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

Thursday, 30 April 2020

BBC News

• Coronavirus: Tube may be 'overwhelmed' when lockdown is lifted, report warnsTransport and police in London could come under great strain if restrictions are eased, a report warns.
• Coronavirus: Metrolink passengers may have to wear masksMayor Andy Burnham says masks will become compulsory if the public backs the plan.
• Coronavirus: Boeing to cut 15,000 jobs in 'body blow'The plane-maker, already struggling after grounding the 737 Max, plans to axe 10% of its staff.
• Tesla warns on shutdown as Musk calls for end to lockdownThe electric car company says forced shutdowns and limits on deliveries have clouded its forecast.

Financial Times

• BA job cuts: peanut analogyOne year saving for airline would be just 5 per cent of ex-fuel operating costs
• Wizz Air chief bullish over recovery in air travelVáradi echoes Ryanair’s O’Leary in upbeat outlook as low-cost airline restarts flights from Luton on Friday

The Guardian

• Should the UK bail out Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic? – podcastGuardian wealth correspondent Rupert Neate looks at why billionaire Sir Richard Branson is asking the UK government to give his Virgin Atlantic airline a £500m bailout to help it survive the economic fallout of the lockdownThe billionaire Sir Richard Branson, who founded Virgin Atlantic in 1984 and retains a 51% stake alongside US airline Delta with 49%, is pleading for UK government support. But the plea has prompted a substantial backlash, with many pointing out that the entrepreneur has paid the exchequer no personal income tax since moving to the tax-free British Virgin Islands 14 years ag...
• UK car production plunged in March to lowest level since 2009Just 78,767 vehicles left factory gates last month, the worst result since the financial crisisUK car production plunged by more than a third in March to its lowest since 2009 as the coronavirus pandemic forced factories to close in an unprecedented crisis for the industry.Just 78,767 vehicles left factory gates in the month, some 47,428 fewer than the same period in the previous year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the sector’s lobby group. Continue reading...

The Telegraph

• Calls for lower pollution levels to be maintained as study shows 1,700 lives saved [subscription]First Europe-wide study to quantify impact of lower pollution levels
• Boeing and Airbus warn of ‘gravest crisis in aerospace’Boeing and Airbus unveiled losses of $2bn (£1.6bn) between them and warned the aerospace industry faces the gravest crisis in its history as fears grow of mass job cuts.

Times Online

• IAG is flying blind for the long haul [subscription]ever waste a crisis. British Airways wouldn’t have morphed into a larger airline group if it hadn’t been for the “Future Size and Shape” plan instigated by ex-boss Sir Rod Eddington. It was his response to 9/11, the Iraq war and Sars. And a painful one, too: it cost 14,000 jobs.
• ‘Four-hour wait to board flights’ after coronavirus pandemicAir passengers could face four-hour waits to board planes, inflated ticket prices and a dramatically reduced schedule in the future, analysts have said.

The Mirror

• British Airways plan to cull 12,000 staff branded 'unlawful' by union bossBritish Airways has announced a drastic plan of axing 12,000 jobs after being crippled by the coronavirus shutdown - but the move has been blasted as 'immoral' by Unite boss Len McCluskey

Birmingham Post

• Rolls-Royce and Airbus end hybrid-electric aircraft projectA demonstrator aircraft had been due to operate its maiden flight next year

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Airbus in worst aviation crisis ever - and says recovery could take this longThere have already been 3,700 workers at Airbus Broughton placed into furlough due to the coronavirus pandemic

Liverpool Echo

• £7billion in holiday refunds owed to Brits by airlinesAn investigation by Which? has revealed none of the top 10 airlines have given refunds in the legal time frame

London Evening Standard

• Lufthansa makes it compulsory for all passengers to wear face masks on flightsIt's the first European airline to make face masks mandatory for passengers

East Anglian Daily Times

• Network Rail engineers keep trains running on lines through SuffolkNetwork Rail maintenance teams are continuing to work through the lockdown to ensure that track and signalling are in full working order so trains can continue to operate around the region.

North Wales Live

• TUI, Jet2, EasyJet and Ryanair give latest update on when they'll be flyingSome airline operators have already announced certain flights and routes
• Frontline workers struggling to get to work after Arriva cut bus servicesNHS workers who don't drive say they are unable to do 12-and-a-half hour shifts or work weekends because of the timetable changes

Reading Evening Post

• Latest on work to complete the Elizabeth Line to ReadingThe Crossrail project is already massively delayed

Other Regional Press

• Phased works on A66 throughabout to re-start next weekThe A66/A171 Cargo Fleet Junction improvement site was closed down last month due to the coronavirus pandemic
• Nowhere to hide for drug dealers using West Yorkshire's rail networkWest Yorkshire Police are busy disrupting illegal activity on the trains

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• D2N2 announces funding for HS2 site in ChesterfieldD2N2 has approved funding of £2.4m for Chesterfield Borough Council to invest in HS2 infrastructure.  The investment from D2N2 will go towards the development of the Chesterfield railway station area in order to capitalise on the economic benefits that HS2 will bring to the town.     This funding will be particularly beneficial to the area’s future as the local economy recovers from the effects of COVID-19.    D2N2 will be funding the development through its Local Growth Fund allocation, a funding programme that enables D2N2 to invest in projects th...
• Virgin Atlantic resumes cargo services to ShanghaiVirgin Atlantic Cargo has become the first British airline to resume scheduled services to China, operating three flights a week from Heathrow to Shanghai. Two of those flights will to be used exclusively by the Department of Health and Social Care, to increase deliveries of PPE for the NHS. Virgin Atlantic has so far completed five flights from Shanghai for the NHS, with its Boeing 787-9 services having already delivered 80 tonnes of cargo consisting of 3.5 million items of personal protective equipment. The airline has been given permission to carry cargo on the aircraft’s passenger...
• Railway staff provide logistics expertise for NHS Nightingale Hospital North WestNetwork Rail has provided its logistics and project management expertise to help deliver the NHS Nightingale Hospital North West in Manchester. Dozens of volunteers with specialisms in supply chain and logistics worked with the Army Reserve and NHS to get the hospital, which has capacity for up to 750 patients, open over the Easter weekend. The volunteers helped unload, move and build hospital beds, ready for the arrival of the first coronavirus patients on Easter Sunday. The temporary hospital at the Manchester Central conference centre, also known as the GMEX, is a key facility in the reg...

Other News Sources

• Optare to launch fuel cell deckerManufacturer teams up with Arcola Energy to launch Metrodecker H2   The Metrodecker H2 complements Optare’s existing range of low and zero emission buses   Yorkshire-based bus manufacturer Optare has announced it has partnered with Arcola Every to launch a hydrogen fuel cell-powered version of its Metrodecker double deck bus. The Metrodecker H2 hydrogen bus product is built on Optare’s Metrodecker EV platform. It incorporates a hydrogen fuel cell powerpack developed by Arcola Energy as a direct replacement for the battery powerpack in the Metrodecker EV. It can carry more than ...
• TfL introduces social distancing bus stopsNew signage reminds bus users to socially distance   Signs have been introduced at 161 bus stops   Transport for London has introduced new measures that aim to remind bus users to socially distance when waiting for their bus. Special signs, floor stickets and posters have been installed by TfL at 161 bus stops and across London. Posters will also appear on priority bus routes to remind passengers to maintain a two-metre distance from fellow travellers at all times. It is the latest measure to be rolled out as the capital battles with the coronavirus pandemic. Last week TfL introduced...