In The News: 3rd July

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Public transport is likely to be opened up to thousands more passengers under government plans to drop official advice warning them to stay away.

Ministers are preparing to tone down warnings over the use of trains according to an article in The Times today.

The paper says it has learnt that the government will monitor the use of public transport over the weekend and early next week before possibly abandoning the approach it has maintained since March.

Train operators are preparing to increase frequencies from Sunday, and today the Rail Delivery Group has launched a Safer Travel Pledge.

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Sheffield-based SME 3Squared has been awarded a major contract working on HS2.

The railway technology company is working with direct contractors SCS JV, who are delivering the tunnelling programme for the route between London Euston up to the M25.

Sticking with HS2 and the search has started for a specialist contractor to deliver the Overhead Catenary System that will provide power to the trains – a contract worth £300m.

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Railway season tickets should revert to old-fashioned style ticket books to help people work from home a transport watchdog has said.

The article in The Daily Telegraph says that research by Transport Focus found that more than a third of commuters expected to continue to work from home full time after lockdown restrictions were fully lifted.

Transport Focus said that as a result of this shift, ministers should introduce flexible season tickets that would work like the old ‘carnet’ ticket books.

A row over the size of a propose car park at a visitor centre for the Forth Bridge has ended up with the Scottish Government.

The article in the i newspaper says Network Rail, which owns the site, labelled Edinburgh City Council’s decision to halve the planned number of parking spaces as ‘arbitrary’.

When approving the plans, the council imposed a condition which would allow 39 spaces, a 50% reduction from the submitted number.

Network Rail has appealed to the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division to overturn the condition.

Photo credit: Rail Delivery Group

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