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

Wednesday, 13 November 2019

BBC News

• General election: Wales Green's leader says country does not need an airportBut the party's Welsh leader stops short of calling for Cardiff Airport to be scrapped.
• Manchester United bus service scrapped after 'fans assaulted inspectors'Match day services from Old Trafford are axed after a
• No quick fix to stop A555 Airport Relief Road floodingEngineers are yet to find a way of stopping the A555 airport link road from flooding after heavy rain.
• Bus operator McGill's faces strike action in pay disputeUnite says former Arriva staff, who moved to McGill's after a takeover in 2011, are lagging behind on pay.
• HS2 should happen despite rising cost, says reviewA draft copy of a review into the project says it might cost even more than its current price of £88bn.

Financial Times

• UK should proceed with full HS2, leaked draft review saysReport suggests costs could be reduced by cutting number of trains per hour from 18 to 14

The Guardian

• HS2 costs head north just as its value falls southOnce upon a time, the HS2 high-speed railway was meant to cost £34bn in its entirety. In 2012, that became £42bn. Then £56bn was the magic number in 2015. Now we’re up to £88bn and a review panel says further increases are likely. So what does the same panel recommend? Astonishingly, it says HS2 should be built anyway. Yet more money must be thrown at this over-indulged project, it seems.
• Co-author of leaked HS2 report demands his name is removedLord Berkeley at odds with chair of the Oakervee review over project costs and benefits

The Independent

• HS2 needed to stop ticket prices rising, review launched by Boris Johnson findsThe independent review was chaired by Douglas Oakervee and commissioned by Boris Johnson

The Telegraph

• Trust in airlines slumps to alarming low, says new studyConsumer trust in airlines is at an alarming low, according to a new study.

Times Online

• Times letters: HS2 review should now be published in fullSir, The leaked Oakervee Review (“HS2 will boost north despite soaring costs”, Nov 12) appears to recommend building the full Y-shaped HS2 line, albeit at a reduced speed and with possibly another stop in Buckinghamshire. The benefit cost ratio has dipped still further to a pitiful £1.30 for every £1 spent.
• HS2 report is unbalanced and unquestioning, says co-author [subscription]The HS2 review has failed to scrutinise the project’s ballooning costs properly and has produced an unbalanced report, its deputy chairman has said. Lord Berkeley, a Labour peer, said that he “cannot support” the conclusions or recommendations of the review into the high-speed rail network. He said spending on it could rise to £103 billion, twice the present budget.

City AM

• Eddie Stobart shareholders face steep losses in potential rescueShareholders in logistics firm Eddie Stobart face a steep cut in the value of their investment as part of a proposed financing deal.
• Exclusive: Deputy chair of leaked HS2 review slams 'whitewash' reportThe deputy chair of the government-commissioned review into HS2 has savaged a late draft of the report, which urges ministers to press on with the project.
• £2.9bn of investment planned for Oxford Street by 2022Oxford Street and the surrounding area is set to receive a total of £2.9bn in investment over the next two [...] The post £2.9bn of investment planned for Oxford Street by 2022 appeared first on CityAM.

Bolton News

• Volunteers devastated by 'vandals' after destruction of Westhoughton train station ornamentHARD-WORKING volunteers who spend hours gardening and decorating a train station were horrified when they turned up at the platforms to find their contributions ruined.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Level crossing traffic woe 'would have been sorted if it was in the South'IF Kildwick level crossing was located in the south of the country, the current traffic delays and lack of a bridge or similar infrastructure would have been tackled years ago, according to county councillor Philip Barrett.

Bristol Live

• GWR apologises after guards refused to let passengers board Temple Meads trainGreat Western Railway (GWR) has apologised after train guards refused to let passengers board the service from Bath to Bristol.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Welsh Government's Business Wales service under threat from Brexit unless replacement cash foundEconomy and Transport minister Ken Skates says there would be a £12m shortfall in funding

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Leaders across the North welcome leaked report showing review backs HS2 high speed rail lineWhoever wins the December 12 general election must come out clearly in favour of building the HS2 high speed rail line, leaders across the North have insisted.

The York Press

• York group of architects and designers bid for major NRM project THE National Railway Museum is expected to announce the names of the five architect/design agencies shortlisted for the £16.5 million project to design the museum’s new Central Hall very soon - possibly this week.
• Innovative tech firm Incremental Solutions wins rail industry awardA YORK transport technology company has won recognition for its predictive analysis system which helps to prevent costly rail delays.
• 'Trailblazer of the British rail industry' arrives at York's National Railway Museum A HIGH-SPEED train, considered 'Britain's most influential modern locomotive', has joined the National Railway Museum’s collection after more than 40 years in service.

Wales Online

• M4 near Port Talbot to stay unlit this winter after lampposts were removedThe decision has been criticised by the AA and local politicians

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Bus lane makes £2.5 million in finesMore than £2.5 million has been brought in from a single bus lane in West Bromwich where nearly 100,000 drivers have been hit with fines.

Blackpool Gazette

• Northern forced to hitch Pacer trains to Sprinters to make services accessible to disabled travellersTrain operating company Northern is hitching out-dated Pacer trains to its Sprinter trains in a bid to help disabled people.

Bucks Free Press

• HS2 'should go ahead' despite rising costs - according to leaked draft reviewHS2 should continue to be built in full despite costs soaring to £88 billion, a review of the scheme has reportedly indicated.

Leeds Live

• Leaked draft of HS2 review indicates if £88 billion rail project should come to LeedsA review is exploring whether HS2 should still go ahead

Other Regional Press

• Passengers slam Greater Anglia for 'cramming' passengers onto trains with missing carriagesRail passengers have slammed Greater Anglia for forcing commuters to "cram" into aisles and corridors, due to trains running with missing carriages,

Rail Technology Magazine

• Leaked HS2 review draft recommends staying on track with the projectAccording to an early draft of the HS2 review seen by The Times newspaper, report author Doug Oakervee is set to recommend ministers proceed with the full Y-shaped line as currently planned, with only relatively minor revisions to the planned route.
• Network Rail takes on more accountability as devolution journey continuesNetwork Rail geographic regions, established in June, have taken on accountability for delivering all projects within their borders. Yesterday (Mon 11) saw the second phase of the company’s passenger focused measures as accountability for all projects, including track and signalling, was...
• 'Backbone' of high-speed rail in Britain donated to National Railway Museum Britain’s most influential modern locomotive, Class 43 High-speed train, also known as the InterCity 125 will join the stationary fleet of over 260 locomotives and rolling stock at the National Railway Museum in York. The train, no.43002 ‘Sir Kenneth Grange’, has given more...

Aviation Industry

• American Airlines, Royal Air Maroc seek to codeshareAmerican Airlines and Royal Air Maroc have submitted a joint application with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to offer codeshare services on flights between the US and Morocco. read more