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

Monday, 29 April 2024

BBC News

• York Street: New train station opens in north BelfastA new train station has opened in north Belfast. The existing Yorkgate halt has been replaced by a station built beside it called York Street.
• Work begins to reopen railway line after 71 yearsWork has begun to reopen a section of a railway which closed 71 years ago. Diggers have begun clearing ditches and taking the path back to the original track bed on the Alnwick to Cornhill line in Northumberland.
• Ozzy the bull to be repaired due to loose partNetwork Rail says Ozzy has not moved since 28 March after a part came loose within its head.
• New 11 mile walking and cycle path completeThe accessible 11 mile (18km) Middlewood Way runs from Marple on the Peak District fringe to Macclesfield.
• Blind man says new cycle lanes are 'dangerous'Kevin Greenan says the design of the new Castleton cycle lane poses a risk to his safety.

Financial Times

• EU would need 50% tariffs to curb imports of Chinese electric carsReport says punitive action being mooted in Brussels would not be enough to deter carmakers
• Airlines lobby against EU plan to monitor non-COâ‚‚ emissions Global carriers ask Brussels to weaken landmark plans to require monitoring and disclosure of all emissions
• Russian GPS jamming threatens air disaster, warn Baltic ministersInterference with navigation signals blamed on Moscow has forced two Finnish flights to turn around mid-journey

The Guardian

• Hundreds of Heathrow Border Force officers to start four-day strikeMore than 300 workers will take action over plans to introduce rosters that could force 250 of them out of jobs
• Average cost of UK car insurance rises by one-third in a year, analysis findsABI reports annual jump of £157 in first quarter of 2024 but says 1% increase on previous quarter indicates rises are easing

The Scotsman

• BBC interior design guru Anna Campbell-Jones on revamping classic Glasgow Subway trainsAnna Campbell-Jones - the Scotland’s Home of the Year host - has spoken about being part of Glasgow’s original Subway trains

Times Online

• Rail unions win concessions from Macron after Olympics strike threat. [subscription]Drivers, ticket inspectors, signal and station staff have received better retirement conditions as unions pressure the French state before the Games

Daily Record

• Chaos as Edinburgh train passengers queuing outside station told 'first come, first served'A broken rail between the capital and Berwick-Upon-Tweed caused severe disruption for those travelling to and from Newcastle.

Mail Online

• The disastrous break-up of British Rail created chaos in the name of competition. And nothing Labour does will alter that - Peter HitchinsMANY years ago, I made Harriet Harman laugh. We were on a BBC Question Time panel in Cambridge, discussing the piteous state of the nation’s trains. And I asked: ‘What is the point of the Labour Party if it cannot renationalise the railways?’

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Pedestrianisation could 'kill' Bradford city centre bus user saysA BRADFORD bus user has hit out at changes to services and worries that pedestrianisation could completely "kill" the city centre.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Three 20mph roads on Anglesey proposed for change as boy's life is 'saved' by lower speed limitThe Welsh Government is hosting 20mph summit today in the wake of a similar meeting on Anglesey

London Evening Standard

• Historic rail vehicles assembled for ‘Europe’s biggest display’Locomotion announced it has completed the movement of 46 vehicles into a new £8 million building at its site in Shildon, County Durham.

Manchester Evening News

• 'It's been a long time coming': Plans for accessibility upgrades at train station in StockportA disability campaigner in Stockport said he's "chuffed" about new plans to make his local train station more accessible.

Nation. Cymru

• Is rural Wales getting its fair share of transport investment?It has been clear for over forty years that rural Wales has lost out on Welsh Government transport investment and day-to-day expenditure when compared with urban areas.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Boost in cargo trade could create 12,000 new jobs at East Midlands AirportEast Midlands Airport (EMA) is set to increase its role in powering UK trade, with tens of thousands of jobs and billions in economic value set to be unlocked at the site. The airport is set to grow its air cargo operation after a new study showed it has a "unique" combination of strengths that make it perfectly placed to support increased demand for air freight in the years ahead.

Carlisle News & Star

• Carlisle politicians react to Labour plans for rail re-nationalisationPOLITICAL figures in Cumbria have reacted to new Labour plans to renationalise the railways, if the party was elected to government at the next general election.

South Wales Argus

• 'One priority for me is better bus services' - Delyth Jewell, MS for South Wales EastOne priority for me is better bus services. We need a new approach so the buses people need turn up and keep running based on the community's needs, not just what is profitable for companies – I’ve made that point time and again in recent weeks in the Senedd.

Other Regional Press

• Emergency bandages not in new Oxford electric taxisOxford’s new fleet of electric taxis doesn’t carry emergency bandages previously handed out which are “life-savingâ€� for incidents such as stabbings.
• Letter: People are disillusioned with Powys rail providersTfW are suggesting that they are adapting to the needs of passengers when they are doing no such thing.
• Politics: Improved rail links in the north-east are vital for communitiesDuring recess, my office team and I spent a great deal of time criss-crossing the coast meeting with constituents and local businesses and offering assistance and support on a myriad of issues, writes MSP Karen Adam.

Calling All Stations - The Transport Podcast

• Competing visions of 'Great British Railways' from Labour and the ConservativesTaking a brief pause between media interviews on the Labour Party's freshly published plan for railways in Great Britain, Christian discusses with Mark Walker the strategy, proposals, details and still unanswered questions revealed in the Shadow Transport Secretary's paper [1:09]. Christian and Mark then examine the progress by the House of Commons Transport Committee in its pre-legislative scrutiny of the Conservative UK Government's draft Rail Reform Bill [28:51]. In his final thought, Christian examines some innovations by rail operators in sustainability....and privacy [34:03].

Other News Sources

• Aberdeen International Airport launches next-generation security checkpoint screeningAberdeen International Airport is now equipped with the latest next-generation security checkpoint scanners, meaning travellers no longer need to remove laptops or liquids when passing through terminal security.
• Why the electric freight and sustainable shipping sector is turning to the Middle EastSustainable shipping and autonomous electric freight technology has been underestimated in terms of the impact it can make on reducing climate emissions, but the scope for the industry is booming in the Middle East, according to industry executives.
• Crewless cargo? Autonomous shipping aims to overcome safety, trust concerns to reach mainstreamA cargo tanker off the coast of Norway completed a 13-hour journey last year — but it wasn’t a regular ship.
• Alfanar welcomes Transport Secretary as SAF revenue support consultation launchedAlfanar welcomed Transport Secretary Mark Harper MP to their Teesside site on the day the Government announced measures to give UK aviation and the SAF industry the certainty to create green jobs and cut sector emissions.