Public Transport news

• Rishi Sunak’s dithering over HS2 spurs on its critics and supporters

  26-09-2023 20:27
  
  With Tory conference looming and talk of delaying decision to autumn statement, the row could intensify furtherWhen news leaked that Rishi Sunak was planning to row back on net zero goals last week, it took Downing Street less than 24 hours to get the prime minister out in front of a podium to confirm the news and lay out his rationale.But for nearly a fortnight, the fate of HS2 has hung in the balance. Far from seizing the agenda after plans to pare back the project emerged, Sunak has been accu
  
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• Northern Research Group of Tory MPs signals it may accept delay to HS2

  26-09-2023 19:45
  
  Chair, John Stevenson, says they could back a compromise on phase 2 if ‘Charles line’ preservedThe chair of an influential group of Conservative MPs including many from northern constituencies has signalled they may be open to a compromise that would see the second phase of HS2 delayed for several years.Amid continuing lobbying of Downing Street by opponents of the multimillion scheme and supporters fighting to preserve it, the Northern Research Group of Tory MPs appear willing to ba
  
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• It’s time to consider how we can make the best of HS2 | Letters

  26-09-2023 18:41
  
  A system built purely for speed ignores the needs of the populations it’s trying to connect, says Andrew Gore. Plus letters from David Watts, Allan Whittow and Jonathan LeemingThe rail industry always knew that the key issues for its future were capacity and connectivity, but thought that only the glamour of very high speed trains would persuade politicians (Gold-plated HS2 looks dead. So let’s run the numbers on a bronze-plated design, 22 September). Very high speed trains require c
  
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• Nats should be embarrassed over cancellation of 164 flights at Gatwick | Nils Pratley

  26-09-2023 18:28
  
  The mission-critical nature of air traffic control surely means that you have standby staff in place in case of sicknessIn the competitive field of infrastructure shambles, cancelled flights at Gatwick are an also-ran. All the same, the embarrassment factor ought to be acute. How can a shortage of staff in the air traffic controllers – we are talking about as few as 10 individuals off sick – mean the UK’s second largest airport has to ground 164 flights this week? Where is the
  
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• Nats should be embarrassed over cancellation of 164 flights at Gatwick

  26-09-2023 18:28
  
  The mission-critical nature of air traffic control surely means that you have standby staff in place in case of sicknessIn the competitive field of infrastructure shambles, cancelled flights at Gatwick are an also-ran. All the same, the embarrassment factor ought to be acute. How can a shortage of staff in the air traffic controllers – we are talking about as few as 10 individuals off sick – mean the UK’s second largest airport has to ground 164 flights this week? Where is the
  
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• Are HS2 bosses really ‘kids with the golden credit card’?

  26-09-2023 18:02
  
  With reported alarm about salaries and spending, we look at what senior HS2 executives earnSpeculation continues about the future of the HS2 high-speed rail scheme, with the prime minister said to be concerned by salaries and spending at the company responsible for developing and promoting it, as he considers axing the northern leg to Manchester because of rising costs.According to reports, Rishi Sunak – worth £730m – has been alarmed by pay at HS2 Ltd. Executives at the arms-l
  
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• ‘No one knew anything’: rail passenger’s 11-hour London to Edinburgh odyssey

  26-09-2023 15:05
  
  Comedian James Nokise tweets long train and taxi journey after track fault that also stranded school groupThere are many ways to cope with a rail journey from hell. Some raid the onboard shop for mini bottles of wine; others forge new friendships amid the misery. The really unlucky ones end up urinating in empty Pringles pots, or climbing over 2-metre high fences (complete with spikes) when they arrive so late that the station has been closed.But when the comedian James Nokise found himself on a
  
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• Tragic death of the ticket office: the inhuman, isolating change that could ruin train travel

  26-09-2023 11:00
  
  Along with nearly 1,000 other railway stations in England, Ryde is set to lose their facility, part of a recent £10m transformation. Both locals and tourists are incensedIt’s a lovely September Monday morning in Ryde, on the Isle of Wight. Schools have gone back, the summer language students have left, most of the DFLs (down from Londons, the second-home weekenders) have returned to the city. Soon the restless house martins will be off, too. The island is slipping gently into quiet m
  
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• HS2 was a good idea. Rishi Sunak’s kneecapped version is not | Jonn Elledge

  26-09-2023 10:00
  
  From the reduced scope to the ballooning costs, the Conservatives have turned a promising national upgrade into an absurdityA recap of the weekend’s news, for those who’ve been doing something more enjoyable than following politics, like smacking themselves repeatedly round the chops with a spanner. The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has decided that the route to electoral success lies in “tough choices”, and is even now searching for a campaign anthem along the lines of &l
  
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• From the brains behind Brexit: an HS2 for the north that doesn't actually go there | Jonn Elledge

  26-09-2023 10:00
  
  Ballooning costs, a kneecapped route ... the Conservatives have turned a promising national upgrade into an absurdityA recap of the weekend’s news, for those who’ve been doing something more enjoyable than following politics, like smacking themselves repeatedly round the chops with a spanner. The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has decided that the route to electoral success lies in “tough choices”, and is even now searching for a campaign anthem along the lines of “th
  
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• From the brains behind Brexit: a HS2 for the north that doesn't actually go there | Jonn Elledge

  26-09-2023 10:00
  
  Ballooning costs, a kneecapped route ... the Conservatives have turned a promising national upgrade into an absurdityA recap of the weekend’s news, for those who’ve been doing something more enjoyable than following politics, like smacking themselves repeatedly round the chops with a spanner. The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has decided that the route to electoral success lies in “tough choices”, and is even now searching for a campaign anthem along the lines of “th
  
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• Tuesday briefing: Billions spent, no track built and still no trains – 14 years on, what happened to HS2?

  26-09-2023 07:45
  
  In today’s newsletter: As the government prepares to scale down its ambitious high speed rail project again, we explore what happened• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. In 2009, there were two big high speed train announcements. In the UK, the Department for Transport set out plans for HS2, a line running from London to Birmingham and then onwards to Manchester and Leeds. The initial route to Birmingham was projected to cost £16.3bn with predictio
  
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• Tuesday briefing: Billions spent, miles of track built and still no trains – 14 years on, what happened to HS2?

  26-09-2023 07:45
  
  In today’s newsletter: As the government prepares to scale down its ambitious high speed rail project again, we explore what happened• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. In 2009, there were two big high speed train announcements. In the UK, the Department for Transport set out plans for HS2, a line running from London to Birmingham and then onwards to Manchester and Leeds. The initial route to Birmingham was projected to cost £16.3bn with predictio
  
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• Why Qantas staff say morale at the airline 'has never been lower'

  26-09-2023 02:00 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Mail Online - Qantas pilots are calling for the airline's chairman to resign after declaring pilot morale has 'never been lower' following a tumultuous few months for the national carrier.
  
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• Why has Leeds, birthplace of the tram, ground to a halt?

  26-09-2023 02:00 via ft.com
  Financial Times - For decades, the council has failed to return light rail to the largest city in western Europe without a mass transit system
  
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• What the 20mph report cited by Wales's biggest ever protest petition actually says

  26-09-2023 02:00 via dailypost.co.uk
  
  Daily Post (North Wales) - The petition calling for the new 20mph to be scrapped has more than 420,000 signatures
  
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• What is the HS2 row really about?

  26-09-2023 02:00 via channel4.com
  
  Channel 4 News- Rishi Sunak has insisted he remains committed to his levelling up agendaamid the growing row over the future of the HS2 high speed rail link to the North of England.
  
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• Welsh Government says any changes to HS2 plans 'makes the case even clearer' for compensation

  26-09-2023 02:00 via transportinfo.org.uk
  ITV News - The Welsh Government has called on Westminster to reconsider the classification of the HS2 project, after reports the prime minister is considering axing plans for the Birmingham to Manchester leg.
  
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• Union urges Tory MPs to speak out against ticket office closure plans

  26-09-2023 02:00 via railadvent.co.uk
  
  Rail Advent - A transport union has contacted Conservative members of parliament asking them to oppose plans to close most railway ticket offices in England.
  
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• Transport Committee sets out criteria for regulations on minimum service levels during rail strikes

  26-09-2023 02:00 via railwaygazette.com
  
  Railway Gazette - UK: The House of Commons Transport Committee has published a report outlining what it says the government should include in future regulations requiring railway companies to provide minimum service levels during strikes.
  
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• The Chris Stokes Column - Britain's high infrastructure costs at heart of HS2's challenges

  26-09-2023 02:00 via cogitamus.co.uk
  
  Cogitamus - The fundamental problem with HS2 is that its capital costs are out of control. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor are leaning towards the view that, if you can't afford the hole, stop digging. Extraordinarily high Infrastructure costs appear to be a particularly British problem.
  
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• Sustainable ferries: Making maritime transport greener

  26-09-2023 02:00 via theparliamentmagazine.eu
  
  Shipping News - Europes ferry industry has a sustainability problem. While the sector makes a significant contribution to the European Unions economy, generating upwards of 9bn a year, it has also become a growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. One solution? Electric ferries.
  
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• SNCFs new Botox programme to increase TGV services

  26-09-2023 02:00 via railtech.com
  
  Raitech.com - 104 French high-speed trains will be getting a facelift. SNCF Voyageurs and its rolling stock division are launching the BotoxProgrammeto optimise the use and lifespan of their existing trains. This will include mid-life or end-of-life refurbishment to extend their service life and combat obsolescence, recycling and re-use of spare parts.
  
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• Scrapping HS2 will sabotage all of our efforts to level up cities across the UK

  26-09-2023 02:00 via cityam.com
  
  City AM - Scrapping the wholeof HS2 now would be an example of another famous characteristic of British statecraft: short term Treasury-driven decision making.
  
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• Scrapping HS2 will damage trust in Britain, warn US buyers of Birmingham City

  26-09-2023 02:00 via ft.com
  Financial Times - Owners of Tom Brady-backed football club say truncating rail line will shake investor confidence
  
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• Scotland has 'little hope' of seeing HS2 benefits in 'unequal Union'

  26-09-2023 02:00 via thenational.scot
  
  The National - SCOTLAND has little hope of ever seeing the benefits of HS2, an MP has claimed, as speculation mounts that the final line will never connect London with Manchester.
  
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• Rishi Sunak HS2 comments spark 'live Watford scenes' jibes

  26-09-2023 02:00 via watfordobserver.co.uk
  
  Other Regional Press - News of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declining to commit to building HS2 to the North today has spawned ridicule on social media.
  
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• Rishi Sunak alarmed by runaway cost of HS2. subscription

  26-09-2023 02:00 via thetimes.co.uk
  
  Times Online - Projects finances said to be far worse than anyone knows but more senior Tories warn against curtailing route
  
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• Rail services disrupted after fire near Ayr station

  26-09-2023 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News - Emergency services are dealing with the second blaze at the former Ayr Station Hotel in four months.
  
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• Polands Pesa signs rolling stock deal in Romania

  26-09-2023 02:00 via railway-technology.com
  
  Railway Technology - The manufacturer will expand its Romanian operations with the deal, building on its recent European success in the Czech Republic.
  
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• Northern Tories fear for election as Rishi Sunak mulls plans to scrap or delay Manchester HS2 link

  26-09-2023 02:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  i News - Tory MPs in northern seats have warned the Prime Minister against scrapping the rest of HS2
  
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• Nissan to sell only electric cars by 2030. subscription

  26-09-2023 02:00 via thetimes.co.uk
  
  Times Online - The boss of Nissan, Britains largest car manufacturer, has pledged to only sell electric vehicles in the UK by 2030 and said the world needs to move on from engine cars, in an implicit rebuke to the governments decision to delay a ban on petrol and diesel cars.
  
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• Nissan to go all-electric by 2030 despite petrol ban delay

  26-09-2023 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News - The carmaker moves ahead with its plan despite delays to the UK's ban on new petrol and diesel cars.
  
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• Nissan ignores Sunak electric vehicle delay and commits to 2030 deadline

  26-09-2023 02:00 via business-live.co.uk
  Birmingham Post - Japanese car manufacturer had already set off on multimillion-plans to ramp up electric vehicle manufacturing at its Sunderland plant
  
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• Minister in charge of local transport confuses Stockport with town 124 miles away

  26-09-2023 02:00 via manchestereveningnews.co.uk
  
  Manchester Evening News - A Conservative minister has been mocked for confusing Stockport with a town 124 miles away while on a planned visit.Labour's Stockport MP Navendu Mishra shared a picture of the embarrassing mishap made in an email by Conservative MP Richard Holden - the roads and local transport minister no less.
  
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• Merseyrail commuters ask 'why' as they issue demand over trains

  26-09-2023 02:00 via liverpoolecho.co.uk
  
  Liverpool Echo - The ECHO has been surveying commuters on their local train services
  
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• Mark Bostock has been proved totally right about HS2

  26-09-2023 02:00 via reaction.life
  
  Other News Sources - It is hard to imagine a greater procurement disaster than HS2, the transformative high speed rail line between London and Scotland, currently being axed bit by bit, as the costs go through the roof.
  
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• London train costs to rise without day travelcard, charity warns

  26-09-2023 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News - Families travelling to London by train will have to pay 16 more on average after the day travelcard is scrapped, a charity has warned.
  
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• Hull: New accessible buses to improve transport

  26-09-2023 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News - Young people with disabilities will benefit from 12 new accessible buses in Hull, the council has said.
  
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• HS2: What is the route and why could part of it be cancelled?

  26-09-2023 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News - The high-speed railway between London, the Midlands and North of England could be scaled back.
  
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• HS2 says construction work in Buckinghamshire is bringing real benefits to passengers today

  26-09-2023 02:00 via itv.com
  
  ITV News - mp;#8232;A major milestone in the construction of HS2 has been reached in the Thames Valley.
  
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• HS2: Backlash against scrapping Manchester rail link grows

  26-09-2023 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News - Axing the high-speed rail leg would hit links between Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds, critics say.
  
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• Greater Manchester Bee Network a new dawn - mayor

  26-09-2023 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News - Greater Manchester is the first area outside London to have publicly regulated buses since the 1980s.
  
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• German transport minister rejects punitive tariffs in EU's China EV probe

  26-09-2023 02:00 via reuters.com
  
  Reuters News - BERLIN, Sept 25 (Reuters) - German Transport Minister Volker Wissing has rejected possible punitive tariffs as a result of the European Commission's investigation into Chinese electric vehicle (EV) subsidies.
  
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• Gatwick cancels hundreds of flights as air traffic controllers go sick. subscription

  26-09-2023 02:00 via thetimes.co.uk
  
  Times Online - Passengers flying from Gatwick are facing disruption this week as bosses have been forced to limit flights due to a shortage of air traffic controllers.
  
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• Gatwick cancels 82 flights due to staff shortages

  26-09-2023 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News - The airport will cancel some flights over the coming week after sickness hits air traffic controllers.
  
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• Gatwick begins procurement for fresh £60M design framework agreement

  26-09-2023 02:00 via newcivilengineer.com
  
  New Civil Engineer - London Gatwick Airport (LGA) has launched a tender notice for a new £60M design framework agreement covering a number of civil and structural disciplines.
  
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• Fragile Railcoop plans restructuring to secure investment

  26-09-2023 02:00 via railwaygazette.com
  
  Railway Gazette - FRANCE: Open access co-operative Railcoop is planning to split into two companies in the wake of its decision to cease running freight trains and ahead of the launch of its planned LyonBordeaux passenger service.
  
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• Entrenching inequality: Justine Greening, ex-Tory minister behind HS2, condemns plan to axe Manchester leg

  26-09-2023 02:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  i News - Cancelling the northern leg of HS2 would be a hugely anti-levelling up step which would worsen the UKs existing inequalities, the minister who originally signed off on the project has warned Rishi Sunak.
  
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• Electric vehicles: Lack of NI car chargers blamed on grid connection costs

  26-09-2023 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News - Electric motoring group tells BBC Spotlight grid connection costs to blame for poor charging network.
  
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