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

Monday, 27 January 2020

BBC News

• MOTs: More details released about exemptions after test centre problemsTaxis and four-year-old cars will not be granted temporary MOT exemptions, Nichola Mallon reveals.
• Boeing 777X: World's largest twin-engine jet completes first flightThe 777X test flight comes after Boeing's 737 Max plane was grounded following two fatal crashes.
• HS2: Cabinet minister has 'gut feeling' rail project will be clearedBrexit Secretary Stephen Barclay tells the BBC he believes the high-speed rail project will go ahead.

Financial Times

• Johnson and ministers to decide fate of HS2 this weekPM is under pressure from newly elected Tory MPs in Midlands and North to press ahead
• Frequent flyer: is air travel unfairly demonised?Flying contributes only a small proportion of global emissions but it is growing fast
• New Delhi launches fresh attempt to sell Air IndiaIndia government sweetens terms as it seeks to offload struggling national airline

The Guardian

• A major rethink of HS2 is long overdueAlan Wenban-Smith says it is revealing that his report on the regional impact of the high-speed rail scheme was not published
• Statistics watchdog criticises UK rail passenger surveyOffice for Statistics Regulation says biannual poll does not reflect people’s experience
• UK's smart motorways to be reviewed after huge rise in near-missesBBC Panorama study shows increase on M25 from 72 to 1,485 in five years since conversion. Britain's network of smart motorways where drivers can use the hard shoulder is being urgently reviewed by the government after it was discovered that it resulted in 20 times more near-misses on the M25 London ring road alone.
• Northern rail to be renationalised and some Beeching closures could reopenTransport secretary due to announce this week decision to terminate Northern's franchise. Watchdog criticises UK rail passenger surveyMinisters will pledge to reopen closed rail lines in the north this week as the government prepares to renationalise the failed Northern franchise.

The Telegraph

• In-car technology better at keeping older drivers safer on roads than mass retesting, study suggests [subscription]The mass retesting of older drivers is less safe than simple in-car technology, a report has found.

Times Online

• Safety to be tightened on smart motorways after 38 deaths [subscription]Smart motorways are to have new safety measures after an investigation found that 38 people were killed on the network in the last five years. The government is set to announce a series of improvements to motorways where the hard shoulder has been stripped out to create an extra lane because of mounting concerns that they are unsafe.
• UK car production slows to lowest since financial crisis [subscription]Car production in Britain has fallen to its lowest level since the financial crisis a decade ago, industry figures will confirm this week.
• Jet noise affects more people than feared [subscription]Aircraft noise is blighting the lives of more residents than the government admits, a new report says.
• I’ve got a gut feeling HS2 will get go-ahead soon, says minister [subscription]A cabinet minister has hinted that HS2 will finally go ahead and said that it was a key part of government plans to bridge the north-south divide.
• HS2 is ‘key part’ of promise to northern Tory voters [subscription]A cabinet minister has said HS2 is a “key part” of the Tories’ promise to northern voters fuelling speculation that Boris Johnson is set to approve the controversial project.

City AM

• Powering up Britain: How the UK will become carbon neutral by 2050Net zero by 2050. At first blush, it sounds like a code phrase one would hear in the halls of MI6 or in the Ministry of Defence. But as British citizens or residents, we should remember it.

Mail Online

• Northern Rail is poised to be nationalised 'within days'The franchise's operator Arriva, owned by Germany's state-backed Deutsche Bahn, is expected to hand back control to the Government this week.

The Mirror

• HS2: Split over price tag explodes as decision now imminent on rail lineA decision could be made as soon as this week on the high speed rail line - but after it was warned its cost could spiral to £106bn, one Tory said we could be 'conned' while another said it must not be dropped
• Toxic air deadlier than car crashes as UK pollution linked to 1 in 19 deathsAn investigation by charity Centre for Cities has found one in 19 deaths in towns and cities is linked to toxic air. The death of nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah from an asthma attack has been linked to unlawful levels of pollution

Sky News

• Whistleblowers say public 'deceived' over cost of HS2Two HS2 whistle-blowers have told Sky News they feel there should be a public inquiry into the spiralling cost of HS2 and that the taxpayer has been deceived.

Birmingham Mail

• 'Gut feeling is HS2 should go ahead' says Brexit Secretary Steve BarclayBrexit Secretary Steve Barclay's comments come as ministers mull over whether or not to go ahead with the high-speed line, with a decision expected in the coming weeks
• Smart motorway scheme involved in boy's M6 death is 'dangerous scandal', says AA bossThe traffic-busting "smart" motorway scheme has been described as a "dangerous scandal" after almost 40 deaths in just five years.
• Air pollution 'killing 18 times more Brummies than car crashes', claims new reportStudy says deadly toxins are claiming more lives in the city than anywhere outside London

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Private hire drivers fined after picking up undercover officers in city centre sting TWO private hire drivers have been fined for picking up customers who didn't pre book during an undercover operation.
• 191 killed by air pollution in Bradford in one year AN ESTIMATED 191 people died in a single year because of air pollution in Bradford.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Airbus 'discussing options' over future of giant A380 wing factory at BroughtonThe final wings for the jumbo jet will leave the site later this year

London Evening Standard

• HS2 latest: Cabinet minister Steve Barclay backs project as 'key commitment to the north'
• Smart motorway sees 20 times more near-misses since scheme began, figures suggestNear-misses on one of Britain's stretches of so-called smart motorway have increased 20-fold since the hard shoulder was taken away, according to new figures.

Manchester Evening News

• '30 years ago, I had to ask permission to go to the men’s toilet': Leading women in rail explain how things have changed and call for more diversityWith the uncertainty surrounding Northern Rail and a flurry of broken promises on the expansion of Manchester’s busiest stations , it could be suggested that a career in the rail industry might be a journey that's well worth delaying.
• Bus lane fines in Manchester raked in over £14million for the council last yearThe figure is almost double the value of fines from the year before
• Bus bosses have a £100m pot to battle London model of transport in Greater ManchesterCampaigners are fighting for a London model - but bus bosses say a 'partnership' between operators and the mayor would mean greener buses, better timetables and a fare freeze on journeys across different operators

Northern Echo

• Rail cash needed after ‘horrendous Christmas’NORTH-EAST transport bosses have called for more investment in the region following an "horrendous Christmas" for travellers and commuters.

The York Press

• Emergency tunnel repairs close main rail line in North YorkshireNetwork Rail engineers have been called in to make emergency repairs to a tunnel on the York to Leeds via Harrogate line.

Other News Sources

• Wife of man killed on smart motorway says removing hard shoulder 'akin to manslaughter' Her husband was hit and killed by a lorry after he stopped in lane one to exchange details with another driver following a minor collision
• Dying from air pollution in South East 20 times more likely than being killed in a car crash, study suggests ONE in 17 deaths in the South East’s cities and towns is now linked to air pollution, new research shows.