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

Saturday, 17 February 2024

BBC News

• King's Cross sees major disruption as works beginRail users travelling from King's Cross can expect disruption for the next four days.
• Glen Sannox sea trials 'overwhelmingly positive'One of the delayed ferries being built at Ferguson shipyard performs well under its own power for the first time.

Financial Times

• Planning applications jump fourfold along course of HS2Research by state-owned body in charge of project runs counter to MPs criticism that line is poor value for money

The Guardian

• LNER simpler fares trial adds more than £100 to some train journeysJourneys on many intercity trains running from London to Edinburgh are more than twice as expensive since the launch of a “simpler fares” initiative designed to make rail ticketing less complex, it has emerged.
• Unions criticise demeaning gift bag for menopausal staff at Avanti West CoastAslef said train company's handout to women was insulting gimmick, while TSSA called it dismissive and belittling. A gift bag designed for menopausal women working at Avanti West Coast containing a fan and a jelly baby has been denounced as demeaning and an insulting gimmick by rail unions.The pack included a fan for hot sweats, a jelly baby sweet in case you feel like biting someone's head off, a tissue if you're feeling a bit emotional and a paperclip to help you keep it all together.

The Telegraph

• ’Simpler’ London to Edinburgh train fares are £100 more expensive. [subscription]Critics claim the new scheme, which aims to simplify ticket prices, has been designed to ’allow big price increases’

Times Online

• Plan to simplify train fares adds £100 to price of ticket to London. [subscription]A trial to simplify train fares is adding more than £100 to the cost of some journeys on one of Britain’s busiest railway lines.
• ’Smart’ Tube station spots fare-dodgers and bad behaviour. [subscription]12-month technology trial at Willesden Green station harnessed AI to video cameras to alert staff to problems

City AM

• Rolls-Royce eyes £1.4bn profit as turnaround continues. But could the long lost dividend return? Rolls-Royce investors will get a clear picture of the company's turnaround under new chief Tufan Erginbilgic next week.

Mail Online

• Rail scheme to simplify fares 'was a smokescreen to scrap off peak journeys' with 'awful' trial adding more than £100 to tickets, campaigners sayA trial to simplify train fares is adding more than £100 to the cost of some journeys on one of Britain's busiest railway lines.

The Mirror

• Train fare 'simplification' trial adds more than £100 to the cost of some journeysRail campaign groups have described the trial as 'awful' and 'a smokescreen' after it resulted in the cost of some journeys increasing

Local Government

• Council joins forces with partners to revitalise Cumbrian bus servicesCumbrian Councils, bus operators and partners have joined forces to drive positive change to bus services across the county.
• Funding available for community groups to design and run their own public transportCommunity groups are invited to apply for a share of funding to design and run their own public transport thanks to a £2 million fund called WESTlocal.
• Buses to start running from new Transport InterchangeStockport’s new state-of-the-art transport interchange and rooftop park will open next month.

Birmingham Post

• Plymouth set for bumper tourism year as cruise bookings soarMore than 10,000 passengers are due to arrive into the city by ship in 2024

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Reader letter: Link up Bradford's two rail stationsThe "King's Cross of the North" headlined the T&A (February 2), quoting a source at the Department for Transport.
• Network Rail issues new statement on Baildon landslipNETWORK Rail has issued an update as "large-scale" work continues at the site of a landslip in Baildon.

Bristol Live

• 'Backlog' of Bristol CAZ appeals after council admits wording was wrong'Mr L' John Lyon has now won 'well over 20' appeals for other drivers, and claims in some cases the council has been refunding fines that had already been paid
• Bristol Airport reveals 'busiest day' ahead of 2024 summer holiday bookingsMore than 40,000 passengers travelled through the airport over a 24-hour period last year, and it's likely to be just as busy this summer

Manchester Evening News

• Opening date for Stockport's new £135m transport interchange and rooftop park confirmedStockport's 'transformational' multi-million-pound new transport interchange and rooftop park is set to open next month, it has been confirmed.

Metro

• People are already giving nicknames to the new London Overground linesLondon Overground’s different lines were given new names this week and people are already coming up with their own catchy nicknames for them.

The York Press

• Jorvik Tricycles opens showroom on Millfield Industrial EstateCustomers at a York business will be able to enjoy the ride of their lives in a specially-built indoor test track, created as part of a new showroom for one of Britain’s largest suppliers of tricycles, when it opens next weekend.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• A rethink is needed on how Britain utilises roads to improve the flow of traffic - Sir Andrew CookTrains and boats and planes – we love them all, as Burt Bacharach’s iconic song suggested, but what about the humble car? Detested by the green brigade, yet essential still to fill those gaps where the trains and boats and planes are of little use, I contemplate the lot of the car while sitting in a stationary taxi stuck in a queue on the M4 somewhere around Chiswick.

Other Regional Press

• 189 bus service rerouted to serve Brent Cross West StationA bus service has been rerouted to serve a new railway station.
• Why Cheshire East Council spent £11m preparing for HS2CHESHIRE East is still trying to claw back the money it spent on HS2 after the government scrapped the northern leg of the scheme last year.

Train Operators

• Great Western Railway’s battery train sets new distance recordGreat Western Railway’s innovative FastCharge battery trial has achieved another significant step – just days after laying claim to a battery train UK distance record without recharging.

Rail Advent

• Manchester and Yorkshire passengers to benefit from British Sign Language announcementsPassengers between Manchester and Leeds, as well as York and Leeds, will be able to see British Sign Language announcements thanks to a trial using AI.

Railway Gazette

• California orders more hydrogen trainsetsUSA: California’s Department of Transportation has ordered six more Stadler Flirt H2 hydrogen fuel cell multiple-units.
• TransPennine Express confirms plans to ’build back’ its timetableUK: TransPennine Express has confirmed that it expects to begin reinstating services to meet commitments it made when it announced temporary timetable reductions in December 2023.

Other News Sources

• Norfolk council urged to buy land for new railway stationsCouncil leaders have been urged to buy up farmland near railway lines, so it can be used to build two new railway stations.
• MP urges Government to take steps to improve Whitchurch railway station access for disabled peopleAn MP is pushing the Government to sign off on plans for lifts at a railway station so disabled people can use a platform that is currently inaccessible without steps.

News from Europe

• Did people drive less when they were offered free public transport?From July 3rd until the end of 2023, the residents of Stavanger, a city in southwestern Norway, could travel by bus for free in the surrounding area.