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

Thursday, 15 February 2024

BBC News

• Funding for temporary bus station to be soughtFunding will be sought to explore improving bus station facilities in the Manx capital, the infrastructure minister has said.
• The chilly train service dubbed Scotland's 'polar express'A Scottish train service has been dubbed the "polar express" amid complaints of plunging temperatures.
• York's National Railway Museum exhibition looks at rail travel and disabilityA new exhibition explores rail travel and disability at the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York.
• Brighton: Volk's Electric Railway awarded Railway of the YearA historic Sussex seaside attraction has been named Railway of the Year.
• Landslip-hit railway to be closed until mid-MarchA railway line near Bradford which was forced to close due to a landslip is expected to remain shut for the next month, Network Rail said.
• Cardiff Airport continuing to make lossesGovernment-owned airport made pre-tax loss of £4.5m in first year without Covid travel restrictions.
• Tube map to change as Overground rebrand revealedWith each line given separate colours, the rebrand means major changes to London's famous Tube map.
• 'Packed trains and delays on the new misery line'It is another weekday and thousands of people are using the London Underground's Central line to get to work.

Financial Times

• Car-carrier line WW makes record profits on Chinese EV exportsNorway's Wallenius Wilhelmsen is the biggest participant in a corner of the industry enjoying strong demand
• No speedy solution for UK's choked-up rail line Hated by passengers, sidestepped by government. But not everyone has given up on the West Coast Main Line

The Guardian

• Train drivers at Northern and LNER to strike in March, Aslef union announcesUnion says strike action on 1 March in response to rail operators failing to comply with agreements

The Independent

• London Overground rail lines get names and colours to ease navigationThe line names were chosen to honour and celebrate ’different parts of London’s unique local history and culture’, Sadiq Khan said.
• Rail strikes to continue until August 2024 as Aslef train drivers vote to continue walkoutsTrain drivers at five rail operators have voted to continue taking strike action for six months in the long-running dispute over pay and conditions.
• French rail strike to wreck half-term return for thousands of British familiesTrain staff walk out from 8pm on Thursday. ’Traffic will be severely disrupted’, says French Railways

The Telegraph

• Train strikes: February and March dates and the rail services affected. [subscription]RMT members working on London Overground have planned industrial action

Times Online

• Uber announces share buyback after first annual profit. [subscription]Ride-hailing and delivery group says share repurchase is “a vote of confidence in the company’s strong financial momentum”

The Mirror

• Tories need 'geography lessons' after Network North transport pledge includes funding for SouthAn official document on the 'Network North' scheme outlines plans for rail not only in the North and the Midlands, but also in London and in areas as far south as Devon
• UK's best and worst running train stations ranked - see how your rail service ratesCommuters can find out how badly their station ranks for late trains in a list that also takes into consideration how busy they are with the number of passengers who travel each day

Sky News

• Train drivers at five companies vote to continue strike action for another six months - ASLEFThe government has called the current pay offer "fair and reasonable" and wants the union to officially put it to members.

Metro

• The commuter town with the worst train station where just 20% of services are on timeWe’re all worried about train strikes but, if you’re looking at moving to a good commuter town outside the M25, you need to be careful.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• LNER and Northern train drivers to strike next month, trade union confirmsThe companies have encouraged union bosses to 'work with them' to avoid further rail misery for passengers

Sheffield Star

• Supertram broken track: Concerns as bus service takes over Sheffield tram route from city centre to HalfwayResidents raise concerns over state of tram system, as buses take over major section of Sheffield supertram

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• £1m plan to improve cycling and walking routes in WolverhamptonMajor improvements to cycling and walking routes across Wolverhampton are due next year as part of a £1.1 million Black Country-wide plan to improve the region's active travel infrastructure.

Other Regional Press

• Somerset residents say 'no' to bus cuts and take to streets in protestSomerset residents marched in Yeovil on Saturday to demand better bus services and oppose the proposed cuts that could leave many communities stranded
• Isle of Wight Southern Vectis bus route improvementsLate-night bus services in rural areas of the Isle of Wight could continue as more money is funnelled into the Island's only bus service.
• Train passengers should be able to travel between Rickmansworth and Watford, say councillorsPassengers should be able to travel by train between Rickmansworth and Watford, a councillor has suggested. Just three passenger trains per day connect the two Hertfordshire towns which are less than five miles apart.
• Watch as new £70m Metro depot is built ahead of arrival and deployment of new trainsThe new footage charts the progress of the site from 2020 through to completion in January this year.
• Great Western Railway's new 'space age' trains could transform Devon's railwaysThe new fast charging technology could pave the way for electrifying branch-line services

New Civil Engineer

• HS2 | Two more sinkholes form on Chilterns tunnelling routeTwo more sinkholes have opened up within five days of each other along the route of tunnelling for High Speed 2’s (HS2's) Chiltern tunnels.

Rail UK

• High Speed Rail Group appoints new ChairThe High Speed Rail Group (HSRG) is delighted to announce that Dyan Perry has recently been appointed as the Group’s new Chair.
• Greater Anglia continues excellent performance recordFigures released by Greater Anglia (GA) today highlight ongoing excellent punctuality standards being delivered for customers across East Anglia. Performance for the last 4-week period (ending 3 February) saw punctuality across the Greater Anglia network averaging 94.1% – using the long-standing public performance measure (PPM), which measures arrival times at destination stations for each service, despite a period which saw more storms and extreme weather.
• Northern encourages new ’payrolled employees’ to commute by railMore then 80,000 new ’payrolled employees’ across the North of England are eligible for the equivalent of three months free travel to work with Northern.

Other News Sources

• Newcastle Airport sees record 4.9 million passengers in 2023It also had record-breaking numbers of passengers travelling to the region’s most popular holiday hotspots, the arrival of two new airline partners and progress towards its Net Zero 2035 goal.
• Mountain railway appoints general managerThe former general manager of Talyllyn Railway is returning to Mid Wales to take up the same role at Brecon Mountain Railway by early summer.
• Rail Minister joins Canterbury Society and Southeastern to celebrate the past, present and future of a better railwayRail Minister, Huw Merriman MP joined Southeastern and the Canterbury Society today (Tuesday 13th February) in Canterbury to recognise the past, present and exciting future for rail ticketing.
• Christmas Works 2023In the closing days of 2023, Network Rail and the rail supply chain delivered a substantial and complex programme of works valued at £127 million.
• London Overground rail lines get names and colours to ease navigationThe overhaul will require one of the biggest changes in the history of the capital’s Tube map.