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

Thursday, 28 May 2020

BBC News

• Coronavirus: EasyJet plans thousands of job cutsThe airline says up to 30% of its workforce will go as it struggles with the slump in demand for air travel.
• HS2: Plans for East Midlands transport hub link unveiledThe works would bring in new bus routes, train stations and improved roads, Midlands Connect says.
• Andy Byford to be commissioner of Transport for LondonAndy Byford is appointed to the role of commissioner of Transport for London.
• TfL branded 'institutionally unsafe' by former board memberMichael Liebreich says bus drivers appear to work in
• Boeing job cuts start to hit nearly 13,000 workersA drop in travel due to the pandemic worsened the situation for the company, which was already in crisis.

Financial Times

• Lufthansa board refuses to approve bailout due to Brussels demandsAirline delays €9bn rescue deal after EU attempts to force it to relinquish slots at Frankfurt and Munich
• Amazon/driverless cars: gadZoox Ecommerce company reportedly interested in autonomous vehicle start-up
• Boeing to axe 12,000 US workers even as Max assembly resumesAircraft manufacturer says production of grounded jet will initially be at ‘low rate’
• Uber scraps thousands of electric bikes after Lime dealEnvironmental fallout as start-up focuses on areas where it can operate profitably

The Guardian

• Boeing to slash more than 12,000 jobs – with further cuts to comeCoronavirus causes 96% drop in air travel within US6,770 staff to be laid off and 5,520 to leave voluntarilyBoeing is cutting more than 12,000 jobs through layoffs and buyouts as the coronavirus pandemic seizes the travel industry, and more cuts are coming. Related: Jumbo jet sunset: coronavirus hastens the end of the Boeing 747 Continue reading...
• Ryanair worst airline for flight cancellation refunds, finds Which?Almost 85% of UK customers who requested refund have not received money, survey showsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageRyanair is the worst major airline for refunding British customers whose flights have been cancelled during the coronavirus pandemic, with more than eight out of 10 people still waiting for their money back, according to figures from Which?.The airline’s failure to pay refunds, in line with passengers’ legal rights, contrasted sharply with British Airways, said Which? It found that 84% of Ryanair customers it surveyed have not received a refund as req...

The Independent

• SpaceX Nasa launch cancelled at last minute over weatherA historic SpaceX and Nasa launch has been cancelled minutes before liftoff because of bad weather.

The Telegraph

• 'Illegal' £35m state aid for ferries faces legal challenge [subscription]The Department for Transport faces a juidical review over its bailout to protect ferry routes for freight during the pandemic
• 84pc of Ryanair customers say they still haven't been refunded for coronavirus cancellations

Times Online

• Budget airline customers still waiting for money back [subscription]Britain’s busiest airlines have been accused of cheating passengers out of hundreds of pounds each by failing to provide refunds for flights cancelled because of the pandemic.
• Toton sidings in line to become £2.7bn HS2 mega-station [subscription]One of Britain’s biggest transport hubs could be built on the site of a 160-year-old rail depot for the HS2 project, it was announced last night.
• Autonomous taxis pick up Amazon [subscription]Amazon is close to making its most significant foray into self-driving cars with the purchase of an autonomous taxi start-up.

City AM

• Easyjet to axe 30 per cent of staff as coronavirus hits airline sectorBudget airline Easyjet today said it would cut up to 30 per cent of its staff and reduce its fleet in preparation for an expected slowdown in flights in the aftermath of coronavirus.
• Boeing to cut nearly 7,000 jobs as coronavirus batters aircraft demandAerospace giant Boeing will lay off 6,770 workers this week, with several thousand more set to be cut over the The post Boeing to cut nearly 7,000 jobs as coronavirus batters aircraft demand appeared first on CityAM.

Mail Online

• Seven former Tory ministers join group of MPs urging the PM to rethink travel quarantine planA cross-party group of 40 MPs - including former transport secretary Chris Grayling and six other ex-Tory ministers - have joined a taskforce calling for urgent action to rethink the plan.

Belfast Telegraph

• Boeing to cut more than 12,000 US jobsAircraft manufacturer Boeing is cutting more than 12,000 US jobs through layoffs and buyouts as the coronavirus pandemic seizes the travel industry, with more cuts expected.
• Travel chiefs call for scrapping of quarantineDozens of travel companies have called on the Home Secretary to scrap plans to impose a mandatory 14-day quarantine on people arriving in the UK due to the coronavirus.

Birmingham Post

• Work starts on £1m upgrade at Stoke Railway StationThe work is expected to last for five months
• £3.8m transport boost for Derbyshire town’s regeneration plansNew link road will form critical part of Chesterfield’s Station Masterplan

Bristol Live

• When Stagecoach will increase bus services across the south westTimetables will initially return to around 70 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels - but with strict measures in place

London Evening Standard

• Briton who ran New York subway returns to lead TfL amid cash crisisA former Tube boss who ran the New York subway is returning to London to become the capital's next transport commissioner.
• Four out of five Ryanair passengers still waiting for refunds after flights cancelled, study findsFour out of five Ryanair passengers who requested a refund after their flight was cancelled during the pandemic are still waiting for a pay-out, a survey has found.

Bucks Free Press

• High Wycombe: Council delays chopping down more trees for new cycleway after complaints about nesting birdsFears for nesting birds in trees that were seen being chopped down by Buckinghamshire Council contractors have been quashed - although the work has now been delayed until later in the year.

Other Regional Press

• Parking charges set to return to Huddersfield town centreThe council car parks will have charges enforced within the next two weeks

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• New driver-free freight ferry terminal open for business in TilburyTilbury2’s brand new unaccompanied* freight ferry terminal opened for business this week at a vital time for the UK’s freight industry. The 500,000-unit freight-only facility will inject state-of-the-art capacity into the country’s ports sector by utilising a truck driver-free operation* at a time when infection control is uppermost in everyone’s minds. [*Unaccompanied - freight transported into the UK without truck drivers] After a year of construction, led by construction giants GRAHAM, the country’s newest and largest unaccompanied freight roll on/roll off (ro-...
• Andy Byford appointed London’s new Transport CommissionerThe Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and the Board of Transport for London (TfL) have confirmed the appointment of Andy Byford as London's new Transport Commissioner, following an international recruitment and selection process. Byford’s most recent role was President and Chief Executive Officer of New York City Transit Authority, where he was responsible for 50,000 staff and devised a $40bn five-year investment plan to renew the city’s transport system. He will join TfL on 29th June, with the current Commissioner, Mike Brown MVO, staying on until 10th July to hand over to Byford and ...

Rail Technology Magazine

• Greater Anglia appoints environment and energy manager Rail operator, Greater Anglia, has appointed a new Environment and Energy Manager to support its sustainability goals and raise awareness of environmental issues within the railway. Before taking on her new role, Stephanie Evans worked for two universities and a facilities management firm...
• Ep 10. We need to keep investing in rail, Kate Jennings Policy Director and Lead Coronavirus Response Co-Ordinator at RIA, Kate Jennings, joined host Matt Roberts on Track Talk to discuss how the rail industry can and will respond to the coronavirus outbreak. Kate is responsible for supporting the RIA relationship with Government and clients and is...

Railnews

• New London transport commissioner named The new transport commissioner for London has been named as Andy Byford, who will be replacing the present commissioner Mike Brown next month.
• £2.7bn East Midlands plan unveiled for HS2 links A bold plan costed at £2.7 billion for the area around the HS2 hub in the East Midlands has been published by a group of councils, transport bodies and East Midlands Airport. The core of the scheme is the future East Midlands Hub at Toton, and the plan proposes direct access to the Hub from more than 20 cities, towns and villages in the East Midlands.

Other News Sources

• UK faces judicial challenge over state aid for ferriesCobelfret affiliate CLdN is reportedly mounting a legal challenge to state aid Britain has made available to ferry companies during the coronavirus pandemic
• McLaren to cut 1,200 jobs due to coronavirus pandemic and Formula One budget cap The Woking-based luxury supercar company said it has been "severely affected" by the current pandemic