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

Monday, 10 July 2023

BBC News

• Bus franchising petition launched following cutsA petition calling for bus services to be "franchised" and brought back under public control, has been launched.
• Manxman: Steam Packet's new ferry officially welcomedThe newest Manx ferry has been officially welcomed to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company's fleet with a special ceremony at the harbourside.
• Manchester clean air zone delayed again over bus technologyGreater Manchester's plan will be delayed as some retrofitted buses did not cut emissions as expected.

Financial Times

• Deutsche wins credit card deal for Lufthansa frequent-flyer schemeMiles & More contract will more than double German lender's volume of transactions

The Herald

• Ross Greer: Very confident peak time rail fares will end permanentlyPeak time rail fares in Scotland are likely to be permanently axed next Spring, according to senior Scottish Greens MSP.
• Ross Greer: Very confident peak time rail fares will end permanentlyPEAK time rail fares in Scotland look set to be permanently axed next Spring, according to senior Scottish Greens MSP.

The Scotsman

• Edinburgh Airport baggage disruption: Swissport drafts in 50 extra staff from across UKUnder-pressure Edinburgh Airport baggage firm Swissport has drafted in 50 more staff from across the UK to deal with significant luggage disruption at Scotland's busiest air terminal, The Scotsman has learned.

The Telegraph

• Mark Harper calls for review of unpopular LTNs. [subscription]Councils should review unpopular anti-car schemes, the Transport Secretary said, as he warned that low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) have set “people against each other” and risk putting voters off net zero.

Times Online

• Railways will always need the human touch [subscription]Removing ticket offices from our train stations could help travellers if this knowledgeable workforce is put to good use
• Who will profit from closure of hundreds of ticket offices? [subscription]As train operators consult on the plans, the government’s easy-to-use booking app hasn’t even left the station
• Oldest ferry crossing to Skye at risk from electricity pylons [subscription]The oldest ferry crossing to Skye is under threat from plans to construct a giant line of nearby electricity pylons.

City AM

• DART rail system has been a ’gamechanger’ for Luton Airport, says chief executiveThe launch of the Luton DART rail system has “simply been a gamechanger for the airport,” said the boss of Luton’s popular hub, amid plans to expand its passenger cap to upwards of 19m.

i News

• Rishi Sunak forced to delay HS2 law and six other bills until at least 2024The Government is being forced to push its legislative agenda into next year after privately admitting that at least seven bills meant to become law months ago will have to be delayed again.

Mail Online

• Transport Secretary Mark Harper urges local councils to rethink 'unpopular' low traffic neighbourhoods as he warns they can 'set people against each other'Transport Secretary Mark Harper has urged local councils to 'reflect' on low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) as he warned they risk pitching people 'against each other'.

This is Money

• Used electric cars have nosedived in value in 2023Exclusive figures shared with This is Money show that all 20 second-hand cars that have deflated in price across all fuel types are EVs - while not a single one appears in the list of the 20 biggest tisers.

Labour Party

• ’We must give control back to the North by improving public transport’For the Tories, ’levelling up’ the North is an election slogan. For Labour, it must be a job we deliver on.

Network Rail

• Isle of Wight: Railway line between Ryde Pier Head and Ryde Esplanade reopensNetwork Rail and South Western Railway (SWR) are pleased to announce that Ryde Pier Head station has reopened to customers today (Monday 10 July), following a programme of vital upgrades.

Liverpool Echo

• Bus Regulation: The Musical coming to a theatre near youPerformers on roller skates play the buses to tell the history of public transport provision on Merseyside

London Evening Standard

• Airlines urged to provide ’realistic travelling times’ for domestic flightsCampaign for Better Transport called for the rule to be introduced as part of its Fewer Flights Charter.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Twenty-six turbulent years of privatised trains in the West MidlandsThe corks popped, the champagne flowed - and Richard Branson promised a revolution in rail travel which involved tilting trains, faster journey times and better punctuality.
• New ticket office, but no-one to staff it? A day in the life of a rail passengerThe new Co-op store is booming. Costa Coffee pretty busy too. Not so the ticket office, though.
• We want better!' Express & Star's Great Rail Survey reveals weary passengers and deep dissatisfaction Working to rule, strikes on the way and the closure of ticketing offices – it’s just another week on the railways.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Plans to axe Leeds train station ticket offices at Cross Gates, Garforth, Guiseley and Horsforth branded 'inhuman'Plans to shut ticket offices at rail stations have been hammered by West Yorkshire councillors, who’ve branded them “appalling” and “inhuman”.
• Wetherby train station: Businessman says poor transport links in Leeds market town are weakening economyDreams of running a pub in a quaint Leeds town came crashing down for a businessman left “disappointed and angry” by the lack of a train station.

Burnley Express

• Underground cables bring EV charging to Blackburn terracesIngenious 'cable trays' across pavements in Blackburn, Darwen and East Lancashire's terraced streets could help residents charge electric vehicles.

Other Regional Press

• Plans to shut Devon train station ticket offices challengedThe proposals would see 153 of South Western Railway’s 190 stations changed
• Wakefield MP writes to transport minister in protest at plan close Westgate station ticket officeWakefield’s MP Simon Lightwood has expressed ’significant concerns’ over plans to close ticket offices at the city’s Westgate rail station.
• Buses in Eastwood and Kimberley produce more emissions than a decade ago – despite passenger journeys tumblingThe Local Government Association said buses can play a “huge role in reducing carbon and other harmful emissions”. Bus emissions data is measured by the equivalent amount of oil the journeys would have produced and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero figures show buses in Broxtowe borough produced 2.6 thousand tonnes of oil equivalent, ktoe. In 2011, a decade earlier, buses in the area emitted 2.1 ktoe.
• Patients and staff left 'stranded' as bus services to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary cutHuddersfield residents have been left struggling to access Huddersfield Royal Infirmary as bus services have been slashed.
• Mark Harper: Councils should review 'unpopular' LTNsTransport Secretary Mark Harper has said low traffic neighbourhoods should be 'reviewed' by councils where they are 'unpopular' and 'controversial'
• Solent Airport improvement works due to start next weekImprovement works on the runway and taxiways at Solent Airport will start on July 10
• Kings Langley Station: New mural depicts Pope Adrian IVA new mural at Kings Langley Railway Station - funded by London Northwestern Railway - celebrates England's only pope who is rumoured to have been born in Hertfordshire.
• These Cheshire destinations could soon be served by Merseyrail's new battery-powered trainsThe final tests for the first fleet of its type in the country is set to begin

Train Operators

• TPE breaks down language barriersTransPennine Express has turned to technology to break down language barriers and help its customers stay connected.

British Trams Online

• TfL and KeolisAmey Docklands to trial new NaviLens technologyFour stations on the Docklands Light Railway are to be used to trial new NaviLens technology. This is an app which is designed to help blind or partially sighted customers to navigate stations and comes as part of a partnership with GoMedia (a subsidiary of Icomera) and The Royal National Institute of Blind People.

Construction Enquirer

• Watchdog MPs blast “floundering” HS2 Euston Station plansThe Department for Transport still does not know what it is trying to achieve with the HS2 station at Euston despite spending over eight years planning and designing it.

New Civil Engineer

• TfL renews call for long-term capital funding deal from government as it faces £475M shortfall in 2024-25Transport for London (TfL) will need £475M from central government to meet its 2024-25 capital delivery programme, prompting renewed calls from the London mayor and TfL commissioner for a long-term funding deal.

Rail Advent

• Rail industry supplier Linbrooke Rail welcomes MP to its headquartersMiriam Cates, the MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, recently visited the headquarters of Linbrooke Rail at Chapeltown in Sheffield, where she learned about techniques the company is using to reduce costs for the taxpayer on the Midland Mainline and its wider work in training and supporting the local economy.
• Investigation into trains exceeding emergency speed restrictionsThe Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has opened an investigation into incidents last month when trains exceeded temporary emergency speed limits that had been imposed because of the hot weather.
• TransPennine Express digital information screens go multi-lingualNew technology has enabled TransPennine Express to provide a multi-lingual facility for its digital information screens.

Railnews

• Monday essay: confusion at the ticket office The news is out. Hundreds of stations on National Rail in England are set to lose their ticket offices. Sim Harris has been exploring how well the industry has explained what is happening.

Other News Sources

• Hitachi Rail awarded new contract to maintain TransPennine Express Nova 1TransPennine Trains Limited and Angel Trains has awarded Hitachi Rail an eight year contract to continue maintenance of 19 intercity Class 802 trains.
• HS2: Report slams vague plans for Euston station and cost overrunsThe UK Government “still does not know what it is trying to achieve” at High Speed 2’s (HS2’s) Euston station and must reset the project for a second time, a parliamentary committee report has said.
• Scunthorpe MP to campaign against train ticket office closureScunthorpe MP Holly Mumby-Croft has said plans to close the town station's ticket office are 'completely unacceptable'.
• Hitachi Rail awarded new contract to maintain TransPennine Express Nova 1TransPennine Trains Limited and Angel Trains has awarded Hitachi Rail an eight year contract to continue maintenance of 19 intercity Class 802 trains.
• Airlines urged to provide ’realistic travelling times’ for domestic flightsCampaign for Better Transport called for the rule to be introduced as part of its Fewer Flights Charter.
• 'Significant number of hurdles' to restore lifeline bus services, says WECA bossHopes that dozens of buses could be restored across the Westcountry have been slashed, despite the Government relaxing restrictions on where a big pot of money can be spent
• Ullapool residents demand better on buses as lifeline links leave some 'snookered'WESTER Ross residents rocked by the impending closure of a local bank branch and reduced access to health services are putting their foot down over bus links.
• P&O Ferries makes commitment to Zeebrugge ferry servicesThe charter agreement with Bore Ltd for the NORSKY and NORSTREAM will continue for another three years.  These two vessels are the mainstay of the Zeebrugge – Tilbury and Zeebrugge – Teesport routes.
• Brighton and Hove cycle lanes: Cyclists grill Labour over delayCyclists quizzed the new Labour council about its decisions to pause and review two key “active travel” projects since taking office in May.