Boris announces “world’s first” electric double-decker bus to enter passenger service this October
The
world’s first purpose-built electric double-decker bus will enter
passenger service in London this year, Mayor Boris Johnson confirmed
today.
Manufactured by BYD, the zero-emission bus will operate on route 16 between Cricklewood and Victoria Station from October.
City Hall says the trial, which follows the introduction of 1,300
hybrid electric buses, proves the capital’s status as an innovator in
cleaner vehicles.
Mr Johnson confirmed the trial as he hosted a ‘clean bus summit’
attended by representatives and major bus manufacturers from across the
globe.
He said: “I could not be more pleased that London will play host to
these exciting pure electric double-deck buses, and I’m sure the lucky
users of route 16 will embrace it with gusto.
“London is a world leader in clean buses but we can’t do it alone,
and events like this Clean Bus Summit are key to making further
progress.”
It was also confirmed that route 312, which runs between Norwood and
South Croydon, will become the first pure electric bus route in the
capital later this year when a fleet of new, electric single-decker
buses are rolled-out.
Stephen Knight AM, the Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson on
the London Assembly, said the trial was “encouraging” but criticised Mr
Johnson’s record in cleaning up London’s bus fleet.
Mr Knight said the first batch the Mayor’s flagship New Routemaster
buses were “emitting five times more dangerous NO2 air pollution than
the highest standard hybrid buses that now exist.”
And he repeated crticisms of the Mayor’s decision to allow the buses into the Ultra Low Emission Zone despite them exceeding emissions limits.
He commented: This double standard is the price of his irrational
obsession with the incredibly expensive New Routemaster bus, when his
first priority should be to protect the health of Londoners.”
“The Mayor of London should by now have put hundreds of zero exhaust emission electric buses on London’s roads.”
Two single-deck BYD buses already operate in London on the Red Arrow routes run by London General.
Last Vulcan bomber tours UK with series of flypasts
The last airworthy Vulcan bomber is touring the UK with a series of flypasts to mark its final year of flight.
Vulcans were designed and built at Woodford Aerodrome, in Chester Road, Stockport, for the Royal Air Force.
Over the weekend, the XH558 flew over areas where the aircraft are displayed, such as Barton and Woodford.
Making its maiden flight in 1952, the Vulcan acted as a deterrent during the Cold War.
They were also used in combat during the Falklands War.
The
last remaining model originally arrived at RAF Waddington in 1960 and
was the last to leave RAF service in 1993, according to organisers
Vulcan to the Sky.
Now though, engineering backers, including Rolls-Royce, have withdrawn support and the plane is beyond its flying hours.
Steve Abbot, who helped to build Vulcans at Woodford said the aircraft had been part of his life.
"We did all the fatigue testing here to keep them in the sky and the 558 was born here," he said.
Former Vulcan pilot Tucker Wennell said it was "very emotional" to remember flying them.
"They were a bomber that flew like a fighter aircraft, they had tremendous performance," he said.
"The rate of climb on take-off was amazing."
There are plans to open a Vulcan museum at Woodford later in the year.
On Saturday afternoon the Vulcan flew
over Doncaster, Elvington, Scarborough, Sunderland Museum, East Fortune,
Carlisle Airport, Barton, Woodford, RAF Cosford and East Midlands
Airport
On Sunday it flew from Doncaster
Airport to Bruntingthorpe, Coventry, Wellesbourne, RAF Museum Hendon,
Duxford, Southend Airport, Norwich Airport, RAF Marham, RAF Waddington
and Cleethorpes.
North East transport giant the Go-Ahead Group plc said continuing
“economic weakness” on its home territory is affecting revenue and
passenger growth within its bus division. Ahead of the
publication its full year results on September 3, the firm released a
pre-close trading update for the year ended June 27, in which directors
say expectations for year remain unchanged.
The
Newcastle-headquartered group, which operates the Go North-East bus
services in the region, last month warned of stalling revenues in its
home region, affected by what it described as ongoing economic weakness. That
trend has continued throughout the final quarter of the year, affecting
turnover and passenger journey growth.
Roadworks in Oxford and Brighton also significantly impacted the firm’s services in those areas.
As
the group expected, mileage in London bus operations increased in the
fourth quarter as new contracts began during the period and revenue is
expected to be broadly flat. The firm’s division operates the
GTR, (Govia Thameslink Railway) Southern (including Gatwick Express),
Southeastern and London Midland franchises through 65% owned
subsidiary Govia.
Southern’s trading performance remained in line
with expectations and the franchise will continue to receive revenue
support until July 2015 when it will be integrated into GTR. Trading in the Southeastern franchise, meanwhile, continued to outperform expectations. Discussions
with the Department for Transport are underway regarding a potential
direct award contract for London Midland from March 2016 to June 2017. The
market note said: “GTR continues to incur incremental costs as a result
of inherited operational challenges and changes in its operating
network. “As previously reported, this may lead to lower margins
in the short term but any shortfall in profit is expected to be
recoverable over the life of the franchise, as normal industry contract
remedies are employed to help mitigate these costs over time.” In
the first quarter of next year the Department for Transport is expected
to announce the successful bidders for the Northern and TransPennine
Express franchises, which the group are bidding for. David Brown, Group Chief Executive of Go-Ahead, added: “Our full year expectations remain unchanged. “In
rail, we continue to work closely with Network Rail and other industry
partners to minimise the impact on passengers of the major
infrastructure works associated with the Government’s £6.5bn Thameslink
Programme, including at London Bridge. “Our locally-run bus
companies work in partnership with local authorities and are focused on
the needs of the communities they serve, responding quickly to their
changing requirements.”
More double deck eco vehicles to arrive this summer.
The buses, which have a Volvo B5LH chassis and a Wrightbus Gemini 3
body were purchased with support from the Scottish Government’s Green
Bus Fund which provided £1.5 million of funding as part of it's scheme
to encourage the rollout of low carbon emission buses across Scotland. Lothian Buses currently operate 65 hybrid buses on routes through
Edinburgh and the Lothians. The new vehicles will be used on city
centre services, with an aim to reduce carbon emissions and other local
air pollutants. The purchase of the vehicles is part of the company’s strategy to
lower the environmental impact of all it's business activities and in
particular, vehicle emissions through the introduction of cutting edge
technology. Jim McFarlane, General Manager and Chair of Lothian Buses, said:
We’re proud at Lothian Buses that our average bus age is 5 years old,
our continued investment in our fleet, and in particular vehicles that
have low emissions technology is just one part of our environmental
strategy. The support from the Scottish Green Bus Fund is key to the
continuation of greening our fleet, helping improve air quality in the
city.
Derek Mackay MSP, Transport Minister said:
This project is a great example of government and the bus industry
working in partnership to increase the number of environmentally
friendly low carbon buses on our roads with the ultimate aim of
improving air quality, accessibility and greater use of public
transport. It is also shows the success of the Scottish Green Bus Fund, with
bids received from both large and small bus operators. Lothian Buses has
been successful in all five rounds of Green Bus Fund and now have 65
low carbon vehicles in operation, something to be commended The fund has already provided some £13 million and is delivering 269
new low carbon buses into the Scottish Bus Fleet, with almost half of
these already in operation and the other half due to come into service
by November this year. This reaffirms our commitment to our ambitious
climate change target of reducing carbon emissions by 42% by 2020.
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The cities of Chester and Liverpool's transport was the focus of attention through the lens of Martin Arrand's camera recently. An album of bus images can now be found by clicking here
The government says it will delay or cut back a number of modernisation projects planned for Network Rail.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin says rising costs and missed targets make the £38.5bn plan untenable. He blamed Network Rail, saying it should have foreseen the improvements would cost more and take longer. Labour said it had warned the government needed to change how the railways were run but had "dithered" over taking action. Network
Rail said the plan, which was launched last year as the "largest
modernisation of the railways since Victorian times", was too ambitious. Network Rail controls 2,500 stations as well as tracks, tunnels and level crossings. The key routes affected are:
Trans-Pennine route: York - Manchester, shelved
Midland main line: London - Sheffield, shelved
Great Western main line work will go ahead
Mr McLoughlin said electrification work would be "paused" on the
Midland main line and on the Trans-Pennine route between Leeds and
Manchester. But he said that "electrification of the Great Western
line is a top priority and I want Network Rail to concentrate its
efforts on getting that right".
Electrification of the Great Western line is a top priority. The HST's currently used would be cascaded to other non electrified routes
He also announced Network Rail's chairman, Richard Parry-Jones, would
leave the group after his three-year term and told MPs none of the
executive directors would get a bonus for the past year. Mr Parry-Jones will be replaced by Sir Peter Hendy, the current commissioner of Transport for London.
Satisfaction falling
The announcement comes as the latest rail passenger satisfaction survey is released. Travellers in London and south-east England are the least happy with their service, according to Transport Focus (formerly Passenger Focus). The proportion of passengers satisfied has fallen from 82% last year to 80% this year. Satisfaction on First Hull Trains was highest at 96%, while Southern was the lowest at 72%. Michael
Roberts, director general of the Rail Delivery Group which represents
train operators and Network Rail, said: "Too often many passengers are
not getting the service they deserve, and for this we are sorry. The chief executive of Network Rail, Mark Carne, told the BBC the
challenges of delivering myriad improvement projects while still running
a railway seven days a week were simply overwhelming. "Over the
last year, it has become obvious that the challenges of operating,
maintaining and enhancing the railway are significant," he said. "I
think it's time to level with the public and say that some of these
extraordinary projects that we absolutely need are going to take longer
and are going to cost more than we originally thought. "We are
going to take the summer to re-evaluate the extension of the programme -
we need to do that properly with the Department for Transport and, of
course, looking at the impact on trains as well." He said it would not be possible to estimate the impact of the delays on the final cost. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33270586
Rail freight company DB Schenker has announced plans to cut 234 jobs, mainly across the north of England.
The cuts are needed because of a fall in the amount of coal being transported on the rail network, the company said.
It is understood there are plans to close its depot in Worksop and merge depots in Gateshead and on Teesside.
Jobs
are also expected to go at the firm's headquarters in Doncaster and at
sites in Carlisle and Warrington, said BBC political reporter David
Rhodes.
DB Schenker Rail UK said it would not confirm which roles
and locations were affected until it had concluded consultations with
staff and the RMT and Aslef trade unions.
An Aslef spokesman said redundancies among clerical and depot staff were nearly unavoidable.
However,
the union added that sacking any of its 118 train drivers was not
permissible as its members had a three-year no compulsory redundancy
clause in their contracts. DB
Schenker Rail UK said in a statement: "The demand for coal is declining
much faster than the industry and our customers could have reasonably
predicted.
"Our customers in the energy sector remain hugely
important to us and we are committed to continuing to compete in this
volatile market and to maintain and increase our share where possible."
Chief
executive Geoff Spencer added: "We must transform and reshape our
organisation to ensure our long term success by evolving to meet the
needs of a rapidly changing market.
"I know this is an unsettling
time for colleagues who may be affected and we are committed to keeping
them fully informed and supported throughout this process."
The company said it would try to protect jobs "wherever possible".
This
would include not backfilling a number of existing vacancies and
looking at the possibility of offering some staff relocation.
Stagecoach Group plc - Preliminary results for the year ended 30 April 2015 Highlights
Adjusted earnings per share+ in line with expectations, up 2.7% to 26.7 pence (2014: 26.0 pence)
Dividend per share up 10.5% to 10.5 pence (2014: 9.5 pence)
New Virgin Trains East Coast rail franchise to 2023
Bid submitted for TransPennine Express rail franchise
Joint venture shortlisted to bid for East Anglia rail franchise
Continued organic growth in UK Bus
Significant investment in new vehicles, digital technology and customer service across bus and rail
Growing network of inter-city coach services in Europe and North America
Commenting on the results, Chief Executive, Martin Griffiths, said: “These are a solid set of results notwithstanding continued tight
central and local government spending, and increased competition for
public transport from the private car driven by lower fuel prices.
"We have a strong set of bus and rail businesses in the UK, mainland
Europe and North America. Our successful strategy is focused on
providing a good value, high quality travel experience for our
customers, and investing for growth over the medium to long-term. "Our commercial bus services in the UK have been independently
recognised by passengers as offering the best value travel in our
sector. We are seeking to attract more passengers by investing over a
further £80m in new greener buses, many equipped with free wi-fi, for
our regional bus operations in 2015/16.
Along with other major UK bus
operators, we are well advanced in delivering on our pledge to introduce
smart multi-operator ticketing in key English city regions by the end
of 2015. "The key to securing the future of Britain's buses is for operators,
government and local authorities to work together to deliver properly
planned and sustainable bus networks.
"We have achieved further growth in our megabus.com branded coach
services in the UK, mainland Europe and North America. In recent months,
we have launched new domestic networks in Germany and Italy and new
services within France. Our passenger volumes in mainland Europe have
increased by more than 60% in the past year. Looking ahead, we see
further opportunities in Europe to increase our share of a growing
market as countries take steps to liberalise inter-city coach services.
“The prospects in the UK rail sector are encouraging, with a
franchise model focused on a combination of taxpayer value, quality
service for customers and an appropriate balance of reward and risk for
operators. We are pleased to have started the new Virgin Trains East
Coast franchise and look forward to delivering a brand new fleet of
technologically advanced Hitachi trains and £140m of improvements during
the franchise to transform the experience for customers. The Virgin
Trains West Coast franchise is performing well, we have submitted an
exciting bid for the TransPennine Express franchise and our joint
venture with Abellio has been shortlisted for the East Anglia franchise. “The Group is in good financial shape and overall we have delivered
on our expectations for the year. We have made a satisfactory start to
the 2015/16 financial year and look forward to building further on the
Group’s achievements.” As a boost to the impressive figures announced today the company has also revealed that during the past week more than 30,000 customers have purchased tickets for the new network of routes in Italy – higher than the initial sales on any of the company’s other networks in Europe. From today megabus.com services will link 13 destinations across Italy and passengers have been snapping up bargain fares from just €1.
The major new network of inter-city coach services covers Rome, Milan, Florence, Venice, Naples, Turin, Bologna, Verona, Padua, Siena, Genoa, Sarzana (La Spezia) and Pisa. The most popular route in Italy so far is the one that runs between Naples – Rome – Florence – Bologna – Milan - Turin. As well as boosting public transport, tourism and the economy, megabus.com is investing in Italy by creating around 100 new jobs through the opening of new bases near Milan and in Florence.
megabus.com Managing Director Edward Hodgson said: "We have sold more tickets over the past week in Italy than we have during the first week of any of our networks in Europe. This demonstrates that Italy is ready for megabus.com and people are excited about having a new low-fares transport option which is unlike anything they have had in the past.
London transport bosses are considering an Oxford Street bus
ban for the first time to help clean up the air on Britain’s most
polluted road. Transport Commissioner Sir Peter Hendy said the arrival of
Crossrail in 2018 was a “game-changer” for the West End
that allowed him to consider the previously unthinkable. He told the Standard:
”For years we’ve been accused of being dog in the manger about buses on Oxford Street, now
we are in a completely different place.”
“We are looking at all the options and
we will countenance taking all the buses out. We wouldn’t rule anything out.” The
dramatic U-turn in thinking follows years of pressure from store and tourism
chiefs infuriated by the slow moving “wall of red metal” that clogs Europe’s busiest shopping street. His comments came as a
high powered alliance of local authorities,
Transport for London, businesses, public bodies and the
police called the West End Partnership launched their vision for the country’s
most powerful local economy for the next 15 years with the challenge of improving
air quality at the heart of its strategy. Currently around 270 buses an hour
travel down Oxford Street,
contributing to the world’s highest recorded concentrations of the harmful gas
nitrogen dioxide (NO2). But the arrival of Crossrail will usher in a ten trains
an hour service calling at Bond
Street and Tottenham Court Road that is expected
to substantially cut bus travel into the West End
from areas such as Paddington and Farringdon, which are served by new stations.
Sir Peter said as a result the numbers of buses could be heavily reduced and
the route changed to avoid Oxford
Street altogether using parallel “back streets”
such as Wigmore Street.
He said the services “won’t disappear, there are quarter of a million people
who go by bus every day to work and we’ve got to find some way for them to
travel. “If you work at John Lewis and live in Willesden you
don’t want to be leaving the bus at Marble Arch. But you might be happy if we
take you close but not right there. ”It’s not like it’s without issues because
there are the people living on Wigmore
Street to take into account. But we’re prepared to
look at that because there is now a bold plan for the West
End. “It’s is the first time we’ve been prepared to contemplate
it, we’ve not had the context in which to do it before. It’s all part of
a feeling that it’s time to do something big and we ought as a transport
authority to do our part.”
Other options being looked at include making Oxford Street one
way for buses to speed up journey times and increasing the number of places for
pedestrians to cross the road. Sir Peter described the start of Crossrail
services as “a huge challenge and a huge opportunity” with passengers flows
between Bond Street and Tottenham Court increasing 75 per cent from 177,000 to 306,000
over the 12 hours of the working day. If the West End authorities did not
respond to make it a pleasant place, shoppers would simply abandon it for
alternatives such as the two Westfield
shopping malls, he warned.
Sir Peter, who sits on the board of Partnership,
said its creation allowed Transport for London
to make radical decisions about the future of the bus network because all major
decision makers were working together, including Tory dominated Westminster and Labour controlled Camden councils. Today’s reports from the
Partnership detail a £40 million programme to improve Oxford Street “to
create the best shopping experience on the planet”, with more pedestrianisation
and small ‘oasis spaces’ for shoppers, visitors and workers.
Other measures to
improve the West End’s air include the
introduction of the Ultra Low Emissions Zone in 2020 and new rules making all
new taxis to be “zero emissions capable” by 2018. Mayor of London,
Boris Johnson said: “It is clear that transformational change would deliver
huge benefits for the West End. Crossrail is a
key part of making that happen and this plan takes us another big step forward.
"I look forward to continuing our work with the West End Partnership to
ensure that improvements to urban realm and transport can enhance the vibrancy
of the West End as this report clearly sets
out.”
The West End Partnership, chaired by Westminster council leader Philippa Roe,
emerged from the 2013 report of the West End Commission, which in turn was set
up in the wake of the row about the proposed introduction of parking charges in
the evening and at weekends. The plan - dubbed a “tax on nightlife” - was
abandoned after a campaign led by the Evening Standard.
megabus.com has now announced it is to introduce a major new network of services in
Italy. The new services were launched by Italy’s Deputy Minister of the
Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, Riccardo Nencini, at an event
in Florence. megabus.com
will link 13 locations in Italy with fares on all journeys from just
€1*, taking the total number of destinations on the company’s European
network to almost 150. The new network will cover Rome, Milan, Florence, Venice, Naples,
Turin, Bologna, Verona, Padua, Siena, Genoa, Sarzana (La Spezia) and
Pisa. As well as boosting public transport, tourism and the economy, the
company is investing in Italy by creating around 100 new jobs through
the opening of new bases near Milan and in Florence.
Welcoming the new megabus.com network, Deputy Minister Nencini said: “megabus.com
will connect Italian cities, from the north to the south, with low
fares, giving students, workers and tourists the opportunity to visit
our country. This is a new way of travelling for Italy and megabus.com's
investment and job creation in Italy has been a brave choice.
Delivering the possibility for everybody to travel without constraints
brings people more freedom and I really thank megabus.com for believing
in this country." Tickets for the new services, which will run from 24 June 2015, are on sale now at the Italian language website www.megabus.com.
For travel on the first five days of the new services (24, 25, 26, 27
and 28 June), megabus.com has confirmed that all tickets will be priced
at €1*. A fleet of 23 state-of-the-art megabus.com coaches – representing an investment of more than €11million - offer free Wifi, power sockets, air conditioning and a toilet. megabus.com say that by using bigger coaches results in a low cost per passenger and keeps
fares down. As part of the latest expansion, megabus.com is creating around 45
jobs initially at a new operating base close to Bergamo, near Milan.
Vehicles will be parked, cleaned and maintained at the base under a
partnership with local company Autoservizi Locatelli. The company has also opened a second crew base in Florence, with
offices in the city’s Santa Maria Novella area, where over 50 staff will
be located. The majority of the new megabus.com employees are Italian
nationals and are employed on permanent Italian contracts.
Stagecoach Group Chief Executive Martin Griffiths said: “We are
delighted to be investing in Italy, providing improved transport
connections and a boost for the economy through scores of new jobs. “Italy is a fantastic country with some of the most vibrant and
popular cities in Europe. We are confident our low-fares and high
quality travel experience will help deliver more affordable travel to
people in Italy and bring even more tourists to the country.” megabus.com
part of Stagecoach Group in Scotland, has operated since 2003. It
expanded from the UK to North America in 2006 and has served mainland
Europe since 2012. Major destinations on the network include London, Manchester,
Glasgow, Edinburgh, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Lyon, Toulouse,
Barcelona, Lille, Luxembourg, Cologne, Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin,
Hamburg, Hannover and Leipzig.
megabus.com
carries more than 15 million passengers a year across Europe and North
America. The number of passengers using the company’s growing coach
network in Europe is up more than 60% in the past year. The current
average fare on the megabus.com network in mainland Europe is around
€15. megabus.com
offers Italian, French, German, English, Spanish and Dutch language
websites. Services are popular with families, students and tourists
looking to save money on travel and spend extra on entertainment when
they arrive at their destination. All megabus.com
drivers undertake a detailed operational and customer service training
programme. It includes route familiarisation and driving assessments and
this is in addition to meeting all of the EU standard qualifications
for professional bus, coach and lorry drivers. megabus.com ensures full
compliance with relevant EU working time legislation and has stricter
maintenance standards than legal requirements as part of its commitment
to safety.
The success of megabus.com’s
services has seen it create more than 500 jobs over the past decade in
the UK and Europe and a further 1,000 jobs in North America.
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From the modern day to times past. The most recent special weekend held at the Crich Tramway Village in rural Derbyshire was the 'Classic London' event. A variety of London buses, taxi cabs, trams and trolleybuses and buses recalled the vintage years led by the re-introduction into service of London County Council tram number 106. After many years of painstaking work the tram was re-launched onto the tracks and this and other vehicles are in an album that can now be viewed by clicking here
Look out for new buses hitting the streets from 1st July
From Lothian Buses comes news that Airlink passengers will experience a new fleet of buses for their journeys this summer.
Twelve new Airlink buses will join the fleet from 1st July. As well as having a brand new livery, the new look Wrightbus 'Gemini
3' double deck buses have a stylish glass staircase partition and
integrated glass roof. They are all fitted with luxury leather seating,
wifi, table areas and CCTV as well as plug sockets and USB points.
Jim McFarlane, General Manager and Chair of Lothian Buses, said:
With the ongoing expansion and success of Edinburgh Airport, and
demand for public transport increasing now is an excellent time to
invest in an upgraded fleet. Just as air passengers’ increased
expectations are being met by development at the airport, we too need to
keep pace and these new buses will provide improved facilities for all
travellers.
Lesley Hinds, Chair of Transport for Edinburgh, said:
This investment in Airlink further improves what was already an
excellent service. With the start of the summer season and Edinburgh’s
fantastic line up of festivals and events, Transport for Edinburgh is
well placed to provide passengers with two first class options to get
into the heart of the city and beyond.
John Watson, Chief Commercial Officer at Edinburgh Airport, said:
Edinburgh has a superb public transport network. We see thousands of
passengers from all over the world, choose to take advantage of the
Airlink service every week. The new fleet of vehicles will enhance the
passenger experience, making their journey to and from the airport more
relaxing and memorable.
Airlink (Lothian
Buses Service 100) is Edinburgh’s dedicated express service between the
Airport and City Centre. Buses run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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Contributor Paul Beardsley was one of the many who visited the banks of the River Mersey recently to witness the sight of the maritime '3 Queens'. A fine set of images from the event have been placed into an album on the Features site and can now be viewed by clicking here
A1 Tornado has returned to service following the completion of her eight
month, £400,000 overhaul at Darlington Locomotive Works (DLW). Tornado’s overhaul included:
Full internal inspection of boiler, replacement of tubes, renewal of
foundation ring corners and stay replacement including increasing the
number of flexible stays to enhance reliability - by DB Meiningen
Re-setting of hornblock/axlebox clearance, requiring all coupled wheels out at once
Thorough check for frame cracks using NDT and inspection of all bolted/riveted joints
Splitting and inspection of roller bearing axle/cannonboxes and repairs as necessary
Improvements to pipework and installation of air pumps to speed removal and refitting
Clean out and repair tender tank
Full re-paint in LNER apple green
Seen soon after completion in 2008 Tornado being tested on the GCR
The £3m
locomotive was originally completed at DLW in 2008 after 18 years of construction
and fundraising and named by TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of
Cornwall the following year. During 2015, The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust
is celebrating its Silver Jubilee – 25 years since the project to build a
new ex-LNER Peppercorn class A1 was launched in 1990. Newly repainted into her glorious apple green livery,Tornado steamed at Darlington Locomotive Works on Wednesday 10th June undergoing tests before moving by road to Locomotion – The National Railway Museum at Shildon on Friday 12th June for commissioning and mileage accumulation. On Wednesday 17th June No. 60163 Tornado carried out her main line test run and travelled from Shildon in County
Durham to Millerhill depot near Edinburgh in preparation for a series of
trains in Scotland. Tornado’s packed main line and heritage railway diary for the rest of 2015 includes (see www.a1steam.com for details):
20th June – 'The Highland Rambler' – Stirling to Inverness – Scotrail/Steam Dreams
21st June (Father's Day!) – 'The Seaforth Highlander' – Inverness to Brora and return – Scotrail/Steam Dreams
22nd June – 'The Highland Caledonian' – Inverness to Stirling – Scotrail/Steam Dreams
27th June – ‘The Border Reiver’ – Carlisle to Glasgow and return - Scotrail/Steam Dreams
7th July (new date) - 'The White Rose' King's Cross to York with D9009 Alycidon and return with No. 60163 Tornado - A1SLT booking through UK Railtours
12th July - 'The Torbay Express' - Bristol to Kingswear and return - Torbay Express
26th July - 'The Torbay Express' - Bristol to Kingswear and return - Torbay Express
2nd August - 'The Torbay Express' - Bristol to Kingswear and return - Torbay Express
8th August – The Golden Age of Travel lunchtime excursion – Belmond British Pullman
11th August – 2nd September – Nene Valley Railway, Peterborough
11th September – The Golden Age of Travel lunchtime excursion – Belmond British Pullman
23rd September – London Victoria to Bristol and return – Belmond British Pullman
26th September - 'The Silver Jubilee Talisman' London to York, Darlington and Newcastle - A1SLT booking through UK Railtours
6th November - The Golden Age of Travel lunchtime excursion – Belmond British Pullman
8th December – Christmas Lunch – Belmond British Pullman
12th December – Christmas Lunch – Belmond British Pullman
31st December – 'St. Mungo Anniversary Tour' – York to Newcastle and return – A1SLT (details tbc)
A total of 169 passengers were on the first United Airlines
flight as it left Newcastle Airport for the Big Apple at 9.10am on
Saturday 23rd May.A total of 169 people boarded the first-ever United Airlines flight from
Newcastle to Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday. The
plane departed at 9.10am and was due to arrive in New York at midday.
A celebration was held at the airport to launch the inaugural flight. A
barbershop quartet entertained passengers as they checked in before a
cake was cut to mark the occasion.
Bob Schumacher, United Airlines’
managing director of sales, said the company had been looking to launch
the new route for several years and now felt the time was right as the
country’s economy picks up.
He added: “We are delighted to offer
the people of the North East convenient nonstop flights to the United
States for the first time. This new service connects Newcastle not only
with New York City but also with hundreds of other destinations
throughout the Americas via United’s Newark Liberty hub, giving our
customers a huge range of travel options.” Iain Malcolm, South Tyneside Council
leader and chairman of the Newcastle Airport board, said: “This is a
historic occasion. It’s an important economic milestone for the region
and will help to attract investment and encourage tourism from North
America. The flight, UA159, departs Newcastle daily, except on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Newcastle Airport has been named the Top UK Airport by travel magazine, beating out dozens of other contenders.
Over 30 airports were nominated in the UK category, but a
satisfaction rating of 86% saw Newcastle Airport claim top spot for the
first time. The airport is celebrating its 80th Anniversary in July with the launch of a new video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQbH-7BRJJs
With Yourbus recently out
of the frame on National Express operations, route 240 (Bradford-Heathrow) is currently
in the hands of Skills Motor Services of Nottingham on an emergency tender.
Thus
observed on the 17th June passing through Chesterfield coach station, were
two former Parks of Hamilton Volvo B12B Plaxton Elite tri-axle coaches.
And a splendid sight they made. Tight turns upon entry and exit make
full use of the rear steering axle, as shown on the front nearside
image. A north and a southbound came through within 20-minutes of each
other at 1320 and 1340-hours.
We are led to believe that five of these vehicles registered SN10 JJZ/JKE/JKF/JRU and SW10 VNS have been acquired by
Skills, the two seen have legal lettering applied to that effect. Originally when with Parks their registrations were HSK 641/647-650, but not necessarily in the order they are now registered, if you get our drift. Rather like an old favourite Morecambe & Wise sketch, the numbers and letters are all there, but not necessarily in the right order!
And finally.
Around the same time one other tri-axle coach paid a visit to the coach station. This was a Neoplan Eurorider operated by Andrews of Tideswell.
Coastliner drivers Jon Peckitt (left) and Charlie Whitesmith (right) stand either side of Alex Hornby.
Transdev operated Yorkshire Coastliner
has now entered its 25th year. The route runs daily from Leeds to
Whitby, Scarborough, Filey and Bridlington. Two events are planned in
July to mark the occasion, including a Coastliner summer roadshow that
will be held in York with buses old and new on display to the public.
Meanwhile, a Coastliner summer barbecue is being put on for staff at the
company’s Malton depot on 18th July to thank them for their efforts in
delivering the service.
The Yorkshire Coastliner company became
operational on 2nd January 1990, but its origins go back to 1928 when the
West Yorkshire Road Car Company was founded.
August 1979 and a Bristol RELH6G coach on the National Bus Company West Yorkshire Road Car company's Leeds-Whitby service, encounters local opposition in the North Yorkshire Moors village of Goathland. Some may recall that this featured as the fictional location of 'Aidensfield' in the 'Heartbeat' television series.
Transdev MD, Alex Hornby, said, ‘Yorkshire
Coastliner is one of the nation’s favourite bus routes – and has iconic
status amongst travellers and across the industry. It is a thrill for us
all to celebrate 25 years with both our Coastliner team and customers
by thanking them for their support over the years. Coastliner is run by a
passionate and dedicated team at our base in Malton who help make the
service the success it is. The route continues to be popular for its
mixture of city and coastal destinations, and the wonderful scenic views
from the top deck of our modern, Wi-Fi equipped fleet of buses. We are
continually told by our customers that it is the great service by our
fantastic crew of drivers that makes a difference to their travelling
experience.’
SEE ALSO THE LATEST ON THE NEW FOCUS FLICKR SITE:
A set of Yorkshire Coastliner images covering the period from 1994-2015 is now on the Flickr site, and can be viewed by clicking here
Profits are coming before people as the shipping operator is steered towards privatisation, writes Brian Wilson of The Scotsman newspaper
For the past few weeks, there has been a brand new vessel
operating on the Stornoway-Ullapool route bearing a revered name from
the annals of Hebridean shipping – the Loch Seaforth.
The livery
is in the familiar red and black of Caledonian MacBrayne. By next year,
on current trends, the Loch Seaforth and the rest of the CalMac fleet
will be operated by Serco, a sprawling, debt-ridden conglomerate which
was until recently debarred from competing for UK government contracts
after being caught fiddling the taxpayer for £46 million.
The story behind the Loch Seaforth is instructive. For the first
time in the history of CalMac, the company is operating a vessel that is
owned by a bank rather than by the Scottish public, with CalMac allowed
to play no part in the design or commissioning.
Instead, the Loch Seaforth was procured by the Scottish Government
via a PFI deal. It is owned by Lloyds Bank and leased to a quango called
Caledonian Marine Assets Ltd (CMAL) which sub-leases it to CalMac. It
is a structure geared to privatisation with the identity of the operator
irrelevant.
The communities served by the Loch Seaforth did not
support the idea of a single, larger ferry taking over the route and
operating on a round-the-clock basis. Long experience has taught that
ferries have a habit of breaking down, and over-reliance on a single
vessel is a hostage to fortune.
Local opinion was ignored by
Edinburgh and CMAL, whose imperative was a deal acceptable to Lloyds
Bank. CMAL is chaired by a Danish industrialist and its board contains
not a single resident of the islands served by its vessels. The
centralising Scottish Government does not believe in dissenting, local
voices.
Rhoda Grant MSP tabled questions about the Lloyds Bank
deal. How much will the £42 million ferry actually cost the taxpayer?
Who is responsible when things go wrong, as they surely will? With its
usual contempt for Freedom of Information, the Scottish Government
blocked them all as “commercially confidential”.
Recently it was confirmed there will be a two-horse race to
operate Clyde and Hebridean ferry services. The contract has been
extended to eight years. If CalMac loses, the state-owned company will
be dead and buried, which many believe to be the long-standing objective
within the civil service, now rubber-stamped by ministers.
They
are already facing legal action over the Northern Isles ferry contract
where a CalMac-related company was removed to make way for Serco. It has
transpired that the CalMac bid was returned unopened on the basis of an
alleged technicality and it was actually the lowest bidder. CalMac is
forbidden from taking action but a third bidder is pursuing its own
interest through the courts.
The Clyde and Hebrides contract is
much bigger, a £1 billion prize. It was due to be awarded in 2013 but
the late Bob Crow of the RMT union threatened industrial action over
unresolved issues of terms and conditions in the event of privatisation.
It was not a dispute the Scottish Government wanted, so the CalMac
contract was extended until the referendum was out of the way.
Now
the process has begun again, though it has been carefully timetabled so
the outcome need not emerge until after next year’s Holyrood elections.
Meanwhile, the “terms and conditions” have still not been settled,
leading to a strike ballot in which CalMac’s employees have given 90 per
cent support to industrial action.
CalMac is between a rock and a hard place. It has a hefty pensions
obligation which the Scottish Government has so far refused to include
as a condition of contract. This would give Serco a massive bidding
advantage over CalMac. Whether or not ministers will create a level
playing field on pensions is a litmus test of the Scottish Government’s
desired outcome.
I have never believed it necessary to put these
lifeline services out to tender under EU regulations. Along with the
unions, I argued that case under the previous Lab-Lib Dem administration
and, while it did run a nominal competition, it was structured in a way
that resulted in no private company seeking to oust CalMac.
This
time, the exact opposite approach has been taken. As the STUC points
out, the Scottish Government went to the European Commission seeking a
derogation on length of the contract but “dodged the fundamental
question of whether a tender competition is necessary in law”. As so
often, EU regulations are used as cover for an agenda set by ministers
and civil servants themselves.
In the 2012 Ferries Review, then
transport minister Keith Brown, in full Thatcherite mode, proclaimed
that competition would bring in all sorts of innovative companies to
create best value for the taxpayer. In fact, no such thing has happened.
After the Northern Isles outrage, no other company has bothered taking
on Serco, the Scottish Government’s privateers of choice.
The
Scottish Government had ample grounds to disqualify Serco which, at the
time of pre-qualifying, had a negative balance sheet. It has now raised
funds through a fire-sale of assets and a rights issue. But it has set
up a special purpose vehicle to bid for the ferry franchise. The
question of what substance stands behind it is one of intense interest
to west coast communities.
One of Serco’s first actions in the Northern Isles was to axe a
loss-making crossing because it cost less to pay a penalty under the
contract than it did to run the ferry. If the same accountancy principle
was applied to west coast routes in the middle of January, there would
not be many ferries sailing.
I think it is safe to say that almost
literally nobody in the west coast communities served by CalMac wants
to see these services privatised. That is far from claiming that CalMac
is perfect and it will continue to be the whipping-boy even when – as in
the case of the Loch Seaforth – it is not responsible for decisions
taken.
But everyone knows that CalMac exists to serve fragile
economies rather than to maximise profit. It employs local people on
decent terms and conditions. In short, it is an integral part of the
peripheral communities it serves. It is time to ensure the whole of
Scotland knows how CalMac is being walked to the scaffold by our
oh-so-left-wing government, before it is too late.
