Good results for Stagecoach

Stagecoach has announced that revenue grew across all divisions of the firm in the period since October 2007. According to the group's interim management statement, UK bus, UK rail and the Virgin Rail Group all saw growth in the period compared with the same time from 12 months previously.

UK rail was the strongest performing element for Stagecoach, seeing an increase of 14% to 3 February. The UK bus division saw a 7.4%increase. The Virgin Rail Group - in which Stagecoach holds a 49% share - saw revenue growth of 12.4% for the same period.

Possible Signaller's Dispute looming

Signal workers in Lincoln are to be balloted by the RMT Union over industrial action related to grievances with Network Rail's handling of displaced staff.

According to the RMT Union, more than 400 signallers and signalling supervisors will be balloted in the Great Northern area. The union also expected to follow this with a ballot of all such employees in the north-east area after what it calls a "similar case" was found to be taking place in York.

"Network Rail has so far refused to settle this around the table and that leaves us with no alternative but to put in place ballots of our members in the Great Northern and north-east areas with recommendations that our members vote for action to defend their colleagues and their agreements," said Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT Union.

The dispute concerns the Promotion, Transfer Redundancy and Resettlement agreement and a colleague of signallers in Lincoln with 33 years of experience who was allegedly given no suitable options other than redundancy, the union claims. We understand that Network Rail offered the man in question a different job and that he is not being made redundant.

Recent BUS/COACH developments, no 2

• Oysters for NX. National Express has become the first coach company to sell Transport for London Oyster cards. The Visitor Oyster Card is a branded card from TfL, pre-loaded with pay as you go fare credits, and ready for passengers to use as soon as they arrive in central London. Oysters are now available from National Express ticket offices throughout the UK including major airports such as Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton.

• Former owner of Safford's Coaches dies. The former owner of Safford’s Coaches of Sandy, Malcolm Safford, has died. Aged 66, Malcolm ran the firm until 2003 when he sold it to his niece, Tracey Gillett. Safford’s Coaches was founded in 1933 by Malcolm Safford’s father.

• 3 more P&Rs for York? Three new Park & Ride sites for York are planned, increasing parking spaces outside the city centre by 2,500. A bid has been placed asking for £26.2 million to finance the project, with prospective sites being named as Wiggington Road, Poppleton/A59 and an enlarged Askham Bar site.

• 7 prosecuted for smoking on buses. National Express West Midlands has successfully prosecuted 7 youths caught smoking on its buses in Birmingham. All were found guilty at Birmingham Youth Court and were each fined between £25-50 and ordered to pay costs totalling £400. They follow the prosecution of 19 people in January.

• 5 coaches destroyed in fire. Heritage Travel of Partridge Green, Sussex had five of their vehicles destroyed by fire at their workshop near Horsham. Vehicles destroyed include a DAF/Berkhof Eclipse double decker; a Neoplan Cityliner; two MAN/Noge Catalan coaches; and a minibus.

• 7% profit for Goldline. Stagecoach’s ground-breaking premium Goldline bus service in Leamington Spa has recorded increase in patronage of between 6-7% in the first three months of operation. The Goldline brand has been applied to former service 66, linking Whitnash Estate-Leamington Spa-Woodloes Estate, and was re-numbered G1, operating to a 10 minute frequency with new 11 Optare Solos (10 are needed at any one time).

• New Volvo 9700 for England Cricket Board. The England Cricket Board is ferried around by a coach operated by Go Goodwins of Manchester, who have placed an order for a new Volvo 9700 Prestige Plus. The new vehicle will become the main vehicle to transport the ECB and will also provide service for visiting teams such as Australia and South Africa.

• Enviro400 hits low bridge in Camden. Six people have been taken to hospital after a double-decker bus crashed into a railway bridge near Kentish Town West station shortly after 9am on 11 February. TfL confirmed the bus was following (incorrectly) a diversion following the devastating fire at Camden Market two days earlier. The roof of the bus, a Volvo/Enviro400 operated by London General, was virtually ripped off after the bus – operating service 24 between Pimlico-Camden Town – collided with the bridge.
• 1,000,000 digi-tacho produced. The one-millionth digital tachograph unit has been made, 2.5 years after they began to be produced following a change in the law that meant all new vehicles required a digital version rather than the analogue type. VDO, the company who produces the tachographs, has produced 15 million analogue types since the firm was formed in 1923.

• End for Thameside's Fleetlines. The last bus operator to run Fleetlines delivered new to its operation (or its predecessors) ran two in service on 16 February to mark the last day they would be used. Thamesdown Transport has operated Fleetlines in Swindon since 1968 and plan to keep one dating from 1978 in their heritage fleet. Grimsby-Cleethorpes Transport operated a farewell day to its Fleetlines in 1995 when, despite many thinking it would not be possible, Stagecoach replaced the firm’s entire 33 closed-top Leyland and Daimler examples within 2 years of acquiring the business.

• SYPTE to go beyond minimum concession requirement. SYPTE has announced that it is to maintain the 0900hrs commencement time for free concessionary local bus travel following the introduction of the nation-wide scheme from 1 April. The new scheme has a minimum requirement of 0930hrs on weekdays – something many local councils are sticking to even if they don’t do so at the moment.

• CPT joins voice to scrap planned fuel duty increase. The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) has joined a list of 11 industry groups by signing a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, calling for the planned 2p per litre fuel duty rise to be scrapped.

• Largest ever order for Swans. Swans Coaches of Manchester has placed its single largest ever order for new vehicles, with 10 new Mercedes-Benz Tourismos being delivered in the summer.

• Victory for Edinburgh residents. Residents living on Craighouse Road in Edinburgh are celebrating a victory over Edinburgh City Council after successfully forcing the council to repair the road, which has a poor camber and in such a poor condition that Lothian Buses are unable to operate low-floor vehicles there on service 23 “for fear of getting stuck”.

• 1 million passengers in 9 months at Preston. The one-millionth passenger has travelled on the new Prestion Citi network, set-up by Stagecoach to offer more choice to passengers in Preston during June 2007. The winning passenger was awarded a year’s free travel on Stagecoach services in the area.

• 19 new Versas for Burnley. Transdev Burnley & Pendle has put into service 19 Optare Versas to upgrade the Burnley town centre route network. All vehicles have been branded “Starship”. The vehicles have 37 seats and are 11 meters long, powered by Cummins Euro 4 201bhp ISBe engines and the batch cost £2.75 million.

• First buys Truonian. Truonian, formed by two ex Western National managers, Geoff Rumbles and David Rabey, has been purchased by the UK’s largest transport operator, First. The Devon and Cornwall subsidiary made the purchase, making the deal particularly ironic as Western National was FDC’s predecessor. Truonian was formed in 1987 and operates 20 coaches on tours and excursions, 50 buses operating local bus services and employs around 200 staff. In 2003 Truonian won Public Transport Operator of the Year Award.

• New Volvo for Andrews of Tideswell. Peak District coach operator Andrews of Tideswell has taken delivery of a 12.8m Volvo B12B/Plaxton Panther C53F. It is the first vehicle to be purchased in 16 years. The firm was formed 75 years ago and continues to be operated by the same family. 24 vehicles are operated from their depot on the main A623 Baslow-Chapel-en-le-Frith road.

• The 5tonne, 72 seater, 20mpg decker. First Chief Executive, Moir Lockhead, has laid down a challenge to Wright Group Chairman, William Wright – a company whom First purchases most of its bodies for its bus chassis from – to develop a double decker that is no heavier than a Routemaster (8 tonnes unladen), can accommodate a similar number of passengers (72 seats) and, crucially, can run at 20mpg. Firstly, to achieve a figure of 20mpg, the vehicle will not operate solely on conventional diesel; it will be a hybrid. Most modern double deckers run at around 7mpg and weigh between 12-13 tonnes unladen. It’s quite a challenge!

Rail replacement services

A report has been commissioned by the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) to examine the effects of weekend working on Britain's rail network, something which results in replacement buses substituting rail services over the affected area(s). Although the report has yet to be completed and its finidings published, we understand that it is likely to conclude that train operators lose around £100 million each year in fares as passengers are put-off travelling due to these replacement buses.

In response, Network Rail is likely to state that having a lengthy possession of a stretch of railway that requires work means it can work more efficiently (or should that be effectively?). This appears to be true: economies of scale at its very basic marries up with this theory. However the lengthy possession of the West Coast Main Line over the New Year and its overrun resulting in thousands of commuters seriously inconvenienced in early January would seem to suggest the opposite is true, certainly on occasions.

From the passenger's point of view, what are the bad points of rail replacement services?:

• The vehicle is more-often-than-not of a lower standard in terms of overall comfort than the train it is replacing. Buses, as opposed to coaches, seldom offer luggage space, high-back seats and decent suspension for lengthy journeys.

• Fares are not reduced along sections of railway line that have engineering work and replacement buses.

• Disabled passengers have virtually no easy accecss on replacement buses.

• The potential for fraud is high: fancy a free ride between stations? Board a replacement bus or coach at the same time as everyone else who has just been de-trained. There is no rail company official on board and the bus/coach driver is not tasked to inspect rail tickets for their validity.

• Coaches offer no buffet service, quiet zone or first-class section.

• Journey times become significantly longer, in some cases equalling equivalent journey times wholly by road using coach operators who charge significantly less for travel.

However, Network Rail is likely to be forced to agree with and concede that much of the above criticism is real and wholly justified. It is also Network Rail who pay for the replacement buses when pre-arranged works are planned and so by considering shorter possession and overnight engineering work when trains do not operate, is likely to save the almost-nationalised company significant sums of money.

The ATOC report is likely to suggest re-routing train services away from engineering works; this will inevitably increase the journey time but will eradicate the need to use replacement buses. Reduced fares on affected sections of route should be implemented, the report is also likely to suggest.

But what of the rail replacement bus operators? Many have built their businesses on the regular weekend rail replacement work; with their vehicles tied-up on 'bread & butter' work during the week (school and work contract services) many rely on weekend rail replacement work to boost their marginal profit.

We at LEYTR are of the opinion that the fewer rail replacement bus services operate the better. The railway is operated for the public and as such the public should be inconvenienced as little as possible. Although having a very useful role to play, bus and coach operators are fundamentally not part of the rail network; they can embellish it by offering PlusBus through ticketing or dedicated feeder services to areas that have no railway, but should not expect the rail network to be obliged to semi guarantee them work.

That said, even with the ATOC report published in full, don't expect to see rail replacement bus services gone within weeks (or years)! Lincoln Central station is set to be the focus of one of the UK's largest rail replacement bus operations for a six-week period between July-September this summer.

This will permit the complete replacement of track and signalling and the total closure of numerous level crossings (including High Street) for long periods of time. CCTV will be fitted to the High Street level crossing and this will then be controlled by the new West Holmes signalling control centre, resulting in the closure of signal boxes at High Street, West Holmes, East Holmes and Pelham Street. The new track will allow several speed restrictions to be removed (specifically one at Pelham Street Junction which currently limits trains to 10mph) enabling trains to move through Lincoln quicker. Remodelled track and bi-directional signalling will reduce the amount of shunting needed on the line. This will reduce the time needed for trains to turn around – increasing operational flexibility for train operators and improving performance for passengers. The entire project is due to be completed for early 2009.

It inevitably means the end of the station's extensive semaphore signalling - worthy of a photo or two if you're ever passing by!

Recent RAIL developments, no 2

• NR's boss calls for more High Speed lines. Network Rail's Chief Executive, Richard Coucher, has called on the government to consider further high speed rail services, hot-on-the-heels of High Speed 1, which links London and the Channel Tunnel and opened on 14 November 2007. Mr. Coucher is thought to want to see the West Coast Main Line considered for such and upgrade by 2020.

• Public to cough up £2bn to sort out Metronet fiasco. The government has made available £2bn to allow Transport for London to pay off Metronet's loans and fund interim arrangements until the future ownership of the infraco's assets and responsibilities is decided. Ministers have been forced to approve the cash after Metronet's lenders exercised their Put Options under the Tube PPP contracts. The options allow lenders to demand repayment of at least 95% of their loans six months after a PPP infraco is deemed to be insolvent.

• Electrification in the Highlands a step closer. The possibility of the electrification of two main lines in Scotland came a step closer recently as Transport Scotland admitted to be evaluating the electrification of the Edinburgh-Inverness and Aberdeen lines. Already confirmed is the electrification of the Glasgow-Edinburgh line via Falkirk.

• NI transport operator upgrades Newry. Northern Ireland public transport operator Translink has announced one of its most significant station redevelopment projects to date, confirming a £12.6m investment in an upgraded station for Newry supported by a new road link and a 300-space park and ride facility. The redevelopment is set to begin this month, for completion by late 2009, and will deliver a modern, fully accessible, purpose-built facility with greater passenger capacity, comfort and convenience features.

• Colchester upgrade. Colchester station is currently being refurbished, with work being paid for in a joint venture by 'One' and Network Rail. One of the major improvements will be the installation of cctv.

• Metropolitan line to join with WCML at Watford? A £95m project to link the London Underground Metropolitan line with Watford Junction station on the West Coast Main Line has taken a step forward with the submission of the business case for the Croxley Rail Link. Hertfordshire County Council is promoting the scheme and handed the business case for the Croxley Rail Link to the DfT on 8 February. The project includes building two new stations, one in Ascot Road and one serving the proposed Watford Health Campus and Vicarage Road football stadium. If it goes ahead Metropolitan line trains could run from Watford Junction to central London every 10 minutes.

• New trams for Blackpool Transport. Blackpool will receive 16 brand new trams following the confirmation of a £85.3 million programme by the DfT. All trams will be fully accessible and although bids from companies who could build the trams have not yet been requested, the work could start as early as late next year. £25 million has been pledged by Lancashire county council and Blackpool borough council to upgrade infrastructure along the route.

• Leamside Line to re-open? Tyne & Wear PTA is commissioning a report into the feasibility of reopening the Leamside Line between Ferryhill-Pelaw. Unusually for disused railway lines, much of the track is still in situ. It is understood that the government are unlikely to offer financial assistance.

• Funding package agreed for Birmingham New Street upgrade. Passenger capacity at Birmingham New Street railway station is to be doubled after the government released £260m to cement a £598m funding package on 12 February. Work on the project (now dubbed 'Gateway Plus' by the government) will begin next year and will be split into two phases for completion in 2013. The station concourse will be doubled in size and platforms 8 and 9 - the station's busiest - will be widened. 26 new escalators will be installed to provide a total of 31 and 4 new lifts will supplement the existing five. The number of pedestrian entrances to the station will be increased from 2 to 5.

• Empty off-peak seats at EMT. Despite being allocated a mere 3 additional DMU vehicles by the DfT, aimed to help ease overcrowding on the network, East Midlands Trains is currently offering cheap £17 single fares between London and Derby, Nottingham, Leicester and Sheffield, mostly only valid at off-peak periods in order to fill-up empty seats!

• District line re-furb complete early & under budget. Refurbishment of London Underground's District line fleet is set for completion within days after the final old-style train was removed from service on 15 February. The renewal of the 75 train District line fleet is part of a refresh programme being carried out by Metronet – the infraco currently in administration. However, the project is on course for completion 11 months early and would come in £2m under budget. Work on the trains at Bombardier's Derby facility has included a complete overhaul of the interiors, installation of CCTV cameras, fire retardant seats and flooring inside the cars and accessibility measures, including tip-up seats to accommodate wheelchairs etc.

• Metrolink finance for upgrade approved. 1 February saw the final signature on the deal to provide additional funding for the Manchester Metrolink tramway. The government will provide a total of £58 million (adding £25.7 million upon the latest deal having been approved) and GMPTE will provide £44 million. Phase 1 of the upgrade was completed ahead of schedule and on budge in 2007 and saw the upgrade of infrastructure between Altrincham-Bury; Phase 2 is between Manchester-Eccles and is due to commence soon. 8 new trams have been ordered and are Bombardier Flexity Swifts, costing a total of £17 million. They are due for delivery in early 2009. They are needed, primarily, to offer additional capacity for an extension to the Eccles line, which will see an additional section of route constructed to the Media City area.

• Alstom quits race to build next generation trains. Rolling stock manufacturer Alstom has quit the competition to build Britain’s next generation fleet of inter-city trains, leaving two bidders to pitch for the multi-billion pound contract. The company’s withdrawal puts Hitachi Europe and the Express Rail Alliance of Bombardier, Siemens, Angel Trains and Babcock & Brown head to head for what is expected to be a lucrative, but technically challenging train manufacturing programme.

• New barrier at Blackpool. Northern Rail's first-ever installation of an automatic ticket barrier took place recently at their Blackpool North station. Northern, no stranger to automatic barriers that it uses at other stations on its network (Manchester Victoria and Leeds) is hoping it will reduce congestion and fraudulent travel.

• New barriers for Waterloo. Ticket gates are to be installed at Waterloo station in a bid to cut fraudulent travel and allow smartcard ticketing. The £20m investment, scheduled for completion by the end of December, will see the introduction of 170 ticket gates at the entrances to all main line platforms and in the station subway connection with the London Underground. It is understood to be the largest gating project to be undertaken at a National Rail station to date.

• Passenger satisfaction results for 2007. In the year ending autumn 2007, passenger satisfaction results for the train operating companies varied by 16 percentage points. At the top was Chiltern Railways, with a 90% passenger satisfaction rating, while at the bottom of the 21 operators was First Great Western with 74%. Of operators in the LEYTR area, TransPennine Express came top with 86%, followed by GNER with 82%, then Central Trains with 81% and finally Northern Rail with 79%. The national average was 81%.

• Virgin opt for competition before WSMR commence operation. Open access train operator Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone Railway (WSMR) is due to launch a London to Marylebone to Wrexham rail service this spring, restoring direct train services to and from the capital that were severed in 1992 - although direct services briefly operated a few years later. Yet with only weeks to go until the planned launch, Virgin Trains has announced that it will extend a daily London Euston to Chester service to Wrexham, providing a second direct link between the capital and north Wales. The Virgin service will run on Mondays-Fridays with a departure around 0700 from Wrexham and a return journey leaving London at 1810. Journey times between Wrexham and London will be around two-and-a half-hours, significantly faster than WSMR's planned journey times of just over four hours. But we all know how the British love and underdog....!

• Tunnel planned for central Manchester? A 1970s dream of a tunnel linking Manchester Victoria and Piccadilly stations could be revived according to Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly. Although a tunnel is not the preferred option to link the two stations, the DfT said that all options were to be considered. Much more likely is an new section of overground track, named the "Ordsall Curve", believed to have been costed at between £44-250 million, while a tunnel is understood to cost around £500 million.

• The only 2 SWT class 158 loans to EMT now gone. Two SWT class 158s that were loaned to East Midlands Trains upon the commencement of the latter's franchise, have returned home. Units 158883 & 158890 were based at the Eastcroft depot from 10 November and returned during mid-January. Both trains made regular appearances in the LEYTR area and photos can be seen HERE (158883) and HERE (158890) taken at Skegness by one of your editors! View the article in full as it happened HERE.

• Lambrigg Pendolino written-off. It is one year ago tomorrow that the 1715 London to Glasgow Class 390 Virgin Pendolino careered off the track at 94mph at the Lambrigg points near Grayrigg, killing an 84-year old from Scotland. The train involved, 390033 City of Glasgow, has been deemed beyond economic repair and is to never re-enter service. Four of the 9 vehicles comprising the train were badly damaged. Virgin has hired in a class 90 from EWS and a rake of stock to cover for the missing train since the accident last year.

• Alstrom may be out of running in UK but has produced something special in France. Rolling stock manufacturer Alstom has unveiled a train capable of travelling at 225mph which has been designed to succeed France's TGV2 workhorse. The single-deck AGV1 next generation high speed train incorporates articulated carriages, a technology which contributed to the success of France’s TGV train2, and a new distributed drive system. Italian rail operator NTV3 has placed an order for the first sets to roll off the production line.

• Woodhead re-opening clings on.. still. The possibility of ever re-opening the Woodhead Line seemed to be dashed at the end of January, as approval was almost certainly going to be given to the National Grid to lay a 400kV power cable through the three mile Woodhead Tunnel on the route. However, in an eleventh-hour intervention, Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly informed the House of Commons Select Committee on 30 January that the tunnel should be safeguarded after all. The tunnel only opened in 1954 and closed for good in 1982. If the line were re-opened it would provide a direct link, north of the existing equivalent, between Sheffield-Manchester.

• MP calls on unfair working practice to end. Halifax MP Linda Riordan has called on train operator Northern Rail to end the somewhat staggering practice of not paying staff who go off work ill following being assaulted while carrying out their work. This gesture has been welcomed by the RMT union and backed by 29 MPs.

Blow dealt to Heathrow expansion

The prospect of the go-ahead of a third runway at Heathrow Airport was always going to be slim. First, the soon-to-open Terminal 5 has been criticised by local residents, environmental groups and the RSPB (to name one of a whole host of wildlife groups); second, the recent near-miss crash landing and the potential for carnage at Heathrow - specifically its perimeter - were almost brought to reality; and now third, Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has protested against the possible expansion of Heathrow.

Ken's main objection in the expansion of Heathrow or indeed any airport in the London or south-east is the effect the additional emissions would have on the atmosphere and the potential this could have for "catastrophic climate change". The Mayor made the speach while addressing the residents of Sipson in Hillingdon - a village that would be dessimated should the plan for a third runway be approved.

In June 2003 the Mayor reaffirmed his opposition to the proposals to expand Heathrow in his response to the government's consultation 'Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport'. The current public consultation closes on 27 February. The government's own figures show that aviation pollutes between two-to-three times more than an equivalent journey made by rail.

The map below shows a red shaded area to the north of Heathrow Airport that would be the affected area should a third runway be approved.

Stalybridge station upgrade

A joint venture by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA) and train operator TransPennine Express (TPE) has started, which will see £675,000 spent on upgrading facilities at Stalybridge station.

Work at the station commenced last year that aimed to fully overhaul the building at a cost of £1.5 million; it saw platforms raised to make access onto/off trains easier, improvements were made toilets, information services and shelters on the westbound platform. The money pledged by GMPTA and TPE will go towards the renovation of the ticket office and waiting area.

Passengers will soon benefit from a new glass-fronted waiting area, with seating and customer information screens giving train departure information. Pedestrian access is also being improved along with the taxi pick-up area and disabled parking.

Stalybridge station is one of the most used stations in Manchester, with 13,500 passengers using it each week. It was built by the London and North West Railway and is the terminus of a Parliamentary service, operating on Saturdays only from Stockport. This service operates in this direction only and is the legal minimum service requirement to avoid the costly legal bill needed to close the line to passenger train services. We have one such example in the LEYTR area - the Saturday only Grimsby Town-Sheffield timetable via Brigg, Kirton Lindsey and Gainsborough Central - the latter station recently posting passenger numbers lower than Watford West - a station that is actually closed!

New Enviros for Mansfield (in Grimsby!)

Delivered on 6 February were 9 brand new vehicles in an overall white livery to the Stagecoach depot in Grimsby. The vehicles, a mixture of Enviro200s and 300s, are currently being stored at the former RoadCar depot at Railway Terrace in the town and will be taken one-by-one for repaint at Stagecoach's Scunthorpe depot before being allocated to their new home, Mansfield depot.

They have been purchased in what is understood to be a joint venture between Nottinghamshire County Council and Stagecoach East Midlands. They do not feature the standard Stagecoach interior design.

The vehicles did not wear fleet numbers or registration plates upon delivery. We believe we have the first ever photos of these vehicles, and have uploaded them below.

Photos: Andrew Coultas

Cross-Forth hovercraft project halted

Stagecoach is to halt its work to instigate a regular cross-Forth hovercraft service from the end of this month until it receives clarification over the future public sector role and investment, both of which are key to taking the project forward. The firm produced a detailed business plan at the end of October 2007 outlining how it could offer a 20 minute crossing time and transport up to 150 passengers per single trip between Fife and Edinburgh.

A figure of £10 million was pledged by Stagecoach in order to realise the plan and required £3.3 million in public sector finance to bridge the gap during the first three years of operation after which, Stagecoach believes, the service would run at a profit. Stagecoach has so far spent £0.5 million on the project though plans to spend no more until it receives details from the Scottish Government and public sector agencies on how their delivery role and the funding process, which is "critical to the future of the initiative".

Stagecoach has chartered a hovercraft to carry out a survey of wintering birds on the Forth estuary starting tomorrow to 28 February as part of an environmental impact study. The hovercraft will make numerous trips across the Forth each day between Kirkcaldy-Portobello to allow ornithologists to observe wintering bird behaviour around the Island of Inchkeith. The hovercraft will also carry out a trial run from Kirkcaldy-Alloa on Friday to demonstrate the technology to councillors and officials from Clackmannanshire Council as part of Stagecoach’s longer terms vision for a network of sea-based links on the Forth.

Stagecoach are quoted as becoming "increasingly frustrated and angry at the cynical use of the hovercraft project as a political football. Some politicians have put personal and party self-interest before the communities in Fife and Edinburgh. The fact is that we have received support for the hovercraft concept from both the current Scottish Government and the previous administration, which approved public funding to meet part of the cost of the two-week trial in July 2007."

It would be a shame if such an innovative project - the trial of which proved incredibly popular - is wound up as a result of pontification by the Scottish Government.

Wage update: Stagecoach NW

On 29 January we brought you the news that bus drivers employed by Stagecoach North West, operating in Lancashire and Cumbria, had rejected their pay deal following the result of a Union ballot with 266 against the proposed deal and 66 for it.

Another ballot will take place on 22 February with the result made public on 25 February. The deal will see a 2 year 'no strings' pay deal with increases every 6 months, equivalent to 11.2% for "conventional" drivers and 12.5% for "minibus" drivers.

Whereas before "conventional" drivers were offered £0.32 increase in pay over 1 year, the current offer equates to £0.85 over two years (£0.32 for "minibus" drivers in the rejected deal over 1 year, now £0.90 over two years).

We estimate that by the end of the two-year staggered implementation deal, should it be accepted, "conventional" drivers will be paid £8.45 per hour and "minibus" drivers £8.08. That is assuming the percentage increases Unite have given us have been worked out correctly.

The most expensive bridge in the country

Scroll down to the last entry on this blog and you'll see it details briefly the removal of toll charges on two bridges in Scotland, one of which - the Forth road bridge - the Prime Minister Gordon Brown uses to reach/leave his constituency. I placed an ending paragraph in true journalistic form, with the possibility for this free road bridge crossing to be extended to other areas of the UK, specifically the Humber Bridge in the LEYTR area.

How frustrating was it then that the Humber Bridge Board chose to wait a mere three days before announcing its decision to increase the toll for crossing the Bridge by 20p per car from £2.70 to £2.90 from 1 April, in line with its obligation to the DfT to raise tolls every two years?

The announcement of toll rises here is always met with very bad publicity. But never so bad as this announcement in light of the very public news of free bridge tolls in the PM's constituency.

Peter Hill, the Bridgemaster, has written to people who purchase books of tickets in advance and a copy of his letter has been posted on the Bridge's official website.

The group Humber Action Against Tolls are expected to contest the rise in toll fees, the irony here being that the Humber Bridge Board is required to pay for the Inquiry. There has only ever been one outcome, though a partial breakthrough was won by bus operator Stagecoach at the end of 2006 when it spearheaded a campaign to have the toll fee reduced for bus operators running registered bus and coach services.

There is currently an active petition on the 10 Downing Street website; ending 8 March 2008 the petition calls on the Prime Minister to stop the Humber Bridge's escalating tolls - the most expensive in the country.

Forth & Tay road bridge tolls scrapped

This morning at 0001hrs tolls on two of Scotlands major road bridges were scrapped. The Forth and Tay Road Bridges have seen the removal of pay booths and barriers and all traffic is permitted free crossing at all times. This comes after the Scottish Transport Minister, Stewart Stevenson, signed an order for the tolls to be removed after Royal Assent was given.

The Forth Estuary Transport Authority and Tay Road Bridge Joint Board remain responsible for managing their respective bridges and will receive funding directly from the Scottish Government. The Tay board will also receive a one-off grant of £14.8m to allow it to repay all outstanding loans.

Mr Stevenson said that when his party came to power they pledged to remove the tolls on the Forth and Tay Road Bridges and that it has taken them only 9 months to do so.

The tolls for cars stood as follows on their last day of implementation:

£1 Forth Road Bridge
80p Tay Road Bridge

33 of the 104 staff involved in the collection of toll fees for both bridges have been made redundant.

The Forth and Tay Road Bridges join two other Scottish road bridges who scrapped their tolls: the Skye Bridge in December 2004 and the Erskine Bridge in May 2006.

We in the LEYTR area hope that such positive action towards the removal of bridge tolls will be echoed in the single structure that keeps the LEYTR area together, the Humber Bridge. Residents here were paying yesterday's Forth Road Bridge toll fee in 1981 and it has risen steadily to £2.70 today though we understand that the first positive steps have been made towards either a 'toll holiday' or the possibility of the Bridge's entire £337 million debt being written off.

Recent BUS/COACH developments, no 1

• Agreed TfL funding welcomed by Mayor. The Mayor of London and TfL have welcomed confirmation of a multi-billion pound, 10-year funding package to enable the renewal and expansion of the city's transport network over the next decade, including building Crossrail, the ongoing transformation of the Tube, preparations for the 2012 Olympics, the expansion of rail and bus services and programmes to promote walking and cycling. TfL's total funding of £39bn until 2017/18 was confirmed on Wednesday 6 February by the DfT. £33bn will be paid as grant funding from the DfT, with up to a further £6bn of borrowings allowed by TfL. The money was provisionally outlined in the government's Comprehensive Spending Review, announced in October 2007.
• Stagecoach wont be referred. The OFT has reviewed the East Midlands rail franchise acquisition by Stagecoach and has decided not to refer it to the Competition Commission.

• Angers as BSOG not increased. The devolved governments of Wales and Scotland have caused outcry amongst bus operators there by choosing not to increase Bus Service Operator Grant (BSOG) by 2p, which would bring it in line with the last fuel price increase of 2p per litre that occurred in October 2007.

• More NX Wembley services. 14 additional National Express coach services have been added to its impressive network of towns and cities it offers direct Wembley Stadium services from. This brings the total number of places served to 57. None are within the LEYTR area, though nearby destinations include Peterborough, Nottingham and Chesterfield.

• First reduces its emissions. First aims to reduce its fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by lowering the fuel/sulphur content and increasing the use of biofuels within its bus fleets. The first milestone will be on 1 March when its entire London bus operation will be running on B5 biodiesel - 5% biodiesel and 95% mineral diesel - and more than 50% of its remaining UK bus fleet will be running on the same.

• Manchester bus priority scheme completed soon. From March over 150 traffic management measures, resulting in over 100 new bus lanes at a cost of £90 million will be completed in the Manchester area. Often causing controversy in the local press, the last nine years has seen road space taken away from car drivers in favour of buses and coaches - these not only include reducing the number of lanes for cars but also banning turns for cars, one-way orders, bus-only restrictions alterations to road markings. 12 remaining corridors within Greater Manchester are outstanding.

• New NX livery for its bus & coach fleets unveiled. National Express officially unveiled its new corporate bus and coach liveries on Monday 4 February. At the launch was a tri-axle Scania Levante wearing the all-over white coach livery with new fleet names and thin, grey diagonal stripes to the rear, and a double decker wearing the new National Express West Midlands livery, featuring a red front and white rear with NX names proving much smaller alongside West Midlands vinyls. The firm's bus fleets will be named National Express Coventry, Dundee, West Midlands and London.

• First driver jailed. Saeed Abbas, a First Huddersfield bus driver, has been sentenced to a seven year prison term, banned from driving for five years and ordered to re-take his driving test after the death of a pensioner following a crash he had while driving on 25 September 2006. His bus - Wrightbus Eclipse Gemini double decker - on route X6 crashed through a stone wall in Huddersfield, following driver fatigue four hours into his duty; he was also witnessed on cctv reading paper documents while driving.

• New hi-tech bus data system in operation. Stagecoach has claimed to be the first bus operator in the UK to go live with a high-tech electronic bus data system that will deliver faster and more accurate travel information to passengers. Developed in partnership with the Department for Transport, Vehicle & Operator Services Agency (VOSA) and local transport authorities, the Electronic Bus Service Registration (EBSR) is being introduced on Stagecoach services in Cambridge and Peterborough. The company is planning a national roll-out of the new technology across its UK bus operations, with Oxford, the east of England, Wales, Manchester and west Scotland in line to benefit from the system later this year. EBSR is based around the National Bus Stops database (NAPTAN), which is maintained by local authorities across the UK. The system uses sophisticated mapping and database management tools to deliver data electronically between bus operators, transport authorities, and real time information and journey planning systems.

• Bus journeys reach a decade high. The number of people travelling by bus has reached an 11-year high of 4.72bn journeys, according to a new report from the Confederation of Public Transport. The CPT said the figures for 2006 - the most recent available - showed a 3% rise on the previous year. Nearly one billion of the bus journeys made in 2006 were for shopping - outstripping those made to work and to school. We suspect the main cause for the increase is free local travel for concessions.

• Boston received new town services. Three new routes are being introduced in Boston, Lincs, following funding being available by Lincolnshire County Council to upgrade the town's main urban bus services. The new routes will be given letters - A, B and C and will partially replace existing town services 58A and 58B, operated by Brylaine Travel. New Optare Slimline Solos will be purchased and operated by Brylaine and are expected to be painted in the distinctive "IT" (Into Town) green livery as seen where other schemes take place: Spalding and Sleaford. We hope to bring you more in the next edition of the LEYTR.

• New night buses in Stoke. Four new night bus routes have been introduced in Stoke on Trent and the contract to operate them has been awarded to RML Travel for a period of 2.5 years. Numbered N1-N4 all routes operate with financial assistance on Friday and Saturday nights, each route making 4 journeys linking Hanley with Milton, Longton, Chell and Trentham. A flat fare of £2 is being offered. Vehicles used are MetroRiders in RML Travel's red livery.

• Redby sell to Go North East. Sunderland-based bus and coach operator Redby sold its bus operation to Go-Ahead subsidiary Go North East on 28 January. Redby's managing director Jean Stratton plans to retire and this is seen as the catalyst for the sale. The firm's coach operation remains family-owned. Included in the deal with Go North East are 8 contracted bus services, 13 of the firm's 16 bus fleet, though 11 of which are to be sold by Go North East. 11 drivers and 2 mechanics were offered positions with Go North East. Redby retains some contract operation in the form of school swimming runs.

08 Centro for Felix

Ordered for 08-registration entry (from next month) is another Plaxton Centro for Derby-based bus and coach operator Felix of Stanley. This will join a similar vehicle that was acquired new last year. We hope that it will see more regular service than the firm's current and first Centro, which for a brand new vehicle only ever deputises for the Scania L94s they operate. Felix still own two redundant Optare Solos that have no work now that neighbouring operator Doyles won the tender to operate service 59.

Welcome

The LEYTR blog is glad to welcome members of the Stagecoach Stewards and Transport Union Delegates Yahoo! Groups to these pages. We hadn't expected the Drivers CPC entry to prove so popular though it does seem to be the most concice and relevant online description of what exactly is involved at the moment. How many operators have this information we wonder?

Going overground

Transport for London have, last month, redesigned the infamous Tube Map to show certain new routes valid for travel under TfL's remit, named the London Overground network. The map can be viewed (in pdf format) by clicking HERE.

The London Overground network has an individual map (again in pdf format) which can be viewed by clicking HERE. It is, however, amalgamated into the main Tube map (above).

King's Cross NXEC departures

Starting last Monday (4 February), National Express East Coast, the company who took over the operation of the East Coast Main Line franchise from GNER on 9 December 2007, implemented a rather surprising policy which sees them potentially remove the departure listing for each of their services up to 10 minutes before departure at King's Cross.

The move has been taken, according to NXEC, to ensure punctual departures of its services from King's Cross. I think that arriving for your NXEC train service, say, 8 minutes before its departures is perfectly acceptable and that as passengers who could have paid in excess of £100 for our tickets shouldn't then spend the remaining time studying the departure boards at a loss as to where our train is - a move that could actually increase the number of people missing trains yet there in good time.

That said, on the occasion I was at King's Cross recently, all departures were shown until at least the last minute; it could be that NXEC plan to implement this new ruling at only specific times of the day.

Citylink divest Scottish services

Scottish Citylink - once owned by National Express but sold when the latter won the franchise to operate ScotRail train service in Scotland - signed a deal on 12 September 2005 with Stagecoach, who at the time was trying to expand its megabus.com operation within Scotland and had recently purchased the Motorvator business whose primary route was between Glasgow-Edinburgh. The deal saw Stagecoach acquire a 35% steak in the ComfortDelGro-owned Scottish Citylink (operated by Braddell plc) and certain rights to its megabus.com and Motorvator businesses were transferred over; the Motorvator brand soon disappeared.

In October 2006 a number of routes, dubbed the "Saltire Cross" routes, came under scrutiny by the Competition Commission, who ruled that these routes (linking Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness generally through Perth) could be operated in a way that could lead to price-fixing and would not offer the best deal to the passenger.

Despite these claims being vehemently denied and opposed in the strongest terms not just by the operators concerned, but industry insiders, SMPs and transport journalists, the Competition Commission confirmed its October 2006 decision in May 2007 and ordered the routes be divested. Yesterday, Scottish Citylink Coaches Limited (the full name given to the joint venture) confirmed the divestment had been completed with affected routes going to Park's of Hamilton Ltd.

The citylink.co.uk and megabus.com websites both continue to offer a full range of journey options including those that have been divested to Parks, a measure which at least ensures the transition period is likely to cause minimal disruption to passengers unaware of last May's decision.

Stagecoach continues to own a 35% share of Scottish Citylink and Singapore-based ComfortDelGro's Braddell plc subsidiary owns the remaining 65%. (GL)

Recent RAIL developments, no 1

Following a large proportion of visitors to this blog having their main interest in the rail industry, I've decided to split my Recent Transport Development newsreels into two: RAIL and BUS/COACH. This is the first Recent Rail Developments entry. I've also decided to number them to make referrals in subsequent entries more simplistic.

• 'Incompetence' at London Underground. Judge Peter Fingret denounced London Underground's (LU) procedures for handling fare refunds as being of a "high level of incompetence" following the arrest and conviction of a civil servant who was employed within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Trushar Patel was convicted of defrauding LU of more than £22,000 after LU found 7,105 vouchers from the same address, having not checked any details of any of the refund claims submitted by Mr Patel and three members of his family, who were also convicted. Mr Patel was imprisoned for 18 months, his brother Jital for 1 year, and his wife and mother both received 9 month prison sentences suspended for 2 years.

• New bridge at Felling. A new £1.6 million structure has been erected at Felling station on the Tyne & Wear Metro system. It replaces a 113 year old structure and train services were suspended for three days from 21 January.

• Report into the Mile End Tube derailment. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has released its report into a derailment of a London Underground Central line train near Mile End station which happened less than a month before Tube infraco Metronet went into administration. Metronet was responsible for the Central line upgrade when the incident occurred on 5 July 2007. At 0901 a westbound Central line train struck a roll of fire-resistant material that was lying on the track between Mile End and Bethnal Green stations. The first three bogies of the train were derailed and the driver applied the emergency brake, stopping the train after 148 metres. According to the RAIB the immediate cause of the incident was a roll of fire-resistant blanket, approximately 1.8m long, lying across one rail. The blanket had been stored in a passage the previous night and weighted down, but the wind from passing trains had caused it to unfurl and fall onto the line. It said the underlying cause was the lack of a comprehensive risk analysis being performed to support the use of fire-resistant blankets.

• Two jailed for lineside theft. Two men, who stole 50 yards of trackside cable at Goldthorpe in Rotherham, have been sentenced at Barnsley Magistrates' Court on 27 December 2007. Molyneux and Poulson were imprisoned for 56 and 14 days respectively after they were caught by Police on 3 December 2007.

• First full-train run for Grand Central. Grand Central's first full-train operation took place on 23 January when 300 Police officers from Sunderland travelled to London.

• Manchester Oxford Road barriers. New automatic ticket barriers are to be installed by Northern Rail at Manchester Oxford Road station in an attempt to ease congestion and to cut fare evasion from March 2008.

• Merseytravel spent £70m on ill-fated tram scheme. Between 2001 and 2006 Merseytravel PTE shelled out £70 million for the now ill-fated Liverpool Tram system. The money was used for development, design, land acquisition, legal and preliminary construction fees on the assumption that the DfT would rubber-stamp funding, provisionally agreed by John Prescott in 2002. However, Merseytravel was forced to scrap the scheme after Alistair Darling withdrew money for the project.

• Liverpool Street compensation secured. Overshadowed as a result of the Rugby Christmas engineering works fiasco was the overrun at London's Liverpool Street station on 2 & 3 January. One (National Express East Anglia - NXEA) has secured funding from National Rail to offer passengers compensation.

• Trains 365 days a year in 2030. The UK Rail Industry was criticised for not providing any service on Christmas Day and Boxing Day recently; increasingly many large department stores commence their sales on Boxing Day and in response Network Rail's Chief Executive, Ian Coucher, said that he expected passenger trains in Britain to be operating "every day of the year" by 2030.

• Virgin denied extra carriage option. Virign Trains told the House of Commons Select Committee that they had been refused the option of having an additional carriage added to their Pendilino trains operating between London Euston-Manchester-Glasgow Central by the government. Had this been agreed, Virgin asked for an extra two years on its franchise and said that it would promise a £100 million subsidy reduction; instead the government felt a better deal could be struck by waiting until the end of the franchise in 2012.

• Commemorative services at Llangollen. In order to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the closure of the Great Western route from Ruabon-Bala Junction, the Llongollen Railway has reopened part of the line from Carrog-Llangollen and operates steam and diesel services, with trains displaying Ruabon as a destination even though they'll never actually arrive there.

• Class 170 collision ruling. DMU Turbostar 170508 was struck by a stanchion which was being carried by a passing BEA wagon, which had come loose of its holding, in a collision that occurred near Burton-on-Trent on 1 August 2007. EWS, who was operating the BEA wagon, has received several recommendations from the Rail Accident Investigation Board to ensure the collision - which damaged the cab front and first set of doors plus broke numerous windows on the class 170 train - cannot be repeated.

• Shepherd's Bush to close for 8 weeks. Shepherd's Bush station on the London Underground Central line has closed for eight months to allow upgrade work to be accelerated ahead of the opening of the new Westfield shopping centre in White City later this year. The station - which is used by about 12m passengers a year - closed its doors last Saturday to allow the ticket hall to be demolished and rebuilt and for new escalators to be installed.

• CrossCountry's class 170 standardisation plan. Plans to standardise the class 170 (Turbostar) fleet the new Arriva CrossCountry franchise are underway, with the first train being sent to Clacton-on-Sea for refurbishment by Transys Projects in March. Currently and as a result of the new operator receiving class 170s from multiple former franchise holders, de-classified first-class compartments can be found on some, and redundant catering facilities on others. Some sets are likely to feature new first-class compartments and power points. The class 170 Turbostar trains are now employed on the following CrossCountry services: Cardiff-Nottingham, Birmingham-Stansted Airport and Birmingham-Leicester.

• Metrolink's first increase since 2004. The first increase in season tickets for four years valid for use on the Manchester Metrolink tram system came into effect on 1 February. A 60p rise in weekly and a £7 maximum rise to quarterly tickets have been imposed.

• Newest open access rail operator's start date "on track". The latest open access rail operator, Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone Railway (WSMR), signed a track access deal on 18 January which puts the firm back on tract to commence train services in the spring. WSMR plan to operate three rakes of mk3 carriages, powered by a class 67 at one end and a DVT at the other; the class 67 would be provided by EWS. The first class 67 is being painted into WSMR livery now and an artist's impression of the DVT, 82120 in WSMR livery, has been released. WSMR will operate 5 trains per day between Wrexham-London Marylebone calling at Shrewsbury, Telford and Tame Bridge Parkway; one train will park at Chiltern’s Wembley depot in north London, with the other two at the firm's base, Wrexham. WSMR plan to employ 45 people, recruiting drivers from within the industry and guards from outside it.

The Driver CPC

10 September 2008 sees the introduction of EU Directive 2003/59, the Drivers CPC. This will mean the legal requirement of a Certificate of Professional Competence be attained by all staff who have, at some point in their employment, the requirement to drive a passenger carrying vehicle (PCV) - bus or coach.

Those drivers who are, at 10 September 2008, employed in a capacity to drive PCVs will acquire the Drivers CPC through grandfather rights; though will be expected to undergo 35 hours of Periodic Training over a five year period from the commencement date, i.e. completion of the training by September 2013.

New recruits to the bus industry after 10 September will be required to undergo Iinitial Qualification, consisting of four module tests. Once qualified, these drivers will similarly be required to undergo 35 hours of Periodic Training within 5 years of their Initial Qualification being attained.

Initial Qualification (all drivers new to the industry)

The four module tests comprising the Initial Qualification are as follows:

1. Module 1 - based on the current vocational driving licence acquisition theory test, candidates will be required to answer 100 multiple choice questions followed by 19 hazard perception clips within a 2 hour 30 minute time period. In order to pass the theory test, a minimum benchmark of 85% is needed and spotting a minimum of 20 hazards is required to pass the hazard perception test.


2. Module 2 - consists of a series of case studies designed to test each candidate's deeper understanding of the industry, not just their knowledge, followed by an end of module examination lasting 1 hour 30 minutes.
   
3. Module 3 - contains the existing Driving Test procedure for vocational licences, the driving element being extended to a minimum of 1 hour and 30 minutes, driving a vehicle that meets the minimum test vehicle requirements.


4. Module 4 - a "show me, tell me" session during which candidates will demonstrate their knowledge of vehicle safety issues.

It is possible for a driver to pass his or her vocational driving examination without studying for the new Drivers CPC at the same time. In this situation only Modules 1 and 3 need completing. An exemption of 12 months will be given before the Driver CPC must be acquired, though studying Modules 2 and 4 within a year following the driving examination being passed will be a requirement of the law. Drivers are still legally able to drive PCV vehicles during the 12 month exemption period.

Periodic Training (applicable to drivers already within the industry)

The 35 hours of Periodic Training can only be taken in conjunction with approved DSA Training Providers. Within the Drivers CPC Directive a syllabus has been provided, containing three modules:

1. Advanced training in rational driving based on safety regulations
2. Application of regulations
3. Health, road and environment safety

Within the above modules there are a total of 14 objectives each candidate must demonstrate they have recognised in order to pass the Periodic Training. The courses will provide a minimum of 7 hours direct contact with each individual trainer, and courses, so long as they are run by approved DSA Training Providers, can be taken in whatever time-frame within the maximum 5 year limit the individual driver or his employer arranges. For example, 7 hours can be taken within year 1 and the remaining 28 hours within year 5; or the full 35 hours training within year 4.

At no point, under the current Directive, is there any requirement for practical driving to be assessed; nor at any point within the Periodic Training sessions is an end-of-session written examination expected - providing comfort to people within the industry who may never have been in a 'test environment' before.

Drivers who have acquired a Level 2 NVQ or BTEC will still need to undergo the Periodic Training to acquire their Drivers CPC.

Periodic Training hours given must be registered and recorded and will be used to issue Driver Qualification Cards, detailing the amount of training being given at any time. The cost of a seven hour course per driver is likely to be around the £100-125 mark, though firms may benefit by sending multiple numbers of drivers to receive a pro rata reduction, and in this case the fee to each employer per employee over the five year period is likely to be around £500.

Finally, are YOU a bus driver? Is reading the above information news to you? The Drivers CPC is real, it is coming into being officially from 10 September 2008 and you have to do nothing about it if you are in employment with a bus or coach company within the UK. Your employer has a legal duty to ensure you and all their staff meet the above standard to the agreed timeframe.

Exemptions

Having said that there are, as you might expect, exemptions and they are as follows:

• Drivers who only ever drive vehicles with a maximum speed of 45mph
• Those who drive vehicles for the armed forces, civil defence & emergency services
• Employees of companies driving PCVs undergoing road tests, technical development, repair or maintenance
• Vehicles driven in a state of emergency
• Vehicles used in the course of a driving lesson or examination
• Drivers of non-commercial carriage of passenger or goods - for personal use
• Vehicles used for carrying material or equipment to be used by the driver in the course of his or her work, providing that driving the vehicles is not the drivers' principle activity.

Not a PCV driver, or not planning to become one? The Drivers CPC is to come into effect for all Large Goods Vehicle drivers from September 2009 and will follow a near-identical procedure to the above PCV Drivers CPC.

Driver of NX Neoplan denies death charges

An employee of Park's of Hamilton, employed to operate National Express coach services, has denied causing the deaths of three passengers by dangerous driving in a crash near Heathrow Airport in the early hours of 4 January 2007.

Philip Rooney, from Lanarkshire, was driving service 592 between London-Aberdeen when it overturned on the M4/M25 slip road around 13 months ago. Two people died soon afterwards and a third died six months later.

Mr Rooney, 48, pleaded not guilty to three counts when he appeared at Reading Magistrates' Court on Tuesday. He was bailed to appear at Oxford Crown Court on 8 September ahead of a trial on 27 October.

Christina Toner, 76, from Dundee, and Yi Di Lin, 30, a Chinese national, died in the crash while John Carruthers, 78, of Chertsey, Surrey died in hospital on 1 July.

Recent Transport Developments

• More buses on service 36. Transport for London is increasing frequencies on service 36 from 9 February following a review of the existing service. From this date service 36 will become a 24-hour service. The route runs between Queen's Park-New Cross Bus Garage (via Paddington, Hyde Park Corner, Victoria, Vauxhall, Camberwell and Peckham). From Monday to Saturday, the 36 will operate every six minutes during the day (currently it is every 7.5 minutes) and every 12 minutes in the evening. Sunday frequencies remain unchanged. A new night route, the N136, will be introduced between Oxford Circus-Chislehurst War Memorial (via Oxford Circus, Victoria, Vauxhall, Camberwell, Peckham, New Cross, Lewisham, Catford, Downham Way, Grove Park, Chinbrook Road, Marvels Lane, Dunkery Road, Mottingham Road, White Horse Hill, Red Hill, Chislehurst High Street and Centre Common Road), replacing the current N36. Buses on route N136 will operate every 30 minutes on Sunday to Thursday and every 20 minutes on Friday and Saturday.

• Cummins are record output. Production of engines at the Cummins plant at Darlington was up 35% to 79,000 units during 2007, averaging 360 engines per day! A total of 226 customers were supplied engines from this factory, in 40 countries.

• Metrolink upgrade confirmed today. An upgrade of Manchester's Metrolink tram network has secured final finding after the government agreed to provide £25.7m to complete a £102m improvements package. Transport minister Tom Harris confirmed on today that the DfT will supplement the £32.3m contribution agreed in July 2006 to create a total government grant of £58m. GMPTE is responsible for finding the remaining £44m. The money will pay for renovation works along the existing Metrolink system, including the upgrading of bridges, cabling and overhead lines as well as junction improvements on the Eccles line.

• Inverness bus priorities to improve. A new bus priority scheme in the Inverness area is currently being built, which will see traffic islands re-engineered and a bus-only lane installed heading into the city centre. It forms part of a £250,000 scheme being constructed by Highland Council.

• Former Abbot Travel proprietor has died. The former proprietor of Abbot Travel, Loanhead, John Gannon, has died aged 73.

• New train order for TfL's Overground network received. Rolling stock manufacturer Bombardier Transportation has announced that it has received a formal order to supply new trains for the London Overground Gospel Oak to Barking Line. The £33m order is for 12 2-car diesel multiple units. Unlike the recent London Overground electric train orders for the North and East London Railway, which will see Transport for London own the new trains rolling stock leasing company Angel Trains will buy this latest batch of trains. The RoSCo is expected to lease eight to London Overground Rail Operations Ltd, which runs Overground trains for TfL, with the remainder being made available to Chiltern Railways. Laing Rail, which owns Chiltern and was recently sold to German state rail operator Deutsche Bahn, owns 50% of LOROL.

• Concessionary free travel not to extend to other areas of the UK. The Government has ruled out the possibility of extending the forthcoming England-wide free concessionary travel scheme to include Wales and Scotland, despite calls from bus and coach operators located near to England/Wales and England/Scotland borders that confusion will ensue. The Government responded by stating that around £1 billion a year was currently being spent on free local concessionary bus travel throughout the UK and said that cross-boundary travel would severely hamper the additional £212 million they were making available for the extended scheme in England from 1 April 2008.

• Ausden Clark move depots. Leicestershire-based coach firm Ausden Clark has opened a new depot in Market Harborough, following the purchase of Alan Smith & Son Coaches in January. Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2007, Ausden Clark continues to operate from three other depots to the north, west and south of Leicester.

• Two additional stations may be added to Crossrail 2. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has claimed a victory in its campaign to have two new stations built in the borough. Plans for Crossrail 2, also known as the Chelsea-Hackney Line, have historically included proposals for new stations at Sloane Square and King's Road, Chelsea. However, in a government consultation on plans to safeguard the route against future building work, the DfT said it was not including proposals to build the Sloane Square station. Now, following discussions between the local authority and the DfT, the government has said it will keep all options open for the station.

• NEG signs deal with Jobcentre Plus. National Express Group has signed a deal with Jobcentre Plus that will open up opportunities for those who have been unemployed long-term. NEG managers will tailor interviews to prospective Jobcentre Plus candidates and one of their subsidiaries, Travel West Midlands, has been working with Jobcentre Plus in recruiting new bus drivers for some time.

• A Levels to be awarded by Network Rail. Network Rail has been granted permission to award A-Level equivalent qualifications as part of a government initiative to provide training which better mirrors the needs of employers. The initial qualification to be piloted by Network Rail will be Track Engineering, focusing on technical competences in track engineering but also covering other areas such as Health and Safety. All the Network Rail workforce of 33,000 will eventually be able to benefit from NR qualifications, as will contractors and other stakeholders within the rail sector. As an awarding body Network Rail will retain control over its training needs and will ensure it has the best skilled work force for its core business.

• Up to 18 redundancies by Veolia. It is understood that French-owned Veolia Transport based in Wales are looking for 18 redundancies following expansion in that area since 2005. The firm's Veolia Transport Cymru operating company said that since its first acquisition in Wales, the firm now operates from seven different bases and plans to centralise all operations under the one Veolia Transport Cymru brand is ongoing.

• Blackpool tramway upgrade announced today. The Government has agreed to provide £60.3m to guarantee the survival of Blackpool's historic tram system, transport minister Tom Harris announced today. Blackpool Council and Lancashire County Council will contribute an additional £25m, creating a total funding pot of £85.3m which will be used to bring the line up to 21st century standards and boost regeneration of the area. The investment forms the centrepiece of the government's forthcoming response to the Blackpool Task Force report, which recommended ways to regenerate the area. Improvements will include refurbishment of the track and tram stops out to Fleetwood, as well as 16 new fully accessible trams to supplement the current historic trams that serve Blackpool's famous seafront promenade. The decision means Blackpool Council can now start detailed planning for the work, which could start in late 2009.

• Record-breaking vehicle order announced by First today. First has this morning announced a £100 million investment in “more than 700” vehicles, as the bulk of its 2008-2009 UK fleet replacement programme - it is the biggest annual investment in the Group’s coach and bus fleet to date. The details of the manufacturers, models and operating companies likely to benefit will be made public on 12 February at a press briefing. The portfolio of vehicles is likely to include double and single deckers, coaches and articulated buses. The first buses will be delivered in April in Leeds with new vehicles arriving into South Yorkshire and Aberdeen quickly following this.

• Ebbsfleet International opened by UK Olympic champion. Dame Kelly Holmes, winner of two Olympic gold medals, officially opened Ebbsfleet International on 29 January as efforts are stepped up to highlight the location and raise the profile of the new High Speed 1 station. The double Olympic champion - the fastest woman over 800m and 1,500m at the 2004 Olympic Games – said Ebbsfleet International was now the natural starting point for a 'high-speed sprint' to the Continent for millions of people living across Essex, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. High speed train operator Eurostar, Channel Tunnel Rail Link consortium London & Continental Railways and property developer Land Securities used the event to announce a shortlist of internationally-known artists who are competing to design the £2m Ebbsfleet Landmark, which will stand more than 40 metres high and be taller than Nelson's Column.

• Pioneering partnership in the north east. Nexus, Go North East and Gateshead Council have recently signed what they claim to be the first formal partnership of its kind in the UK, which will see all three partners "working very closely together to provide unrivalled bus services" for the people of Newcastle and the eastern area of Gateshead. Bus priority measures, new, environmentally friendly and easy-access buses will be introduced and a pledge has been made to keep bus routes and frequencies stable. All vehicles will be fitted with cctv and be buggy-friendly. Just over 20 routes are covered by the partnership which commended on 27 January and will run for initially 2 years.

• New airport link from Ipswich. BAA Stansted is to start a new coach link between Stansted Airport-Ipswich from 1 May 2008, running to an hourly schedule and operated on BAA's behalf by Excel Passenger Logistics. A single fare between the two points will be £15, a return will be £20. Stanstead Airport claims that more than 40% of its customers travel to the airport by public transport and see this new service as a very attractive alternative for passengers in the Ipswich area.

• New carriages for rail operators, but who gets what? Train operators running commuter routes out of London are set to receive the lion's share of 1,300 extra carriages funded by the government to relieve overcrowding. The London Midland, South Western, Southern and South Eastern franchises are expected to each gain approximately 100 extra carriages while National Express East Anglia has been earmarked for 188. Northern Rail can expect to get 182 additional carriages, benefiting passengers travelling to and from Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle, while the long-awaited Inter-city West Coast Pendolino lengthening programme is set to go ahead with 106 extra cars pencilled in. Altogether, the 1,300 carriages are expected to increase the capacity of Britain's train fleet by approximately 10% and provide around 100,000 extra seats per day on the busiest parts of the network.

• Final appeal outcomes over concessionary reimbursement rates due soon. Due anytime now are the decisions of the final concessionary fare reimbursements that have been ongoing since 2006 in some cases. Lord Bassam of Brighton said that there were 102 appeals by bus operators about reimbursement arrangements during 2007/8, of which 21 were later withdrawn. Of the 81 appeals remaining, not all contained sufficient information for a decision to be taken. As of 17 January a further 29 appeals had been determined and the final 52 were now underway.

• VOSA to stop using laptops after security fears. Following numerous high-profile news reports of laptops and cds that contain sensitive information belonging to government departments being stolen or having gone missing, the Vehicle & Operator Standards Agency (VOSA) has announced it will no longer carry laptops as part of its roadside checks until further notice. Instead, VOSA officials now issue hand-written documents to drivers.

• Under 40s most likely to alter the way they travel as a result of climate change. GMPTE claim that, following their interviewing more than 1,000 local residents, nearly one fifth of people have altered how they made journeys last year because of fears about climate change. Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive also claim that of the 25-39 year olds it interviewed, they are the group most affected, with 21% altering their travel behaviour, unlike the over 60s where only 12% were affected.

• Cable car proposed for Bristol. A proposal to create a cable car transit system for Bristol has been drawn up by engineering and transport consultancy Atkins. The idea would see cable cars carrying passengers across the city from Temple Meads and up to Clifton, giving an aerial view of the historic docks and Clifton Suspension Bridge. It would be similar to the Harbour Cable Car in Barcelona, Spain, known as the Transbordador Aeri, which carries 400,000 people a year and operates on 315 feet high steel lattice masts that take passengers to Montjuc.

• Train collides with bridge at Barrow-upon-Soar this morning. A train has collided with the remains of a collapsed footbridge that was destroyed this morning by a truck carrying rail ballast. At 0630 a lorry crashed into a pedestrian footbridge near Barrow-upon-Soar station, just north of Leicester, causing the footbridge to fall on to railway tracks. An emergency stop message was sent to all trains in the area but the 0613 Nottingham to Norwich service, with six passengers on board, was unable to stop and struck the footbridge. Passengers continued their journey by road with one reported as suffering minor injuries. The train driver has been released from the train and has been taken to hospital where he is said to be comfortable and stable.