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

Saturday, 28 September 2019

BBC News

• Wrightbus: Would-be buyers were asked to lease factory for £1mGreen Pastures Church, which received £15m from Wrightbus, says it understands
• Tycoon Jim McColl ready to resume Ferguson shipyard involvementJim McColl is ready to retain involvement in the Port Glasgow yard weeks after handing it to administrators.

Financial Times

• Top trio who oversaw Thomas Cook’s rise and fallDebt-fuelled growth brought scale needed to compete but sowed seeds of group’s collapse

The Guardian

• UK ‘needs billions a year’ to meet 2050 climate targetsReport estimates up to £20bn a year in investment needed to build net-zero carbon economyThe UK will need investment worth billions of pounds every year to remove enough greenhouse gases from the air to meet its 2050 climate targets, according to a report commissioned by the government.The report, by analysts at Vivid Economics, estimated that the UK would need as much as £20bn a year to remove up to 130m tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air. Continue reading...

Times Online

• Eurostar plan for high-speed trains direct to Germany [subscription]Rail passengers will be able to travel direct from London to Germany and southwest France for the first time under plans for a high-speed network.
• Lift the cap and end Heathrow mess [subscription]Drop your ’aitches. For years, that’s been Nigel Wilson’s mantra over the government’s three pet infrastructure projects. The Legal & General chief’s case is getting better by the week.
• Doctors demand clean air act to stop thousands dying early [subscription]Leading doctors are calling on the government to include a clean air bill in October’s Queen’s Speech to save thousands of lives cut short by pollution.

Belfast Telegraph

• Wrightbus: Church led by Jeff Wright 'grateful' for £15m donation A church led by Wrightbus owner Jeff Wright has said it is grateful for the £15m in donations it received from the collapsed company in previous years.
• Death threats issued against family after collapse of Wrightbus says Jeff WrightFormer director of Wrightbus Jeff Wright has said that death threats have been issued against his family following the collapse of their business.

Birmingham Mail

• Parking signs finally detail 'rip off' charges in Birmingham - but not all of themIf you park in Birmingham and use the RingGo app to pay you will end up paying more. New signs now partially explain the costs but they don't reveal all of them, Graham Young reports

Birmingham Post

• Roger Lewis extends chairmanship of Cardiff Airport A preferred successor has been identified but will not be in post until June
• Stagecoach West expands after buying up megabus contractor South Gloucestershire Bus and CoachAll staff currently working for the business will transfer over

Bolton News

• Huge jobs fair at Manchester Airport following collapse of Thomas Cook A dedicated employment fair for the thousands of North West workers who have lost their jobs following the demise of Thomas Cook will be held at Manchester Airport on Thursday.

Bristol Live

• Disruption to railways expected over next three weeks due to repairsBristol Temple Meads will be affected

Manchester Evening News

• Greater Manchester is set to take control of the region's bus network in a groundbreaking move costing more than £134mThe plan to take control of Greater Manchester's bus network is to cost more than £134 million - with devolution spending, town halls and taxpayers currently set to foot the bill

Wales Online

• Airbus Beluga declares emergency en route to Wales from GermanyThe cargo plane set off from Hamburg, Germany, before declaring an emergency en route

Train Operators

• New trains for busy Norwich – Cambridge routeGreater Anglia today officially launched the introduction of brand-new state-of-the-art trains between Cambridge and Norwich - one of the busiest regional routes on the network.

Christian Wolmar

• Rail 885: Leaked memo to Grant ShappsThe new transport secretary, Grant Shapps, has asked officials to ensure their briefings to him are no longer than two sides of A4. His permanent secretary has duly followed his instructions and produced a short summary of the state of the railways which been sent to Rail magazine in error. We thought it was our duty to share it with our readers.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Developing the future of UK infrastructure invested in SouthamptonThe University of Southampton officially unveils the National Infrastructure Laboratory on its Boldrewood Innovation campus today. The opening of the centre, by chief executive of Network Rail, Andrew Haines, will see the Southampton’s continuation of shaping the future of the UK’s...
• Thameslink Programme projects celebrate double successSuccess for two projects, who make up part of the £7bn Thameslink Programme, who have been shortlisted for Exceptional Achievement Awards (EEA) by CEEQUAL. The celebrated projects are the Bermondsey Dive Under, competing in the Ecology and Biodiversity category and the reconstruction of...

Transportxtra

• Grand Union Trains plans to link passengers and freight [subscription]Grand Union Trains has revealed that its proposed open access passenger service between London and South Wales could convey light freight, with a parcel hub created at one or more of the stations served.
• Burnham unveils masterplan to transform Greater Manchester rail [subscription]Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has unveiled his vision to transform rail travel across the city region.
• Newcastle backs down over pollution charge plan for cars [subscription]Councils in Tyne & Wear have dropped plans to charge private cars in its revised proposals for a clean air zone (CAZ) in Newcastle. Last week, Newcastle, North Tyneside and Gateshead councils approved a new plan that means that all private cars will be exempt from a road user charge and also reduced the size of the CAZ.
• Councils press ahead with Oxford workplace levy bid [subscription]Plans for a workplace parking levy (WPL) around Oxford’s ‘eastern arc’ have been unveiled by Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council. The levy would be based on Nottingham’s WPL, which was implemented in 2012 and remains the only scheme of its type in the UK.
• Strong case for WPL, says Leicester’s mayor [subscription]Leicester's elected mayor Peter Soulsby has told LTT that he plans to introduce a workplace parking levy (WPL) in the city during his current four-year term. The Labour mayor said his re-election for a third time in May represents a “green light” to press ahead with his plans for a levy.
• Cardiff schemes on hold [subscription]Cardiff council has put 11 active travel schemes on hold, 33 per cent of the total, “due to a lack of funding and resources, together with shifting priorities”. Five “Rapid Bus Corridor” schemes are also on hold, 38 per cent of the total.

Aviation Industry

• O’Leary: Buying LaudaMotion ‘very painful,’ but eyes profit next year Ryanair subsidiary LaudaMotion is losing around €1 million ($1.1 million) per week, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said, adding that the purchase of the Austrian LCC has been “very painful.â€� read more
• ALPA wants action on secondary cockpit barrier directiveAir Line Pilots Association (ALPA) First VP Bob Fox told US lawmakers that the pilot union is “deeply dismayedâ€� over the FAA’s lack of follow-through on a directive that would mandate the installation of secondary cockpit barriers. read more
• Air France-KLM: No interest in XL Airways rescueAir France-KLM will not step in to rescue long-haul LCC XL Airways, which faces liquidation as the deadline approaches for bids for the insolvent airline. read more
• Boeing CEO Muilenburg to testify at MAX hearing Oct. 30Boeing president and CEO Dennis Muilenburg and two other company representatives, including the 737 chief pilot, will testify before a US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on the 737 MAX scheduled for Oct. 30, the committee said Sept. 27. read more
• Icelandair renews labor agreement with pilotsIcelandair has renewed a collective bargaining agreement with the Icelandic Airline Pilots Association (FIA) through September 2020. read more
• Airbus begins flight tests of upgraded A300 freighters for UPSAirbus started flight tests Sept. 12 of the first of 52 UPS Airlines A300-600 freighters undergoing major flight deck upgrades designed to keep the fleet operating until at least 2030. read more

Other News Sources

• This electric bike of mine has changed my life! There were two things that struck me listening to the radio last week.
• Stagecoach Winchester bus service changes fail to impress everyoneSTAGECOACH has introduced a number of changes to its busses from Fareham to Winchester city centre – but not everyone is happy.
• 'No link' found between closure of Hindhead Tunnel and lorries hitting Farnham railway bridge Wrecclesham Road bridge has been struck 39 times since 2011