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

Friday, 23 October 2020

BBC News

• Coronavirus: Trams and Metros to get Covid-19 cashServices across northern England and the Midlands will receive up to £68m from the government.
• HS2: Moving ancient woodland habitat for rail line flawed, ecologists sayMoving ancient woodlands cut down to make way for HS2 is a fundamentally flawed idea, leading ecologists say. The company behind the new rapid rail connection between London and the north of England is cutting down trees in the course of the construction.
• Will cruise ships return to Venice?Pressure is mounting on the Italian authorities to decide on the future of cruise ships in Venice.
• Transport for Wales rail services to be nationalisedThe Transport for Wales rail service is to be brought under Welsh Government control from next February. Ministers have confirmed the takeover from KeolisAmey, with day-to-day services to be run by a publicly-owned company.
• British Airways owner IAG cuts flight numbers againAirline group IAG is reducing capacity further as it reports a hefty loss for the past three months.

ITV News

• Big cuts to East Midlands train services due to second wave of covid-19
East Midlands Railway have announced they will be cutting regional services due to the recent rise in coronavirus cases, which has lead to absent staff.
• Government pledges cash to keep Metro trains running until March after warning of 'dire' £30m crisis
The government will hand over millions of pounds of further funding to prop up the Tyne and Wear Metro until the end of March.

Financial Times

• Airbus set to boost production of world’s most popular passenger jetGroup aims to lift output of A320neo single-aisle aircraft next year
• London faces cuts to transport services amid funding battleMayor Sadiq Khan says government must provide £4.9bn rescue package to keep TfL running
• British Airways owner IAG slashes flight schedules as losses hit €1.3bnBookings worse than expected as new Covid infections increase in airline group’s biggest markets
• American Airlines looks to raise $1bn in share saleThird-quarter revenue drops 73% as passengers continue to shy away from flying
• Don’t fly away: BA owner’s tough ask to investors with shares at lowsIAG grounds expectations as bookings fall; Shaftesbury taps shareholders to weather coronavirus storm

The Guardian

• Uber and Lyft 'likely broke law' by classifying drivers as contractors, court rulesRuling deals blow to firms’ battle against AB5, which requires companies give California drivers minimum wage and benefitsA California appeals court has ruled there is “overwhelming likelihood” Uber and Lyft violated labor law by misclassifying drivers as contractors rather than employees, aligning with a lower court decision in a huge blow to the ride-hailing firms as they battle to protect their business model.Uber and Lyft had previously threatened to shut down their services pending the decision, which would enforce a new labor law known as AB5. The law, which went into effect in January, ...

Times Online

• Train operators accused of misleading passengers over timetables [subscription]Train companies have been threatened with legal action amid fears that passengers are being misled over cheap advance tickets.
• £12bn to keep trains and buses running during the coronavirus pandemic [subscription]Up to £12.6 billion will be spent propping up England’s loss-making public transport during the pandemic as passenger numbers continue to drop.
• Cost of electric car will rise nearly £3,000 under no-deal Brexit [subscription]The price of an electric car will increase by nearly £3,000 under a no-deal Brexit, almost wiping out the plug-in car grant that the government gives motorists who buy them.
• A coronavirus crisis for London transport [subscription]For decades London’s transport system has been struggling with rising passenger demand. It is the sudden emptying of carriages across the capital, however, that has pushed Transport for London (TfL) into its biggest crisis.
• British Airways owner IAG cuts flights after losses reach €1.3bn [subscription]The owner of British Airways fell to a loss of €1.3 billion in the third quarter and has warned that it will not break even in the final months of the year after being forced to shed more flights because of a second wave of Covid-19 infections.

City AM

• US airlines continue to bleed cash as wait for stimulus package goes onUS airlines laid out the continued cost of the coronavirus pandemic today as the wait for a new stimulus package The post US airlines continue to bleed cash as wait for stimulus package goes on appeared first on CityAM.

Mail Online

• Leading ecologists warn moving ancient woodland for HS2 is a 'fundamentally flawed'HS2 bosses chopping down ancient woodland to make way for the train line accept there is a lack of research to support translocation - a scheme that moves soil to preserve wildlife after felling trees.
• Wales will nationalise its 900-miles of railway after bailout talks with current operator collapseFrom February 2021, the Welsh Government will take direct control of operations on the country's 900 miles of railway under state-owned Transport for Wales (TfW).

The National

• Wales railway nationalisation sparks calls for Scottish Government to followTHE Scottish Government is facing growing calls to nationalise the country’s rail system in the wake of news that Wales will be taking their trains into public ownership in 2021.

Birmingham Mail

• Jet2 start new flights from Birmingham Airports after travel banThe resumption comes after the UK government removed the islands from the quarantine list

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• ‘No congestion charge planned' after Leeds clean air zone plan scrappedA LEEDS City Council decision-maker has insisted there are “no plans” to introduce a congestion charge in the city centre, despite a multi-million pound camera network being installed to monitor traffic.
• New app and site gives live train infoNORTHERN Rail has joined up with online experts to give customers live information about exactly what train will serve them day-to-day.

Bristol Live

• Repairs to popular cycle link postponed - after concrete failed to arriveMajor repairs are needed to the Strawberry Line trail due to a collapsed embankment

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Train passengers in North Wales to step aboard nationalised rail servicesWelsh Government has announced publicly-owned subsidiary will run day to day services

Manchester Evening News

• £500 reward on offer after railway station ticket machine set on fire and shelter smashedRail bosses have offered a cash reward after a series of vandal attacks at a station.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Train passenger warning on travelling one weekend in November and at ChristmasWorks are taking place over one weekend in November which will cause major disruption to travellers on the East Coast Main Line

The York Press

• Closure of roads like those in York prove popular, claims poll NATIONAL pollsters have found that low traffic neighbourhoods (LTN), such as a trial currently underway in York, are proving popular.

Wales Online

• Everything you need to know about Wales' railways being taken over by the Welsh GovernmentEssentially, the Welsh Government has taken over the revenue and costs of running the day-to-day services
• Castle Street in Cardiff set to be reopened to buses and taxis - but not carsThe proposed changes are temporary pending a public consultation

Yorkshire Evening Post

• City could ’live to regret’ Leeds rail station revamp in its current form, claims councillorThe plans, which include pedestrianising New Station Street, moving the taxi rank down to Bishopgate Street and installing lifts and stairs to link the two, went before a meeting of the authority’s City Plans Panel this week.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Passengers got £4.7m in compensation over late Greater Anglia trainsGreater Anglia paid out more than £4.7m to passengers whose trains were late or cancelled under their Delay Repay scheme during the financial year 2019/20.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• HS2 will enable growth in rail freight usage at UK portsHS2 Ltd has released a new video highlighting how the additional capacity HS2 will create on Britain’s existing rail network will benefit UK ports and distribution centres that use rail freight for the movement of goods. Filmed at the Port of Tilbury in Essex, the video shows how additional network capacity for rail freight is essential for Britain’s low carbon future, as transporting goods by rail creates 76% less carbon dioxide emissions than equivalent road journey.  HS2’s brand new track and fast inter-city passenger services frees space on the existing railway net...
• Transport for Wales rail services to be nationalisedThe Transport for Wales rail franchise is to be brought under Welsh Government control from next February. Ministers have confirmed the takeover from KeolisAmey. Day-to-day services will be run by a publicly-owned company. It follows significant falls in passenger numbers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Economy Minister Ken Skates said the government had stepped in

Coach and Bus Week

• West Yorkshire’s first-ever zero emission bus fleet launched in LeedsA partnership between First Bus, local authority and council has seen the successful rollout of a new electric bus fleet in Leeds
• Where it all beganThis month, Stagecoach celebrated its 40th anniversary. Jonathan Welch paid a visit to its depot in Perth, the city where the company started four decades ago
• The Long Road to Bus and Coach RestorationHidden away in the wilds of East Lothian, with beautiful views of the Lammermuir Hills, is a treasure trove of old buses and coaches which were once familiar sights on the streets of Edinburgh. Richard Walter finds out what it takes to preserve them and the challenges of keeping them roadworthy and looking good

Railnews

• Transport for Wales to be nationalised The Welsh Government has announced that the Transport for Wales concession which has been run by KeolisAmey since 2018 will be handed over to public ownership, in response to sharply lower revenues caused by Covid-19.
• More cash for trams and light rail in England English tram and light rail systems outside London are getting more financial help, as revenues continue to sag as a result of coronavirus restrictions. The latest award from the DfT is worth up to £67.8 million.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Job Support Scheme Open gets cautious CPT welcomeChanges to the Job Support Scheme (JSS) that will reduce the financial burden on businesses that remain open while utilising the scheme have been cautiously welcomed by the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT). But the trade body has reiterated that any package short of bespoke support will still “not be enough” for some coach operators.
• Panto up: Volvo adds roof-mounted pantographs to EV charging rangeVolvo Buses has revealed a roof-mounted pantograph charging solution for its rigid and articulated 7900 Electric buses, called panto up.
• Electric buses for TrawsCymru expansion in North WalesSix battery-electric buses will come to two new routes in North Wales that are to form part of the interurban country-wide TrawsCymru network, the Welsh Government has announced. The £3.6m investment, which will include associated charging equipment, is part of a wider £11m spend on the North Wales Metro integrated public transport scheme that will also see rail improvements.
• First Alexander Dennis Enviro500 pair arrive in BerlinThe first two Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro500 double-deckers have been delivered to Berlin. They form part of a framework contract for operator Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG).
• Caetano H2.City Gold makes RHD debut with AbellioCaetano has introduced its hydrogen fuel cell-electric H2.City Gold single-decker in right-hand drive format with a 10.7m prototype example that is currently on a one-week demonstration with Abellio London.
• Welsh bus reform plans underlined as support ’comes at a price’Bus operators in Wales have come under fire from Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport Lee Waters, who has underlined the Welsh Government’s desire to see wholesale reform in how services are provided in the country.
• Celebrating diversity at Reading Buses with Mark AdamsReading Buses Employee Director Mark Adams has been recognised as the man behind the Black History Month celebrations at the company, which are now in their fifth year and continue to contribute to dialogue on the company’s equality agenda.
• TrawsCymru network is latest to use UrbanThings solutionOperators First Cymru, Richards Bros and Lloyds Coaches are the latest to use UrbanThings’ smart mobility platform
• Manchester CAZ consultation includes hardship fund proposalThe ability of transport businesses to comply with the Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone (CAZ) in the wake of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is being examined in a formal consultation into CAZ proposals that now include plans for a hardship fund. 

Other News Sources

• Grant Shapps says he would have built HS2 from north to southHS2 would be built from north to south if Transport Secretary Grant Shapps was in charge of developing plans a decade ago, he has claimed.
• Welsh transport network transformation to continue despite COVID-19Transport for Wales (TfW), Keolis and Amey have reached an agreement which will lead to the implementation of a new financing and operational model.
• Hydrogen Ferry Project Gains $9.4 Mln in FundingA project to produce a novel emissions-slashing hydrogen passenger ferry has been granted €8 million ($9.4 million) in European funding as the Norwegian government announces strengthened focus on development and commercialization of hydrogen…