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

Saturday, 14 March 2020

BBC News

• Bus hub main focus of £33m town centre developmentPlans for a £33m transformation of Swindon, to be centred around a new bus hub, have gone on display.
• Birmingham New Street signal box still going strong after 50 yearsBirmingham New Street's signal box has been controlling rail travel since the mid-1960s.
• London Underground driver tests positive for coronavirusThe St Patrick's Day celebration due at Trafalgar Square on Sunday has also been called off.
• Coronavirus: British Airways boss tells staff jobs will goAirline boss spells out the crisis caused by coronavirus in a memo to staff titled

ITV News

• Sadiq Khan scraps Tube fare freeze in Mayoral election pledge to only freeze bus faresSadiq Khan has announced that if re-elected as Mayor of London, he’ll freeze bus fares for the next four years and ensure any other TfL fare rises are lower than the rate of inflation.

Financial Times

• Mayor abandons London fares freeze as virus hits TfL financesMove comes after Moody’s predicts £400m blow to transport network’s income
• IAG directors buy on coronavirus crashAirlines group’s shares weak as flights are cancelled 
• BA chief warns airline faces fight for survivalUK group in talks for urgent financing as other carriers scramble to weather cancellations
• Will cruise ships survive and what will be left of them?It is no surprise that virus-hit Carnival is the FTSE’s worst performer this year

The Guardian

• BA says jobs will go as airline industry faces crisis 'worse than 9/11'Coronavirus memo says British Airways will be ‘parking aircraft in a way we never have before’ Coronavirus – latest updatesBritish Airways has warned staff it is in a fight for survival and expects to make job cuts and ground an unprecedented number of planes, as it said the coronavirus pandemic has caused a crisis “worse than 9/11â€� for the airline industry.BA’s chief executive, Alex Cruz, said in a message to 45,000 employees entitled “The Survival of British Airwaysâ€� that the airline would be “parking aircraft in a way we never have beforeâ€� after the drop in demand was compounded by the shoc...

The Scotsman

• Caledonian Sleeper fails to reach any passenger satisfaction targetsA Caledonian Sleeper train has broken down leaving passengers hundreds of miles from their destination as it was revealed the service has failed to hit satisfaction targets since operator Serco took over five years ago.

Daily Record

• Coronavirus to cripple Edinburgh Airport as bosses warn of three months without passengersThe airport said the 'unprecedented situation' would mean 'extremely tough decisions' would have to be taken.

Birmingham Post

• Transport projects that can reshape North Wales in future yearsConsultancy WSP has identified the major transport infrastructure scheme that are due to take place
• Hays Travel reveals "challenging decisions" as coronavirus hits travel industrySunderland firm has had to cut costs a few months on from the major deal that saw them taking on hundreds of former Thomas Cook workers

Derby Telegraph

• Thousands sign petition calling for historic railway line to reopen for passengersThousands sign petition calling for historic railway line to reopen for passengers

London Evening Standard

• End of road for private cars in central London, says TfL chiefThe boss of Transport for London today put drivers on notice that private cars
• BA boss warns staff of lay offs and axed flights for airline to survive coronavirus crisis British Airways CEO Alex Cruz has reportedly warned staff of job cuts and axed flights amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Wales Online

• The dangerous Welsh roundabout at the centre of a study to find out why it sees so many crashesThe roundabout - and its adjoining carriageway - have seen hundreds of crashes over the past 12 years

Cambridge News

• A14 roadworks: Major section closed between Cambridge and Godmanchester all weekend The road will be closed at 9pm on Friday and re-opened at 5am on Monday

Other Regional Press

• Angry MP: ‘Rail firm is isolating my constituency’A FRUSTRATED MP has called on a rail firm to stop “isolating” his constituency. Harwich and North Essex MP Sir Bernard Jenkin said he regularly received emails from constituents complaining about the rail service.

Rail Advent

• Four Sussex rail stations set for accessibility upgrades thanks to Government budgetNetwork Rail has announced that four stations on its Sussex Route, served by Southern and Thameslink, are to benefit from new Access for All funding.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Network Rail volunteers support Borders Forest Trust Network Rail have furthered their efforts to help the environment by staff members using their volunteer leave to plant trees. Working in partnership with the Borders Forest trust over two days, the team planted 1,200 dwarf silver birch trees and removed more than 1,000 tree guards and stakes...
• £3m investment in new GB Railfreight Peterborough offices GB Railfreight have announced plans for a new £3 million new operational and training facility in Peterborough. Originating in 1999 and headquartered in London, GB Railfreight is the third largest rail freight operator in the UK, with a turnover in excess of £200m. The operator is...

Railway Gazette

• First Stadler multiple-unit arrives in SloveniaSLOVENIA: The first of 52 Stadler multiple-units ordered by national operator SŽ arrived in Slovenia on March 11.

Other News Sources

• ENGIE Builds On Partnership With Heathrow AirportThe energy specialist has agreed a deal to replace natural gas with 100% green biomethane from anaerobic digestion to all meter points, across all terminals at the airport until March 2022.
• New multi-storey to increase cycle storage at Bishop's Stortford railway stationA shortage of bicycle storage at Bishop's Stortford railway station is set to be addressed. Station and train operator Greater Anglia has confirmed to Shaping Stortford steering group chairman Cllr Colin Woodward that 50 additional spaces will be provided in the new multi-storey car park which is to open later this year.
• Redevelopment of Europe's busiest train station being proposed Clapham Junction one of the busiest stations in the UK, with more trains stopping there per hour than any other station in Europe.