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

Tuesday, 20 October 2020

BBC News

• Flybe set to fly again after brand is rescuedThe deal could see the regional carrier restart operations as soon as next year.
• Coronavirus: Shapps aims for new test system for arrivalsThe UK transport secretary hopes to have it in place from December, but BA's boss is sceptical.
• Covid-19: First UK airport coronavirus testing beginsThe aim is to help people travelling to destinations where a negative result is required on arrival.

Financial Times

• UK regional airline Flybe could return to skies early next yearExeter-based carrier that collapsed in March sold to company run by hedge fund executive Lucien Farrell
• Heathrow to offer £80 rapid coronavirus test for departuresGovernment targets halving 2-week quarantine for passengers arriving at UK airports by December 1

The Telegraph

• Flybe eyes return to the skies despite ongoing turbulence [subscription]Cyrus Capital-owned Thyme Opco says it will "restore essential regional connectivity in the UK"
• Grant Shapps has had seven months to save the travel industry – is this the best he's got? [subscription]The Transport Secretary claimed that “Britain will be in the lead” when it comes to travel. Is he having a laugh? Even Jersey is ahead of us
• US airlines fly 1m passengers for first time since March [subscription]US airlines carried more than 1m passengers for the first time in seven months on Sunday in a new milestone for the Covid-ravaged aviation industry.

Times Online

• Regional economies like the Midlands crucial to recovery and levelling up [subscription]The challenges we face as a country are unprecedented. Policymakers are shackled to a 24-hour cycle of news, data and expert insight, fighting to keep communities safe and making pressurised decisions to halt the spread of Covid-19. However, while this short-term focus and reactivity is essential for our immediate health and wellbeing, we cannot forget the longer-term goals so central to our future success.
• Manufacturers may be forced to sell electric cars in drive towards zero emissions [subscription]Carmakers could be compelled to sell a rising share of electric vehicles each year under California-style plans being considered by the government.
• Coronavirus: One-week quarantine plan leaves UK behind, says BA boss Sean Doyle [subscription]Government plans to “test and release” international arrivals from quarantine after one week will fail to promote travel into the UK, according to the new boss of British Airways.
• Give cyclists number plates, say German police [subscription]They slalom through pedestrians along the pavements, career blithely in the wrong direction down cycle paths, run red lights and sometimes knock down bystanders without stopping.
• One-hour Covid test at Heathrow set to reopen travel [subscription]Passengers will undergo a one-hour coronavirus test before flying out of Britain under plans to open up international air travel.

City AM

• From Wigan Warrior to eco-warrior: Let’s make the future electric OpinionMartin Offiah is a former professional rugby footballer and is now a director of Connected Kerb, a provider of on-street residential charging for electric cars
• Trainline chief executive Clare Gilmartin steps downRail ticketing firm Trainline (TRN) has today announced its chief executive Clare Gilmartin will stand down at the end of February.
• First pre-departure testing facility opens at Heathrow AirportSwissport and Collinson have today teamed up to launch the UK’s first pre-departure airport coronavirus testing facility at Heathrow Airport. The post First pre-departure testing facility opens at Heathrow Airport appeared first on CityAM.

Mail Online

• Heathrow staff will offer £80 pre-flight coronavirus testsNew facilities in Heathrow Terminals 2 and 5 will offer the £80 swab tests to travellers flying to countries that require evidence of a negative test - with results available in 20 minutes.

Sky News

• Rapid one-hour tests now available for Italy and Hong Kong passengers at HeathrowPassengers flying from Heathrow to Italy and Hong Kong will now be able to get a coronavirus test at the airport with results in just one hour.
• Bride and groom posing for pictures on train track among 5,000 trespassing incidents on the railwaysA bride and groom posing for wedding pictures were among more than 5,000 incidents of railway trespassing between June and September this year.

Birmingham Mail

• Voi e-scooters being dumped in Birmingham canals weeks after launchVoi says it is developing a 'drowning feature' to alert them to any of the dumped e-scooters

Bolton News

• Jet2 add dozens of flights from several UK airports to Greece for last-minute summer sun Jet2 have added dozens of flights to several destinations across Greece to allow for last-minute holidaymakers to soak up the summer sun.

Wales Online

• Bailout of struggling Cardiff Bus to cost council tax payers £13.6 millionThe problems include falling passenger numbers, a heavy pension deficit, and the impact of Covid-19

Yorkshire Post

• Now is the time to increase North’s rail capacity – The Yorkshire Post saysTHERE IS a slight irony that Yorkshire’s rail services – so long a national embarrassment – are performing better now than they have done for many years when passenger numbers have dropped so dramatically as a result of Covid-19 and many more commuters working from home than originally envisaged.
• Rail services in the north 'enjoying best performance ratings in years' as passenger numbers dropRail services in the north of England are performing better than they have for many years because of the huge drop in demand seen during the pandemic, a report has revealed.

Doncaster Free Press

• This is how Doncaster rail passengers can help the environmentLondon North Eastern Railway (LNER) is introducing disposable cup recycling stands to the stations it manages – as many as 2,000 cups are thrown away every day at larger stations, said environmental partnership manager Thomas Miles. He said: “More than ever before, people are focused on the impact they are having on the world around them so we hope that these new cup recycling stands will be a success.”

Other Regional Press

• New boss named for Scotland's sleeper link with LondonCaledonian Sleeper has named its new managing director as Kathryn Darbandi. Mrs Darbandi will take up her new role in January 2021 and brings extensive experience in the travel and tourism industry, She previously held senior roles at US group Travel Leaders, Thomas Cook and Tui.
• Mayor opens 100-bike parking hub at Elstree & Borehamwood stationThe Mayor of Elstree & Borehamwood Town Council, Cllr Simon Rubner, has opened the local Thameslink station’s new £200,000 cycle parking hub.
• Consultation begins on new flight paths to separate Luton and Stansted aircraftConsultation began on Monday (Oct 19) on new arrival routes for Luton Airport to resolve the "unique and unsustainable situation" of sharing with Stansted.
• Next phase of £9.8m Clarendon Road project underway The next phase to transform a gateway into Watford town centre has begun
• Airline return would be ‘good news’ for Southampton AirportADMINISTRATORS have agreed ‘rescue deal’ for a collapsed airline that could see it return to the skies next year.
• Cycle project in Didcot has been fast-tracked because of CovidA SCHEME to get people walking and cycling has been fast-tracked in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Next phase of £25.9m transport project linking Huddersfield to HalifaxThe project is funded by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority
• Bradford Council 'acting like a dictatorship' over new link roadThe Green Party isn't happy about the £64m scheme
• Car parking charges 'will impact post-Covid recovery' INCREASED car parking charges, which have been agreed without consultation by Dorset Council, may yet be reversed.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Next steps announced to boost road safety and close mobile phone loopholePeople using a hand-held mobile phone in all circumstances while driving will be breaking the law, under new government plans unveiled by Roads Minister Baroness Vere to close a legislation loophole and improve road safety. It’s already a criminal offence to use a hand-held mobile phone to call or text while driving, but not for other actions such as taking photos. While still distracting, drivers have escaped punishment due to a legal loophole where such actions aren’t seen as ‘interactive communication’, and therefore do not fit the current definition of the offence....
• Space company takes to the skies alongside the NHSThe pandemic has seen the country pulling together, with organisations across the space sector stepping forward to help. Apian, part of the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, aims to establish a network of secure air corridors for electric drones to navigate via satellite-enabled GPS. Each drone will be able to carry COVID-19 samples, test-kits and PPE. This will avoid courier call-out waiting times, free-up NHS staff, reduce unnecessary physical contact and minimise the risk of secondary transmission of the virus. The project will be based at Broomfield Hospital, part of Mid and South Ess...

Christian Wolmar

• Rail 913: Wrong way to try to prove that rail is safeStatistics are a big part of my business as a journalist. I love it when I can refer to the fact that railways are far safer than other land-based modes of travel by referring to widely accepted metrics such as deaths per billion kilometres. I also enjoy using the rather remarkable fact that despite all the hype about privatisation being more efficient, over the past twenty years the cost of running the railway per passenger mile has remained virtually unchanged since the days of British Rail.

Rail Magazine

• Testing begins on Midland Main Line electrificationTesting of the Midland Main Line’s new overhead line equipment has begun.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Network Rail spending with SMEs surpasses £2.5bn in 2019-20Britain’s rail industry has a key part to play in its economic growth, and in light of current Covid-19 outbreak, also its recovery. The railway allows people to get to work, businesses to markets, and people to their families and friends.
• 2020 worst summer in five years for trespassing on the railwayRecent statistics from Network Rail and British Transport Police show that there were 5,100 trespass incidents over the summer months, with the total number of incidents recorded in September at 1,239, the worth recorded for that month in the past five years.

Railnews

• Monday essay: A new era? The Department for Transport has awarded a three year contract to Arriva to continue running CrossCountry until October 2023, and this new deal will not include significant commercial risk. Sim Harris asks if this is the way forward.
• Work begins exploring ground conditions on Ashington line Work has started to explore the ground on a Northumberland railway which is being proposed for reopening after its passenger services were withdrawn in 1964. The route runs north from Northumberland Park Metro station to Ashington.

Transportxtra

• First piece of Scots HS2 infrastructureThe first piece of HS2 infrastructure in Scotland is likely to be a depot for HS2 trains in Dumfries and Galloway.
• Court hears Heathrow third runway appealSupreme Court judges are considering Heathrow Airport Ltd’s appeal against a ruling that has thrown delivery of the airport’s  third runway into doubt. 

Other News Sources

• 'Dunfermline must be re-connected to West Fife railway'NETWORK RAIL and the Scottish Government are being urged to open all of the West Fife rail line following the announcement of plans to electrify tracks between Longannet and Alloa.
• HS2 scrutiny set to be ramped up by Cheshire EastWORK on the delivery of HS2 in Cheshire East is set to be ramped up.
• Blackburn MP covers up to remind people of travel mask rulesAN MP has backed bus operator Transdev’s campaign to remind passengers of the need to wear face coverings on board.
• Virgin Atlantic launches new direct flights to India from Manchester Virgin Atlantic has announced it will be launching services to Delhi and Mumbai from Manchester.
• M65: Motorway among roads which could be hit by workers' strike action COMMUTERS are being warned that the winter could see widespread disruption to the North West’s motorway network, including on the M65, due to a dispute between construction firm Amey and road repair workers.
• ‘Bus drivers didn’t have adequate PPE even though they requested it’ – Edinburgh University’s Dr Gwenetta CurryWe were joined by Gwenetta Curry, a specialist in race ethnicity and health at the University of Edinburgh.
• Arundel A27 bypass a "sham of a public process", group claim THE ROUTE of a new bypass was chosen through
• Bus passenger fury over social distancing on Brighton bus A MEMBER of the pubic who was forced to shield from coronavirus has been left shocked after a bus full of people ignored social distancing measures.