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

Thursday, 22 August 2019

BBC News

• Qantas to run test flights on world's longest routeThe airline will track the health impacts of the 19-hour journeys from Sydney to New York and London.
• Ryanair flights take off despite pilots' strikeUK pilots at the airline have begun a two-day walkout in a row over pay and conditions.
• HS2: Scrapping high-speed rail project 'would be a disaster'But a farmer who has lost land to the project says he feels the scheme will not go ahead in full.
• Shipwreck from 1854 found on Pensarn beachThe remains of a shipwreck dating back 150 years have been revealed on the Abergele coast.
• Channel migrants: Two boats intercepted carrying 21 peopleBorder Force vessels intercept the dinghies after they are spotted heading towards the Kent coast.
• Brexit: Michael Gove pledges to ensure traffic flows through portsThe minister in charge of no-deal planning again dismisses predictions of chaos at the ports.
• HS2: Review to examine costs and benefits of rail projectIt will look at the costs and benefits, with a “go or no-go
• HS2: How much work has already been done?With a review announced into the HS2 high speed rail link - how much has already been done?
• HS2 route: How much will the rail scheme cost?Part one of the high-speed railway between London, the Midlands and North of England is due to open in 2026.
• Ryanair loses court battle to block UK pilot strikesThe airline won in a bid to stop Ireland-based pilots from striking, but lost the larger UK battle
• Ditch cars to meet climate change targets, say MPsMPs say people will have to stop driving if the UK is to meet its Zero Carbon goals by 2050.

The Guardian

• Ryanair fails in court attempt to stop 48-hour strike by UK pilots Airline says it can still run full schedule and passengers are unlikely to be affected
• HS2 could be scrapped as critic given role in independent review Government needs clear evidence before going ahead, says transport secretary

The Herald

• Review puts HS2 in doubtTHE future of HS2 is in doubt after the UK Government announced a fundamental review of the controversial £56 billion project but one union chief suggested it provided a “golden opportunity” to extend the scheme to Scotland.

The Independent

• UK is set to miss net-zero 2050 target with 'dire consequences', MPs warn'Although the government may be ambitious when it comes to reducing carbon emissions, it is not putting the policies in place'
• Bullet train travelled at 280kph with door open after cleaner forgot to close itConductor of super-fast train made emergency stop in tunnel
• Ryanair: Can the airline keep its promise to passengers during pilots' union strike?If Europe's biggest budget airline can pull this one off, it will change the dynamic of industrial relations in aviation
• How we will travel the world in 2050, from electric planes to helium airshipsMore than a century since humans learnt to fly, we need to revolutionise how we stay up there

Times Online

• Heathrow can’t be trusted on third runway, says IAG chief Willie Walsh [Subscription]The boss of the parent company of British Airways has stepped up his criticism of the cost of building a third runway at Heathrow, claiming that the potential bill is spiralling out of control and that the airport is covering it up.
• High Court grounds Ryanair pilots strike [Subscription]Ryanair has welcomed a High Court ruling that blocks a planned strike by its Irish-based pilots this week.
• Caledonian Sleeper admits cleaning failures after complaints about cabins [Subscription]Passengers on the Caledonian Sleeper rail service have accused managers of failing to ensure bed linen was changed.
• Steam railways need young drivers to stay on track [Subscription]There are more steam trains running today than at any time since Beeching took his axe to the railways in 1963, but there is a shortage of qualified drivers.
• Give up cars to meet climate targets, Britons told [Subscription]Many people will have to give up their cars, even electric ones, if Britain is to meet its target of net-zero emissions by 2050, a group of MPs has said.
• Dominic Cummings described HS2 as disaster zone [Subscription]Boris Johnson’s most senior aide described HS2 as a “disaster zone” only days before the prime minister announced a review into whether it should be scaled back or scrapped entirely.

Reuters News

• UK launches review into whether high-speed rail link should go aheadBritain launched a review into whether a proposed High Speed 2 rail project connecting London to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds should go ahead, the transport ministry said on Wednesday.

City AM

• It makes sense to put the brakes on HS2 A policy may be considered well-balanced if it is attacked fiercely by two opposing extremes in the surrounding debate.

Mail Online

• Will £100billion HS2 hit the buffers? Troubled high-speed rail scheme may be axed as ministers order review after years of spiralling costsThe future of the HS2 high-speed rail project was thrown into doubt yesterday as the Government warned it could be scrapped or dramatically scaled back.
• HS2 destroyed my parents... now the possibility it could be scrapped makes the pain even worse, writes MELISSA KITEAs we closed the door on my childhood home for the last time in March this year, I put my arm around my Mum and steered my Dad past the removal vans on the driveway.
• Ryanair insists passengers face only 'small delays' today as thousands head to UK airports after pilots began 48-hour strike to demand 'unreasonable' £375,000 salaryRyanair insists that passengers will face only 'small delays' today as thousands head to airports after pilots began their strike for a £375,000 salary.

Sky News

• HS2 rail link could be terminated as review announcedThe future of HS2 has been thrown into doubt after it was revealed that an independent review will consider whether and how the £55bn project should continue.

London Evening Standard

• HS2 news: Boris Johnson orders review to assess future of £56 billion railwayA review of the High Speed 2 railway was ordered today, in a move that could leave its future in doubt until after an autumn general election.
• Ryanair strike update: Airline loses High Court bid to halt UK pilots walkoutRyanair has lost its High Court bid to block strike action by its UK pilots.

North Wales Live

• Stretch of Snowdonia railway line shut after boulders fall on tracksSpecialist engineers are being called out to assess the damage on the Conwy Valley line
• Airbus A380 superjumbos face engine safety checks after US aviation chiefs issue directiveThe US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issue Airworthiness Directive

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Leaders call for £39bn for Northern Powerhouse Rail projectPrime Minister Boris Johnson has been urged to commit £39bn to Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) for high-speed rail links across the Pennines.
• Government announces independent review into HS2 programmeThe Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has published the terms of reference and timetable for an independent review into the High Speed 2 (HS2) project.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Government announces HS2 review, 'go or no-go' decision by year-endThe government is set to launch a review into the HS2 project, transport secretary Grant Shapps has announced.

Aviation Industry

• IAG’s Walsh calls Heathrow expansion ‘massive gravy train’International Airlines Group (IAG) CEO Willie Walsh said he has “no confidenceâ€� in London Heathrow Airport’s expansion plans and described the cost of the project as a “heist.â€� read more
• Ryanair averts Irish strike, but faces UK and Spanish walkoutsAs Irish LCC Ryanair continues to deal with labor issues among its various pilot and cabin crew unions, passengers are bracing for travel disruptions across Europe through September. read more
• Germany wants to divert aviation tax for environmental research Germany’s Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer said proceeds from the country’s aviation tax should in the future be dedicated to environmental research. read more

EIN News Subscription

• Top official warned transport chiefs of 'unprecedented' no-deal Brexit challenges … Transport secretary-general Graham Doyle to the bosses of the Dublin Airport … day before that saw the EU agree to move the deadline … of formal agreement with the EU, they would be presented with … Ireland is engaging with the European Commission on "road, …
• Air traffic will not collapse on Brexit - German junior minister … Germany (Reuters) - German air transport is prepared for every scenario … planned exit from the European Union, a junior minister … scenarios for everything,â€� junior transport minister Steffen Bilger said … of Leipzig, adding that air traffic would not collapse. …