Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Thursday, 30 October 2025

BBC News

• Skills hub opens to deliver Lower Thames CrossingFree construction training will be provided at a new skills hub in a bid to develop a local workforce to build the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC).
• Virgin to challenge Eurostar as it wins bid to share rail depotVirgin Trains will be able to launch rail services through the Channel Tunnel after the UK's rail regulator approved its application to share a depot with Eurostar.
• Tram stop renamed to 'help people get around'The new name for Manchester's Barton Dock Road stop should make it "easier to identify", bosses say.
• Residents call for TfL to manage foot tunnelsCampaign group Escalate Now says Transport for London would have "more clout" to fix broken lifts.
• Boeing hit with $5bn in penalties as new jet delayedThe beleaguered firm said it now plans to deliver 777X jets starting from 2027.

ITV News

• First Cymru bus strikes to go ahead as workers reject latest pay offerBus strikes are set to begin across Wales as First Cymru workers have rejected the latest pay offer from the company.

Financial Times

• Virgin Trains cleared to run Channel Tunnel services after regulator ruling Granting access to Temple Mills depot breaks Eurostar’s monopoly on the London-Paris route

The Guardian

• Toyota denies promising to invest $10bn in US after Trump announcementThe US president claimed he had been told the carmaker was going to be setting up factories ‘all over’ the USThe Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor has denied Donald Trump’s suggestion that it is poised to invest more than $10bn in the United States over the coming years.On a visit to Japan earlier this week, the US president claimed he had been told that the carmaker was going to be setting up factories “all over” the US “to the tune of over $10bn”. Continue reading...
• EU carmakers ‘days away’ from halting work as chip war with China escalatesIndustry body says reserves of Nexperia semiconductors are dwindling after Beijing bans exports of key componentsCarmakers in the EU are “days away” from closing production lines, the industry has warned, as a crisis over computer chip supplies from China escalates.The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) issued an urgent warning on Wednesday saying its members, which include BMW, Fiat, Peugeot and Volkswagen, were now working on “reserve stocks but supplies are dwindling”. Continue reading...

The Independent

• Misery weekend for UK rail passengers as key intercity lines are cutRail passengers face disruption across the first weekend of November as two key stretches of intercity line are closed for engineering work.
• Virgin to challenge Eurostar’s monopoly with Channel Tunnel servicesRegulator the Office of Rail and Road granted access to Sir Richard Branson’s company to share Eurostar’s depot in east London.

Parliament

• Bus services: PAC report calls for new clearly communicated vision from govtGovernment does not understand why elderly and disabled people are using buses far less than they used to. In a report on local bus services in England, which have not been good enough for many years, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is calling for a clearly communicated vision for bus services, including what outcomes it wants to achieve and by when.

Local Government

• PAC calls for 'clear strategy' on bus servicesMPs have urged the Government to set out a clearly communicated vision for local bus services in England, amid concerns over accessibility for elderly and disabled passengers.

Network Rail

• Complex Mitre Bridge level crossing upgrade completedPassengers and freight customers in West London are 'benefitting' from a safer and more reliable railway following the successful completion of essential upgrade work at Mitre Bridge level crossing.

Office of Rail and Road (ORR)

• Rail regulator opens door to future international train services with Temple Mills access approval for Virgin TrainsRail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), has today (Thursday 30 October) approved Virgin Trains' application for access to Temple Mills International depot. Access to Temple Mills is an important first step towards being able to operate cross border train services using the channel tunnel.

Birmingham Mail

• Labour statement over pay-per-mile car tax after calls for 9p rate from NovemberThe Resolution Foundation, which has considerable influence in Labour circles, said vehicle taxes should be overhauled

Birmingham Post

• Cardiff Parkway site ticks all the right boxes for potential major investment says Rolls-RoyceThe Cardiff Parkway project would deliver a new four platform mainline train station integrated into a 900,000 sq ft business park
• Humberside Airport says 'business as usual' as Eastern Airways suspends all flightsUK's travel industry facing 'significant knock-on effect' after Humber based airline grounds planes

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• International award for Bradford city centre pedestrianisation workTHE pedestrianisation of a huge swathe of Bradford city centre has won another award.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Multi-million pound rail upgrade 'will unlock more services to Liverpool'For decades there have been calls to increase the frequency of services between North Wales and Merseyside

London Evening Standard

• Virgin Trains gets green light to compete with Eurostar in huge boost for London travellersRail Minister Lord Peter Hendy hails regulator's decision to let Virgin Trains share Eurostar's east London train depot - and pushes for Ashford and Ebbsfleet International stations to be reopened

Manchester Evening News

• Massive plan for almost 10,000 houses and new train stations gets final sign-offThe multi-faceted plan would help shape the Greater Manchester borough for the next two decades

Nation. Cymru

• Multi-million rail upgrade to clear way for more passenger services from north Wales to LiverpoolPlans for a long-awaited upgrade, allowing freight trains to be taken off the main line to allow more frequent rail services between Wrexham and Bidston, have been revealed.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Cross party group call for better rail service in North Northumberland ahead of timetable changesA group of politicians from both sides of the Anglo-Scottish border have called on the Government and rail companies to improve services in the area ahead of major timetable changes. LNER is set to bring in the new system from next month that will see more trains between Edinburgh and London at the expense of some local services in Berwick.

Wales Online

• Bus strikes across Wales set to go ahead as workers reject pay offerFirst Cymru's bus services will be affected over four days

Other Regional Press

• Major Keith bridge repairs could finish early, MSP says after meeting with Network RailMajor repairs to an important bridge over a main railway line could be finished ahead of scheduled, an MSP has claimed.
• First Lower Thames Crossing Skills Hub opens door to new jobsNATIONAL Highways has ... opened the first of its new Skills Hubs in Gravesend, to provide free work-based training for local people who want to join or learn new skills in the construction industry.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• US and Saudi Arabia Block Shipping Net-Zero FrameworkIn a major setback for maritime decarbonisation, the United States and Saudi Arabia have blocked ratification of the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Net-Zero Framework (NZF). The move highlights deep divisions over stricter environmental controls on global shipping and has unsettled regulators, particularly in Europe
• Bus experts call for funding clarity and zero-emission plan as new Act becomes lawExperts at the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT UK) have welcomed the rubber stamping of the Bus Services Act 2025 as a long-awaited opportunity to reshape England's bus network; but warns that the law's success will depend on clear definitions, adequate funding, and real action beyond headline announcements.

New Civil Engineer

• East West Rail statutory consultation for Bedford to Cambridge on hold due to government BillThe statutory public consultation on the Bedford to Cambridge section of East West Rail (EWR) has been put on hold as the government's Planning and Infrastructure Bill passes through parliament.
• Workforce and passenger injuries on the rail network increase for fourth year runningThe number of injuries to both passengers and the workforce of the UK's rail network have continually increased over the past four years and are now nearly at pre-pandemic levels.

Rail Business Daily

• Proven geofencing benefits lead to expanded implementation at Network Rail North & EastFollowing a successful initial implementation, Network Rail North and East is now expanding the use of Tended's geofencing technology to its Leeds and Sheffield Delivery Units (DUs).

Rail Magazine

• Hitachi confident of orders pipeline securing UK factory for another decadeHitachi Rail believes that forthcoming orders will keep its North East manufacturing plant busy until the early 2030s and perhaps beyond.
• Chiltern Railways making case for discontinuous electrification to replace ageing DMUsA Strategic Business Case for partial electrification of the Chiltern Main Line has been compiled.
• Virgin approved to use Temple Mills depot and challenge EurostarThe Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has decided Virgin can use the East London depot for open access services through the Channel Tunnel, increasing the likelihood of Eurostar having direct competition for the first time.

Rail UK

• East West Rail inspires next generation of engineers at live infrastructure siteEast West Rail (EWR) is helping shape the future of ground engineering after offering Early Career Professionals (ECPs) a rare opportunity to gain hands-on experience at a live infrastructure site.

Railnews

• Railways rescue stranded airline passengers The collapse of Humberside-based airline Eastern Airways has left many passengers without the flight they were expecting, but several railway operators have offered to help. Free travel is available to passengers with confirmed airline documents, such as a boarding pass or staff ID.

Other News Sources

• Euan Stainbank MP - Record bus funding can't be a shopping list for Chinese manufacturersFalkirk MP Euan Stainbank warned that record levels of public investment in buses must not become a shopping list for Chinese manufacturers, calling instead for the UK Government to use upcoming transport funding to safeguard and strengthen Britain's domestic bus industry.
• Second round of consultation launches on rail freight interchange planMAJOR proposals for a strategic rail freight interchange have been unveiled.
• South Western Railway and Network Rail to discuss Teddington Station lift issues at community eventSouth Western Railway (SWR) and Network Rail are set to discuss the ongoing issues with the new lifts at Teddington Station during a community event next week.
• Plans unveiled for Buchanan Bus Station masterplanSPT has unveiled a vision for a modern transport hub and revitalised public space at Buchanan Bus Station in Glasgow.
• Environmental group calls for 'strengthened' review process of third Heathrow runway Expansion at Heathrow is one step closer after the government announced a review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) last week