on redundancy payouts for 800 staff members' over ticket office closuresTransport for London has reportedly spent about £45m making more than 800 people redundant over a controversial plan to close ticket offices.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Plea to rail bosses to rethink ‘flawed’ proposed changes to railway timetables in YorkshireThe controversial timetable changes proposed for May 2018 will build on a planned new structure for which will take effect from December this year.

Yorkshire Post

• The Yorkshire Post Says: As rail fares skyrocket, Northern must remember it's running a public service IN the week that it was confirmed that rail commuters will face a 3.6 per cent fare increase in 2018, the highest for five years, it’s even more important that train operators like Northern recognise that they’re supposed to be providing a public service. If only this was the case.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Ipswich station up for national award after a transformational yearIpswich railway station has been nominated for a prestigious award as we near the end of a year when it has been transformed by a £2m facelift.

North Wales Live

• Merseyrail staff member allegedly assaulted on train Services had to be cancelled and were subject to delays

Peterborough Telegraph

• Train derailment causes week of delaysA freight train which derailed has blocked a major railway line linking Peterborough with a number of cities.

Other Regional Press

• Find another route, HS2 protesters toldCampaigners have been told by HS2 bosses to come up with alternative routes for construction traffic building the high speed rail line.
• YOUR VIEWS: Commuters on the 2 week station closure and bus replacement serviceCOMMUTERS have given a mixed reaction to having to use replacement buses from Bolton train station.

Rail Magazine

• The number of escalators on Crossrail escalatesMore than half of all escalators on the Crossrail project have been installed, with a special timelapse video released showing the progress.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Free Public WiFi at Cardiff Central Railway Station Travellers expect Wi-Fi connection at every stage of their journey. Arriva Trains wanted to further improve what Cardiff Station offered by installing a free Wi-Fi service so that travellers could easily check e-mails, catch up with friends and famil…
• Thieves make off with £90,000 of copper wire from railway in StaffordshireThieves have stolen more than £90,000 worth of copper wire from the railway over the past six weeks in Staffordshire, Network Rail has today stated. Around 3,650 metres of copper cable was removed by criminals, and police believe that the power, signalling and communications wire was...
• Atkins awarded £29m deal for innovative Anglia re-signalling programmeNetwork Rail today announced that Atkins has been awarded a £29m contract for re-signalling of the Norwich-Yarmouth-Lowestoft route. The company will provide a full suite of GRIP 5-8 design, engineering, construction, testing and commissioning services for the project, which aims to bring...
• NR recovery operation after Ely derailment set to cause more disruptionNetwork Rail has today been working to lift a derailed train off the track in Ely, which has been causing serious disruption over the last few days. Eleven carriages of a freight train came off the tracks at Queen Adelaide near the Ely North junction on Monday, and has since blocked the line and...

Railnews

• Platforms reopen after Waterloo derailment Disruption has eased at London Waterloo today after one bogie of a Class 456 unit derailed as it was leaving Platform 13 about 05.40 yesterday, tilting the leading driving car into the side of wagons involved in this month™s blockade. No one was injured, but the incident caused serious disruption to services, while an unrelated points failure meant that the former international platforms 20 to 24 were also isolated. Other incidents which have been disrupting services include a slow-speed buffer stops collision at King™s Cross and a derailed freight train near Ely.

Other News Sources

• Crossrail: All you need to know about the multi-billion pound project as it nears completion From tunnelling and tracks, to new trains and stations.... the countdown to the Elizabeth line begins