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

Thursday, 17 August 2023

BBC News

• People urged to join fight to fix 'broken' bus services in South YorkshireCommunities hit by "broken" bus services in South Yorkshire are being urged to get behind a fight for better public transport.
• Marston Vale Line trains return delayed againA train route suspended after a maintenance firm went bust will not resume until "later in the autumn", its operator said.
• Oxford station upgrade: 24-hour shifts needed to remove brick archWorks to upgrade a city station will take place round-the-clock to make up time after the discovery of a Victorian-era arch under the road.
• Speed limit: Mum says new 20mph zone saved son's lifeThe default speed limit on restricted roads across Wales is set to be cut to 20mph in September,
• Car ferry services suspended on busy Corran routeFresh disruption hits the Corran Ferry - Scotland's busiest single-vessel ferry crossing.
• E-bikes: 40% of fires from conversion kits - brigade saysCheap and badly built kits are leading to the
• Jaguar Land Rover to create 300 new jobs in West MidlandsThe roles will be used to support the increased production of Range Rovers and new electric vehicles.

ITV News

• Protest over proposed changes to SmartPass public transport eligibilityA protest has been held outside the Department for Infrastructure's offices in Belfast over possible changes to free public transport.

Financial Times

• Battery material groups say use of solid-state technology will accelerateConventional wisdom has been that big commercial inroads were unlikely until the next decade

The Guardian

• Rail fare rises in England will not exceed 9% inflation figure in 2024Rail fare rises in England will not exceed 9% next year and will be delayed until March, the government has said.
• Gotthard rail tunnel, world's longest, closes for months after Swiss derailmentSixteen freight carriages run off rails, tearing up eight kilometres of train track and leaving engineering marvel inaugurated in 2016 unable to take passengers

Times Online

• Drivers’ red ribbon protest in Wales against 20mph speed limit. [subscription]The Welsh Conservatives are campaigning for the Labour government to reverse the rule in all urban areas
• Commuters warned of tough decisions on rail fares as union calls for freeze. [subscription]Minister says cost of train journeys will rise — but by below inflation. The government will have to make “tough decisions” about rail fares for next year, the chief secretary to the Treasury has said.

Mail Online

• Daily travelcards could be scrapped within months leaving commuters facing higher faresTravelcards enable customers to board a train to London and covers the journeys between travel zones one to six - but these could be scrapped by Transport for London by January next year.

Network Rail

• Passengers advised of Piccadilly platform upgrades in SeptemberPassengers are being advised of changes to journeys while platforms 13 and 14 at Manchester Piccadilly station are resurfaced this September.

Birmingham Mail

• Big announcement on HS2 in Birmingham as dramatic images give glimpse into futureIt's a project that's been mired in uncertainty - but dramatic developments are on their way for HS2 in Birmingham
• Almost every appeal against fines at new bus lane catching 60 drivers a day successful as fines scrapped - revealedMotorists who feel they have been unfairly punished urged to appeal

Birmingham Post

• Jaguar Land Rover to create 300 new jobs in West MidlandsLuxury car brand is hiring technicians and test engineers to work on its next generation of electric vehicles

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Bus firms on what new 20mph limit in Wales could mean for servicesThe new law will come into place next month

Yorkshire Post

• South Yorkshire Mayor says extra bus funding is needed to halt 'spiral of decline'South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard said millions of pounds of additional funding is needed to protect bus services and halt a “spiral of decline”.

Bucks Free Press

• Chesham to Heathrow Airport bus route is announcedA new bus route to Heathrow Airport from Buckinghamshire has been announced.

Carlisle News & Star

• Network Rail propose aggregates handling office at KingmoorNETWORK Rail has proposed the construction of an aggregates handling office and welfare building at Kingmoor in Carlisle.

Plymouth Herald

• Plymouth has a new bus champion to make services betterAs the city’s new bus champion, Cllr Kevin Sproston will support this work by helping to forge closer links between the Council, bus operators and passengers and ensure services meet residents’ and visitors’ needs.

Other Regional Press

• Northern Rail reveals plan for train simulators to teach staffA TRAIN operator has revealed plans for multi-million pound simulators.
• Huge majority vote for Huntingdonshire's Ting bus serviceMore than 90 per cent of the 300 residents who were surveyed said they preferred the Ting bus service to regular bus services across Huntingdonshire.
• Harrogate Bus Company's fleet to go all-electric after orders worth £21 million placed for 39 new busesHarrogate Bus Company has confirmed its parent firm Transdev has placed orders worth £21 million for 39 new buses to convert its entire Harrogate fleet to fully electric power.
• The roads where the ULEZ starts between Watford and LondonWith just weeks to go until some drivers will be charged for entering London, these are the roads where ULEZ begins.

New Civil Engineer

• £1.3bn of spending already committed to by National Highways for the Stonehenge TunnelContracts worth £1.3bn have been signed by National Highways for the construction of the A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down scheme which has a total estimated capital cost figure of £1.7bn.

Rail Advent

• New General Manager for the East Lancashire RailwayThe East Lancashire Railway has announced that Lee Kenny has been appointed as Acting General Manager for the remainder of 2023.
• Platform upgrade work to get underway at Manchester Piccadilly this SeptemberThe work will see platforms 13 and 14 resurfaced with passengers advised of changes to journeys

Rail Business Daily

• Network Rail invests £71m on around 500 projects across BritainThousands of railway workers will be delivering essential upgrades for passengers and freight customers over the bank holiday weekend as Network Rail invests £71 million on around 500 projects across Britain.

Rail Magazine

• Businesses back Midlands Rail HubMore than two-thirds of West Midlands companies surveyed believe that improvements to rail services will win them new business and enable them to retain staff and recruit more easily.

Railway Gazette

• Celebrating the importance of accessibility at the 26th Rail Business AwardsUK: The Rail Business Awards has long sought to acknowledge and celebrate the efforts that the rail industry has made to provide transport for all. The award for Accessibility & Integrated Transport Excellence recognises best practice and innovation in the provision of accessible facilities and services for rail users, on trains, at railway stations and in journey planning, or in the integration of rail services with other transport modes.

Other News Sources

• The revolutionary rail dropper from Gripple receives Network Rail approvalThe new Gripple Rail Dropper has now received Network Rail Product approval and it will be included in Network Rail’s ’Master Series’, allowing it to be used on the rail infrastructure.
• ASLEF: Rail fare rises will drive more people off the networkMick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, the train drivers’ union, has spoken out after the government announced rail fares will rise by 9% next year.
• Electric bus means greener travel to tackle lonelinessAge UK Calderdale and Kirklees have purchased a fully accessible minibus that will help them continue to deliver vital services including their Home from Hospital service and transport people to and from their Wellbeing (Care) Centres.
• Highlands and Islands Enterprise receives £11M for Cairngorm railway structural defectsHighlands and Islands Enterprise has reached an out of court settlement with Galliford Try Infrastructure and AF Cruden Associates in a legal case linked to faults in the structure and foundations of the Cairngorm funicular.
• Organisations in Lichfield invited to apply for funding from train companiesCommunity groups in Lichfield are being invited to apply for a fund being operated by train operators. London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway are offering grants of up to £10,000 to help transform local areas.
• Final OLE foundations in place for key section of Transpennine Route Upgrade West schemeThe TRU West Alliance has completed piling for overheard line equipment on the section of railway being upgraded between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge, moving it one step closer to full electrification.