Belfast Rapid Transit unveils new Glider vehicle and launch of new Abbey Wood Station building

This is a follow up to my previous article about the Belfast Rapid Transit project in Northern Ireland.

From Department for Infrastructure Northern Ireland

The new Belfast Rapid Transit Glider vehicle has been unveiled today at the Busworld Europe exhibition in Belgium.

The new Glider service will come into operation in September 2018 and is set to transform public transport in Belfast. It will offer passengers a modern, efficient public transport service with shorter, more reliable journey times and high frequency services.

McGill’s buses launches contactless payment and update on Electric buses for London

As more and more bus companies in Britain are launching contactless as another way to pay fares, up in Scotland, McGill’s buses has invested £1.6 million on new ticketing machines to enable contactless.

From McGill’s buses website

McGill's has launched Contactless payment - first across our 23 & X23 Erskine to Glasgow services - and rolling out to all buses by the end of the year.

Customers can now buy their single, return, all day and weekly tickets - up to the value of £30 - with your Contactless bank cards or enabled mobile devices.

Consultation on two new proposed stations for the London Overground at Old Oak and my quick thoughts on HS2

TfL has opened up a consultation on the proposed London Overground stations at Old Oak serving the future High Speed 2 (HS2) railway line.

From TfL press release

Transport for London (TfL) has today begun a five week consultation on plans for two potential new London Overground stations that would provide a link to the Elizabeth line and High Speed 2 (HS2) and support the regeneration at Old Oak and Park Royal in west London

Improvements are coming for the London Underground Sub-Surface Lines

The sub-surface Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines are set to have a new signalling system in order to improve reliability and services.

From TfL press release

Reliability and customer information on sections of Circle and Hammersmith & City lines to improve from next year.

· New system will mean quicker, more frequent services on sub-surface lines from 2021

· 40% of Tube to benefit from huge improvements by 2023

· The transformation of London Underground's sub-surface lines has taken a significant step forward, with multiple test trains running on the brand new signalling system for the first time in London.

Tri-Axle Enviro200’s for New Zealand

Alexander Dennis has manufactured 20 single deck tri-axle Enviro200’s for Birkenhead Transport in New Zealand.

From Alexander Dennis

A significant order for Alexander Dennis Enviro200XLB 3 axle single decks was sealed at the Bus and Coach Association 2017 Annual Conference in Rotorua today.

Robert Inwards, Owner and Director of the highly regarded, Birkenhead Transport, signed a contract for 20 brand new Enviro200XLB 3 axle single decks at the Alexander Dennis booth at the BCA Conference.

Irizar electric buses for London Bus routes W13 and 153

Recently, Irizar demonstrated their range of buses at the Coach & Bus 2017 exhibition in Birmingham. One of the electric buses is set to be trialled on London Bus routes W13 and 153.

From Irizar press release

A new generation of sustainable and luxurious coaches and buses with Irizar’s leading-edge technology

Refurbished trains for the New York City’s Subway E Line

Looking at the transport news in America, I found that in New York City, the MTA has invested to refurbish their E Line subway trains.

From MTA press release

Arriva loses London Bus routes 268, H2 and H3 to Metroline

This is a short London Bus news update regarding route tender awards.

LOTS have published the following on the London Bus tender awards:

6 new electric buses and 20 hybrid buses for Lothian Buses

In Scotland, Lothian Buses has invested £2.7 million with the help of the Scottish Green Bus fund to roll out six single deck electric buses serving Edinburgh.

From Lothian Buses

At an investment of over £2.7million, the new Wrightbus Street Air single deck buses will operate on our Service 1 route from Monday 2 October which carrries around 1.8 million customers each year.

The service runs through Edinburgh’s central air quality management area, and this investment cements our commitment to reduce emissions and improve air quality in the area.

October Industrial action for Greater Anglia, Southern and Tube services

UPDATE - 4th October 2017

The industrial action for the London Underground is now cancelled.

The planned strike due to take place on Thursday 5th October has been cancelled. Services will be running as normal.

— Transport for London (@TfL) October 3, 2017

Original article starts below

Not a good start to the month of October 2017 as Greater Anglia, Southern and London Underground services will be disrupted due to industrial action.

London Underground services will be disrupted for one day while Greater Anglia and Southern services are disrupted for two days. I’m aware that Northern Rail and Merseyrail will be striking on the same days as Greater Anglia and Southern but I will concentrate on the disruptions that are happening in London.