New Buses for January 2017

More to come for route 388

As we approach February, the rollout of new buses continues in Britain.

We begin with Arriva who have taken delivery of 174 Volvo B5LH double deck hybrids.

Metroline wins London Bus Route 266 contract with 10-year-old Euro IV buses

This is a short news update about London Bus services. TfL have awarded the 266 contract to Metroline using 2007 Euro IV double deck buses.

Construction for Northern Line extension begins in March

After the long wait, the construction for the Northern Line extension begins in March.

From London Mayor press release

• Two new 3.2km tunnels will be created as the Northern line is extended to Battersea, via Nine Elms
• The extension – set for completion in 2020 – is the first major Tube line extension since the Jubilee line in the late 1990s
• Two 650-tonne tunnel boring machines, named Helen and Amy, are undergoing final testing

The Mayor of London has announced that tunnelling to create an extension of the Northern line between Kennington and Battersea will begin in March.

10 Low Emission Bus Zones and minimum wage for London Bus drivers

I’ve combined various ‘London Bus related’ news items in to this article.

First up we have the news that the London Mayor has announced 10 Low Emission Bus Zones for London.

From London Mayor press release

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, today announced plans for 10 more Low Emission Bus Zones deploying the greenest buses on the capital’s most polluted routes to cut harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.

The buses are part of the Mayor’s hard-hitting measures to tackle London’s filthy air – responsible for the premature deaths of more than 9,000 Londoners every year – with major plans set to be implemented in 2017 to tackle the dirtiest vehicles.

Abellio sells 40% of their Greater Anglia stake to Japanese based Mitsui

This is a follow up to my previous article titled ‘Abellio wins East Anglia railway franchise’.

Abellio has sold 40% of their Greater Anglia stake to Mitsui Group, which is one of the largest trading companies in Japan.

New Underground ticket hall and entrance opens at Victoria Station

At last! A new ticket hall and entrance has opened at Victoria Station. A long wait tends to go very quick!

From TFL Press release

Journeys through Victoria Underground station are set to become easier as a new North ticket hall, a key part of the £700m project to upgrade Victoria Tube station, has opened. A new entrance on Victoria Street, at the junction of Bressenden Place, near Cardinal Place, is now open and leads to the ticket hall and Victoria line. ‎The entrance means that customers can now easily exit the station onto Victoria Street without having to cross the series of busy road junctions outside the station.

January 2017 bus purchases for First Bus and London Bus tender awards

More investments made by First bus, to increase the usage for their services.

First up - the new bus purchases for their West of England services.

From First Group

First West of England invests £750k in brand new 'Severn Express' buses

Contactless payments for First Bus services

As Stagecoach rolls out their contactless bank cards - the next major bus operator in Britain, First Group, is set to roll out theirs.

From First Group

Rebuild of Custom House DLR station starts in February

The Custom House DLR station which serves the ExCeL centre in East London is set to be rebuilt on 3^rd February 2017 to link with the new Crossrail service.

Bus types revealed for new London Bus routes - 13, 360 and 388

Route 13 will be using buses of this design

As the real route 13 will be withdrawn soon and route 82 will be renumbered to 13 in order to retain the route 13 identity, London Bus Routes has revealed the bus type for the new route 13 contract.

First Tube Strike of 2017

Another year, another strike, another quick update - this one came as a surprise as one of the world’s largest metro systems - the London Underground is facing strikes!

From TFL press release

Transport for London (TfL) is advising customers that there will be a severely reduced service across the network on Sunday evening and all day on Monday should strike action currently planned by the RMT and TSSA unions go ahead.

Station staff who are members of the unions are currently planning to strike from 18.00 on Sunday 8 January for 24 hours. This would mean severely reduced services on Monday. TfL will try to run as many services as possible, but customers are advised to complete their journeys by 18.00 on Sunday, and that most Zone 1 stations are likely to be closed throughout the action.

Stagecoach comes to Kingston Upon Thames

Greater London receives its new route which is the 715. The route runs from Guildford towards Kingston Upon Thames and is funded by Surrey County Council - the service is not part of London Bus network.

From Stagecoach

From 31st December, Stagecoach will run a new service 715 from Guildford to Kingston upon Thames, via Ripley, Cobham & Esher, operated on behalf of Surrey County Council.

To mark the start of the new service, some journeys on Saturday 31st December 2016 will be run using an historic London bus, a double deck Routemaster coach that previously operated the former Green Line route 715 during the 1960s.

Arriva helps Wirral passengers stay connected during track renewal works

I’ve just come across the following news story - Arriva has purchased up to 30 brand new hybrid buses for their Liverpool service.

From Arriva

If you think you know rail replacement buses, think again; a dedicated fleet of up to 30 brand new Arriva hybrid buses will be taking Merseyrail passengers cross-river during the Wirral Loop Line track renewal works, between January and June 2017. This comes as part of a £340m investment in the Liverpool City Region's railways, which will see Network Rail’s engineers working day and night, 40 metres underground, replacing the track and concrete.

The Bermondsey Dive Under comes into use for Thameslink

More news about Britain’s railway industry - the new Bermondsey Dive Under finally comes into use!

From Network Rail

Passengers have been thanked for their patience after a busy programme of improvement work took place across the south east over the last two weeks.

New Class 387 trains for GWR service

Every year we are seeing more new trains for Britain’s Railways – and now the following news from First Great Western Railway has just caught my eye:

From Network Rail

Passengers travelling from Hayes & Harlington are enjoying a new improved service to mark the start of the new year, with an extra 6,550 seats available following Network Rail’s biggest ever festive upgrade.

Update on the 2017 TFL Fares

First of all, Happy New Year everyone!

I’ve found a recent press release from TFL containing a recap for you on the fare changes for London Transport services.

From TFL Press release

• Recent introduction of the Hopper fare, as well as the Mayor's pay as you go fares freeze on TfL services, mean Londoners will benefit even more in the coming years
• Fares not in TfL's control, including Travelcards, daily and weekly caps, and pay as you go fares on suburban rail services, to increase from 2 January 2017
• TfL urging customers to check they are using the right travel product to ensure they don't spend more than necessary to get around the city
• Transport for London (TfL) is urging all customers to check they are using the right travel product to ensure they do not spend more than necessary to get around the city, ahead of the annual fares revision on 2 January 2017.

Happy New Year! - What I’m expecting to see in 2017

First of all, Happy New Year everyone; this is a follow up to my roundup of 2016 article.

So, what kind of things am I expecting to happen in the transport world in 2017?