Transport Insights

The transport stories you won't see in the industry-friendly media

Author

Chris Ames

  • Ministers promise action sometime as casualties continue

    The latest statistics from the Department for Transport show the country treading water on road safety, with fatalities down but serious casualties up overall.

    According to Reported road casualties in Great Britain, provisional estimates: 2025, there were an estimated:

    1,556 fatalities, a decline of 3% compared to 2024

    29,911 killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties, an increase of 4% compared to 2024

    127,870 casualties of all severities, little change compared to 2024

    The quote from a government spokesperson as reported by the Guardian should raise immediate suspicions:

    We have set an ambitious target to reduce deaths and serious injuries by 65% by 2035 and have consulted on multiple new measures, including a lower drink drive limit and a minimum learning period.

    When you proclaim your target to be “ambitious”, you are both telling people that you are trying to make a big impact and giving yourself a get out when you miss the target.

    As I commented at the time, the draft of the third Road Investment Strategy, published last summer, said:

    Progress towards a stretch target of a 50% reduction for the RIS2 period has proved challenging.

    (more…)

  • Lightwood loses by a submission

    Still on the subject of Essex road widening, a bizarre exchange has taken place between a Tory MP and the roads minister about the decision by the last government to delay the start of works on the A12 widening project, with the minister telling the Tory that he cannot see “advice” given to the Tories.

    With the roads minister being Simon Lightwood, of course there is a degree of evasiveness, obstructiveness and chicanery, with the upshot being that the Tories want to show that they didn’t shelve the scheme – which Labour formally cancelled – and Lightwood wanting to suggest that they did.

    It seems to go back to a question last year from local MP Priti Patel, asking for

    an assessment of the changes in costs for the A12 widening scheme following the decision taken by the Secretary of State to pause that scheme in July 2024

    This relates to the decision by the then transport secretary, Louise Haigh, soon after Labour came to power, to put a number of large schemes into a review. The scheme was cancelled a year later.

    With Patel obviously wanting to blame the pause for the cost increase, Lightwood pointed out that the Tories had deferred the scheme in March 2024. The latest cost estimate he gave was up to £1.27bn in September 2022.

    A few questions later, Tory Greg Smith asked:

    whether a written ministerial direction, submission, or other formal decision document exists in relation to the March 2024 decision to defer the start of construction on the A12 widening scheme

    Lightwood decided to answer the question selectively:

    (more…)

  • Not so Cleverly done: BBC bins balance, backs road building

    The BBC has a very poor, and quite late, report on the decision to cancel the A120 Braintree to Marks Tey dualling scheme, with no consideration of whether continuous road building is a good idea in a climate emergency, or even the only solution to a poor safety record.

    The cancellation of the scheme emerged when the Road Investment Strategy was published in March and it was removed from the pipeline of future works.

    Ministers say the project is no longer affordable, but some of those who live, work and travel on the trunk road are angered by the decision and fear for its future sustainability.

    Having admitted that it may only be “some” people who are angered by the decision, the BBC then devotes its article exclusively to those views.

    The road does appear to have an appalling safety record, approximately one fatality a year this century but:

    Average speed cameras were installed between Braintree and Marks Tey in 2025 and a new 50mph (80km/h) limit was enforced for most of the route.

    While it’s too early to tell what the impact of this might be, there will be statistics. But the BBC doesn’t need statistics, when it has subjective claims to rely on:

    (more…)

  • Arterio rollout happening less slowly after nationalisation

    The Department for Transport’s press release celebrating a year since South Western Railway was nationalised highlights some genuine improvements, but the DfT can never resist spoiling a good story with exaggeration.

    To celebrate the milestone, the Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy unveiled a GBR-branded train – an Arterio operated by SWR at London Waterloo station.

    He must have had a big veil.

    I can tell it was a 701 as it says 701 on the front. But the main story is:

    Thanks to public ownership, the government and SWR leadership sped up the introduction of new Arterio trains and accelerated driver training after years of delay, significantly boosting capacity and comfort for passengers across the network.

    This crucial change resulted in 39 new trains entering service since May last year. As a result, the number of seats and space on board suburban services into London Waterloo has increased by 27%, with even greater increases on other routes

    I think it is true that nationalisation cut through some of the ridiculous obstacles that delayed the introduction of the class 701 Arterios for years, but the DfT admits:

    SWR is now on track to have 50 Arterios in service

    The full fleet of 90 Arterio trains is expected to be in service by early 2027

    So we are just about half way to something that should have happened by 2019. This and other things means that the DfT is quoting from very dodgy statistics.

    (more…)

  • Leading the way or way behind?

    Today’s announcement from the Department for Transport that passengers are one step closer to booking taxi and bus-style self-driving vehicles is so full of bullshit, it’s hard to know where to start.

    I’ll forgive them the one step closer because something his actually happening:

    Applications open for operators to join the self-driving vehicles pilot scheme.

    Then the bullshit really gets going:

    an industry that will unlock significant economic growth and support thousands of jobs

    So not having drivers is increasing employment is it?

    And then Mike Hawes of the SMMT weighs in:

    Automated passenger services represent a market expected to be worth some £3.7 billion annually in Britain by 2040, while having the potential to widen society’s access to mobility and improve road safety.

    It’s not a huge amount of money in the grand scheme of things, but is that a new market – ie more people using cars to get around – or displacing the existing non-automated passenger services?

    The SMMT/KPMG report that it comes from does not state whether this is additive or displacement.

    (more…)

  • Blairite Byrne backs big business bleating

    MPs on the Business and Trade Committee, led by a centrist chair, have firmly aligned themselves with big business in support of its profits – and against the interests of the planet.

    The Commons Business and Trade Committee (BTC) has written to ministers from the department that it scrutinises, and the Department for Transport, “warning that the combination of outdated ZEV Mandate thresholds and the threat of new trade barriers with the EU pose a potentially existential risk to the UK auto sector”.

    I won’t get into the EU stuff because I don’t understand it, but the comments from committee chair Liam Byrne on the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate suggest that he has swallowed the pleadings of manufacturers hook, line, and sinker:

    BTC calls for ZEV review to be brought forward and other measures for UK auto industry

    In his letter, Byrne reveals:

    Top of our list of sectors of concern is the UK’s automotive industry and so we took evidence from Jaguar Land Rover, Ford and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

    We were told that the regulatory trajectory of the ZEV mandate no longer aligns with consumer demand:

    This year, the industry is required to reach a 33% EV share in cars while sales remain below 25%, and a 24% target in commercial vehicles when the market is at 10%.

    There’s a discussion to be had about whether manufacturers are “discounting” EVs as claimed, or overcharging less, but the EV mandate is 22%, albeit it is reported as 33% because of previous credit borrowing.

    (more…)

  • Never short of gimmicks

    In another sign that “careful now” remains the government’s mantra, ministers claim to have to set up a new “taskforce”, with no powers, to tackle the barriers to new mass transit systems across the UK, by…making recommendations to themselves.

    In similar vein the Department for Transport (DfT) will also consult on giving mayors, powers to make Transport and Works Act orders (TWAOs) – but not devolved funding.

    I’m not saying the DfT has a habit of claiming that something is actually happening when nothing is actually happening but its press release proudly announced:

    New tram, light rail and bus networks in towns and cities have taken a step forward, as the government launches the new Mass Transit Taskforce.

    The group, which includes leading experts from the world of transport, industry, finance and academia, will identify the biggest hurdles facing the introduction of mass transit systems across the UK and how to overcome them.

    With the step forward so small as to be undetectable, I think the underlying message is, don’t hold your breath.

    At least they got West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin, whose plans to bring trams to the region are being obstructed by the DfT, to say something positive through gritted teeth. (more…)

  • Is the new fix the same as the old fix?

    I have received some more information from Transport for London (TfL) about the “safety-critical” weight restriction on Vauxhall Bridge and its “long-term” plan to fix the structure, which seems to be to try harder to find funding for long-postponed refurbishment work.

    TfL announced last week that from July vehicles over 18 tonnes will be prohibited from using the bridge, with the exception of (a large number of) buses and emergency vehicles.

    It said this followed an assessment that showed that elements of the structure had deteriorated and that it has “a lower weight-bearing capacity than previously assessed”.

    It has told me that the issue is “a newly identified defect, found during our most recent inspection”.

    TfL says it has a programme of regular inspections for all structures across its road network, “with associated refurbishment projects where required”.

    But, in the case of Vauxhall Bridge, the knowledge that significant refurbishment is needed has not caused such refurbishment to be delivered – and it may still not.

    (more…)

  • Slightly less fog on the Tyne

    Newcastle City Council has come back to me with a bit of background to last week’s story that it was considering installing a barrier to tackle Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) exceedances at a pollution hotspot.

    Apparently, the BBC picked the story up from consultation documents relating to the council’s draft air quality action plan, which sets out potential options for improving air quality, including at a location on Stephenson Road where there have been high readings of NO2.

    The council said that a study is underway and is looking at modelling data to determine whether a barrier could have a positive effect in reducing short-term exposure to NO2 emissions in this location.

    It is expecting results from the study “later in the summer”, which will help to inform what next steps may be taken but that is a bit too soon to say that is are actively considering installing any measures as at this stage.

    The barrier doesn’t appear to be in the draft plan itself but the study is referenced in this document from SPACE for Gosforth (Safe Pedestrian and Cycling Environment).

    A council spokesperson said:

    We do not currently have any plans to install any barriers on Stephenson Road.

    We are looking at ways we can improve air quality and a data-based study looking at the impact of potential solutions is being carried out.

    Until this data is available we do not know what measures may be effective and whether any measures would be installed in the future.

  • Spinning as fast as they can

    The Department for Transport appears to have briefed all the newspapers about the latest review into the HS2 fiasco – presumably to take the sting out of the news of more delays, cost increases, and backtracking – but one report on the Times suggests that compromises along the way will deliver a botched project.

    It reports that:

    Chris Gibb, previously chief operating officer at Virgin Trains, believes economic growth will be constrained because a likely reduction in capacity on Glasgow to London Euston services will inevitably push up prices.

    Gibb fears the likelihood of only one hourly Glasgow-to-London train will mean the service is unable to cope with demand for special events such as the Commonwealth Games or London Marathon, as well as traditional peak points such as school holidays.

    The Times and other papers have previously reported on the sacking of Chris Gibb from the Department for Transport Operator after he made similar comments, including that a lower frequency will combine with shorter trains.

    The story in terms of the capacity to Glasgow is very complicated and analysis seems to depend on what you compare it against – the existing situation or the original plans for HS2.

    (more…)

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