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

Tuesday, 15 August 2023

BBC News

• Campaigners gather in Birmingham to urge government to fund waterwaysBoaters gather on a Birmingham canal to urge the government to fund the region's waterways.
• Birmingham airport plane refuelers call off strikeThe workers - due to strike on Tuesday - have voted to accept a revised pay offer, a union says.
• Glasgow night bus services saved as operators join forcesMcGill's and First Bus come to an agreement to continue night bus services on nine Glasgow routes.
• Train strikes: When is the next action happening?Members of the RMT rail workers union are set to strike again in August.
• Petrol prices: Why are they going back up?Motoring organisations warn price rises will pile pressure on families and small businesses.

ITV News

• Residents complain about 'sorry state' of Vale of Glamorgan bus stopsA council in the Vale of Glamorgan said it will look to upgrade one of a number of shoddy-looking bus stops which residents say are in dire need of repair.

Financial Times

• Great American road trip hits speed bump in shortage of EV chargersFor electric vehicles to hit mainstream adoption, billions more in investment are needed to expand infrastructure
• Airlines rush to avoid cancellations after engine recallMore than 1,000 Pratt & Whitney engines are affected, forcing carriers to change schedules and ground craft
• Severe drought in Panama hits global shipping industryRestrictions triggered by lack of rain are likely to occur ‘again and again’ as climate change worsens
• Europe’s airlines clash with Italian premier over planned fare capPrice ceiling is latest stand-off between corporate world and Giorgia Meloni’s government

Times Online

• Keir Starmer clashes with Sadiq Khan over Ulez. [subscription]Labour leader says there are ’other ways’ of cleaning polluted air

Daily Record

• Bus company behind axed Falkirk service insist passenger numbers were recorded properlyA bus company has denied accusations that it has not been recording passenger numbers properly to support its decision to scrap a vital bus route.
• Glasgow night bus U-turn from First amid collaboration with McGill's to save servicesFirst Bus will operate four night routes between 12.45am and 3am on Saturday and Sunday mornings, while McGill’s has agreed to take on a further five routes.

Birmingham Mail

• The big change which could affect how you take journeys from Birmingham New Street stationA big change could affect how thousands of people take journeys from Birmingham New Street station. The ticket office at the station, one of the busiest in the country, could close under controversial plans to modernise the railways.

Birmingham Post

• Flying taxi firm Vertical Aerospace's battery facility acquiredThe Bristol company is currently leasing the premises which has new owners following the multi-million pound deal

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Astonishment as car motors along North Wales canal and over world's highest aqueductThe hybrid amphibious vehicle was making its North Wales debut

Liverpool Echo

• Liverpool city centre bus gate suspended one year after enforcementA bus gate that took four years to get up and running in Liverpool city centre has been suspended.

Northern Echo

• County Durham Leamside Line restoration may be 'possible'Network Rail and Council bosses have confessed the restoration of the Leamside Line is “possible” in a recent visit to Bedlington, which will be one of the new stops of the North East’s newest passenger rail line.

The York Press

• Prof Tony May: 'We need to change the way we use our roads'''We need to change the way we use our roads' - York transport expert

Other Regional Press

• Decision to close Somerset bus depot slammed as a 'disgrace'The planned closure of Bridgwater bus depot has been slammed as a "disgrace" by a local trade union body. As part of the plans, more than 50 Bridgwater-based workers will be expected to sign-on at other locations across the county, while some local bus services will be cut, according to Bridgwater Trades Union Council (BTUC).
• Grant Shapps hits back at ticket office closure claimsWelwyn Hatfield MP Grant Shapps has hit back at claims from Labour candidate Andrew Lewin that plans to close railway ticket offices were put in place by him.
• Nigel Huddeston, MP for Mid-Worcestershire, impressed by rail plansA COUNTY MP has met with representatives from Midlands Connect and Great Western Railway to discuss how plans for the Midlands Rail Hub could benefit his constituency.
• M42 bridge weighing 4,000 tonnes demolished to make way for HS2 lineThe two-span bridge was removed in under two days by a specialist demolition firm

New Civil Engineer

• Whitby’s historic swing bridge to get climate resilience upgradeThe historic swing bridge in Whitby is set to be given £200,000 of improvement works to “future-proof” the structure.
• HS2 delays and sector ’slowdown’ leads to numerous redundancies at ArupAround 200 people, including some senior members of staff, are understood to have been made redundant at Arup this month after the encountered a “slowdown” in work, including the pause in construction of High Speed 2 (HS2).
• National Highways makes ’steady progress’ on removing controversial Great Musgrave Bridge infillNational Highways is a month into its work to remove the controversial concrete infill of Great Musgrave Bridge in Cumbria and has stated the project is making “steady progress”.
• Better mobility and fairness for all focus needed for Low Traffic Neighbourhood successThe government’s recent announcement of a review of the low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) policy is the latest front of a battle which has stretched from the arson of bollards in Oxford to the recent election campaign in Uxbridge.
• Call for government to set out a 10 year pledge to fund local authority road repairsThe Local Government Association (LGA) has called for funding, which has said is the equivalent of 2p of existing fuel duty, to be used for pothole repairs in the light of analysis that reveals the dramatic reductions in local road repair spending in the UK.
• HS2’s Curzon Street land costs court decision could benefit other infrastructure projectsThe cost of delivering infrastructure in the UK could be set to fall after a Supreme Court ruling has curtailed the extent to which landowners can value the land which would be compulsorily purchased for schemes.

Rail Magazine

• Devolution deal could help advance Leamside reopeningA £4.2 billion devolution deal for the North East of England could be the key to reopening the disused Leamside line, the region’s transport leaders told the UK Light Rail Conference on July 11-12.

Railtech

• UK gets new rolling stock orders but manufacturing is still boom and bustThe Railway Industry Association (RIA), the voice of the rail supply community, has welcomed two recent tenders for rolling stock; up to 70 new or refurbished multiple units for passenger operator Chiltern Railways and a larger call for 450 new multiple units for Northern Trains, the largest operator by area covered in England. This comes following a recent RIA report, The UK Rolling Stock Industry: Making 2023 the year of opportunity not crisis, which highlighted the risks to the UK supply chain if orders for new rolling stock were not forthcoming.

Railway Gazette

• JR Central to build Series 385 tilting train prototypeJAPAN: Central Japan Railway plans to replace the Series 383 tilting trainsets used on its Shinano ’wide view’ limited express services operating mainly between Nagoya and Nagano with a fleet of Series 385 trainsets featuring more advanced body tilting controls.

Railway Technology

• Irish Rail awards €28m train charging contract to AlstomFast-charging infrastructure will be completed by the end of 2024, allowing new battery-electric DART+ trains to start service in 2025.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Oxford Bus Group announces Neil Butler as Finance DirectorNeil Butler has joined Oxford Bus Group as Finance Director, moving from previous managerial roles at Vodafone UK and KPMG and luxury furniture brand OKA.

Other News Sources

• Bus gates 'final nail in coffin' for Aberdeen city centre as residents hit out at plansThree new bus gates are set to come into force on Bridge Street, Guild Street and Market Street, but locals have vented their frustration at the addition of the new bus priority route.
• Bus service improvement plan brings flat fares to King's LynnResidents in King’s Lynn are set to benefit from cheaper bus travel within the ’Town Zone’ thanks to money that Norfolk County Council secured from the Department for Transport (DfT) to improve bus services across the County.
• Cultivating Efficiency: Locomotives (Rolling Stock) Growth Trends and Insights (2023-2029) – CRRC, GE, Alstom, Siemens, Bombardier, HitachiThe thorough investigation of the Global Locomotives (Rolling Stock) Market 2023 encompasses comprehensive insights designed to steer businesses in bridging knowledge gaps arising from market shifts and to harness potential opportunities.
• New ULEZ expansion will cover Heathrow Airport - what holidaymakers need to knowFrom August, 29, cars will need to meet emission standards or pay a charge
• Surrey commuters 'very angry' as TfL scrap travelcards and offer no alternativeKatie Blake as been commuting into London for more than a decade