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

Friday, 07 July 2023

BBC News

• HS2: Government unclear on Euston station goal, report findsIn March it was announced that work on the new Euston station would be paused for two years.
• Closing ticket offices could be illegal, says Greater Manchester mayorThe impact of the closures on older and disabled rail users has not been assessed, Andy Burnham says.
• Week of strikes to disrupt Tube services, RMT saysWeek of strikes to hit Tube services from 23 July in row over pensions and job cuts, RMT union says.

Department for Transport

• Interim Director General for Rail Infrastructure Group appointedAnit Chandarana announced as DfT’s Rail Infrastructure Group interim Director General.

Financial Times

• RMT announce fresh strikes on London Underground in late JulyRolling industrial action to take place in capital over five days between July 23 and 28
• Decision to delay HS2's London terminus will cost at least £200mnGovernment did ‘not know what the additional costs would be from decision to pause Euston construction, MPs report says

The Guardian

• Ticket office closures: bad for rail staff, bad for passengersTrying to dress up cuts as being about modernisation is nonsense, writes Prof Paul Salveson. Plus letters from Jane Card, Trevor Lawson and Philip Clayton
• Rail ticket office closures in England will lead to job losses, minister saysDuring Commons debate, Huw Merriman says RMT union, in rejecting offer, should take some responsibility
• Cost of Euston HS2 terminus could race past £4.8bn estimate, MPs sayOverspend blamed on government indecision, despite eight years spent planning and designing project

The Telegraph

• Train and Tube strikes 2023: Walkout dates and the services affected. [subscription]The London Underground could face huge disruption later this month after Tube workers announced week-long strike action.

Times Online

• Tube workers plan strikes over ‘600 job cuts and threat to safety’. [subscription]Transport for London is urging the RMT union to reconsider July walkout just as schools break for summer
• Air traffic control strike will hit up to 1 in 3 summer flights. [subscription]Up to a third of all European flights are at risk of being delayed or cancelled this summer after air traffic controllers said they would strike.
• Delay ‘shows HS2 at Euston is floundering’Damning report says the government needs to be clear on its objectives with the multibillion-pound rail terminal project

Public Accounts Committee

• HS2 Euston: Government does not know what it is trying to achieve with the stationThe Department for Transport (DfT) still does not know what it is trying to achieve with the High Speed 2 (HS2) station at Euston, despite spending over eight years planning and designing it.

City AM

• Government has no idea what it is trying to achieve with floundering HS2 Euston project, MPs warn MPs have slammed the government’s handling of a “floundering” HS2 Euston project this morning, amid mounting criticism over the scheme’s soaring costs and ongoing delays. In a highly critical report, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) called on the Department for Transport (DfT) to finally establish ts plans for the station

i News

• Kent quarry extension could destroy more ancient woodland than HS2The Woodland Trust says that the enlargement of Hermitage Quarry is one the largest threats of the 21st century, but its backers say it is needed for restoring heritage buildings
• Plans to close rail ticket offices show the industry’s utter disregard for elderly and disabled peopleThere is almost nothing I can see to commend the Rail Delivery Group’s course of action

Network Rail

• New Street passenger advice during Ozzy the bull’s concourse creationSomething spectacular will be happening over the next few weeks at Birmingham New Street as Ozzy the bull returns to the city.

Rail Delivery Group

• Customer Focused StationsTrain operators have launched public and employee consultations, facilitated by Transport Focus and London TravelWatch, on proposed changes to bring station staff closer to customers.

Sky News

• Nearly every railway ticket office in England set to close with number of job losses unknownThe train company representative body, the Rail Delivery Group, said it can't "prejudge the outcome" of closure rail station consultations but hopes affected staff will leave or take new jobs.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• The Bradford train ticket offices at risk of closureHere are the train ticket ticket offices at risk of closure in Bradford and West Yorkshire.

Liverpool Echo

• 'Devastating' ticket office closure plan will hit 20 city region stationsUnion says 75 jobs across the region's rail network could be lost, leaving disabled and vulnerable passengers exposed

London Evening Standard

• Revealed: Full list of London rail stations which could see ticket offices closeAcross the country, only 12 per cent of rail tickets were sold at ticket offices last year, according to the Rail Delivery Group

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Stourbridge Junction's George the cat urges people to back petition to keep railway station ticket offices openStourbridge Junction's George the cat has urged people to back a petition to keep railway station ticket offices open.

Bucks Free Press

• HS2 announces community events in Amersham and ChalfontResidents and businesses will have chance to speak with the HS2 team during face-to-face events.

Burnley Express

• All East Lancs rail ticket offices but Blackburn set to shutRail operator Northern has announced only Blackburn will remain open in East Lancashire amid mass closure of station ticket offices.

Wrexham.com

• No plans to make ‘wholesale changes’ to ticket offices in WalesThe Rail Delivery Group has unveiled proposals that would see over 1,000 railway ticket offices close, including some of Britain’s busiest stations. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Other Regional Press

• Fife councillor hits out at ScotRail fare increaseTRAIN passengers in Fife have been hit with a 4.8 per cent rise in ticket prices.
• ‘UK first’ use of blockchain in rail to be used in WalesBlockchain will now be used to improve rail possession planning for the first time in the UK. The news comes following a unique partnership between infrastructure consultancy Amey Consulting and tech firm Finboot. The technology will be pioneered by Amey alongside Transport for Wales on its transformation of the Core Valley Line rail network.
• Vow to fight railway station closure plansA SENIOR councillor has vowed to object in the strongest terms to controversial plans to close rail station ticket offices.
• Petition launched to save train station's ticket officeNorthwich MP Mike Amesbury has launched a petition to save the ticket office at the town's railway station, amid fears it could close as part of national shake-up.
• MS questions government over unused Flintshire train station sitesA NORTH Wales MS has raised questions over Flintshire's train stations that are no longer in use - and what could lie ahead for them in future.
• All the South Western Railway Surrey stations that wouldn't have ticket offices and times they'd have staffThe train operator wants to close all of the ticket offices, meaning the county's busiest stations Guildford and Woking won't have any booths
• Outrage in Watford at ticket office and rail job cutsPlans to cut train station staff and close ticket offices will turn railways into a "mugger’s paradise", critics have warned.
• All 27 Yorkshire rail ticket offices closing after announcement that up to 1,000 to go across the countryBarnsley, Halifax, Pudsey, Rotherham and Meadowhall are all among the places affected by the proposals
• Government must set out expectations for ‘floundering’ HS2 Euston project – MPsPausing HS2 work at Euston shows the Government “does not know what it is trying to achieve” with the station despite more than eight years of planning, MPs warned.

British Trams Online

• New Metro train makes it to SunderlandWith each week the entry into service of the first of the Tyne and Wear Metro’s new trains edges closer with the latest milestone seeing one of the trains reach Sunderland for the first time. Whilst it will still be many months before passengers can start to enjoy the new trains this is the latest stage in preparing the trains for an entry into service.

Christian Wolmar

• Nowhere for tickets?Rail enthusiasts may be on to something when they suggest that there is a deliberate plot afoot in the Government to try to stop people from using the railways. Last month in my Calling All Stations podcast, I revealed that ministers were asking train operators to stop providing wi-fi on trains in order to cut costs. Not surprisingly, that caused a stir with rail passengers arguing that even the lousy service on offer on many lines was at least better than nothing. But the buggers kept on coming, with passenger numbers rapidly approaching pre-Covid levels.

Intelligent Transport

• Simpler and more flexible rail travel in South East England with tap-in tap-out expansionPassengers in the South East of England can look forward to improved train travel as tap-in tap-out ticketing expands to 53 additional stations by the end of 2023, allowing for easier, more flexible and convenient journeys.

New Civil Engineer

• Network Rail refocuses communications strategy to better deliver news of unplanned disruptionsNetwork Rail is looking to improve its communications strategy to better deliver updates about unplanned disruptions from infrastructure failures.

Rail Advent

• Skipton-East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership meets Shadow Transport MinisterCampaigners have met with Labour's Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh MP to put the case for reopening the Skipton to Colne railway line.

Rail Business Daily

• Luton DART passengers saving years of journey timeMore than 650,000 passengers have already saved themselves more than ten years of total journey time during the first 100 days of operation of the Luton DART.
• Arcadis to lead major overhaul of Grade II Listed Leicester railway stationArcadis has been selected to lead a major revamp of Leicester City Centre’s Grade II Listed railway station, a key transport hub in the East Midlands that will significantly boost connectivity in the region.
• Hitachi Rail innovation a game changer for testing Brisbane’s new digital signalling systemHitachi Rail’s ‘Over and Back’ testing solution will enable the fast and seamless switching between existing interlocking (a railway signalling system) and the soon to be introduced new digital signalling system (European Train Control System – ETCS L2) being introduced as part of South East Queensland’s Cross River Rail project. The solution will radically cut the time and costs associated with testing.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• NatEx service uplift as scheduled coach grows againBuoyancy in the scheduled coach service market shows no sign of ending after National Express introduced a trio of new routes and uplifted the timetables of three others from 3 July.

Other News Sources

• Amco Giffen to start work on next phase of Severn Estuary rail resilience programmeNetwork Rail and its contractor Amco Giffen are prepping for the second phase of a £25M resilience upgrade to protect the rail line between Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire from landslides.
• East Devon MP's hits out on plans to remove train ticket officesEast Devon MPs are hitting out against plans to scrap train ticket offices at Exmouth, Honiton, Axminster and Feniton. 
• FLUA adds its voice to renewed calls for rail upgrade at ElyThe Fen Line Users Association (FLUA) has added its voice to renewed calls for long overdue improvements to the railway infrastructure at Ely North Junction.  
• Universities win £15 million for new Railway Research and Innovation CentreThe University of Birmingham is leading a major component of £106 million boost for UK Rail Research and Development.