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

Friday, 18 August 2023

BBC News

• Stagecoach bus strikes suspended after improved pay offerStagecoach drivers were due to walk out over the August bank holiday weekend and in early September.

Financial Times

• Battery material groups expect use of solid-state technology to accelerate before 2030Conventional wisdom has been that big commercial inroads were unlikely until the next decade

The Guardian

• Stones made for Victorian project to help Irish workers given listed status‘Travellers’ rest’ stones were idea of Warrington doctor and part of wider scheme to help migrant workersThey are found on busy road junctions, a traffic island and a petrol station forecourt and have been passed by countless numbers of walkers, runners, cyclists and drivers without a second glance.But “hiding in plain sight” are fascinating “travellers’ rest” stones between Liverpool and Manchester that tell a largely forgotten story of 19th-century ingenuity, compassion for migrant workers and a Victorian version of crowdfunding. Continue reading...

Mail Online

• New AI cameras catch British drivers using mobile phones at the wheel as 300 motorists are caught out in just three daysThe camera snapped 117 people using their mobile phones while driving and 130 in cars without seatbelts after being installed on the A30 near Launceston in Devon.

Network Rail

• Train delays cut in half following South London signalling upgradesNetwork Rail has revealed that delays to Southern and Gatwick Express passengers travelling into London Victoria have fallen by 55% following the switch-on of a brand-new signalling system in South London.
• Network Rail extends working hours on Oxford station upgrade to compensate for delay caused by historic discoveriesA Victorian brick archway and a hand grenade are among some of the unique challenges that temporarily paused progress on the major project, with round the clock shifts now set to begin.

Birmingham Mail

• Uncertainty over new railway stations as contractor files for administrationBuckingham Group said it has suffered huge losses on major projects including redeveloping football stadium stands

Birmingham Post

• Myenergi and Cinch announce partnership 'to plug into the masses' for electric car salesBritish Motor Show launch with electric supercar backdrop for respected market innovators
• Train operator Grand Central launches new North East hubThe long-distance train operator has signed a lease on a 5,500sq ft historic building in the heart of Sunderland city centre

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Bradford's train stations discussed at rail meetingBradford's train stations should have been joined up years ago, a rail meeting hear.

Derby Telegraph

• ... And the Rail Minister Huw Merriman was at Langwith Junction on the same day... At the same time as Mr Sunak's visit, Bolsover MP Mark Fletcher was hosting Minister for Rail Huw Merriman on a visit to rail wagon manufacturer WH Davis at Langwith Junction.

London Evening Standard

• Havering Council considering a ’North/South Tram’ concept to improve transport linksLondon council plans to carry out a study into whether it can build a ’North/South Tram’ across its area.

Wales Online

• Giant cruise ship some have labelled a 'hideous monstrosity' pulls up alongside WalesThe arrival of the massive 975-foot MW Nieuw Statendam has divided opinion

Carlisle News & Star

• Simulators that will help develop train crews unveiled by NorthernThis is how Northern’s new multi-million-pound train simulators could look once installed at their training academies in 2025.

Other Regional Press

• Calls for action after cancellations on Heart of Wales rail linePEOPLE are being left stranded for hours waiting for trains on the Heart of Wales rail line according to a local MP.

Bus and Coach.com

• First appoints new Decarbonisation Programme DirectorFirst Bus has appointed Faizan Ahmad as the new Decarbonisation Programme Director. The new strategic hire joined the business at the end of June, reporting into Chief Sustainability Officer, Isabel McAllister.

Coach and Bus Week

• Superloop comments invitedTransport for London (TfL) is inviting people to have their say on its proposals for the latest routes to form part of its branded express bus routes that form part of the proposed Superloop bus network
• Interest in IpswichIn our lead feature this week, Jonathan Welch looks at Ipswich Buses. Here, he takes a short look at some of the other buses to be found in the Suffolk town
• TfL launches 2023 Bus Safety Innovation ChallengeTransport for London has opened its Bus Safety Innovation Challenge for 2023, a project looking to identify and trial innovative and novel ways of helping reduce bus occupant injuries. Having gone live on 31 July, it will remain open until all funding has been allocated or TfL is satisfied it has received an adequate number of responses.
• London tops 1,000 zero-emission busesWith one of the largest zero-emission bus fleets in western Europe, over one in nine buses is now zero-emission in the capital with nine years to go to achieve its 2034 target of a fully emission-free fleet
• ’Operators deserve 100% transparency on leather sourcing,’ says MuirheadSpecialist Scottish supplier of low-carbon high performance leather to the aviation, bus, coach, and rail industries Muirhead is encouraging airlines and passenger transport operators to ensure each hide they procure can be traced back to its origins.
• East Yorkshire trials Volvo e-bus in HullGo-Ahead brought an electric bus back to the streets of Hull for the first time in many years during a trial of Volvo’s BZL
• Combined Authority secures Wisbech bus routesStagecoach East Midlands is continuing to operate three routes in the Wisbech area after being awarded a contract from the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA).

New Civil Engineer

• MP launches campaign to restore famous Newcastle swing bridgeA Newcastle MP has launched a campaign to raise up to £5M in funds to restore the city’s “marvel of engineering” River Tyne swing bridge.
• Tyne river charity benefits from £55,000 Costain donation following A19 upgrade pollution incidentCostain is to donate £55,000 to the Tyne Rivers Trust environmental charity following an investigation into a pollution incident triggered by the contractor during its work to upgrade the A19 Testo’s roundabout.

Railway Technology

• Hitachi-led rail consortium wins new €1.8bn digital signalling contractIt also improves capacity, as ERTMS enhanced safety controls allow trains to run closer together and therefore more often.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Coach and bus registrations growth best since 2019Registrations of new coaches, buses and minibuses rose by 5.9% year-on-year in Q2 of 2023, representing the best growth for that quarter since 2019, according to new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
• Chris Hanson named Stagecoach West Operations DirectorChris Hanson has taken up the role of Operations Director at Stagecoach West. He joins from First Bus, having most recently General Manager with First Cymru as a follow-up to over nine years spent with First West of England in a variety of leadership positions.
• UKCOA tables proposals in reply to PSVAR call for evidenceThe UK Coach Operators Association (UKCOA) convened an online members’ meeting on 16 August, inviting members of the coach industry to deliberate on UKCOA’s reply to the Department for Transport’s (DfT’s) call for evidence on PSVAR.
• Transdev orders eCitaro and Enviro400EV for HarrogateTransdev Blazefield has ordered 20 Mercedes-Benz eCitaro battery-electric single-deckers and 19 Alexander Dennis Enviro400EV battery-electric double-deckers to complete the conversion of its Harrogate Bus Company operation to zero-emission.
• UK holds European leadership on zero-emission buses in H1 2023The UK continued to lead Europe on the deployment of zero-emission coaches and buses in the first half of 2023, according to figures compiled by Dutch consultancy Chatrou CME Solutions for those vehicles with a GVW of over 8,000kg .
• Less than half of coach managers satisfied with roadsLess than half of coach operators are satisfied with England’s network of motorways and major ’A’ roads, according to the latest results from Transport Focus’s ongoing Logistics and Coach Survey: Strategic Roads survey. Facilities at stopping places and the quality of road surfaces score among the worst when it comes to coach operators’ opinions.
• UrbanThings names ex-Arriva man Adam Toone as COOFormer Arriva man Adam Toone has been named Chief Operating Officer by public transport technology solutions provider UrbanThings.
• Electric tri-axle marks a natural evolution for Ember networkAs Ember prepares to take delivery of the UK’s first GTe14 tri-axle coaches, routeone catches up with founders Keith and Pierce to discuss the network’s success and expansion
• Is coach and bus driving right for shortage occupations list?Calls continue for coach and bus driving to join the shortage occupations list, enabling the recruitment into those roles of non-UK nationals. But it appears that the government is not minded to such a change.

Other News Sources

• RIA North responds to TfN’s Strategic Transport Plan consultationRIA North, the voice of the rail supply community in the North of England, has today submitted its response to Transport for the North’s (TfN) consultation on the Strategic Transport Plan. This plan sets out the vision, ambitions, and strategic priorities for transport in the North of England.
• British bus and coach demand grows in best Q2 since 2019Britain’s new bus, coach and minibus market grew by 5.9% in the second quarter of 2023 with 1,129 vehicles registered, according to the latest figures published today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
• Irish Rail award Alstom contract for new train-charging infrastructureIrish Rail have awarded a €28 million contract to Alstom for the installation of new charging infrastructure for their BEMU trains.