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

Thursday, 18 June 2020

BBC News

• Cost of Cairngorm funicular repairs could run to £15m
• Boris Johnson's convoy in shunt outside ParliamentDowning Street says there are no reports of any injuries following the incident.
• University of Bolton bike offer will help students 'avoid public transport'The University of Bolton buys 1,000 bikes to help students avoid public transport in September.
• Menzies Aviation workers face redundancy after global travel slumpMenzies Aviation puts more than 300 staff on notice of imminent redundancy in Glasgow and Edinburgh
• UK inflation rate at fresh four-year low as fuel prices slumpFuel costs fell sharply in May, pushing the inflation rate down to a fresh four-year low of 0.5%.
• Coronavirus: Qantas axes most overseas flights until OctoberThe Australian airline said it will still fly to New Zealand and ramp up its domestic services.

Financial Times

• Eurostar to roll out facial verification for passengersBiometric system would reduce need for passports but brings privacy concerns
• UK rail bailout hits £3.5bn and set to rise furtherTrain operators in talks over extending state support for at least another year

The Guardian

• Stranded at sea: the crew members trapped on cruise ships - podcastGuardian US reporter Erin McCormick describes why thousands of crew are still stranded on cruise ships after coronavirus bought the industry to a standstill in March. Will Lees describes how it took him 82 days to get back to Canada while Perry, who hasn’t had a salary since March, is still stuck and doesn’t know when he will get home to his family in Mauritius Guardian US reporter Erin McCormick tells Rachel Humphreys why up to 80,000 crew are still stranded on cruise ships amid the coronavirus crisis. While most cruise ship passengers have now made it back to land, many crew workers are trap...
• Macron expected to ask UK to review 14-day quarantine ruleThe French president visits No 10 for talks on Thursday during trip to commemorate WWII allianceThe French president Emmanuel Macron is expected to call on the UK to revisit its decision of imposing a 14-day quarantine period on visitors from abroad during his trip to the UK on Thursday.Macron, on his first visit abroad since the coronavirus outbreak, is in London to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Gen Charles de Gaulle’s broadcast announcing an alliance with Winston Churchill, “the leader of the British empireâ€�, and the launching of the French resistance. Continue reading...

The Herald

• Aberdeen firm Trojan Energy marks 'milestone' in drive to bring electric-vehicle charging to people without drivewaysA SCOTTISH company aiming to tackle the major problem of charging electric vehicles for people without off-street parking options has raised £4.1 million to support development and growth of its “flat and flush” points.
• Scottish bus chief steps down and reveals job cut fearsTHE outgoing boss of Alexander Dennis Limited has expressed fears the company may be forced to make redundancies if demand for buses from UK transport companies does not recover sufficiently from the Covid-19 crisis.

The Huffington Post

• Boris Johnson's £1m Jet Makeover Is A Slap In The Face For The UK's Most Vulnerable

The Independent

• On the road again: National Express to resume coach services on 1 JulyPassengers will be instructed to sit in by the window, with aisle seats are blocked off

The Telegraph

• Latest travel news: British Airways bans booze on short-haul flights

Times Online

• Coronavirus in Ireland: Blackrock to Dún Laoghaire cycle lane will offer alternative to buses [Subscription]A temporary segregated cycle lane will be constructed along the south coast of Dublin as the city continues to prepare for life with Covid-19.
• Stagecoach challenge hits the buffers with defeat in High Court [Subscription]Stagecoach has lost a legal challenge that sought to overturn the government’s block on the company from bidding for key rail franchises.
• Cheap petrol drives inflation to a new low [Subscription]Prices grew at their slowest pace in four years last month as cheap oil and subdued demand suppressed inflation.
• HydroFlex: Full steam ahead for the train that runs on hydrogen [Subscription]A train powered by hydrogen will run on the main line for the first time under plans to reduce reliance on diesel.
• Eurostar face scans introduce passport-free travel to Europe [Subscription]Eurostar passengers will be able to check in and board without showing passports after the introduction of facial recognition technology.
• Boris Johnson spends £900,000 of taxpayers’ money on ‘Brexit’ plane paint job [Subscription]The prime minister’s decision to repaint the RAF plane that takes him on official business in red, white and blue will cost £900,000, Downing Street has said.

City AM

• Three quarters of customers ready to fly, says London City AirportAhead of restarting services on 21 June, London City Airport has said that over three-quarters of its customers have said The post Three quarters of customers ready to fly, says London City Airport appeared first on CityAM.

Daily Record

• Boris Johnson's £1m jet rebrand cements UK as laughing stock of the worldRecord View says under Johnson’s zipwire act of a Government, the UK is on the runway from global Britain to Little Britain

Mail Online

• Quarantine-free 'air bridges' allowing Britons to holiday and not isolate could arrive in two weeksQuarantine-free 'air bridges' are set to be put in place by the end of June which would allow Britons to travel abroad without the need to quarantine for a set period of time upon arrival.
• Boris Johnson's RAF plane to get £900k 'Austin Powers makeover'The Voyager aircraft used by the PM on foreign trips is to get 'national branding', rather than the standard grey that makes it less visible in the sky.

This is Money

• Sir Richard Branson loses Virgin Trains High Court battleIn another blow for the billionaire tycoon, a judge dismissed a case brought by Virgin Rail, Stagecoach and France's SNCF against the Department for Transport over various franchise bids.
• New cars are 5% less fuel efficient than official figures suggestWhat Car? tested 56 different cars currently on sale in showrooms today, finding that some were up to 20% less fuel efficient than manufacturers' brochures claim, including the Volvo XC40 (pictured).

Sky News

• PM's car rear-ended by Range Rover as protester targets convoyA car carrying Boris Johnson was rear-ended by a Range Rover support vehicle after the prime minister's convoy was targeted by a protester.

Belfast Telegraph

• Parking charges and bus lane fines to return in NIParking fines, bus lane enforcement and on-street parking charges will restart on June 29.

Birmingham Post

• Emirates is now flying again and has resumed its Manchester to Dubai routeThe resumption of flights from Manchester makes the airport the second Emirates UK gateway to reopen, alongside London Heathrow
• North Wales metro funding for electric buses and charging infrastructureTransport and North Wales Minister Ken Skates said the investment will fund two electric buses
• Airbus Broughton will have second shutdown with workers placed back on furloughThe annual summer shutdown will still take place despite an earlier production closure in the spring
• Huge £40m aerospace centre to be built in GloucestershireThe agreement is believed to be one of the biggest deals the industry has seen this year
• Funding secured to trial emissions reduction tech on diesel trainThe Eminox SCRT technology will be fitted to a train operated by East Midlands Railway
• University of Birmingham secures new funding for green train developmentInstitute is using funds to continue development of hydrogen with industry partner Porterbrook

London Evening Standard

• Repairs to major roads stay on hold in TfL crisisA two-year suspension of repairs and upgrades to main roads is to be continued for another six months as Transport for London chiefs desperately try to save cash.
• Exempt our staff from late C-charge, plead casino bossesCasinos today appealed to Sadiq Khan to exempt their late-night staff from the 10pm extension of the congestion charge which comes into force on Monday.
• Westminster drops pop-up cycle lane plan on Oxford StreetA promise to build

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Metro warning after busiest travel day since lockdown beganMetro officials are conscious that trains will soon be at their maximum safe capacity with social distancing measures in place and it will be harder for passengers to stay two metres apart

The York Press

• Parking will be FREE in July and August (but only at some car parks)PARKING will be free in York city centre for July and August - under plans to give businesses a boost.

Leeds Live

• Leeds Bradford Airport reopening this weekend after 12-week closure "I think realistically we'll see a gradual return"

Other Regional Press

• Luton Airport expansion application delayed as focus shifts to delivering ‘greener model’The application to expand Luton Airport has been delayed, as the company looks to make it the “UK’s most sustainable airport over the next 20 years”.
• Drivers urged to perform safety checks as new report highlights gaps in vehicle maintenanceWITH coronavirus putting MOTs on hold, safety campaigners are urging drivers to perform basic safety checks before getting behind the wheel, as a new report highlights dangerous gaps in vehicle maintenance.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• HS2 minister starts roundtables on integrated rail planHS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson is hosting a series of virtual meetings with leaders from across the north and Midlands, ensuring regional representatives can voice their priorities for the integrated rail plan (IRP) and the current plans for HS2, Northern Powerhouse rail (NPR) and Midlands Engine Rail. As part of the decision to proceed with HS2 announced in February (2020), the government has committed to drawing up an integrated rail plan, informed by an assessment from the National Infrastructure Commission, in order to look at how to deliver transformational rail improvements to the north...
• Hitachi Rail begins new phase of manufacturing at UK factory with East Coast Trains orderManufacturing of five 100% electric East Coast Trains has begun, signalling the start of a new phase of train building at Hitachi Rail’s Newton Aycliffe factory. The construction of the new intercity trains for the open access operator (East Coast Trains Limited) incorporates a more extensive manufacturing programme than previous fleets. The increased scope will see the highly skilled workforce create a new state-of-art fleet from empty aluminium shells. Despite the impact of Covid-19, Hitachi Rail has continued to work diligently and safely in preparing the factory and is now ready to ...
• Launch of new smartphone busy bus feature on Stagecoach bus appStagecoach, Britain’s biggest bus and coach operator, is launching a new smartphone “busy bus” indicator to help customers plan their journeys as services increase across the country. The new feature on the Stagecoach bus app will use extensive data and artificial intelligence to provide a traffic light indicator to help customers choose quieter services and maintain social distancing. The app is now being rolled out to iOS and android users and is planned to be fully in place by 18 June via the app store and Google Play platforms. The “busy bus” tracker will pr...
• World's biggest container ship HMM Algeciras docks at London GatewayThe world's biggest container ship has docked in Essex after completing its maiden voyage. HMM Algeciras measures 1,312ft (400m) long and 200ft (61m) wide - which is longer than the height of the Shard at 1,017ft (310m). It docked at London Gateway on Sunday after travelling from China via South Korea, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. The ship will unload a variety of goods before carrying UK exports back to China, via Singapore, on Monday evening. Source: BBC
• 15-year vision set to revolutionise constructionA digital revolution in the construction industry could dramatically increase productivity and save billions of pounds, while radically reducing disruption to the public and slashing the number of fatal building site accidents. That was the rallying call to the sector today from Highways England as it spearheaded the launch of a 15-year plan to accelerate the use of technology in infrastructure. Connected and autonomous plant (CAP) is already being used to transform activities across the UK construction sector, including for example the use of robotic trucks on Britain’s biggest road p...

Railnews

• Rail bailout has cost £3.5bn so far – but there™s no end in sight The cost of keeping the passenger railway operating during the Covid-19 pandemic has reached £3.5 billion, according to rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris. He was answering a Parliamentary question raised by Labour MP Ian Mearns. The minister admitted that there is no definite end in sight for the emergency measures which are supporting franchises for the time being.
• Stagecoach loses claims for franchise compensation Stagecoach has lost its battle for compensation against the Department for Transport after its bids for three franchises were ruled ˜non-compliant™ in April 2019 because they attempted to reduce pension risks

Other News Sources

• Mayor brands bailouts a ‘bad deal for taxpayers’Steve Rotheram warns many local transport services are likely to become unsustainable     Government bailouts of private bus and rail operators are a “bad deal for taxpayers” according to Steve Rotheram, the mayor of the Liverpool City Region. In a virtual sitting to the House of Commons transport select committee this week, the mayor claimed that the funding streams set up in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown gave little incentive for companies operating across transport modes to integrate services. Rotheram told members that instead the money should go directly to ma...
• Stagecoach to ‘move on’ after court rulingGroup challenged disqualification from franchise competitions – but High Court has sided with secretary of state for transport     The High Court has ruled against Stagecoach Group’s claims against the secretary of state for transport regarding decisions to disqualify it from three rail franchise competitions. The disqualifications saw the group exit the UK rail franchising market. The Perth-based group decided to sue the government after last year being disqualified from bidding for the East Midlands and West Coast Partnership franchise competitions, and the abandoned co...
• Arrival reveals plans for electric busElectric vehicle startup reveals plans for electric bus     London-based tech firm and electric commercial vehicle manufacturer Arrival has revealed it is working on an electric bus. It claims the zero-emission vehicle will “transform the public transport industry at a time when it is facing its biggest challenges”. In footage released by the company, a prototype vehicle can be seen being put through its paces at the Millbrook test track in Bedfordshire. “The recent pandemic has highlighted just how essential public transport is to communities around the world and A...

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