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

Tuesday, 10 October 2023

BBC News

• Thrapston parents face school bus bill after rule changeParents have been left facing bills of hundreds of pounds after a council changed its rules over free travel.
• Barnstaple bus station closure 'bonkers', says local MPDevon councillors are being urged to re-open facilities at a bus station which has been closed since the start of the Covid pandemic.
• Haxby station set to reopen after HS2 northern leg axedA railway station that closed in 1930 is set to be reopened as part of the government's Network North scheme.
• HS2: Work carries on regardless of Euston concernsThe tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) have been going for a year. Here, away from the headlines, work is carrying on 24/7.
• Walsall rail projects to resume after contractor collapseWork on Willenhall and Darlaston stations stopped when contractor Buckingham Group filed for administration.
• Plans to scrap London travelcards 'discriminatory'TfL says it is under-funded by the travelcard agreement at an annual cost of about £40m.
• Rest and Be Thankful road hit by seven landslipsAbout 9,500 tonnes of debris fell onto the A83 in Argyll and Bute during heavy rain over the weekend.
• Airlines cancel or delay flights to Israel as fighting continuesMajor carriers including Delta and Virgin Atlantic suspend direct flights, while others warn of delays.

Financial Times

• Short-term thinking on HS2 will cause long-term damageSunak’s decision to curtail the rail project goes against international experience
• Major airlines halt flights to Israel after Hamas incursionCathay Pacific, Ryanair and Lufthansa among carriers to act following warnings from air safety agencies

The Guardian

• List of projects to be funded by HS2 money ’only illustrative’, Sunak saysSome schemes listed as being in line for funds from scrapped northern leg of HS2 were swiftly deleted while others are already complete
• Keir Starmer to promise new powers for all of England’s towns and citiesIn the biggest expansion of devolution since Labour was last in power, he will pledge that councils and combined authorities would get more control over housing and planning, skills, energy and transport of the kind currently held by London, the West Midlands and Greater Manchester.

The Independent

• Rishi Sunak admits list of HS2 replacement projects just ’illustrative’ and not pledgesMeanwhile Andy Burnham says government must safeguard HS2 land and stop sell-off

Times Online

• CalMac ferry numbers fall by 800,000 since before pandemic. [subscription]Some 800,000 fewer passengers are travelling on CalMac’s beleaguered ferry services compared with before the pandemic, new figures reveal.
• Rishi Sunak defends spending HS2 cash in the south. [subscription]Councils and mayors will decide where savings from Manchester cancellation are directed, PM says

Mail Online

• Have the French bedbugs invaded the London Underground? Panic as Sadiq Khan warns that London Underground could be overwhelmed by insects which have made life in Paris hellThe Mayor of London said that he was in contact with officials in Paris after the French capital became overwhelmed by outbreaks of bedbugs, with footage showing them crawling on seats of buses and trains.

Labour Party

• ’We run major rail and bus firms, and we’re ready to work with Labour on transport’ - Patrick Verwer & Christian SchreyerWhat does a private bus and rail operator have in common with the Labour party when it comes to a vision for transport policy? Actually, quite a lot. We believe in public transport and its power to do much more for people, communities, the environment and the economy.

Network Rail

• Disruption around Morpeth as Network Rail undertakes urgent repair work to Plessey ViaductTrain services in the Morpeth area are facing disruption as Network Rail undertakes urgent repair work at Plessey Viaduct, which is between Cramlington and Morpeth.
• Network Rail encourages public to ’Make a Connection’ for World Mental Health DayNetwork Rail has joined digital charity Mental Health Innovations and the wider rail industry to remind the public that help is just a text message away this World Mental Health Day (Tuesday 10 October).

Birmingham Mail

• West Midlands mayor vows to 'never give up' on HS2 leg to Manchester despite PM's betrayalMayor Andy Street is refusing to give up on the idea of HS2 being built in full one day - even amid reports of land being rapidly sold off

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Have your say on shake up of West Yorkshire bus servicesIt could cost up to £95m to buy West Yorkshire’s bus depots as part of plans to franchise bus services.

Manchester Evening News

• Scrapping of HS2 northern link 'could bring Metrolink to Bolton'Bolton’s link to the rest of Greater Manchester could end up being the unlikely beneficiary of the scrapping of HS2 as plans to bring the Metrolink tram service to the town look on the cards. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled plans to invest nearly £4billion on improving connectivity in the Northern towns and cities when the HS2 link from Birmingham to Manchester was axed last week.
• HS2 to Manchester: What was all the fuss about?The high speed railway line which promised big things for Manchester will no longer be coming to the North of England. Political reporter Joseph Timan looks at what the scheme was supposed to achieve, who supported it and what happens next

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Northern Rail issues warning to travellers as major winter sale sees 75% off ticketsGroups of ten or more are eligible for 75 per cent off their travel with Northern - but customers are being warned about unacceptable behaviour

Yorkshire Post

• Political leaders confident Doncaster Sheffield Airport will reopenOwners The Peel Group shut the airport in November, claiming it had never made a profit due to a lack of passengers.
• Labour to conduct review into failure of HS2 following cancellationLabour has announced that it will conduct a post-mortem inquiry into the failures of the HS2 project, in a move that all but confirms that the party will not undo the decision made by Rishi Sunak in Government.

Cambridge News

• New electric fleet for extended Universal bus route in CambridgeA new fleet of nine electric buses is now operating on an extended Universal bus route, after the University of Cambridge and Whippet buses announced a new eight-year contract for the popular service.

Other Regional Press

• Application to appeal against Manston airport court decision deniedAn appeal against the denial of an application to quash a development consent order for Manston airport has been rejected.
• ‘HS1 has had a titanic impact on Kent’As HS2 is reduced, Kent remains the only place in the UK with high-speed rail. But has the county really benefited from it?
• Airport opponents’ appeal bid blocked by judgeA judge has told a campaigner she cannot challenge his decision to reject her latest bid to block the reopening of an airport.

Train Operators

• First Class 720 train enters passenger service, honours c2c’s former Managing DirectorTrenitalia-owned train operator c2c recently celebrated its new Class 720 trains entering passenger service with a surprise tribute to former Managing Director, Julian Drury.

British Trams Online

• More Metrocars go for scrapThe reliability of the outgoing (and original to the line in the 1980s) Metrocars and the anticipation of the introduction into service of the new Stadler trains currently being built for the Tyne and Wear Metro is rarely out of the news lately. And the story has now started a new chapter with the resumption of the movement of some of the withdrawn Metrocars for scrapping.

Bus and Coach Buyer

• HS2 Phase 2 money reinvested in bus and other local transportSome of the money set for the now cancelled second leg of HS2 is to be reinvested into buses.

New Civil Engineer

• Network Rail seeks efficient electrification in £1.2bn Midland Mainline Electrification frameworkNetwork Rail has alerted suppliers that it is procuring for its £1.2bn Midland Main Line (MML) Electrification Partnership framework, which is looking to deliver electrification more efficiently.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Alstom and SNCF ramp up testing on new generation of French high-speed trainsThe future of high-speed rail travel in France is taking shape, with the country's next-generation TGV train, the TGV M, currently undergoing rigorous testing on the French national railway network.

Railnews

• Monday essay: More Network North inconsistencies appear More inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the Network North announcements made by the Prime Minister last week have been emerging, following the axing of HS2 to Crewe and Manchester. Rishi Sunak told the Conservative Party conference on 4 October that £36 billion will be released by scrapping Phases 2A and 2B, the sections north of Lichfield. Instead, the funds would be invested in other transport schemes.

Railway Gazette

• First Desiro HC electric multiple-unit arrives in EgyptEGYPT: The first of 94 four-car Desiro High Capacity electric multiple-units that Siemens Mobility is to supply to Egypt arrived at the port of Alexandria on September 25.

The Business Desk

• Rochdale-based Mellor secures win to build 21 Bee Network busesMellor, a leading specialist bus manufacturer based in the North West, has secured an order to build 21 low emission buses for the Greater Manchester Bee Network.

Aviation Industry

• CAA appoints Rob Bishton as Chief ExecutiveThe UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has appointed Rob Bishton as its new Chief Executive, effective 21st October 2023.

Other News Sources

• BRADING RAILWAY STATION COULD SOON RECEIVE MODERN UPGRADESAn Isle of Wight train station – built in the mid-1800s – could be getting modern upgrades.
• eVersum turns to Oxa driverless vehicles’ software and aims to start trials of the eShuttle in UKeVersum has signed a partnership with autonomous vehicle software developer Oxa. Focus? Designing, developing and producing shared autonomous passenger vehicles. These vehicles will be offered to public transport operators in Europe and the US, with the first being autonomous city ’eShuttles’, eVersum states.
• Iveco Bus e-buses on stage at Busworld are all equipped with new ADAS technologyIveco Bus has been premiering one of the highlights of Busworld Europe 2023, the E-Way H2 equipped with a fuel cell system by HTWO, Hyundai Motor Group’s fuel cell system-based hydrogen business brand.
• Improvements being made to cross-county bus route between Lincolnshire and NorfolkA seven-day bus service between Lincolnshire and Norfolk has been 'rejuvenated' to improve comfort for travellers. The 505 service, which runs daily between Spalding and King's Lynn, has been overhauled in a joint effort between Lincolnshire and Norfolk county councils.
• Europe’s bus and coach driver shortage widens 54%, grim outlook to 2028IRU’s 2023 driver shortage report found that unfilled bus and coach driver positions are on the rise in Europe. It’s forecast to get much worse over the next five years without significant action.
• Consultation begins on bus franchising plansIt could cost up to £95m to buy West Yorkshire’s bus depots as part of plans to franchise bus services.
• Crashworthiness of buses – a matter of life, death and labour rightsAccident investigations show unacceptable risk for bus drivers every day, with even low-speed crashes potentially resulting in fatal injuries. How long must drivers risk their lives for public transport, asks Jon-Ivar Nygård.
• Target to slash costs by third on £1.2bn Midlands rail upgradeNetwork Rail has set fresh challenging targets to slash electrification costs on the 378km next phase of the Midland Main Line upgrade project.
• Northern Trains issues a warning to hen, stag and hen parties as sale startsGroups of ten people or more are eligible for 75%-off the cost of their travel for bookings made before Monday November 6 and for travel between then and Thursday February 29 (2024).
• How to solve the woes caused by axing HS2Two miles from my home, HS2 has carved a scar across the landscape, across which trains might eventually take passengers between London and Birmingham more slowly than they do today.
• Stonehaven rail crash families settle civil actions against Network RailMOST of the families connected to the Stonehaven rail disaster have now settled their civil actions against Network Rail.