Transport In Greater Manchester

2003-06-12T10:00:00.000Z

sorry about the lack of updating - combination of problems relating to IT at work and illness - full review of last few weeks to be posted on fri 13th

2003-05-16T10:28:00.000Z

Transport 2000 predicts summer of discontent over rail

Service cuts imposed by the SRA arepredicted to cause much suffering on the railways according to Transport 2000

"AS NEW fares and timetables come into force on Sunday, Transport 2000 warns passengers to make the most of the railways while they can. Campaigners say that this summer could see further cuts in services, plans for a massive fares hike and new franchising that revolves around fewer trains and lower standards.

This Sunday the new summer timetable comes into effect on Britain’s railways. It sees the first round of service cuts imposed by the Strategic Rail Authority to “improve performance” and the regular round of fares increases. But much worse may be just around the corner, say rail campaigners."

2003-05-16T10:21:00.000Z

DfT's annual report

the DfT has released its annual report. It would cost over £36 to buy but it's free over the internet. It's also 163 pages long and gives details on how money has been spent and the achievements of the DfT over the past year.

Alistair Darling says: "This Annual Report shows that good progress has been made since the Department for Transport was set up in May 2002. However, there is still a lot
to do to build the transport system the public expects and deserves. It is bound to be a long haul. But there is a strategy in place, and across the country people are getting on with delivering it."

and I'll let you be the judge of the accuracy of that statement

2003-05-13T09:26:00.000Z

congestion changing

the govt has made its response to the Transport Committee's Report on Urban Charging Schemes

"The Transport Select Committee issued its report on Urban Charging Schemes on 9 February 2003 in which it makes twenty-five recommendations.Much of the report
focuses on the Mayor’s road user charging (RUC) scheme for central London, which at the time of the Select Committee (October 2002) had yet to start. It is now running and although it will take time to evaluate the effectiveness of the scheme, it appears to be working well."

The document sets out the Government’s response to each of the committee’s specific recommendations.

2003-05-13T09:18:00.000Z

rew high speed rail link

A HIGH speed rail network could cut journeys from Manchester to London to just one hour.

my favourite quote from the peice is: "But the SRA warned that such details had yet to be worked out for the project, which industry experts say could cost £36 billion - equivalent to the price of an international space station - over 30 to 40 years."

does this mean that running the railways IS rocket science after all?

2003-05-13T09:16:00.000Z

Toll road bad for business?

A Cheshire-based haulage firm fears tolls on the new M6 Midland Expressway next year will cost his business up to £80,000 a month.

2003-05-12T10:00:00.000Z

burying bad news

ithe independent reports that Alistair Darling has been ecouraging the use of gagging clauses that stop rail operators from reporting negative information to the press.

One source said: "Operators really do have to watch what they say and not attempt to give any in-depth information to journalists. The SRA is trying to bury bad news. Some of these companies are in effect employees of the authority."

2003-05-07T10:02:00.000Z

toll road charges released

The company which has built and will be maintaining britain's first tolled motorway has just released its pricing structures. At peak time it will cost £3 to take a car on the road and £11 for a lorry. There are concerns that this will encourage freight to use existing roads in order to save on maintenance cost on the new road

2003-05-07T09:56:00.000Z

back again

posting slowed a little due to the coverage of the local election and the bank holiday. also the number of newspaper articles may be reduced. a number of newspaper websites now charge for their content, previously only the independent and guardian allowed free access to everything they produced. now the independent charges for opinion peices and for any new article that's over a week old.

2003-04-28T10:13:00.000Z

Darling to open the hard shoulder for use

Alistair Darling, the Transport Secretary, is planning to tackle Britain's chronic motorway congestion by opening the hard shoulder of the busiest routes to motorists.

But the RAC and AA claimed safety would be jeopardised if hard shoulders were used at busy times of the day to cut jams on major routes, especially around London and in the North-west

2003-04-25T10:53:00.000Z

rural roads require repair

Britain's rural roads have suffered their worst deterioration since 1977, the government admitted yesterday, as an epidemic of wheel ruts, weeds and cracked surfaces spreads across the country.

2003-04-23T09:44:00.000Z

How am I driving?

A sign I've often seen on delivery vans as they weave along the road, cutting up other motorists with gay abandon. I've often been tempted to call the number and complain, unfortunately when driving one should not try to note down phone numbers and license plates but concentrate on driving.

Now I find that there's a better reason for ignoring these signs. the person on the end of the phone will probably ignore you unless you are complementing them. The Independent runs a story about this haphazard approach to customer care

"Figures released by the Freight Transport Association (FTA) reveal that nearly half of the calls received by the "Well Driven?" scheme, which organises the stickers on the back of lorries, are complaints about being cut up.

But the FTA admitted that only a third of calls ever lead to reports being forwarded to the companies whose vehicles are complained about.

One group of comments that it does pass on, however, are the complimentary ones – which make up 13 per cent of calls."

2003-04-23T09:38:00.000Z

rail strikes.... again

More rail strikes have been planned for May 6th-7th and May 27th-28th.

the strike is about the RMT's view that the role of guards is being downgraded and will affect Virgin trains in this part of the world

2003-04-23T09:34:00.000Z

bobbies on the bus

in order to make bus travel safer police officers in Greater Manchester will be given free bus travel.

Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Michael Todd, added: "I am extremely pleased with the travel concession which is being introduced between GMP and participating local bus companies. This is a great step towards the fight against crime, developing more partnership working. If any criminal still thinks that they can use public transport to carry out their crimes-think again! From now on they will not know if they are sat next to a police officer. Increasing the number of police officers travelling on public transport, in both uniform and plain clothes, will give greater public reassurance towards their safety and help make a safer Greater Manchester transport system."

2003-04-23T09:29:00.000Z

LPG not green?

the Financial times reports that the government will face the embarrassing prospect of having to withdraw a tax break for liquid petroleum gas if it is proved that the "green gas" does not have the environmental credentials the government has claimed. (unable to provide a link - it's a subscription site)

2003-04-16T09:15:00.000Z

threat to free tram travel

The Strategic Rail Authority has decided to withdraw funding for free tram travel in Manchester. currently rail tickets to a manchester station will allow you to travel within the city centre on a tram for free. originally this was to allow commutters to travel to other manchester stations for free in order to change train and was supposed to encourage people to use rail

However the SRA no longer feel this funding is appropriate - with their budgets being squeezed they're looking for savings and have targetted this funding as a possible cut, their view being that it is not being used in the way intended and is subsidising people who's main destination is the city centre itself.

the GMPTE is making its views heard with government so the battle isn't over yet.

2003-04-15T12:12:00.000Z

railcard info

more information on the national railcard from Railfuture to balance out the rather gloomy peice I posted last week

2003-04-15T12:09:00.000Z

easter buses

there are changes to bus services over easter most bus services will be running sunday timetables on bank holidays but there will be some reductions by some operators. If in doubt contact Greater Manchester's Public Transport Information Line on 0161-228 7811.

2003-04-15T09:30:00.000Z

Airport cuts charges

manchester airport is cutting its landing charges in an attempt to bring in more budget airlines to the airport.The airport has been hit by a loss of business due to the Iraq conflict and the SARS virus in Hong Kong - and with Liverpool airport growing through the custom of budget airlines it seems that Manchester Airport is stepping up its ability to compete.

2003-04-14T10:10:00.000Z

no future for a national railcard?

the independent reports on the 'cautious welcome' given to a proposed national railcard. the treasury doesn't see a direct financial benefit and with the industry so fragmented, train operating compainies are wary of getting involved. One might suggest that both organisations look at the benefit to the customer... maybe one day, eh?

2003-04-10T13:25:00.000Z

roadsigns go missing in Manchester

A gang of thieves seems to have been stealing roadsigns in the greater manchester area.

2003-04-10T10:16:00.000Z

new signals

a new high tech rail signalling system is to be based in Stockport.

"Network Rail bosses say that not only is the centre an important step in paving the way for Virgin's 125mph tilting trains, due to be brought in next year, but it will also prove safer and more reliable.

At the moment the centre has taken over the 23 miles of line controlled from Cheadle Hulme but by next year it will be responsible for train movements as far south as Sandbach."

2003-04-10T09:55:00.000Z

metrolink to Stockport

"Transport chiefs have unanimously welcomed a progress report that confirms plans for a Metrolink extension into Stockport are well underway."

2003-04-10T09:53:00.000Z

Road Safety

The government have released guidance about Tackling the road safety implications of disadvantage

local authorities will now have to demonstrate:
how they have taken account of the issue of road safety and disadvantage;
and authorities eligible for Neighbourhood Renewal Fund should outline how they plan to tackle their road safety problem in disadvantaged areas in 2003/04 and 2004/05.

this will be reported in the Annual Progress Report on the Local Transport Plan, to be completed by july 31st

2003-04-07T14:09:00.000Z

The UK's worst rat run

Transport 2000, the environmental charity, have started a competition to find Britain's worst rat run. Julia Samson, Transport 2000's Streets for People Co-ordinator, explains: 'Drivers who hunt down less congested short cuts through areas of housing are often oblivious to the impact they are having. What were once quiet residential streets are now the equivalent of main roads, with the added danger, noise and pollution that this brings. The result is that children are not allowed to play outside, neighbours do not stand and chat, and the desire to walk to the local shop is taken away.

'Rat-running in the UK is rife and communities feel helpless to do something about it. But this competition wants to highlight that something can be done and that there are solutions.'

2003-04-07T11:07:00.000Z

metrolink to stop at a farm?

not really but the Manchester Evening News reports that there is a new bus service linking from the Metrolink stop at Altrincham station taking passengers to visit the "the charms of rural Cheshire"

2003-04-07T11:01:00.000Z

electrifying news for eccles

"Eccles bus passengers will be among the first in Greater Manchester to benefit from an Electronic Timetable System, after transport chiefs today approved a £30,000 trial of the technology at the town centre's state of the art Interchange." say the gmpte. find out more

2003-04-07T10:56:00.000Z

Regional Transport Strategies

The DfT have just released a guide to producing regional transport strategies

2003-04-07T10:51:00.000Z

NWRPG

the Regional Planning Guidance for the NW has now been released and will it will have a major impact on land use in the NW

2003-04-03T13:34:00.000Z

GMPTE News

the new metrolink stop at shude hill has now opened. This will become part of a major interchange involving a new bus station

And the work to upgrade Ashton Rail Station has been further delayed. Originally expected to be completed by this month the work will not finish until July now.

2003-04-03T13:18:00.000Z

Manchester Road Tolls?
MP's back toll road is the powerful headline from the Manchester Evening News. Does this mean that Manchester is to get its own congestion charge.

Well not quite yet. This reports views expressed by the House of Commons Transport Select Committee. They were investigating govt studies on motorway congestion and concluded that motorway tolls rather than other options (such as new roads, lane widening, etc) is the most effective way of reducing congestion. They were also disappointed to learn that few studies had been done to investigate the impact of congestion on the economy.

2003-04-03T10:35:00.000Z

metal fatigue

The Guardian quite reasonably asks today "why are our railway lines falling apart" and then goes on to tell us.

2003-04-02T14:45:00.000Z

'Rogue' Petrol Alert

A batch of contaminated petrol has brought cars around the North West to a halt.

2003-04-02T14:41:00.000Z

Road Building

A new bypass is to be built in Mottram. This will cost £90M and is intended to relieve local villages from high levels of lorries who travel to the M67 via the Woodhead Pass as an alternative to using the M62. However this will be built on unspoilt moorland in the Peak National park and a range of Green groups have already registered their opposition.

The government has decided to scrap plans put forward by the Highways Agency to build a new motorway alongside the A556 in Mere, linking the M6 and M56, after opposition from the North West Regional Assembly

2003-04-02T09:47:00.000Z

Child Road Safety

In 2000 the govt gave itself the target to reduce the number of children killed or seriously injured on our roads by 40% by the year 2010. They've released a report, called Child road safety: achieving the 2010 target, which details progress so far and how they intend to move forwards

2003-04-02T09:33:00.000Z

Transport, Communities and the Environment

Manchester Friends of the Earth are running a project in Longsight, Manchester, that is looking at the relationships between transport, social and economic conditions and the enviroment. Details are here

2003-04-02T09:22:00.000Z

Disability and Access

The Disability Rights Commission have responded to a recent govt consultation. They say "The Department for Transport (DfT) has been consulting on lifting the exemption on transport services from the remit of the goods and services part of the DDA (Part III). If this exemption is lifted it should mean that, for example, a bus driver can no longer refuse to take a disabled passenger simply because he/she is disabled.

The DRC has welcomed these proposals, though we do have a number of concerns around the scope and operation of the legislation that we are urging the Government to address."

you can see full details of their response here

2003-04-01T11:00:00.000Z

News from the DfT

well not so much news but a reminder about changes that have been made and a new strategy of theirs

Orange badges for disabled drivers are now no longer valid - people should be using blule badges now, if eligible

And the DfT have produced an equality strategy. This document sets out the Department's aims to review its current understanding of the transport needs of people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds; to assess how well its current and future plans address those needs; to set out a strategy for the next two years; and to ensure that its employment practices enable it to deliver this strategy.

2003-04-01T10:56:00.000Z

The Independent reports how rail strikes caused massive service cuts yesterday. And there are more to come

2003-04-01T09:56:00.000Z

"Network Rail seeks to fill £10Bn hole" is the title of todays latest sorry tale in the Guardian. What a difference a day makes - yesterday there was a funding gap, now it's a hole! And I probably need to make no further comment except just give you the link funding hole

2003-03-31T11:10:00.000Z

in brief

the DfT have released guidance on the next set of LTP APR's (transport will surely be improved if we can get away from TLA's - three letter anacronyms): APR guidance

New Junior Bus Card introduced in Manchester: bus card

2003-03-31T10:55:00.000Z

And in the Independent, Rod Muttrum, currently chief executive of Railway Safety, has been dismissed from his job. He'd effectively had to reapply for the position but was unsuccesful. Mr Muttrum had been at heart of the current strike of train guards.

Railway safety

2003-03-31T10:51:00.000Z

A bumper day of articles in the guardian - mainly relating to increasing rail costs. It looks like network rail is losing just as much money as Railtrack was and funding from the government needs to double. Will ministers be happy to hand over this cash and not see any additional benefit or will they back away from a potential spending black hole?

£1,5Bn funding gap: funding

Network Rail says costs will double: Rail costs

And another article focussing on the Stockport to Stalybridge service and the lack of a direct return service: no return

2003-03-28T11:59:00.000Z

Introduction

I run the Transport Resource Unit in Manchester and for sometime I've wanted a resource that can point out what's happening in transport policy and also what's going on in Manchester transport wise. there isn't anything I can find so here's my own. If I can get this thing working!