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

Tuesday, 11 August 2020

BBC News

• Giant machines for HS2's Chilterns tunnels unveiledTwo tunnelling machines bought to help build HS2 have been unveiled by the firm behind the high-speed rail line. The excavators will bore a 10 mile (16km) tunnel through part of the Chilterns, from a site near the M25 to near South Heath in Buckinghamshire,

Financial Times

• Shipbroker Clarkson boosted by rush to store cheap oilGroup’s shares up 11% as first-half results beat expectations

The Independent

• Nationalised rail operator slashes fares to win back passengersLondon to Edinburgh is £20 in standard class, £40 in first, with bargains also available to and from Leeds, York and Newcastle

Times Online

• HS2 welcomes two boring Germans [subscription]Cecilia and Florence are Germans of prodigious girth, weighing about 2,000 tonnes each and destined to spend most of their working life scraping away the earth somewhere beneath the Chilterns.

Reuters News

• UK's Heathrow Airport passenger numbers down 88% amid ongoing travel restrictionsLONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Heathrow Airport renewed its call for COVID-19 testing at airports on Tuesday as it reported an 88% plunge in July passenger numbers due to ongoing restrictions on travel which it said were strangling the UK economy.

City AM

• Heathrow calls for airport testing as passenger numbers drop 88 per centAround 88 per cent fewer people travelled through Heathrow Airport in July compared with last year as the coronavirus pandemic continued to strangle air travel.
• Fiat Chrysler accuses General Motors of making 'preposterous allegations'Fiat Chrysler has said a recent filing by rival General Motors was like a “third-rate spy movie”, asking a US The post Fiat Chrysler accuses General Motors of making 'preposterous allegations' appeared first on CityAM.
• The future of urban transport is human-poweredIn recent months there has been precious little to celebrate as the pandemic has taken away so much and pushed The post The future of urban transport is human-powered appeared first on CityAM.

Birmingham Post

• Go-Ahead passenger numbers below 50% of pre-pandemic levelsThe chief executive of the North East headquartered group has welcomed the announcement of a rolling support package to keep buses in England running
• £240m deal agreed for Severn, Prince of Wales and Avonmouth bridgesThe announcement follows an 18-month tender process
• BAE Systems' Brough boost as Hawk passes longevity testThe 'world's flying classroom' could now be airborne well into the 2040s - with the East Yorkshire team supporting global fleets

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Jet2 share update on when flights and holidays to Cyprus will resume JET2.COM and Jet2holidays have shared an update as to when they will resume flights and holidays to Cyprus.

Bristol Live

• Why Bristol Airport workers were protesting on the steps of MP Liam Fox's officeBristol Airport workers are pressing Dr Fox to intervene and increase Government support for the aviation industry

London Evening Standard

• Heathrow bosses accuse government Covid travel rules of "strangling the economy"Heathrow bosses today declared quarantines that have grounded 60% of its routes are "strangling the economy" and repeated its calls on the government to open up testing at airports for Covid-19 so flights can get back to something resembling normality.

Cambridge News

• Angry residents successfully stall controversial Cambridge train washCampaigners say they want to set a precedent to aid future disputes

Other Regional Press

• Oxford Tube services are being boosted to support commuters to LondonOXFORD Tube coach services will be increasing from the end of the month to provide an improved frequency for commuters and visitors.
• Devon's plan to replace public transport journeys with walking and cyclingThe £1.3m bid would create more permanent schemes that provide extra space for pedestrians and cyclists
• Work Begins On Crumlin Rail Bridge ReplacementNetwork Rail have today commenced preparatory works to enable replacement of the rail bridge adjacent to the A467 at Crumlin.
• New lease of life for West Midlands rail line as volunteers step forwardA popular rail line is set for a makeover after dozens of volunteers stepped forward to work with West Midlands Railway to give its stations a new lease of life.
• Bus journeys could 'burst school bubbles'Pupils rushing on to school buses would ruin any bubbles created to prevent the spread of coronavirus, a councillor has warned.

Train Operators

• Greater Anglia’s teams continue to deliver excellent performancePunctuality on Greater Anglia trains was 96.2 per cent in July – another very good result, for the fourth successive month, as the company increased train services, with more people travelling again during the easing of lockdown.

Airportwatch

• Capita remains in the zone with renewed inner London contract [subscription]London’s virtual environmental traffic cop has won an extended and enlarged contract to keep polluting vehicles out of the capital.

British Trams Online

• MERS offer £9,000 to Isle of Man Railways to operate Snaefell Mountain Railway in 125th anniversary yearWhen announcements were made in July about the Manx Electric Railway and Isle of Man Steam Railway resuming operation in time for the school holidays it was confirmed at the same time that both the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway and Snaefell Mountain Railway would be running in 2020. For the Snaefell line this would mean that it would completely miss its 125th anniversary (21st August) year. But now the Manx Electric Railway Society have offered £9,000 to allow its operation for 3 weeks around this anniversary.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• East Yorkshire’s first luxury bike buses arrive on the region’s roadsHull and East Yorkshire will become one of the first areas in the country to have bike-friendly buses, in a £2m investment by one of the region’s leading public transport operators. Bus company East Yorkshire has bought eight state of the art, environmentally friendly new double decker buses, costing £260,000 each, all of which have special racks to carry bikes on board. From 10 August the cycle-friendly buses will be rolled out onto the company’s flagship X46 & 45 routes between Hull, Beverley, Market Weighton, Pocklington and York, and between Bridlington, Driffie...
• RH Bodyworks protecting bus drivers from Covid-19 with fully sealed cabinsBus drivers on the frontline in the global pandemic are being protected with fully sealed protective cabins made by RH Bodyworks. The Suffolk-based accident-repair specialist was commissioned to design a permanent solution to protect bus drivers from infection while on frontline duty. It has now made more than 100 units for a London bus operator. Andy Sage, General Manager at RH Bodyworks, said: “It is a great project to be involved in. We do feel that we are making a difference and helping to protect essential workers against the pandemic.” Most buses already had a...

New Civil Engineer

• Extending HS2 to Scotland identified as ‘starting point’ for rail decarbonisationExtending High Speed 2 (HS2) to Scotland by 2032 has been identified as the starting point to decarbonise the country’s railways, in a report by the High Speed Rail Group (HSRG).

Rail Technology Magazine

• HS2 searching for high voltage power supply systems With the green light for construction given a few weeks ago, HS2 have today (10 Aug) began the search for expert contractors to deliver the high voltage power supply systems. These systems will transfer electricity to the UK’s new high-speed rail link and allow millions of people to enjoy...
• Northern supports song writing workshops in the community As part of the Northern supported project Lyric and Line, singer-song writer Gareth Davies-Jones has been working with three groups with additional needs, using music to explore the adventure of traveling by train, and the obstacles they may face doing so. Gareth worked with Gibside School, a...

Railnews

• Rail Live falls victim to coronavirus This year™s Rail Live has been cancelled. The rail industry event had been planned to take place at Long Marston in Warwickshire on 9 and 10 September. The organisers have blamed ˜the uncertainty surrounding Covid-19 restrictions™.

The Business Desk

• Nottingham-led green transport project receives Government backingA University of Nottingham-led research and development project aimed at establishing the Midlands as a “supercluster” for net zero transport is one of 17 research projects across the UK which will receive up to £50,000 each to drive local economic growth, provide skills training and create high-value jobs.

Transport Network

• Latest £256m buses and trams bailout announcedMinisters are giving bus and tram services in England outside London up to £256m to help them ramp up services ahead of expected increases in public transport use next month.

Other News Sources

• Burnham welcomes latest Metrolink supportGreater Manchester’s tram network is to benefit from a further funding boost as the Department for Transport looks to back regional operators building up services ahead of September’s spending round.
• Jet2 brings back popular Twilight Check-in service for London Stansted Airport passengersJet2 has announced that it's bringing back a popular service for holidaymakers travelling from London Stansted Airport.
• Heathrow passenger numbers down 89% in JulyHeathrow’s passenger numbers were down 89% year-on-year in July, figures published by the airport show.
• Mystery surrounds shrouded trains stored on land in BartonThe appearance of brand new rolling stock wrapped in white sheets has caught people's attention in the North Lincolnshire town
• Adopt a railway station scheme hailed a successA popular rail line is set for a makeover after dozens of volunteers stepped forward to work with West Midlands Railway to give its stations a new lease of life.
• LNER masks unveiledLondon North Eastern Railway (LNER) has revealed three East Coast inspired face masks which are launching this week for customers to order including the national symbol of Scotland, the thistle, for a limited edition Edinburgh design.
• Hitachi and Bombardier to supply very high-speed trains to Trenitalia for Spain’s new ILSAHitachi Rail SpA and Bombardier Transportation have signed a contract with Italy’s Trenitalia to supply 23 Frecciarossa 1000 very high-speed trains for the new ILSA rail operation in Spain.