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

Thursday, 20 August 2020

BBC News

• Snowdon: Pre-booked parking introduced at Pen-y-PassVisitors will have to book ahead to park at a Snowdon car park after a series of traffic issues.
• 'Two months' to repair flood-damaged Glasgow-Edinburgh rail linkThe Glasgow to Edinburgh line flooded when a section of the Union Canal breached during heavy rain.
• Old Military Road to close overnight after further rain warningThe main carriageway of the A83 road, a key route through Argyll, has been out of use since a landslip.
• Unexpected jump in inflation sparks potential rail price increaseThe cost of regulated fares, such as season tickets, is set to go up but is under Scottish government review.
• Boeing wins first 737 order since 2019 after crashesPolish charter airline Enter Air said it has confidence in the review the aircraft has faced since the crashes.
• Coronavirus-hit Qantas posts £1bn annual lossThe Australian airline's chief executive says trading conditions are the worst in its 100-year history.

Financial Times

• Rail fare freeze considered to tempt back passengersMinisters consider scrapping annual ticket price rises in effort to tempt people back on trains
• Lex Letter from London: trade tides buoy shippingIndustry’s resilience is built on greater agility, lower fuel prices and higher freight rates
• UK transport: blunder busesBritain’s four biggest bus groups are losing value as fast as they are losing customers
• Deutsche Bahn criticised for withholding data during pandemicTravel booking sites say German state-owned railway is refusing to share information that predicts train crowding

The Guardian

• Heathrow's rapid Covid test centre could replace quarantineTravel industry pins hopes for an end to 14-day isolation on new two-stage testing scheme at airport, with results delivered in hours A new Covid test centre is ready to start rapid testing of inbound passengers arriving at Heathrow airport’s Terminal 2, as soon as the government gives it the go-ahead.

The Scotsman

• Calls for major fares shake-up as rail prices rise despite pandemicRail commuters face an increase in season ticket prices of 1.6 per cent despite people being urged to return to work amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Times Online

• 2021 rail fares: ministers refuse to commit to 1.6% rise [subscription]New year rail fare rises could be delayed by months to allow commuters to buy cheaper season tickets under plans being considered by ministers.

Mail Online

• Qantas won't fly again until 2021 after recording 91 per cent financial lossA total of 6,000 staff lost their jobs and another 20,000 were stood down as the embattled airline's profits plunged by 91 percent after the crisis grounded almost all international travel.

Birmingham Post

• Stena to boost freight capacity ahead of increase in pre-Brexit tradeIt follows a 'dramatic' coronavirus-related drop in freight volumes

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• ’Now not the time’ for rail fare rise - Councillor Judith BlakeLOCAL transport bosses say now is not the time to hit rail passengers with fare increases. The Government announced yesterday that commuters faced an increase in season ticket prices of 1.6 per cent. It came despite efforts to attract people back onto rail services that have been badly hit by lockdown and social distancing measures.
• West Yorkshire cases of Covid-19 linked to car sharing THERE have been cases of Covid-19 in West Yorkshire linked to car sharing.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• easyJet urged to reconsider plans to stop flights from NewcastleMP Kate Osborne urges the Government to give more support to airlines and prevent job cuts

The York Press

• LETTER: Do we have a God-given right to drive our cars? No, we pay for it through taxes... It was reassuring to note from Susan Major’s letter (August 11) that the long-running feud between cyclists and motorists is alive and well, despite the pandemic.

Wales Online

• Upgrade work completed at Fourteen Locks Canal CentreWalking and cycle paths have been repaired, and new barriers installed
• Cardiff Bus drivers will not challenge passengers without masksCustomers complained to Cardiff Bus after the service they were on had 'as little as 10% of passengers' wearing face masks

Bucks Free Press

• Beaconsfield Society on HS2 concerns regarding HGVs The chairwoman of the Beaconsfield Society has said 'we could face a big problem’ as HS2 works are to take place in the town.
• Mercedes-Benz UK are involved in a diesel emissions scandal A million drivers across the UK could receive about £10,000 in compensation following a high court ruling against the parent company of Mercedes-Benz UK over the diesel emissions scandal.

Get Surrey

• What the increase in train fare announcement means for Surrey commutersSeason ticket prices are based on the inflation figures

Peterborough Telegraph

• New cycling lane in Peterborough city centre; taxi rank to be extended; 10 schools want roads closed for pupilsA new cycling lane is being introduced in Peterborough city centre as part of the Government’s attempt to boost active travel.

Other Regional Press

• Cycle way campaigners get champion backingA campaign to keep Lynn’s Hardings Way area free of traffic and safe for cyclists and walkers stepped up a gear on Saturday.
• Extra school buses when Lancashire goes back to class - but walking and cycling encouraged for the shortest tripsExtra school buses will be running on some of Lancashire’s busiest pupil routes when children return to the classroom next month - in an attempt to allow social distancing on board.
• School bus route reprieve for Stockton kids after MP steps inFrom January 1, regulations change meaning buses with fare-paying passengers must be wheelchair-accessible - if they're not, they can't take them
• Harrogate residents urged to speak up over cycle route plans on the StrayThe council wants to allow cycling on the Stray - amending a byelaw currently in place
• Coventry-based firm will be running a driverless service to the Wales OpenAn innovative autonomous shuttle is due to transport some of the game's top pros from the clubhouse to the green
• Coventry council ordered to change unfair school transport policyThe authority said the error was not intentional, but accepted the findings by the Ombudsman

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• New UK space projects to boost global sustainable development receive £3.4 million cash boostToday, on World Humanitarian Day, the UK Space Agency has announced £3.4 million of new funding for 10 leading-edge projects that back UK academics using space to tackle global development problems – from the spread of malaria to human trafficking and forced labour. In 2018, there were an estimated 228 million cases and 405,000 deaths from malaria alone. Using satellite, air-borne and ground-based sensing technology, academics at The Open University will detect where mosquitoes are most likely to breed and support efforts to tackle this deadly disease at its source. Once identifie...

Rail Technology Magazine

• Dawlish sea wall development plans approved On Aug 18 Teignbridge District Council approved Network Rail’s plans for the remaining section of the new sea wall at Dawlish, which will allow for increased protection for the railway from extreme weather and rising sea levels for years to come. Network Rail are hoping to begin building...
• Railways fall silent to remember those lost in Stonehaven derailment The rail industry paused and fell silent this morning (19 Aug) to remember those who lost their lives, and all others who were affected by the derailment at Stonehaven one week ago. Across Scotland, railway stations remained silent for a minute at 09:43, the time the incident was reported on...

Railnews

• Flooded Scottish main line could remain closed for months Network Rail is warning that the main Edinburgh to Glasgow Queen Street line may have to remain closed until well into the autumn, as a result of flood damage caused by a breach in the bank of the nearby Union Canal.

Transportxtra

• Traffic levels up, rail fares up, cycling trips down. Where is the promised green recovery?Traffic levels have this week risen to somewhere between 87 and 105 per cent of the average for this time of year, with Government data also showing that light commercial and heavy goods traffic have returned to, or exceeded, pre-Covid levels. Meanwhile, despite the numbers of train journeys being taken remaining at around a quarter of the usual amount, many railway season ticket holders and commuters will see a 1.6% rise in fares from January.

Other News Sources

• Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme launchedThe new initiative focuses on ultra-low emission technologies in buses and aims to support the Scottish Government’s transport decarbonisation plans.
• Ten new schemes proposed for better walking and cycling in B&NESGetting around Bath and North East Somerset on foot or by bike will be made easier under proposals put forward by the council and the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) for additional funding.
• New app provides passengers with information on airport health measuresAirports Council International (ACI World) has launched a new app enabling passengers to find out information about the health measures in place at individual airports worldwide.
• Gloucestershire Airport files job-creating business park plansGloucestershire Airport has filed proposals for a major new business park expected to provide space for almost 2,000 workers.
• It’s time for decisive action on railway costs  Our Whitehall insider imagines what’s going on inside the minds of the mandarins at Great Minster House, home of the DfT   One of the things I’m increasingly hearing is that the cost of the railways with the new Emergency Measures Agreements (EMAs) in place is simply not sustainable. Mind you, that’s hardly rocket science! So all the talk today is about how we get to a cheaper railway. The trouble is that there seems to be a consensus that we won’t get back to pre-lockdown patronage levels for some considerable time – perhaps not for 18 months or more – and I’ve heard i...
• Stagecoach’s ’Flexi 5’ helps flexible workersGreater Manchester bus users can save 20% when they buy a bundle of five dayrider tickets     Stagecoach has launched a new ’Flexi Day 5’ ticket in Greater Manchester. The ’five for the price of four’ deal is aimed at people who are now working more flexible hours, part-time or shifts, and leisure commuters beginning to get out and about as shops, cafes and restaurants open back up. Flexi 5 is a bundle of five Manchester dayrider tickets which must be used over a month. Normally these £5 tickets would cost a total of £25 for five, but with Flexi Day 5 customer...
• Leeds suspends work on Clean Air ZoneAir quality improvements may mean government funding will no longer be forthcoming     Leeds City Council has announced it has decided to suspend plans to introduce a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The city had planned to introduce the scheme in January, but this was postponed as a result of “delays to government systems”. In March the city council announced it would finally come into force in September. However, the council has now decided to suspend the plans for the foreseeable future as a result of air improvements during lockdown could ...
• Anger as kids spray-paint swear word and graffiti on Blackburn to Manchester Victoria trainTRANSPORT police are trying to find the youths who vandalised a train from Blackburn to Manchester Victoria on Tuesday night.
• Wizz Air UK announces Gatwick Airport base amid expansion AN INTERNATIONAL airline is expanding and setting up a new base at Gatwick Airport.
• Call for speed cameras to tackle rat runs in Brighton PEOPLE are calling for more speed cameras as they complain of “screeching cars,” boy racers and dangerous rat runs.