Latest news with #Peterborough
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Hybrid locomotives aim to halve freight emissions
New locomotives that run on electricity and renewable fuels could reduce rail freight emissions by more than half on a typical journey. A £150m investment was made into Class 99 locomotives, which were unveiled in Peterborough at GB Railfreight (GBRf) headquarters on Thursday. Once testing was complete, the new fleet could enter commercial service to move consumable goods and materials across the country this winter. Andrew Pakes, the MP for Peterborough, said it was a "game changer for our city and the national effort to build a greener, more sustainable future". The Class 99s run on electric lines where available and switch to renewable fuels elsewhere. They aimed to reduce the industry's carbon footprint and ensure goods arrived at their destinations sooner. John Smith, CEO of GBRf, said the locomotives "set a new benchmark for performance and sustainability in UK rail freight". "It's massive," he said. "This is seven years in the making from the point of having the idea to replace our existing diesel trains with this bi-mode locomotive, to ordering them, to financing them, to them actually being built and delivered to the UK." Mr Smith hoped the decarbonising locomotives would help grow rail freight in the UK as it was "far less carbon emitting than road transport". Transports from GBRf included materials for house building, aviation fuel to airports, clothes, white goods, wine and materials used to heat homes. Jon Garner, senior operation training manager, told the BBC it was "a real pleasure" to drive and "fantastic for our office and the community". "I've spent about nine months talking about the locomotives and looking at them when we visited Stadler in Valencia. They're our babies." Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, said he looked forward to seeing the locomotives decarbonising the rail network. He said: "With robust protections for fair network access and ambitious growth targets a part of our plans for Great British Railways, we're ensuring the rail freight sector has what it needs to thrive so it can continue removing thousands of HGVs from our roads whilst delivering huge economic benefits across the country." The new locomotives had hybrid power, faster acceleration, reduced downtime, and increased productivity. Pakes added the investment would not only help cut emissions, but also create local jobs and drive economic growth. "Peterborough is proud to be at the forefront of Britain's rail freight innovation," he said. "I am proud to see our city playing such a key role in shaping the future of rail freight." Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. More like this story Minister opens city's £5.75m rail maintenance hub Rail boss 'surprised and thrilled' at OBE award Related internet links GB Railfreight
BBC News
an hour ago
- Business
- BBC News
Peterborough hybrid locomotives aim to halve freight emissions
New locomotives that run on electricity and renewable fuels could reduce rail freight emissions by more than half on a typical journey.A £150m investment was made into Class 99 locomotives, which were unveiled in Peterborough at GB Railfreight (GBRf) headquarters on testing was complete, the new fleet could enter commercial service to move consumable goods and materials across the country this winter. Andrew Pakes, the MP for Peterborough, said it was a "game changer for our city and the national effort to build a greener, more sustainable future". The Class 99s run on electric lines where available and switch to renewable fuels aimed to reduce the industry's carbon footprint and ensure goods arrived at their destinations Smith, CEO of GBRf, said the locomotives "set a new benchmark for performance and sustainability in UK rail freight". "It's massive," he said. "This is seven years in the making from the point of having the idea to replace our existing diesel trains with this bi-mode locomotive, to ordering them, to financing them, to them actually being built and delivered to the UK."Mr Smith hoped the decarbonising locomotives would help grow rail freight in the UK as it was "far less carbon emitting than road transport". Transports from GBRf included materials for house building, aviation fuel to airports, clothes, white goods, wine and materials used to heat Garner, senior operation training manager, told the BBC it was "a real pleasure" to drive and "fantastic for our office and the community". "I've spent about nine months talking about the locomotives and looking at them when we visited Stadler in Valencia. They're our babies." Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, said he looked forward to seeing the locomotives decarbonising the rail said: "With robust protections for fair network access and ambitious growth targets a part of our plans for Great British Railways, we're ensuring the rail freight sector has what it needs to thrive so it can continue removing thousands of HGVs from our roads whilst delivering huge economic benefits across the country."The new locomotives had hybrid power, faster acceleration, reduced downtime, and increased added the investment would not only help cut emissions, but also create local jobs and drive economic growth. "Peterborough is proud to be at the forefront of Britain's rail freight innovation," he said."I am proud to see our city playing such a key role in shaping the future of rail freight." Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Telegraph
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Starmer is about to repeat Blair's very worst mistake
The Festival of Hounds at Peterborough is the largest annual gathering of the hunting community drawn from all parts of the country, cutting across all social divisions, backgrounds and age groups. United by a passion for hounds, hunting and the countryside, the festival itself is a celebration of a British tradition. For reasons which may stem from the ever-increasing distance between rural and urban lives, however, this community has been at the centre of a political storm for decades. The last time Labour was in government, Tony Blair wasted 700 hours of parliamentary time and fought a bitter battle in the countryside for seven years before traditional hunting was eventually banned. In his memoirs he wrote that the ban was 'one of the domestic legislative measures I most regret', and Labour paid the price by being largely unelectable in rural constituencies for a political generation. Strangely the new Labour government seems determined to repeat the mistakes of the not-too-distant past. It was elected with a manifesto commitment to ban trail hunting – the successor to traditional hunting – which involves chasing the scent of a fox, rather than a fox itself. Class war has always been the underlying motivation You would have thought that this was a benign activity and, indeed, it is exactly what hunts were told to do when the original ban came in, but there are a section of Labour MPs, often being pressed by animal rights activists embedded in their local Labour parties, for whom hunting has always been a cipher for class ward. They think the hunting ban has failed because hunts still exist. The eradication of the hunting community has always been their primary, if unspoken, aim. They will never be satisfied until the last hunt has closed and will attempt to ensure that any new legislation achieves that goal. Meanwhile, ministers know perfectly well that this is an issue which is completely irrelevant to the vast majority of voters, as polling has consistently shown. It would be very difficult to square the Government's narrative about a relentless focus on tackling the fiscal challenge, driving growth and heading off international crises with a diversion into such petty and prejudiced legislation. How the Government extracts itself from this mess is a challenging question. We are barely a year into a five-year parliament but every week another urban Labour MP asks Ministers when they will bring forward legislation to ban trail hunting. Tony Blair's government was elected with a manifesto commitment to ban hunting and faced a similarly obsessive campaign from the backbenches. But it took five years and a second election victory before he was finally worn down and committed to legislation. Faced with backbenchers seething over the invasion of Iraq and a bitter parliamentary battle over the introduction of foundation hospitals the advice was to feed them the 'red meat' of hunting. As an observer who has lived through one unpleasant bout of hunting legislation and seen the impact on Labour's reputation in the countryside, I would counsel the current Prime Minister against any such thinking this time around. Hugely damaging issue for the Government The Countryside Alliance has been warning the Labour Party for years about the political danger of legislating on hunting, not just because of the issue of trail hunting itself, but because of the message it sends to rural voters that the Government is not interested in their priorities. More than that I do not believe that the country as a whole is impressed by partial, prejudice politics or believes that this issue should be a priority for a Government with so many other serious issues on its agenda. As Peter Mandelson memorably put it to a rural audience a couple of years ago: 'If it is wrong…for the Right-wing to stoke culture wars against minorities, it is just as wrong for the Left-wing in our country to stoke culture wars against rural minorities'. Trail hunting may be a niche activity carried out by a rural minority, but it is also potentially a hugely damaging issue for the Government. No one has ever won a political battle over hunting, as Tony Blair himself has admitted, so manifesto commitment or not the sensible course is to stick to real priorities and leave well alone.
BBC News
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Bingo hall in Peterborough draws in new generation of players
Two eighteen-year-olds said "bingo was not just for older people" as they turned their hand to the game in the last bingo centre in the county. Lucy Lonnen and Alesksa Svencika, both 18, said they always wanted to play bingo when they legally could and visited the Buzz Bingo hall in site has become Cambridgeshire's last dedicated bingo centre following the closure of Winners Bingo hall in Shuttleworth, 48, the manager of Buzz Bingo, said the game was "evolving" and would "survive long into the future". Ms Svencika said: "One of the first things I wanted to do when I turned 18 was experience real live bingo. "I am quite competitive and I found my eyes couldn't scan the card quickly enough - but I think I got the hang of it."The National Bingo Game Association said a combination of the Covid pandemic, energy prices and the impact of the recent Budget on employment costs have "made it difficult for smaller independent bingo clubs to survive".Ms Svencika added she was surprised that her first visit to play bingo was free as a taster."I'm not worried about getting hooked on it - it's not that addictive."I would only come with friends for a social time out," she added. Mr Shuttleworth has been involved in the industry for more than 25 years."We see bingo as low cost, low risk, people can spend a couple of hours here for £6 - it's good value," he felt the game had a future, despite the county losing some bingo venues recently."We are evolving, changing and investing and can see some green shoots, it is a bit like the pub industry, which is also facing challenges."It can be an important part of the community giving people a chance meet with friends, others like to come out for a night of fun, have something to eat and drink and escape the real world for a bit," he added. Margaret Heaney, 74, plays bingo at the venue with her 45-year-old daughter Jo Heaney."I think online bingo is affecting numbers, it is not as busy as it used to be with my friends, it must be hard to make a profit," she Heaney said in 1971 her late mother scooped £1,000 at another Peterborough bingo hall, which has since closed. The winnings allowed her to buy a house in the city, which was later sold for £250,000."I have played since I was 18, it was to be a great way to meet up with old friends but not so many come these days," she said."Bingo hasn't changed much over the years, the most I've ever won was about £80. "I can't play online as I don't have a computer or smartphone. "There does seem to be more younger people coming to play, it does appeal to all ages and both sexes," she added. Miles Baron, from the National Bingo Game Association, said: "It is a sad day when any bingo club closes, they are often an important part of the local community and those social connections formed by members are often irreplaceable."Our heart goes out to the members, employees and owners of the Winners Bingo club in Wisbech." If you are affected by issues raised in this article, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
14 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Peterborough Station Quarter £65m project takes step forward
A £65m project to regenerate the area around a city station is getting closer to receiving much-needed government City Council needs to confirm it will be responsible for additional costs in building an area known as the Station Department for Transport (DfT) has agreed to pay nearly £48m towards the project – on the condition that the council is responsible for any "cost overruns".A report being presented to councillors on 23 July said: "For local authorities in receipt of significant public funding, this is a standard request." The government approved the Station Quarter project in May, which would build a new entrance to Peterborough railway station, pedestrianised square and multi-storey car £48m of DfT funding was signed off a few weeks later, with works set to begin in August. At the time, the city's Labour MP, Andrew Pakes, said: "I'm really hopeful we will see the hoardings going up in August and work beginning to start."As well as a refurbished station building, new paths would make it easier for pedestrians and cyclists to get to the city centre shops - and landmarks like the city's City Council and Network Rail would be responsible for the building works, which are expected to cost £65m in total, with the rest being match-funded by other sources, such as Network Rail and the city council's Towns report said: "The council will be accountable for the agreed level of grant funding provided.. and as such will be responsible for any costs incurred over and above that figure."It added that the project would have "significant social, economic, and environmental regeneration benefits" for the area around the station and wider city centre. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
