Recent Transport Developments

• Adwick station gets extension. Work has begun on extending the car park at Adwick railway station in South Yorkshire. An additional 112 car parking spaces will be created, taking the total to 196, including 12 spaces for disabled users. Work is expected to be completed in mid-June 2008. As part of its park and ride strategy, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive is extending the site to meet the demands of passengers already using it and encourage more people to park and ride into Doncaster town centre and beyond. Adwick railway station has half-hourly train services running to Doncaster and it is 40 minutes away from Leeds, 30 minutes from Rotherham, 50 minutes from Sheffield and 20 minutes from Wakefield.

• Four new StreetCars for Luton. First introduced four of its StreetCars on a new service linking Luton Airport with the nearby Parkway railway station, connecting with trains also operated by First - Capital Connect, on 20 January. Bodied by WrightGroup, the StreetCars are from First's Swansea project - the allocation of this scheme has been delayed until 2009. The vehicles do not carry the 'ftr' branding and have been re-liveried as the Luton Airport Shuttle Bus, operating every 10 minutes between 0500-2359. Outside these times, buses will only run to connect with specific trains. There are no First bus companies in the area so the vehicles are being maintained by Volvo at Milton Keynes and operational control falling to First Rail Support.

• Birmingham Metro extension very possible. Plans to extend Birmingham's Metro tram system have taken a step forward with the government’s designation of Brierley Hill/Merry Hill as a strategic town centre. In so doing communities secretary Hazel Blears has effectively strengthened the business case for an 11km Metro line, which would start from the existing route at Wednesbury and run through Dudley and the Merry Hill Centre to terminate at Brierley Hill. However, despite Merry Hill shopping centre owner Westfield pledging to contribute £36.5m towards the cost of the line and the government granting a Transport & Works Act order for the project, a complete funding package has yet to be agreed.

• New hybrid Solos for Merseyside. Traction Technology has won a contract from Merseytravel to deliver four hybrid Optare Solo buses later this year. Each will be powered by a Traction hybrid diesel and super-capacitor power pack. It follows competitive trial evaluation by Merseytravel of an existing Traction Technology offering. Epsom Coaches, Arriva North West, Arriva Southern Counties and Ipswich Buses operate Optare Solos with Traction Technology.

• Glasgow subway to receive wi-fi. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport and technology firm Arqiva are to provide a combined cellular and wi-fi network for Glasgow's 15 Subway stations. Under the agreement, Glasgow will become the first UK city to provide rail passengers with combined 2G and 3G cellular mobile and wi-fi access. Arqiva Wireless Solutions division will begin deployment of the network later this month, with initial testing at Buchanan Street Subway station. The new network will enable Subway customers to access the Internet and mobile phones at stations, and provide public access to wi-fi services. SPT will make use of the new technology to update ticketing systems and other administrative applications.

• Pressure on those wanting further Heathrow extension. Promoters of plans to expand Heathrow Airport are under renewed pressure to water down their proposals after a British Airways plane crash landed metres away from the A30 - the airport's southern perimeter road - and Hatton Cross London Underground station.

• Tax payers to foot Metronet bill. The future of most upgrade work planned as part of the London Underground public private partnership is in doubt following the collapse of Metronet last summer, according to a report by the Commons Transport Committee. MPs described the fate of Metronet as a "spectacular failure" and said taxpayers had shouldered most of the cost of the infraco being taken into administration. Metronet was one of two private sector consortia that signed 30 year contracts to renovate and modernise the London Underground network and, according to the committee, by November 2006 had only delivered 40% of the station upgrades it was contracted to undertake in the first three years and only 65% of scheduled track renewals, while the cost of work on stations spiralled to 375% of the anticipated price.

• New easyBus route to Gatwick. The latest easyBus route to come into effect, EB3, will link Gatwick Airport with London Victoria and will commence operations on 18 March 2008. Arriva subsidiary New Enterprise Coaches of Tonbridge will operate the service on easyBus's behalf using some of the 30 Optare Socoros ordered for that company during 2007. EB3 will operate to a 20 minute frequency throughout most of the day, every day throughout the year excluding Christmas Day. Early morning and late evening frequency will be every 30 minutes, with services commencing at 0630 and running up to 0100 the following morning. The other two easyBus services are both operated by Arriva: EB1 was replaced in May 2007 by an agreement to allow cross-ticketing on Green Line service 757 (London Victoria-Luton Airport); and EB2 links Stansted Airport-Baker Street using Mercedes-Benz Sprinters and run by Arriva The Shires.

• Network Rail to streamline in order to increase efficiency. Network Rail is to cut the number of agency engineering contractors it uses and increase the number of in-house specialists it employs as part of a bid to exert greater control over rail maintenance and upgrade projects. Following the high-profile engineering overruns at Rugby and London Liverpool Street station during the Christmas and new year period the infraco has announced a package of measures aimed at preventing future delays. These measures include Network Rail increasing its in-house capability in key specialist engineering disciplines, particularly for overhead line work. Contractors will have to reduce their reliance on agency staff for the delivery of big engineering projects and military-style command posts will be set up for all future major works, to instill clearer lines of authority.

• London's LEZ first phase 9 days away. Signage for London's Low Emission Zone has been erected. The first stage of implementation takes place on 4 February, initially affecting HGVs over 12 tonnes. 7 July 2008 is the date PCVs will be affected; effectively any vehicle first registered as new from 1 January 2002 are assumed to have engines fitted that meet Euro 3 specification or better. Vehicles older than 1 January 2002 will require abatement equipment fitting in order to meet the emission standard TfL are to set. Non-compliant vehicles will be charged £200 per day. Euro 3 emission standard is the minimum agreed by TfL.

• Transport Secretary "open-minded" to reopening of Grand Central Main Line. Secretary of State for Transport Ruth Kelly has said in Parliament that she is open-minded to the possibility of reopening the Great Central Main Line to provide a new inter-city link to Birmingham. Reopening the line, which until the 1960s provided a route for trains from London Marylebone to Manchester, via Rugby, is one option being examined following warnings that the West Coast Main Line could run out of capacity as soon as 2015, despite an £8.6bn upgrade scheduled for completion by the end of 2008.

• Three of now defunct Manchester bus operation face court. Vincenzo Casale and Ernesto Casale, managing director and co-director respectively of Gorton-based GM Buses and UK North, both face prosecution in a trial by Greater Manchester Police and VOSA, to commence pn 6 May 2008. The pair are charged with conspiring to create false documents. In addition, the pair's traffic manager, David Ellis, is also to appear in court. All are due in court in March for a directions hearing.

• Relation of former Alec Head company given O-licence. Anthea Head, trading as Decker Bus Co., has succeeded in her bid for a new PSV O-licence. A 10 vehicle licence was granted, conditional on her two engineers attending a VOSA vehicle inspection course. Other members of the Head family had their 25-vehicle O-licence revoked on March 2007 following five Public Inquiries.

• Stagecoach teams up with LateRooms.com. Stagecoach and LateRooms.com have struck a deal that will see Stagecoach's Megabus and Megatrain passengers offered discount accommodation from LateRooms.com. Over 6,500 hotels are currently subscribed to the LateRooms service, offering up to 70% off normal fees for those able to book at last minute.

• New open access rail operator back on track for start date. Open access train operator Wrexham & Shropshire has welcomed the Welsh Assembly Government’s announcement that it has reached agreement with Network Rail regarding the delivery of rail depot facilities at Wrexham General station. The depot project will provide essential facilities for Wrexham & Shropshire’s new direct rail service, scheduled to start in spring this year, including overnight accommodation for trains, storage for on-train catering supplies and secure office space. The company has also received confirmation from Wrexham Council that listed building consent for the proposed works has been granted and that the terms to lease the facilities have been agreed with train operator Arriva Trains Wales. This news means that Wrexham & Shropshire’s plans to run rail services this year are on schedule.

• Arriva depot to close. Arriva are to close their Hawkshurst depot following business on 16 February 2008. Forming part of the company's Southern Counties company, service operation and vehicles will moved to neighbouring Arriva depots at Tenterden, Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone. Sale of the property is likely to be used for housing.

• Lib Dem mayoral candidate backs tram extension. Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Brian Paddick has backed plans to extend Croydon's Tramlink network to Sutton and has put forward a radical proposal to ban all cars from central London. The former police Deputy Assistant Commissioner visited Sutton station in south London on Friday 11 January to launch the Tram It! campaign. This aims to build public support for extending tram services to Sutton.

• Details of coach facilities at Heathrow T5. Airport operator BAA has revealed how coaches will be handled at its £4.3 billion Terminal 5, which opens at 0400hrs on Thursday 27 March. Coaches must not go directly to the Terminal 5 forecourt without an appropriate permit, but book in at the West Ramp Coach Park (WRCP) for a permit. From the WRCP, coaches will be sent to the FCP as flights arrive. The barrier-controlled entrances and exits will ensure the smooth movement of coaches to the Terminal 5 Arrivals forecourt. During June-August the T5 FCP will be additionally staffed by Meteor to facilitate the large number of coaches during that period.

• Travelscope partially saved. The Administrators of Travelscope Holidays have sold “certain assets” to Phoenix Holidays Limited. Gloucester-based Travelscope went into administration on 21 December. At the time 45,000 people had holidays booked with it and it employed 270 staff. Phoenix Holidays has been set up by former Travelscope managers Darren Parris and Anu Desai, who between them have over 40 years of travel experience. It will specialise in coach holidays, river cruises and escorted flight holidays.

• Manchester Airport able to set its own charges. Manchester Airport is to be allowed to set its own charges without having to seek approval from he independent regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly said the airport would be de-designated in a move designed to increase competition between airports in north west England. However, Stansted Airport charges will remain under CAA control because of the lack of choice available to passengers travelling from south east airports running at, or close to, capacity.

• Bus Users' group calls on change in new EU Driver's Hours. The organisation representing bus passengers, Bus Users UK, is calling on MEPs, UK Government and the EU Transport Commissioner to revise the drivers' hours legislation which closed the loop-hole allowing up to 12 consecutive days' driving.

• Isle of Wight vehicles fitted with new wi-fi cctv. A brand new fleet of Mercedes Citaros and open top vehicles operating on the Isle of Wight for bus operator Southern Vectis have just had new wi-fi cctv systems added. Southern Vectis plans to fit 28 more vehicles - all to be purchased new - with the system.

• Isle of Wight's train's celebrate 70 years in style. The Isle of Wight's Island Line trains have been repainted to celebrate the fleet's 70th birthday. The six units are being decked out in the heritage colours of burgundy and cream, which they sported in their former life as London Tube trains. HSBC Rail sold the rolling stock for £1 to Stagecoach South Western Trains - which operates a 10-year Stagecoach franchise made up of the Island Line and South West Trains. At the time the rolling stock leasing company also promised the funding for the repaint, which cost £80,000. On Friday 18 January, unit 004 became the first of the vintage trains undergoing the year-long programme to return to passenger service.

• Arriva purchase further stake in Portugal's largest transport provider. Arriva has purchased a further 10% stake in Barraqueiro, Portugal for £34 million. The firm purchased a 21.5% stake in May 2006 costing £44 million. Barraqueiro is the largest passenger operation in Portugal with 4,800 employees and 2,200 buses and 18 trains, receiving 20% share of Portugal's bus market and is the only rail operator.

• Bluebird (Manchester) to introduce conductors? Greater Manchester bus operator Bluebird plans to introduce conductors on one of its busiest routes in the area. Despite receiving an "outright rejection" for funds from GMPTA, managing director Michael Dunstan says he is looking elsewhere for the funding he requires. The company hopes to introduce conductors on service 159 (Middleton-Oldham), which Bluebird have operated under contract to GMPTA since 1989.

• New light rail line in Brent Cross a possibility. Lobbying group the Campaign for Better Transport has thrown its weight behind a plan to build a light rail line through the heart of a major north London development. The £4bn Brent Cross Cricklewood scheme has been drawn up to regenerate the area surrounding the 1970s built Brent Cross shopping centre and would provide 27,000 new jobs and 7,500 new homes. Although the developers would pay for a new station on the Midland Mainline/Thameslink rail route, CfBT says this, along with the existing Brent Cross London Underground station, would be situated on the periphery of the development area and provide insufficient public transport links.

• Mistral working closer with Optare. In a further strengthening of its relationship with the Leeds manufacturer, Mistral is assuming responsibilities for Optare’s bus sales including the Solo, Solo SR, Versa and Tempo targeted at the independent sector. Mistral will exclusively sell and rent to smaller operators leaving the Optare sales team to focus their efforts on larger fleet operators.

• Encore calling on TfL for cheaper coach parking in Capital. Theatre ticket specialist Encore Advance has called on Transport for London to boost to London’s tourism by providing more and cheaper coach parking. To back up the move, it has pledged to pay the parking costs of any coach operator booking one of its dinner-and-show packages, a promise which, at an average of £30 per coach for a six-hour wait, will cost Encore Advance at least £30,000 in the coming year. Encore Advance believes the lack of coach parking spaces, and costs involved, are throttling the city’s theatre business and are a severe disincentive to coach operators bringing groups into London.

• German rail operator buys UK rail firm. German rail operator Deutsche Bahn has cemented its position in the UK rail market by acquiring Laing Rail from John Laing, which is owned by Henderson Global Investments. The deal, estimated to be worth £127m, gives Germany's state-owned railway firm control of train operator Chiltern Railways, a 50% share of London Overground Rail Operations which runs services on behalf of Transport for London, and fledgling open access rail operator Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway - which is due to commence passenger services later this year. The German company has also said that it is seeking further opportunities for growth in the UK rail market.

• Glasgow operator to employ drivers without car licence. First Glasgow are inviting potential new recruits to learn to drive their buses even if they have no car licence. We understand the company will guarantee a training place on their own internal driving school where they will be paid while they learn to drive a bus, though require a guarantee from individuals they they need to pass their car test first and in their own, unpaid time.

• Stagecoach purchase of Maynes now complete. Stagecoach's planned purchased of Manchester-based bus operator A Mayne & Sons was been cleared by the OFT on 10 January. No conditions of sale have been attached to the takeover. The purchase of the firm's bus operation (its coaching section is to remain with the family, unaltered) includes 42 buses and 80 staff, with Stagecoach assuming full operational control from 20 January. The fleet will be split between Stagecoach's existing Manchester area depots. Mayne's bus operation has an annual turnover of £2.6 million.

• Wilts & Dorset bus strikes called off. Three strike dates planned by drivers at Wilts & Dorset's depots in Poole, Blandford, Ringwood, Lymington and Swanage have been suspended following more talks between managers and the RMT union.

• Stagecoach invest over £1 million in Aberdeenshire. Bus operator Stagecoach Bluebird has introduced 10 new vehicles on route 307 in Aberdeenshire.The new buses, which have cost nearly £1.1m, link Aberdeen, Bucksburn, Blackburn, Kintore and Inverurie. The service operates up to every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday and hourly on Sundays.More than seven million bus journeys were made with Stagecoach Bluebird within Aberdeen City and Shire in 2007. The latest addition to the fleet means that 45 new fully accessible low floor buses and coaches have been introduced in the area since April 2006 at a cost of more than £6.4m.

• Two councils to reduce free travel period for concessions. The 19,175 free bus pass holders in Darlington Borough Council's area are to have their free travel downgraded to after 0930hrs on weekdays once the new National Scheme is implemented on 1 April. Lincolnshire County Council have signalled they intend to do the same. Both councils feel this is one way in which their budgets can be more effectively spent. Many local councils have not allowed free travel before 0930hrs on weekdays since the local free scheme was implemented in England during April 2006.

• Manchester may not say goodbye to plans for congestion charging. Despite what was mentioned in the last Recent Transport Developments, Wigan has not successfully blocked plans for congestion charging in the Manchester area. The main person opposed was opposition leader Peter Franzen, who was ordered out of the chamber before he had chance to put his motion calling for the plans to be scrapped.

• First Great Western to double compensation. Train operator First Great Western is to double the amount of compensation it pays to passengers for repeated disruption to services. Under the terms of the Passenger’s Charter, if reliability and punctuality targets are not met, season ticket holders receive a refund of 5% or 10%. First Great Western will now refund 10% or 20% of the season ticket value. For example, a customer with a standard class annual season ticket between Bristol and Paddington will now be entitled to £867 in compensation. Weekly season and day ticket holders will also be able to claim double compensation if their service is significantly delayed or cancelled. Despite this another, larger-scale fare strike is planned for early next week.

• Stagecoach fine overturned. A Transport Tribunal in Portsmouth overturns an "inappropriate" £16,000 pentalty for bus operator Stagecoach. Western Deputy Traffic Commissioner Philip Brown said road congestion "prayed in aid" as a resonable excuse for the main reasoning for the initial penalty being applied to Southdown Motor Services, trading as Stagecoach in Portsmouth. VOSA officials had monitored 773 services, of which 137 operated outside of the 'window of tolerance', giving the company a 18.3% failure rate. 43 vehicles also bore incorrect destinations.

• Two TfL routes retained. Transport for London announced on 17 January that First CentreWest has retained route 226 (Ealing Broadway-Golders Green) and will supply new single-deckers. It has an 8-15 minute frequency and a peak vehicle requirement (PVR) of 14. National Express Group subsidiary Travel London has retained the C3 (Clapham Junction-Earls Court) using existing double-deckers. The route has a 6-12 minute frequency and a PVR of 12.

• Progress on new Airdrie-Bathgate rail line. Network Rail has begun a compulsory purchase programme to acquire land required to allow the construction and operation of the new Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link. The 1,100 plots of land, in locations along the proposed route through North Lanarkshire, West Lothian, and the City of Edinburgh, include a combination of permanent and temporary land possessions.