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

Wednesday, 29 June 2022

BBC News

• Railway footbridge plans near Craven Arms are approvedPlans for a railway footbridge have been approved despite concerns it would be "intrusive on the landscape".
• Liverpool City Region: Consultation launched over bus service cutsBus services in Merseyside are set to be cut under plans to cope with reduced passenger numbers and rising inflation.
• Heathrow told to reduce passenger chargeThe airport is told to cut its charges for airlines each year until 2026 by the UK's aviation regulator.
• Rail workers outdated, says Transport SecretaryUnion rejects comments by Grant Shapps suggesting that updates are needed to railway working practices.

Financial Times

• Are we protecting airlines from their own shortcomings?Allowing carriers to curb summer schedules may be a necessary evil but underlines issues with take-off and landing slots

The Guardian

• Why train stations need staffed ticket officesWhat is the evidence that ticket offices are unnecessary (Boris Johnson backs plans to close ticket offices as fresh rail strike talks loom, 26 June)? Boris Johnson’s reference to “ticket offices that are barely used, or sell one ticket every hour” is misleading, based on the exceptional few.
• Air New Zealand to install world-first economy bunk beds on long-haul flightsBy 2024, passengers will be able to book four-hour sessions in flat sleeping pods on ultra-long-haul routes. Air New Zealand will soon allow economy passengers to lie down and take a nap in communal, bunk bed-style sleeping pods on its planes, as it attempts to entice passengers on to its more than 17-hour ultra-long-haul flights.In what the airline says will be a world first when its new cabins are installed by 2024, premium and regular economy passengers will still be sold traditional seats that do not recline into a bed.

Times Online

• Heathrow boss is out of runway [subscription]Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the human hot air balloon, John Holland-Kaye, crashing to earth. Poor old Heathrow boss — finally punctured by the Civil Aviation Authority.
• Digital update for rail signals [subscription]The government will invest £1 billion in digital signalling as part of plans to modernise the railways.

City AM

• Government modernising railways despite ‘unions’ best efforts’, says ShappsThe UK Government is modernising the railway network “despite the best efforts of unions,â€� Grant Shapps said today.  The transport secretary’s comments came as he announced £1bn worth of funding to replace the Victorian signalling system along the East Coast Main Line (ECML) – which connects London to Edinburgh – with a digital one. “We’re [...] The post Government modernising railways despite ‘unions’ best efforts’, says Shapps appeared first on CityAM.

Daily Record

• Baggage chaos at Glasgow airport leaves passengers facing '90-minute wait' for luggagePeople using easyJet reported waiting almost two hours for their luggage to be offloaded from their inbound flight at the busy travel hub on Tuesday morning.

Birmingham Post

• £1m to develop downgraded East Midlands HS2 plansEastern leg of high speed track will only go as far as East Midlands Parkway station

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Bradford Council looks to Vision Zero on road casualty plansBRADFORD could adopt a Scandinavian model for road casualty reduction if proposals are agreed by Bradford Council’s Executive to adopt a new West Yorkshire approach.

Derby Telegraph

• Up to five new railway stations planned for DerbyshireTwo projects to reopen Derbyshire railway lines that could result in up to five new stations being built are gaining momentum. Outline business cases will be submitted containing proposals to bring back a route between Chesterfield and Sheffield, as well as reviving a line from Burton-on-Trent to Leicester.

Liverpool Echo

• Council slammed over state of 'abysmal' cycle lanesPeople have shamed the council for not maintaining the cycle lanes

Manchester Evening News

• Manchester Airport is the 'second best in the UK', claims number-crunching travel firm - yes, really..."As we emerge from the pandemic, we are working tirelessly to recover both the international connections we offer, and the service levels we deliver, to what they were previously.â€�

Wales Online

• Bus operator to stop trading this month ending a number of services in BridgendSo far no other operators have confirmed if they will be able to take over the routes
• Cardiff Airport flights to Belfast to return six months after service was suspendedFares for the reintroduced service are starting at less than £40

Yorkshire Post

• Walking and cycling route plan on former Dales railway line to be developed despite pushbackA proposal to create an easy-to-use route for walkers, cyclists and horse-riders of all abilities in a national park has been pushed forward despite concerns it could undermine a long-held ambition to reinstate a railway linking the East Coast Mainline and the Settle to Carlisle lines.

Cambridge News

• £70 million funding approved for redvelopment of Peterborough stationCentral to the project is a plan to create a western entrance and parking to improve access

Carlisle News & Star

• Transport for the North to hold first meeting since rail strikesISSUES affecting the transport sector are set to be discussed by stakeholders this week at their first meeting since the rail strikes.

Other Regional Press

• Transport for Wales creates arrival hub for Ukrainians in WrexhamArrival hubs to help Ukrainian nationals have appeared in railway stations in Wrexham and Cardiff.
• Are Angus councillors about to wave goodbye to £15m windfall for Brechin’s Caledonian Railway?Brechin’s Caledonian Railway faces an uphill struggle to land a “once-in-a-lifetime” £15 million funding windfall for Angus.
• MP launches campaign to save ticket officeDerek Thomas MP has launched a campaign to save the ticket office at Penzance train station and is asking rail passengers from West Cornwall to show how necessary it is.
• Elizabeth line: Major boost for Berkshire commuter town as TfL confirms extra services from next yearThere will be two additional trains per hour on the western section from May 2023
• TfL boss warns a lot more London bus cuts could be coming as he slams 'almost intolerable' funding talks with governmentAndy Byford said his job is the "hardest job I've ever done" because of the "never-ending" negotiations over TfL funding
• Bid for 'passing loop' on Abbey Line fails to win backingA bid to increase the number of trains running on the Abbey Line has failed to receive support from Government.
• New bike scheme arrives in Wool - set to boost tourism across DorsetA NEW bike scheme is coming to Dorset in a bid to boost access to an employment site and visitor attractions.
• Coach company's fuel bill rises by £6,000 in just two weeksJohnsons Coaches say the fuel price hikes are the 'last thing we all needed'

C.N.N.

• These 'flying' ferries could get you to work in half the timeSwedish startup Candela has designed fully electric hydrofoil leisure boats and its zero carbon passenger ferries unveiled on June 22 ” are expected to hit the water in Stockholm next year.

New Civil Engineer

• Atkins’ lands two Welsh transport jobsAtkins has secured contracts in two transport frameworks in Wales to provide engineering and consultancy services.
• DfT’s concerns about restoring Portishead railway labelled ‘groundless’Department for Transport (DfT) concerns about the restoration of the Portishead railway line are “groundless”, according to the region’s metro mayor.
• Go ahead for £1.5bn rail upgrade between Huddersfield and DewsburyTransport Secretary Grant Shapps has approved Network Rail’s application for a Transport and Works Act Order to begin work on a core part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) between Huddersfield and Westtown near Dewsbury.

Rail Advent

• Network Rail completes upgrade ready for Commonwealth GamesNetwork Rail has completed engineering work on the main line between Dorridge and Birmingham Moor Street before this year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Other News Sources

• Rail operator Northern aiming to 'Perk Up Your Commute’WITH 51 percent of commuters keen to get more out of their travel time, rail operator Northern has launched a 'Perk Up Your Commute' scheme.