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

Thursday, 18 June 2026

BBC News

• Driving test wait time target will not be met until autumn next yearThe Transport Secretary had been aiming to reduce the backlog to seven weeks by this autumn.

Department for Transport

• New consultation on draft statutory statement of safety principles for automated vehiclesAnnounces analysis of responses to the call for evidence on the statement of safety principles (SoSP) and launches a consultation on draft safety principles for automated vehicles.

The Guardian

• Milan tram drivers accused of sharing CCTV images of female passengers’ thighs and breastsDrivers suspended as prosecutors investigate claims they exchanged vulgar WhatApps on images hacked from IT system. A group of tram drivers in Milan have been suspended from their jobs amid an investigation into a WhatsApp group in which they allegedly exchanged sexist and vulgar comments about images of female passengers. Milan prosecutors placed at least one employee of ATM, the city’s public transport firm, under investigation on Tuesday for allegedly accessing an IT system without authorisation and for hacking a CCTV system to obtain images of female passengers.

The Independent

• Fatal train crash could have been avoided if driver had used emergency brake system, investigation findsPassenger David Tudor Evans, 66, died ‘as a consequence of the collision’, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said

The Telegraph

• Labour will slash more rail services, minister says [subscription]Labour will make further cuts to rail services, the Transport Secretary has said. Heidi Alexander told MPs on Wednesday that as part of efforts to 'reduce public subsidy' to the railways, 'we do need to match the capacity to demand on services'

Times Online

• Heathrow airport expansion plans 'expected within days' [subscription]Ministers are preparing to publish the blueprint for a third runway as Sir Keir Starmer battles to save his premiership

i News

• How new EU airline rules will benefit UK passengers on luggage and seating chargesThe proposed changes more than a decade in the making will only affect specific flights

Birmingham Mail

• 4,000 Birmingham human remains await reburial after HS2 excavationAround 9,000 remains were removed from Park Street Burial Ground in Birmingham in 2018 to clear the site for the new HS2 Curzon Street station — over 4,000 are still to be reburied

Birmingham Post

• Jaguar Land Rover plans USA push as CEO says ‘no way’ petrol models will be phased outCar giant wants to sell to 'millionaires and billionaires' in America
• Opening of Britain's £50m 'dead-end' motorway junction facing more delays as 'defects' foundThe M49 was built in 2019 and not one single vehicle has used it yet
• Ryanair reaches 30 million passenger milestone at Bristol AirportThe budget carrier launched its first flights from the South West city in 1998

Bristol Live

• 'Game-changing' new UK airport route will fly direct to AustraliaQantas's Project Sunrise will operate the world's longest commercial flight from London to Sydney non-stop in up to 22 hours from October 2027, with tickets expected to go on sale from February next year
• Bristol's £50m motorway 'ghost' junction now facing more delays'Defects' have been discovered and further work need to be carried out

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Network Rail issues update on month-long closure of North Wales main lineThe four-week closure will be in place while major engineering works are carried out on the line

Edinburgh Evening News

• West Lothian Council urged to use free bus passes to cut 37m school travel costs'Enormous savings' possible if pupils use free bus passes, claims West Lothian councillor

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• DfT confirms £3bn funding as free bus passes for over-60s campaign growsAll you need to know as the Department for Transport has confirmed funding for local transport authorities, which councils could use to extend free bus travel

Northern Echo

• New Travel North East website launched for public transportNorth East mayor Kim McGuinness has launched a new regional travel website designed to help people across the region plan their journeys more easily in one place.

Wales Online

• Drivers face new MOT rule which could see police give points on licenceThe Department for Transport is weighing up tougher penalties for a number of motoring offences - including penalty points and vehicle seizure
• Welsh rail body criticised over man's death in head-on train collisionThe Rail Accident Investigation Branch made a total of nine recommendations

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Work on White Rose railway station in Leeds could restart next month - after over two years of delaysWork on the partially built White Rose railway station in Leeds could resume as soon as next month.

Oxford Mail

• 31.3bn East West Rail recognised for carbon managementEast West Railway Company has received recognition for its "carbon management" in infrastructure although its trains are not yet running.

Other Regional Press

• 'PLAID KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD ON M4 RELIEF ROAD' SAYS REFORM MSReform's Shadow Transport Minister, Jason O'Connell MS, has hit back at Plaid Cymru Transport Minister Mark Hooper following suggestions that M4 junctions around Newport could be closed as part of efforts to manage congestion.
• Thameslink Trains Set for £3.6m Makeover as Public Ownership Brings Passenger ImprovementsPassengers travelling on Thameslink services are set to benefit from cleaner, fresher trains as a major £3.6 million refurbishment programme gets under way across the operator's entire fleet.
• Thameslink £3.6m refresh leaves trains gleamingPassengers using Thameslink, which recently transferred to public ownership, are set to benefit from cleaner, fresher trains. A major makeover of its 115-strong fleet is under way, which will improve passenger experience on board.
• Better rail links could be stopping at Bridgwater in the coming yearsEarlier this year, Bridgwater Town Council's Transport Forum wrote to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander calling for improvements to rail links particularly in light of developments such as Hinkley Point C and the Gravity smart campus and gigafactory battery site at Puriton.
• Transport for Wales Celebrates Major Infrastructure UpgradeTransport for Wales has teamed up with Campaign for Better Transport to celebrate one of the biggest upgrades in rail infrastructure within the UK.
• Greater Anglia invests £700,000 in Great Yarmouth Train StationA major investment of more than £700,000 has transformed one of Norfolk's railway stations ahead of the summer season.
• Romford drone trials in bid to improve train incident responseDrone technology is set to take flight in Romford as part of a new trial on the rail network.
• Is this Kent’s cutest bus shelter? Stunning makeover wows villagersMost bus shelters have little merit in terms of style and charm - but residents in one Kent village have transformed theirs into something special.

Train Operators

• Greater Anglia invests more than £700,000 in Great Yarmouth railway stationGreater Anglia has invested more than £700,000 in improvements at Great Yarmouth railway station as the town prepares to welcome visitors for the summer season.

Centre for Cities

• Slow buses: Big cities should take note of TfL's answer to London bus speedsTfL's road strategy shows why road powers are central to improving London bus speeds and big city transport.

Highways News

• Minister highlights role of ITS in delivering safer and more efficient journeysThe Minister for Local Transport Lilian Greenwood has highlighted the role intelligent transport technologies are playing in supporting the government's wider transport objectives of delivering safer, easier and more efficient journeys.

Modern Railways

• WCML north capacity created through timetabling, suggests Secretary of StateThere needs to be more capacity on the northern section of the West Coast main line for HS2 services, but that could ultimately be created through timetabling, Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander said on 17 June.
• Capacity must match demand on services, says Alexander'Sensible operational decisions have to be made,' Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander told the Transport Select Committee on 17 June when asked about developments on the railway since Labour won the General Election.

New Civil Engineer

• How UK airport upgrades are carried out with minimal operational impactFrom Manchester's decade-long transformation programme to Gatwick's Northern Runway expansion and Heathrow's megaproject ambitions, UK airports are redefining how major infrastructure can be delivered in live operational environments.

Rail Business Daily

• Tracy Brabin: Advancing equity for women across transportThe Mayor of West Yorkshire has called for more to be done to strengthen career pathways for women in transport to drive meaningful, lasting change towards a more open and equitable sector.

Rail Magazine

• Starmer's failure to get things done at EustonSir Keir Starmer's attitude to the railways illustrates why he has proved unsuitable for the top job.

Rail UK

• Knorr-Bremse signs signalling tech framework agreement with AtkinsRéalisKnorr-Bremse Rail Systems UK has announced the signing of a five-year framework agreement with AtkinsRéalis to continue supplying its advanced ElectroLogIXS signalling technology for deployment across the UK rail network.

Railnews

• Network Rail recruits drones to combat vandalism and theft Two trials of drones which will keep an eye on the railway are set to start this year. The newly integrated Anglia management team, which consists of Network Rail, c2c and Greater Anglia, has been working to reduce vandalism, cable theft and trespassing on the railway, which are among the leading causes of train delays.

TaxiPoint

• Ministers place responsibility on cabbies as MP questions taxi and PHV app safety around booking apps, navigation tools and in-cab distraction Perry RichardsonThe Department for Transport has confirmed it has not issued specific guidance to developers of private hire booking or navigation applications, despite growing use of app-based technology across the taxi and private hire vehicle sector.

UKTram

• UKTram attends Women in Transport's 'From Intent to Impact' event in LeedsAs part of Better Transport Week 2026, UKTram attended Women in Transport's From Intent to Impact Advancing Equity for Women Across Transport event in Leeds. Attending on behalf of UKTram were Marketing and Communications Manager, Chelsea Branch and West Midlands Metro Managing Director and UKTram Board Member, Sophie Allison.

Aviation Industry

• Transport secretary pledges action on new EU border rules and plays down summer jet fuel worriesThe transport secretary has pledged to liaise with Europe over EU Entry-Exit System (EES) queues this summer and said air travellers should not experience fuel disruption.

Other News Sources

• HS2 progresses work on new box structure over the M42HS2 engineers are ready to start installing the roof beams on a new box structure that will span both carriageways of the M42 near Solihull, with key work being carried out by contractors based in Nottinghamshire and Kent, respectively.
• Community garden is part compensation for Lower Thames Crossing impactWHILE hundreds of acres of countryside across Thurrock are being dug up and concreted over ahead of the as-yet unfunded Lower Thames Crossing, residents in South Ockendon can at least benefit from a ''therapeutic' flower and vegetable gardening box.
• Free water access provided at Hanwell, West Ealing and Acton MainlinePassengers travelling through Ealing and Acton on the Elizabeth line can now refill their bottles for free, thanks to newly installed drinking fountains rolled out by Transport for London as warmer weather settles over the capital.
• Over £400m approved to boost transport and business growthEast Midlands Combined County Authority has approved hundreds of millions of pounds worth of investment focused on transport and growth.
• Railway line transformed as Metro upgrade replaces Victorian-era signallingOne of the last railway lines in Wales to rely on a Victorian signalling system has been transformed as part of the South Wales Metro project.

News from Europe

• Brussels Airport continues cargo modernization, expansion with new logistics facilityBrussels Airport this month broke ground on a 14,000-square-meter logistics facility scheduled for completion in 2027, the most recent project in the airport's goal to add 50% more warehouse capacity.