News update 11 Mar
1. Research published by Transport for the North shows that more than two in five disabled residents, carers and low income residents across the North of England are facing social exclusion due to inadequate and poorly performing transport systems. Bus service mileage in the North has been reduced by 32% since 2010.
Ref: https://transportforthenorth.com/wp-content/uploads/TRSEintheNorth_2023-24.pdf
2. The Confederation of Passenger Transport has published a report from the Rural Zero Emission Bus Taskforce formed to identify the specific challenges facing operators of rural services.
Ref: https://www.cpt-uk.org/media/x0nnhkbn/rural-zero-emission-bus-taskforce-report-final.pdf
3. The Mayor of South Yorkshire is seeking to introduce a franchised bus network.
4. A December 2023 study found that 46% of Londoners prefer to travel long distance by train compared to 41% by car and 10% by short haul flight. 38% believe they will travel more by train over the next five years. 60% of Londoners would support a ban on short haul flights where high speed rail alternatives exist, 51% support increased air taxes to grow high speed rail options.
Ref: https://www.hitachirail.com/english-better-connected-global-attitudes-to-public-transport/
5. National Express is operating an electric coach between Stansted Airport and London.
6. Sunderland is to introduce a driverless bus service on a three mile route between the Bus Interchange the University campus and the Royal Hospital, with safety attendants on board. Private industry and the Government are each providing £3m for the scheme.
7. £123m is to be spent to begin work on the Midlands Rail Hub increasing frequency and capacity benefitting 50 stations. An additional train an hour will link Birmingham with Cardiff, Bristol, Cheltenham and Worcester. More Chiltern line services will extend in Birmingham from Moor Street to Snow Hill. When delivered in full, Cross City Line trains will operate every 10 minutes. Birmingham Leicester will increase from two to four journeys an hour with additional trains between Birmingham and Nottingham with additional Birmingham Worcester trains extended to Hereford.
8. Shropshire Council is to receive £136.4m from the Local Transport Fund over a period of seven years to support existing transport schemes such as the on demand bus service.
9. A planning application has been submitted for a new two platform rail station at Haxby on the York Scarborough line at a cost of £24m.
10. Transport for London has introduced early morning buses from 4am partly funded by Heathrow Airport serving Ruislip, Hillingdon, West Drayton, Uxbridge and Hayes.
11. The off peak trial of Underground and rail fares in London all day on Fridays will operate from 8 March to 31 May with the exception of journeys to and from Heathrow Airport via zone 1.
12. £120m for the period 2025-32 for North East Lincolnshire will progress Grimsby transport hub and bus station plans.
13. Travel Derbyshire on Demand is a new pre bookable service funded from the Bus Service Improvement Plan available in Chesterfield, Bolsover and North East Derbyshire Council areas including travel to Kings Mill Hospital and Alfreton rail station. It is available Monday to Friday 7am to 7pm, Saturday 8am to 5pm.
14. Open access operator Lumo is seeking to extend its London Edinburgh service to Glasgow.
15. Transport for London has published Equity in Motion, a customer plan to help create a fairer, more accessible and inclusive transport network.
Ref: https://content.tfl.gov.uk/equity-in-motion-full.pdf
News update 4 March
1. The Government has announced a Local Transport Fund with the North receiving £2.5bn and the Midlands receiving £2.2bn from April 2025 over seven years to improve local transport connections.
2. Transport Focus has published two reports as part of the ongoing rail user survey. Rail User report - four weekly reportshows overall satisfaction at 81%, down from 88% but influenced by strike action and an overtime ban. Rail user report – train operator reportshows satisfaction with the cleanliness of the inside of the train at 74% was down from 81% and satisfaction with the information provided during the journey at 74% was previously 82%. Overall satisfaction with six key aspects of the journey for 22 train operating companies showed a range of 92% for Great Northern and London Overground to 74% with Transport for Wales.
Ref: https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/publications/
3. Southern is to introduce a revised rail timetable on 3 June in Hampshire and West Sussex. Between Brighton Worthing and Chichester four trains will operate an hour instead of two. Between Brighton and Southampton there will be two trains an hour. Brighton and Littlehampton will be linked with an all day service. London, Gatwick
Airport and Portsmouth will be linked half hourly. As a consequence, some direct services will be replaced by the need to change trains at Barnham.
4. Portsmouth City Council with £48m Bus Service Improvement Plan funding is introducing a 90 minute bus travel ticket for £3 and a ticket valid from 1900 until 0400 hours for a group of five people.
5. Avanti plans to make on board catering facilities cashless.
6. Bus Services 1 and 2 in Gainsborough have increased from hourly to every fifteen minutes funded from the Bus Service Improvement Plan of Lincolnshire County Council.
7. York City Council has agreed reductions in nine supported bus services to save £200k.
8. The Transpennine route upgrade proposes to relocate Mossley Station in Greater Manchester by 300 metres with an accessible footbridge with lifts, and extended platforms for longer trains and more seating.
9. Flixbus is to introduce electric long distance coaches between London Bristol and Newport from 21 March.
10. 54% of passenger trains have been replaced or upgraded in the last ten years.
11. The Glasgow Bus Alliance has launched a major travel survey seeking feedback on bus services, safety of travel, infrastructure, timetables and technology.
12. Department for Transport statistics show the number of bus miles operated in London reduced from 304 million in 2017 to 282 million in 2023.
13. Stagecoach and Highland Council are providing a week of free travel for Badenoch and Strathspey passengers.
14. The latest Superloop bus service in London linking Thamesmead and Bromley has been introduced.
News update 26 February
1. Ministers have put forward a Draft Rail Reform Bill to be scrutinised by the Transport Select Committee. It comprises nineteen clauses and three schedules to create an Integrated Rail Body, Great British Railways, bringing together responsibility for rail infrastructure and services. There will still be devolved responsibility to Scotland and Wales with an option to delegate contracting authority to Great British Railways.
Ref: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-rail-reform-bill
2. Bus Users UK has published A Manifesto for UK Bus Services. The ten point plan seeks bus priority measures; a commitment to ensure services are fully accessible, integrated with other transport modes and built around housing developments, education, employment and healthcare, with simplified fares; lifting restrictions on the use of concessionary passes; and a legal requirement for local authorities to provide socially necessary services.
Ref: https://bususers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Bus-Users-UK-Manifesto-for-Buses-2024.pdf
3. An analysis by Steer for the Rail Industry Association shows rail passenger demand in the UK is likely to show a steady and continuing upward trend. Volumes could grow between 37 and 100% up to 2050.
Ref: https://www.riagb.org.uk/RIA/Newsroom/Press_Releases/Government_should_seize_opportunity_to_grow_passenger_rail.aspx
4. Rail Partners has launched Manifesto for Rail, a five point plan to create a thriving railway in Britain: to focus the railway on the customer to balance the books; let operators compete to connect communities on long distance routes; overhaul fares to offer customers the best value for their journey; prioritise freight off roads onto rail; and create a new body to oversee the railways.
Ref: https://railpartners.co.uk/our-work/publications?view=article&id=258&catid=19
5. The Transport Committee is to investigate how more sophisticated use of data could improve the delivery of infrastructure and improve resilience of rail lines and roads.
6. £2.7m is to be spent upgrading Manchester Oxford Road station for passengers including installation of ticket barriers and relocation of ticket offices.
7. Northern customers travelling between Leeds and Manchester, Leeds and York will be able to see some train announcements in British Sign Language.
8. Nottingham City Transport has put into service the first 12 of 48 new electric single deck buses.
9. A full timetable has been reinstated from 19 February on the Marston Vale Line between Bedford and Bletchley.
10. Swansea Council is to spend £400k on its free ride initiative in school holidays introduced in the city over the last three years.
11. The second part of the Greater Manchester franchised Bee Network will be introduced on 24 March for bus services in Oldham, Rochdale and parts of Bury Salford and North Manchester.
12. London's six Overground rail lines are to be given a line name and colour - Lioness, Mildmay, Windrush, Weaver, Suffragette, Liberty.
13. The Scottish Government is to pause the allocation of funding from the Bus Partnership Fund in 2024/5 due to budgetary constraints.
News update 19 February
1. The Mayors of the West Midlands and Greater Manchester have outlined three options for rail links between the two cities - enhancement of the West Coast mainline, construction of bypasses to relieve congestion, and construction of a new line.
2. Hull Trains has commissioned a report into the impact of its open access rail service on the economic, social and sustainability benefits in the wider Hull and Humberside region.
Ref: https://www.hulltrains.co.uk/news/2024/hull-trains-launches-independent-economic-report-into-benefits-for-the-region
3. Transport for Wales has launched a Pay As You Go, contactless tap in tap out payment pilot on rail journeys between Cardiff Central, Newport and Pontyclun. The scheme will expand to 95 stations across South Wales. Fares will be capped daily and weekly.
4. The first of 48 three carriage Class 730 trains are entering service with West Midlands Railway, initially operating between Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Walsall.
5. From Sunday 3 March rail fares in Wales will rise by 4.9% in line with the decision taken by the UK Government.
6. Transport for Wales has reintroduced an hourly train service between Chester and Liverpool via Runcorn, Helsby and Frodsham from 12 February.
7. 35 new shelters are to be erected at 21 rail stations as part of a £1.9m investment by Northern.
8. Visit Peak District and Derbyshire is undertaking a new partnership with Stagecoach as part of its strategy to highlight the benefits of travelling by bus and promote car free days out.
9. Castle Bromwich, Coventry East and Tettenhall have been shortlisted by the West Midlands Rail Executive following a feasibility study which concluded that a new station on existing lines could provide an improvement to public transport for these communities.
10. Greater Manchester is to undertake a pilot to provide night buses in Wigan and Bolton.
11. Lothian Buses based in Edinburgh carried 110 million passengers in 2023, a 17% increase on 2022.
12. The City of Dunfermline is offering three days free travel on March 10, 30 and 31 on Stagecoach bus services in the Dunfermline zone area at a cost of £18k.
13. Go Ahead is to acquire Eastbourne Sightseeing, an open top bus operator.
News update 12 February
1. The contribution of Council Tax given to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority introduced last year will treble to £36 for band D households to fund improvements planned for thirty new and existing bus services. Those age under 25 will pay £1 per journey.
2. Overall passenger satisfaction with their most recent journey was 88% in the Transport Focus latest Rail User Survey, increased from 81% and 82% in November and December. Satisfaction with punctuality/reliability was 77%.
Ref: https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/publication/rail-user-survey-edition-23/
3. £230,500 is to be spent replacing twelve passenger shelters at Hereford bus station with roofs planted to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
4. Thirty trains a day will now operate between Ebbw Vale and Newport following a £70m investment from the Welsh Government to improve infrastructure along the line.
5. Stoke on Trent received Bus Service Improvement Plan funding of £31.6m and is to tender for eight bus routes.
6. The £34.1m allocated to Lancashire for the Bus Service Improvement Plan will provide service improvements in Preston, Lancaster and Blackburn with new links to Chorley.
7. West Yorkshire Combined Authority is supporting Keighley Bus Company with £2.7m over three years to increase journeys on three of its most popular routes serving communities between Leeds and Keighley.
8. The Rail Minister has announced that from next year 75 rail stations across the West Midlands and 17 stations on two routes in Greater Manchester are to be fitted with tap in tap out contactless ticketing.
9. Deaf customers who travel with East Midlands Railway can now access an app to get help on any part of their journey from a British Sign Language Interpreter.
10. Bus users are being consulted about bus service changes in Sheffield operated commercially by First and financially supported by the Combined Authority.
11. From 3 February the seventh of ten London Superloop bus services was introduced linking Bromley North Station and Croydon town centre.
12. Transport for London is undertaking a public consultation on extending Docklands Light Railway to Thamesmead.
News update 5 February
1. The number of bus passenger journeys in Norfolk has increased 16% on last year. The £49.5m grant has been used to launch 12 new bus routes, and increase services on 32 others. A £1.50 fare in Kings Lynn has increased ticket sales 75%.
2. The first of 159 new battery powered buses are entering service in Oxford in an £82.5m project, with the County Council implementing traffic filters to help reduce journey times by at least 10%.
3. From 28 January changes were made to 44 services in the Manchester Bee Network to improve reliability. New reports showing how bus services are performing are now available with a weekly update to show the punctuality of the franchised network.
4. The £2 bus fare in West Yorkshire is being extended to March 2025.
5. Five bus routes in Blackpool are to be enhanced at a cost of £500k with funding from Lancashire County Council and Blackpool Council, received from the Department for Transport.
6. Extra journeys have been introduced on nine bus routes operated by East Yorkshire serving seven towns in the East Riding of Yorkshire as part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan.
7. Improved bus services are to be introduced between Huddersfield and Halifax town centre, Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and Calderdale Royal Hospital and eight evening services in Wakefield will increase from hourly to half hourly funded from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Bus Service Improvement Plan.
8. Agreement has been reached for First Group to purchase York Pullman Bus Company operating 130 vehicles with an annual turnover of around £10m.
9. As part of the Leicester Bus Partnership, Arriva and Stagecoach have agreed to accept each other's tickets on two routes between Leicester and Market Harborough. A more co-ordinated timetable is in operation on routes between Nuneaton, Hinckley and Leicester.
10. Transport for London is to trial off peak Underground and train fares all day on Friday from March. Passenger numbers on Fridays are 73% of pre pandemic levels.
11. Bradford rail station is to have an additional platform to reduce delays.
News update 29 January
1. The Department for Education has published a slightly amended version of the statutory home to school travel guidance.
Ref: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance
2. The Transport Secretary is lifting the safeguarding restrictions for HS2 phase 2a, which was in place to protect the land needed from potential conflicting development. This delivers the commitment made in Network North: Transforming British Transport, published on 4 October 2023.
3. From 5 February London North Eastern Railway will pilot a simpler fare structure offering Anytime (fully flexible), Advance (fixed), 70 minute flex (semi variable) tickets. Off Peak and Super Off Peak tickets which represent 11% of journeys will be withdrawn. Research by the Rail Delivery Group shows 35% of people for whom rail is an option are put off travelling because of difficulty in finding the right fare.
4. £1bn from the cancellation of HS2 is to be used to improve road, rail and bus travel across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool. £20m is for 15 electric trackless trams to serve the town centres of Middlesbrough, Redcar, Stockton, Hartlepool and Darlington. £40m is to provide direct rail services between Darlington and Hartlepool. £15m is for bus station improvements in Middlesbrough.
5. The Confederation of Passenger Transport has published two manifestos for the next Government to prioritise the bus and coach sector with a plan to maximise the benefits of buses in Driving Britain Forward, and detailing how the coach network can provide access to everyone with Access All Areas.
Ref: https://www.cpt-uk.org/news/cpt-manifestos-2024-launch/
6. The Northumberland Line will open in the summer of 2024 with the first stations available at Ashington, Newsham and Seaton Delaval.
7. TransPennine Express offered a four day £1 sale of a million tickets for travel across the North of England and into Scotland between 22 January and 8 March.
8. Hull Trains are now operating ten carriages on a number of services from Wednesday to Sunday due to increasing passenger numbers.
9. Northern has seen a 20% reduction in the number of penalty rail fares issued in the first year since the Government increased the fine to £100.
10. Operating hours of bus lanes in Hull are to be reduced to 0700-0930, 1600-1830 Monday to Saturday.
11. Nottinghamshire County Council has launched an All Rounder ticket valid on more than fifteen bus services in the Newark area provided by six operators at £4.20 for all day travel funded from the Bus Service Improvement Plan.
12. Lumo, the open access East Coast rail operator is planning an additional daily return journey between Newcastle and London. Proposals have been submitted as part of the East Coast mainline timetable review.
13. From 23 to 29 January up to a 50% reduction was offered by rail companies on selected Advance and Off peak rail tickets through the Great British Rail Sale for journeys between 30 January and 15 March.
14. Transport for Greater Manchester is to undertake a pilot to test the safe carriage of cycles on off peak tram services.
15. Transport for London fares are to be frozen until March 2025 with £123m additional funding from the Mayor.
News update 22 January
1. The Department for Transport has published new guidelines for how concessionary fares reimbursements should be paid from local authorities to bus operators.
Ref: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-reimbursing-bus-operators-for-concessionary-travel
2. The Department for Transport has issued National Bus Strategy: 2024 Bus Service Improvement Plans - guidance to local authorities and bus operators.
Ref: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65a6becf96a5ec000d731aa9/bus-service-improvement-plans-guidance-to-local-authorities-and-bus-operators-2024.pdf
3. Midlands Connect and Transport for the West Midlands are working on a ticketing solution to make multi modal travel cheaper and easier using a smartphone or contactless bank card, capping payments daily or weekly. This will be offered as a national solution in England, except London.
4. c2c customers can now buy and present rail tickets direct from a mobile phone or smart device. Tickets can be purchased from the app and website up to five minutes prior to travel.
5. London North Eastern Railway is trialling a 70 minute semi flexible ticket between London, Newcastle, Berwick and Edinburgh so that passengers who miss their train or want to travel earlier than planned will be able to travel on another departure within 70 minutes of their scheduled departure.
6. From 18 February two bus routes in Portsmouth will operate 24 hours. Evening frequencies will be increased on five routes as part of the £48m Bus Service Improvement Plan Grant.
7. First Bus York services 66 and 67 between the City Centre and the University campus are now operated by ten electric double deck buses.
8. Data from the Office of Rail and Road on passenger assistance requested during the year to March 2023 shows an increase of over 60% on the previous year.
9. West Berkshire Council has introduced an on demand service replacing scheduled services 5, 5a & 5c.
10. Building Better with Rail Freight in Greater Manchester is a report published by the Mineral Products Association and Rail Freight Group setting out the economic and environmental case for more rail freight.
Ref: https://rfg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Manchester-Rail-Freight-Brochure.pdf
News update 15 January
1. The Social Market Foundation report Getting the Measure of Transport Poverty shows the cost of transport keeps 5 million people in poverty.
Ref: https://www.smf.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Getting-the-measure-of-transport-poverty-Nov-2023.pdf
2. First Bus, who will operate 30 routes of the Beeline network in Rochdale and Bury with 90 vehicles from March, is to invest £750k in enhanced engineering facilities at the depot, recruiting 30 additional drivers and 12 engineering staff.
3. The Tees Valley Mayor has committed £20m to build a new rail station at Teesside International Airport.
4. Stagecoach East is to introduce a new half hourly service linking Bedford and Stevenage on 18 February.
5. The bus network across Tyne and Wear, Durham, Northumberland and the Tees Valley has reduced by 39 million miles, 37% over the last 18 years.
6. First Group has submitted a first phase application for a new open access rail service between London and Sheffield serving Woodhouse, Worksop and Retford offering two return journeys a day.
7. Northern offered a three day sale of 5 million rail tickets valid for travel between 10 January and 1 March. The company operate 2500 services a day serving 500 stations.
8. Thames Travel, part of the Go Ahead Group, has introduced on a three month trial a new bus service between Oxford city centre and Oxford Science Park.
9. Northern is working with 185 secondary schools and University Technical Colleges to offer a discount of up to 75% on the cost of a child's commute to education.
10. As part of Gloucestershire's Bus Service Improvement Plan Stagecoach West is operating eight buses an hour between Gloucester and Cheltenham Monday to Saturday. Additional journeys on four routes in an evening have been introduced.
11. Great Western Railway is planning to operate two return Saturday services between Bristol and Oxford from 14 September including stops at Bath Spa, Chippenham and Swindon on a trial basis until December, subject to the agreement of the Department for Transport and Network Rail.
12. A 12000 signatures petition has been handed to the Mayor of West Yorkshire in support of public control of bus services. The consultation closes on 7 January with a decision expected later this year.
13. One third of young people under 22 in Scotland, 300,000, have not applied for a pass for free bus travel.
News update 15 January
1. The Social Market Foundation report Getting the Measure of Transport Poverty shows the cost of transport keeps 5 million people in poverty.
Ref: https://www.smf.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Getting-the-measure-of-transport-poverty-Nov-2023.pdf
2. First Bus, who will operate 30 routes of the Beeline network in Rochdale and Bury with 90 vehicles from March, is to invest £750k in enhanced engineering facilities at the depot, recruiting 30 additional drivers and 12 engineering staff.
3. The Tees Valley Mayor has committed £20m to build a new rail station at Teesside International Airport.
4. Stagecoach East is to introduce a new half hourly service linking Bedford and Stevenage on 18 February.
5. The bus network across Tyne and Wear, Durham, Northumberland and the Tees Valley has reduced by 39 million miles, 37% over the last 18 years.
6. First Group has submitted a first phase application for a new open access rail service between London and Sheffield serving Woodhouse, Worksop and Retford offering two return journeys a day.
7. Northern offered a three day sale of 5 million rail tickets valid for travel between 10 January and 1 March. The company operate 2500 services a day serving 500 stations.
8. Thames Travel, part of the Go Ahead Group, has introduced on a three month trial a new bus service between Oxford city centre and Oxford Science Park.
9. Northern is working with 185 secondary schools and University Technical Colleges to offer a discount of up to 75% on the cost of a child's commute to education.
10. As part of Gloucestershire's Bus Service Improvement Plan Stagecoach West is operating eight buses an hour between Gloucester and Cheltenham Monday to Saturday. Additional journeys on four routes in an evening have been introduced.
11. Great Western Railway is planning to operate two return Saturday services between Bristol and Oxford from 14 September including stops at Bath Spa, Chippenham and Swindon on a trial basis until December, subject to the agreement of the Department for Transport and Network Rail.
12. A 12000 signatures petition has been handed to the Mayor of West Yorkshire in support of public control of bus services. The consultation closes on 7 January with a decision expected later this year.
13. One third of young people under 22 in Scotland, 300,000, have not applied for a pass for free bus travel.
News update 27 December
1. Transport Focus carried out a survey of 2000 people asking about their travel plans over the Christmas and New Year period. 40% would be travelling on motorways or major roads but less than one in ten would be travelling more than 100 miles. 16% intended to travel by train, 27% of which would be travelling on Friday 22 December. 7% intended to travel Christmas Day, unaware there is no service, with 13% travelling Boxing Day when there is a limited service. Half of those travelling by train in this period were reluctant to do so because of the risk of strikes or because of engineering works.
Ref: https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/publication/christmas-and-new-year-travel-intentions-survey-2/
2. First Bus and Stagecoach are offering free travel across Aberdeen City and Shire every weekend in January as a direct impact of the improvements operators have seen due to new bus priority measures in the city centre.
3. South Eastern has introduced digital rail season tickets, known as sTickets, offering customers the opportunity to buy a season ticket through the website and app and store it on their smartphone.
4. The Department for Transport has announced it is not now pursuing plans to deliver a centralised Great British Railways online ticket retailer, as outlined in the Williams Shapps Plan. It is to be made easier for independent rail ticket retailers to enter the market.
5. It is proposed to provide an hourly direct train service in Cornwall linking Newquay, Par, St Austell, Truro, Penryn and Falmouth at a cost of £56.8m with £50m from Levelling Up Funding. The project includes a new platform at Newquay, a new passing loop and upgrades at level crossings.
6. 27 electric buses are to be introduced by 2026 on Uno routes in Hatfield, St Albans and Welwyn Garden City with funding received by Hertfordshire County Council from the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas Scheme.
7. A Christmas Day bus service operated on six routes in Portsmouth, funded by the City Council from the Bus Service Improvement Plan.
8. Avanti West Coast has introduced wayfinding technology to help visually impaired customers navigate its stations using a smartphone app.
9. More than 100 new display screens have been installed at 77 rail stations across the Northern network. A total of 387 screens have been installed at 167 stations.
10. London North Eastern Railway is trialling British Sign Language on Customer Information Screens at Doncaster rail station.
11. Transport for the West Midlands is to offer employers who invite staff to travel by bus rather than car 600,000 free bus journeys at a coat of £19m.
12. Great Western Railway now operates two trains an hour Monday to Saturday between Reading and Gatwick Airport.
13. The Labour Party has commissioned an independent review to explore how rail infrastructure delivery can be better managed to boost jobs, improve value for money, and drive investment and economic growth across the country.
14. Great Western Railway is providing 25 extra train services at weekends from 10 December.
15. London Liverpool Street has replaced Waterloo as the most used rail station in Great Britain with almost 80.4m entries and exits in the year to 31 March 2023 following the opening of the Elizabeth line.
£250m has been agreed between the Government and Transport for London to continue with an investment programme including new trains for the Piccadilly line.
News update 18 December
1. The Office of Rail and Road has asked train operators and Network Rail to address the concerns in its report regarding the consistency and usefulness of passenger information for rail replacement services when there are planned engineering works. This includes improving the quality of advance information, ensuring rail replacement services are shown on live departures, and ensuring rail replacement vehicles display destinations.
Ref: https://www.orr.gov.uk/search-news/regulator-calls-improvements-passenger-information-rail-replacement-buses
2. Statistics from the Office of Rail and Road show from 1 July to 30 September 2023, 69.2% of passenger trains were on time, up 1.5% on the same quarter last year.
Ref: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/
3. Department for Transport statistics show across England, Scotland and Wales bus journeys rose 20% to 3745bn in 2022-3, compared to the previous year. Passenger journeys rose 29.2% in Scotland, 19.3% in England and 15.1% in Wales. Mileage reduced in the same period 4.4%, local authority supported mileage grew 8.8%, commercial mileage reduced 7% and mileage reduced 3.4% in London.
Ref: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bus-statistics
4. The Mayors of the West Midlands and Greater Manchester are to explore how rail connectivity can be improved between the Midlands and the North, focussing on the section between Handsacre and Manchester Airport.
5. The Arriva Click demand responsive service in Watford will be withdrawn on 31 December, ahead of its four year contract term, due to insufficient patronage.
6. From 10 December, Greater Anglia returned to providing four trains an hour between Stansted Airport and London, seven days a week.
7. Bus priority measures in Bridge Street, Guild Street and Market Street in Aberdeen have improved punctuality and reduced journey times by 25% benefitting 600,000 passengers a month.
8. Transport for Wales will increase train service frequency between Liverpool and Chester and on the Ebbw Vale line in January 2024.
9. All Superloop bus services introduced in London so far have seen passenger demand above the network average.
10. All services operated by First Bus in Portsmouth can now accept contactless payment by bank card, smartphone or smartwatch.
11. The Office of Rail and Road has found that the railway station catering market is not working as effectively as it should and greater competition would drive better value.
Ref: https://www.orr.gov.uk/railway-station-catering-market-study
12. 61.5% of all trips in London in 2022-3 were walked, cycled or made by public transport.
13. The third delivery plan containing more than 70 actions for Scotland's National Transport Strategy has been published.
Ref: https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/national-transport-strategy-report-to-parliament/
14. Brent Cross mainline railway station has opened situated between Cricklewood and Hendon on the Midland Mainline.
15. The Department for Transport has published the next steps to reform the driver Certificate of Professional Competence following a consultation on the proposals. Ref: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/driver-certificate-of-professional-competence-dcpc-changes/outcome/driver-cpc-changes-overview-of-responses-and-government-response#:~:text=reform%20training%20by%20reducing%20the,at%20the%20end%20of%20modules
News update 11 December
1. Friends of the Earth have analysed every bus timetable in England and Wales since 2008. Urban bus services have reduced 48% and rural services 52%. Services in the East Midlands have reduced 60%, 57% in Wales and 52% in the north east. 22% of households do not have access to a car, 35% in low income demographic areas.
Ref: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/sustainable-living/bus-services-outside-london-plummet-new-research
2. The Office of Rail and Road has published its Annual Rail Industry Finance UK statistical report, showing the income, expenditure and Government funding of the UK rail industry for the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. 1.4bn journeys were made by rail, 80% of the pre pandemic year. Total public funding of rail operations as well as infrastructure enhancements was £21.1bn, £11.9bn of which was for day to day operations.
Ref: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/algdbizg/rail-industry-finance-uk-statistical-release-202223.pdf
3. Work on the TransPennine route upgrade is to receive a £3.9bn increase in funding bringing the total investment to £6.9bn. Bradford and Hull will be brought into Northern Powerhouse Rail.
4. The Confederation of Passenger Transport reiterated challenges in home to school transport and rail replacement services meeting compliance with the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations in a Transport Committee enquiry.
5. A Centre for Cities report on commuting shows the number of people travelling to work by public transport is 16% in Manchester and Sheffield, 18% in Birmingham, 17% in Nottingham and 23% in Glasgow. Hamburg in Germany is 40% and Lyon in France is 33%. The difference is due to smaller transport networks and less dense residential neighbourhoods in big cities in the UK. The report makes recommendations to boost public transport commuting - including increasing the density of housing near public transport stops, bringing responsibility for city public transport under one body, and providing revenue raising powers such a congestion charging and workplace parking.
Ref: https://www.centreforcities.org/publication/gear-shift/
6. From 3 December rail operator c2c introduced a new and simplified fare structure in preparation for contactless pay as you go ticketing across the complete network. All single fares are priced at half the return, peak and off peak, all weekend and bank holiday travel is classified as off peak, with super off peak tickets withdrawn, and introduction of a new weekday evening peak between 1600 and 1900 hours on services leaving from or going via a London station within zone 1 to 6.
7. East Midlands Railway introduced additional regional services from 10 December. Four weekday services are reinstated between Nottingham and Crewe, two new Saturday services between Peterborough and Lincoln, and a new weekday Liverpool Nottingham service including the introduction of class 170 trains on the service.
8. West Midlands Rail Executive and the Great British Railways Transition Team have started work to integrate rail into the wider West Midlands transport network with bus and tram to provide a fully integrated multi modal fares and ticketing structure.
9. Network Rail has quoted £271m to complete the reopening of the 31 mile Ivanhoe Line between Leicester and Burton on Trent.
News update 4 December
1. The Government has launched a £2m competition in which UK businesses can apply for grants of up to £500k to fund innovations aimed at decarbonising local transport. Half of the fund is reserved for rural areas. Businesses will need to collaborate with local authorities.
2. From 10 December Govia Thameslink Railway is providing increased services at five Sussex rail stations - Preston Park, Hassocks, Newhaven Harbour, Glynde and Berwick. A number of journeys will operate with longer trains. From 11 December Thameslink is also increasing capacity for Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire commuters.
3. From 1 January to 13 November, East Midlands Railway prosecuted 2033 fare evaders recovering £684,667. The most frequent offences were travelling without a valid ticket, travelling with a child ticket, and travelling beyond the destination of the ticket.
4. First Bus is to purchase 1000 electric bus batteries, valued at over £100m, over three years.
5. The Office of Rail and Road has given approval for open access operator Grand Central to serve Peterborough station allowing two existing services in each direction to call each day Monday to Saturday.
6. Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding for Lancashire County Council in addition to £34.1m Bus Service Improvement Plan funding has resulted in additional evening and Sunday journeys serving Burnley, Clitheroe, Barnoldswick, Nelson, Colne, Rawtenstall, Preston, Longridge, Blackburn, Skelmersdale, Ormskirk, Crawford and Rainford
7. Managers at Rotala have completed a buyout of the company.
News update 27 November
1. Figures from the Great British Railways Transition Team show for the quarter 1 April to 30 June 2023 leisure travel grew 19% with an increase of 6% in commuting, and business travel revenues up 8%.
Ref: https://media.gbrtt.co.uk/news/leisure-travel-helps-boost-quarterly-rail-revenue-by-gbp-295-million
2. Trainline is to become the headline sponsor of Community Rail Network's tourism campaign, Scenic Rail Britain.
3. The Government has announced £48m from the Levelling Up Fund for major upgrades to the Penistone rail line between Sheffield and Huddersfield, including doubling sections of track and enhanced station facilities.
4. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed committing the Government to work in collaboration to deliver plans for a fully integrated public transport system in Merseyside, involving Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Network Rail and the Great British Railways Transition Team.
5. Network Rail is investigating four options for the provision of a shuttle passenger service between March and Wisbech.
6. The Dartmoor line between Okehampton and Exeter has carried 550,000 passengers in the two years since it opened.
7. West Berkshire Council is offering free bus travel on three Saturdays in November and December.
8. From 10 December rail operator c2c will introduce two additional morning peak journeys from Leigh on Sea to Fenchurch Street.
9. From 20 to 26 November free travel was offered to passengers travelling on the Inverness Electric City Bus Network services 1 to 9
10. Following construction costing £15m rail services will call at East Linton station from 13 December on the East Coast mainline.
News update 20 November
1. The latest rail passenger usage figures from the Office of Rail and Road show 390 million passenger journeys were made by rail in Great Britain between 1 April and 30 June 2023, a 19% increase on the number of journeys made in the same quarter the previous year. For the year ending 30 June 2023 there was a 5% increase on the previous twelve months. Compared to the same period in 2019 passenger journeys on Hull Trains are 28% higher and are 18% higher on East Coast mainline services.
Ref: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/passenger-rail-usage/#:~:text=Key%20results,year%20to%2030%20June%202023.
2. Train services resume between Bedford and Bletchley, The Marston Vale Line using class 150 trains, on 20 November. A bus replacement service has been in operation since December 2022 when the company maintaining the class 230 trains used, entered administration. The full timetable will resume early in 2024.
3. Swansea Council is funding free bus travel in the city every Saturday and Sunday in November and December
4. London North Eastern Railway is to receive ten tri mode ten car trains to operate in electric mode on sections of route that are electrified and either a combination of battery and diesel power or battery only mode on sections not electrified. Battery mode will be used on arrival and departure from stations. The battery will recharge in electric or diesel mode.
5. The Rail Safety and Standards Board has published a Sustainable Rail Blueprint - a new framework to support the rail industry in Great Britain to make efficient progress on environmental and social sustainability challenges.
Ref: https://www.rssb.co.uk/sustainability/the-sustainable-rail-blueprint
6. Class 730 electric trains have started to enter service with London North Western Railway.
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