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

Saturday, 18 November 2017

BBC News

• Southern Rail disruption delays London's deputy mayor for transportDocuments show London's deputy mayor for transport avoids early meetings due to the rail operator's performance.
• HS2 contractor Carillion's shares hit by profit alertCarillion, the UK's second biggest construction firm, warns on profits for the third time in a year.

Financial Times

• Network Rail to sell £1bn commercial property portfolioState-owned infrastructure group moves to shore up finances

The Guardian

• Southeastern rail and contractor fined £3.6m over cleaner's deathFirms guilty of health and safety breaches after Roger Lower, 46, fell on to a live rail while cleaning a train at Sussex depotSoutheastern railway and its cleaning firm have been fined a total of £3.6m for the death of a cleaner who was electrocuted by a live rail. Roger Lower, 46, fell on to the 750-volt rail during a night shift cleaning trains at one of Southeastern’s Sussex depots, where equipment designed to protect workers was found not to be in use. Continue reading...

The Herald

• ANALYSIS: End of the line? Glasgow Airport may still get its surface linkIt was, said John Swinney, “desirable but not essentialâ€�. When the then finance secretary binned Glasgow’s Airport Rail Link eight years ago he felt he had saved the public purse a fortune.
• Airport rail link would be ‘a poor use of public money’A FORMER Labour rail minister has backed the scrapping of the latest proposal for a Glasgow Airport rail link, describing the planned project as a “poor use of public moneyâ€�.

The Scotsman

• Virgin Trains offer signed Will Ferrell toilet seat as prizeVIRGIN Trains have launched a new competition where rail passengers can be in with a chance to win a toilet seat signed by Anchorman star Will Ferrell.

Times Online

• Only three passengers use the quietest train station [Subscription]A Co Tipperary town has retained its record as the least-used train station on the country’s rail network.
• Carillion shares collapse after warning on profits [Subscription]Contractor expects to breach banking covenants
• Southern Rail strikes derail Transport chief Val Shawcross’s day [Subscription]London’s deputy mayor for transport cannot schedule any early morning meetings because she relies on the strike-ridden Southern Rail service.

Mail Online

• Strike threat to Virgin West Coast line Rail workers on Virgin Trains’ West Coast route have voted by nine to one to go on strike in a dispute over pay. The West Coast franchise covers services from London Euston to Glasgow.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Train company's workers to be balloted over sick pay offer A RAIL union will ballot its members from Virgin East Coast over the company's proposals to impose a pay offer that had previously been rejected by the workforce.

London Evening Standard

• District Line delays: London tube commuters stranded for up to 40 minutes after person taken ill on a trainCommuters travelling on the District Line faced severe delays on Friday due to signal failures and a ​passenger being taken ill.
• Bond Street station unveils new look entrance after £300m revamp Bond Street station has opened its new entrance and ticket hall following a £300 million revamp.
• 'Tube crush' website featuring photos of 'attractive' men on London Underground sparks privacy rowA "Tube crush" website where passengers secretly capture and rate photos of men they find "attractive" while riding the London Underground has sparked a privacy row.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Virgin East Coast to launch a half price 'Beat Black Friday' ticket saleA huge 300,000 seats will be up for grabs with bargains including a one way First Class ticket to London for just £33.50

The York Press

• Minister's pledge on new trainsTHE York depot refurbishing trains for the TransPennine Express welcomed transport secretary Chris Grayling yesterday.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Commuters spend an average of 27 days a year getting to and from work, study revealsRail commuters are spending over two hours getting to and from work every day as travel times increase for Britain’s workers, a new study has revealed.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Khan urges national fare freeze as TfL tickets to stay the same in 2018Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has today confirmed that fares set by TfL will once again be frozen in 2018 and questioned the government’s failure to follow suit in this policy. The policy means that every passenger buying tram tickets or making pay-as-you-go journeys on the Tube, DLR...
• Bond Street £300m revamp unveiled ahead of Elizabeth Line link next yearMajor refurbishment and connection works at London’s Bond Street station have been completed. TfL announced the completion of the revamp today, including a 30% increase in capacity necessary for the future connection with the Elizabeth Line. The work involved the construction of a new...
• Network Rail announces major sell-off of entire commercial portfolioNetwork Rail will seek a major cash boost through the sale of its commercial property portfolio in England and Wales, announced today. The infrastructure manager is looking for private bidders on a mostly leaseholder basis while retaining the freeholds, meaning it can retain control of access to...