Public Transport news

• Out now: Issue 298 of Passenger Transport

  10-10-2023 22:08 via passengertransport.co.uk
  Issue 298 of Passenger Transport is published on October 6.Contents include:
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   LEAD STORY
  ‘Ragtag’ investments cannot replace HS2Prime minister Rishi Sunak announces that high speed line won’t go north of Birmingham – but ‘every single penny’ saved will be invested in transport
   NEWS
  Overwhelming support for bus franchisingLiverpool City Region consultation sees 70% support reform plans
  ‘We will stand firm, if you stand firm’
  
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• Why the HS2 dream was never on the right track | Letters

  10-10-2023 18:47
  
  Tony May lists the problems with the high-speed railway and says that investment should have started in the northNils Pratley is right to deride the gold-plated design of HS2 (International investors are laughing at the HS2 shambles, 4 October). On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme in 2018, I questioned the decision to design for 400km/h running. HS2 had shown that increasing the design speed by 20% would save just four minutes from London to Birmingham, but increase energy costs by a quarter.
  
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• West Midlands mayor vows to 'never give up' on HS2 leg to Manchester despite PM's betrayal

  10-10-2023 02:00 via birminghammail.co.uk
  Birmingham Mail - Mayor 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
  
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• We run major rail and bus firms, and were ready to work with Labour on transport - Patrick Verwer & Christian Schreyer

  10-10-2023 02:00 via labourlist.org
  
  Labour Party - What 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.
  
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• Walsall rail projects to resume after contractor collapse

  10-10-2023 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News - Work on Willenhall and Darlaston stations stopped when contractor Buckingham Group filed for administration.
  
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• Thrapston parents face school bus bill after rule change

  10-10-2023 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News - Parents have been left facing bills of hundreds of pounds after a council changed its rules over free travel.
  
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• Target to slash costs by third on £1.2bn Midlands rail upgrade

  10-10-2023 02:00 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Other News Sources - Network Rail has set fresh challenging targets to slash electrification costs on the 378km next phase of the Midland Main Line upgrade project.
  
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• Stonehaven rail crash families settle civil actions against Network Rail

  10-10-2023 02:00 via northern-scot.co.uk
  
  Other News Sources - MOST of the families connected to the Stonehaven rail disaster have now settled their civil actions against Network Rail.
  
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• Short-term thinking on HS2 will cause long-term damage

  10-10-2023 02:00 via ft.com
  Financial Times - Sunaks decision to curtail the rail project goes against international experience
  
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• Scrapping of HS2 northern link 'could bring Metrolink to Bolton'

  10-10-2023 02:00 via manchestereveningnews.co.uk
  
  Manchester Evening News - Boltons 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.
  
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• Rochdale-based Mellor secures win to build 21 Bee Network buses

  10-10-2023 02:00 via thebusinessdesk.com
  
  The Business Desk - Mellor, 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.
  
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• Rishi Sunak defends spending HS2 cash in the south. subscription

  10-10-2023 02:00 via thetimes.co.uk
  
  Times Online - Councils and mayors will decide where savings from Manchester cancellation are directed, PM says
  
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• Rishi Sunak admits list of HS2 replacement projects just illustrative and not pledges

  10-10-2023 02:00 via independent.co.uk
  
  The Independent - Meanwhile Andy Burnham says government must safeguard HS2 land and stop sell-off
  
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• Rest and Be Thankful road hit by seven landslips

  10-10-2023 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News - About 9,500 tonnes of debris fell onto the A83 in Argyll and Bute during heavy rain over the weekend.
  
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• Political leaders confident Doncaster Sheffield Airport will reopen

  10-10-2023 02:00 via yorkshirepost.co.uk
  Yorkshire Post - Owners The Peel Group shut the airport in November, claiming it had never made a profit due to a lack of passengers.
  
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• Plans to scrap London travelcards 'discriminatory'

  10-10-2023 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News - TfL says it is under-funded by the travelcard agreement at an annual cost of about £40m.
  
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• Northern Trains issues a warning to hen, stag and hen parties as sale starts

  10-10-2023 02:00 via lep.co.uk
  Other News Sources - Groups 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).
  
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• Northern Rail issues warning to travellers as major winter sale sees 75 off tickets

  10-10-2023 02:00 via chroniclelive.co.uk
  
  Newcastle Evening Chronicle - Groups of ten or more are eligible for 75 per cent off their travel with Northern - but customers are being warned about unacceptable behaviour
  
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• New electric fleet for extended Universal bus route in Cambridge

  10-10-2023 02:00 via cambridgeindependent.co.uk
  
  Cambridge News - A 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.
  
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• Network Rail seeks efficient electrification in £1.2bn Midland Mainline Electrification framework

  10-10-2023 02:00 via newcivilengineer.com
  
  New Civil Engineer - Network 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.
  
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• Network Rail encourages public to Make a Connection for World Mental Health Day

  10-10-2023 02:00 via networkrailmediacentre.co.uk
  
  Network Rail - Network 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).
  
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• More Metrocars go for scrap

  10-10-2023 02:00 via britishtramsonline.co.uk
  British Trams Online - The 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.
  
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• Monday essay: More Network North inconsistencies appear

  10-10-2023 02:00 via railnews.co.uk
  Railnews -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. However, the government withdrew its initial press release, issued on 4 October, a
  
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• Major airlines halt flights to Israel after Hamas incursion

  10-10-2023 02:00 via ft.com
  Financial Times - Cathay Pacific, Ryanair and Lufthansa among carriers to act following warnings from air safety agencies
  
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• Labour to conduct review into failure of HS2 following cancellation

  10-10-2023 02:00 via yorkshirepost.co.uk
  Yorkshire Post - Labour 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.
  
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• Iveco Bus e-buses on stage at Busworld are all equipped with new ADAS technology

  10-10-2023 02:00 via sustainable-bus.com
  Other News Sources - Iveco 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 Groups fuel cell system-based hydrogen business brand.
  
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• Improvements being made to cross-county bus route between Lincolnshire and Norfolk

  10-10-2023 02:00 via lincolnshirelive.co.uk
  
  Other News Sources - A 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.
  
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• HS2: Work carries on regardless of Euston concerns

  10-10-2023 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News - The tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) have been going for a year. Here, away from the headlines, work is carrying on 24/7.
  
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• HS2 Phase 2 money reinvested in bus and other local transport

  10-10-2023 02:00 via busandcoachbuyer.com
  
  Bus and Coach Buyer - Some of the money set for the now cancelled second leg of HS2 is to be reinvested into buses.
  
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• HS1 has had a titanic impact on Kent

  10-10-2023 02:00 via kentonline.co.uk
  
  Other Regional Press - As HS2 is reduced, Kent remains the only place in the UK with high-speed rail. But has the county really benefited from it?
  
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• How to solve the woes caused by axing HS2

  10-10-2023 02:00 via autocar.co.uk
  
  Other News Sources - Two 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.
  
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• Haxby station set to reopen after HS2 northern leg axed

  10-10-2023 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News - A railway station that closed in 1930 is set to be reopened as part of the government's Network North scheme.
  
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• Have your say on shake up of West Yorkshire bus services

  10-10-2023 02:00 via thetelegraphandargus.co.uk
  
  Bradford Telegraph & Argus - It could cost up to £95m to buy West Yorkshires bus depots as part of plans to franchise bus services.
  
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• 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 hell

  10-10-2023 02:00 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Mail Online - The 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.
  
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• First Desiro HC electric multiple-unit arrives in Egypt

  10-10-2023 02:00 via railwaygazette.com
  
  Railway Gazette - EGYPT: 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.
  
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• First Class 720 train enters passenger service, honours c2cs former Managing Director

  10-10-2023 02:00 via c2c-online.co.uk
  
  Train Operators - Trenitalia-owned train operator c2c recently celebrated its new Class 720 trains entering passenger service with a surprise tribute to former Managing Director, Julian Drury.
  
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• eVersum turns to Oxa driverless vehicles software and aims to start trials of the eShuttle in UK

  10-10-2023 02:00 via sustainable-bus.com
  Other News Sources - eVersum 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.
  
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• Europes bus and coach driver shortage widens 54, grim outlook to 2028

  10-10-2023 02:00 via iru.org
  
  Other News Sources - IRUs 2023 driver shortage report found that unfilled bus and coach driver positions are on the rise in Europe. Its forecast to get much worse over the next five years without significant action.
  
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• Disruption around Morpeth as Network Rail undertakes urgent repair work to Plessey Viaduct

  10-10-2023 02:00 via networkrailmediacentre.co.uk
  
  Network Rail - Train services in the Morpeth area are facing disruption as Network Rail undertakes urgent repair work at Plessey Viaduct, which is between Cramlington and Morpeth.
  
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• Crashworthiness of buses a matter of life, death and labour rights

  10-10-2023 02:00 via euractiv.com
  
  Other News Sources - Accident 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 Nygrd.
  
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• Consultation begins on bus franchising plans

  10-10-2023 02:00 via rombaldsradio.com
  Other News Sources - It could cost up to £95m to buy West Yorkshires bus depots as part of plans to franchise bus services.
  
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• CalMac ferry numbers fall by 800,000 since before pandemic. subscription

  10-10-2023 02:00 via thetimes.co.uk
  
  Times Online - Some 800,000 fewer passengers are travelling on CalMacs beleaguered ferry services compared with before the pandemic, new figures reveal.
  
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• CAA appoints Rob Bishton as Chief Executive

  10-10-2023 02:00 via adsadvance.co.uk
  Aviation Industry- The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has appointed Rob Bishton as its new Chief Executive, effective 21st October 2023.
  
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• BRADING RAILWAY STATION COULD SOON RECEIVE MODERN UPGRADES

  10-10-2023 02:00 via islandecho.co.uk
  Other News Sources - An Isle of Wight train stationbuilt in the mid-1800scould be getting modern upgrades.
  
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• Barnstaple bus station closure 'bonkers', says local MP

  10-10-2023 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News - Devon councillors are being urged to re-open facilities at a bus station which has been closed since the start of the Covid pandemic.
  
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• Application to appeal against Manston airport court decision denied

  10-10-2023 02:00 via theisleofthanetnews.com
  
  Other Regional Press - An appeal against the denial of an application to quash a development consent order for Manston airport has been rejected.
  
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• Alstom and SNCF ramp up testing on new generation of French high-speed trains

  10-10-2023 02:00 via railtechnologymagazine.com
  
  Rail Technology Magazine - The 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.
  
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• Airport opponents appeal bid blocked by judge

  10-10-2023 02:00 via kentonline.co.uk
  
  Other Regional Press - A judge has told a campaigner she cannot challenge his decision to reject her latest bid to block the reopening of an airport.
  
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• Airlines cancel or delay flights to Israel as fighting continues

  10-10-2023 02:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News - Major carriers including Delta and Virgin Atlantic suspend direct flights, while others warn of delays.
  
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