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

Friday, 30 October 2020

BBC News

• Bristol's Dr Paul Stephenson has train named in his honourDr Paul Stephenson organised the Bristol bus boycott that overturned an employment ban in the 1960s.
• Coronavirus: Payments for taxi drivers and bus operators approvedSome taxi drivers criticised reports the financial support would be a £1,500 one off payment.
• SpiceJet: Indian airline turns to seaplanes to boost travelSpiceJet will fly the aircraft to the site of the world's tallest statue among its new routes.
• United Airlines to trial airport Covid testingThe airline's boss Scott Kirby tells the BBC passenger testing is

Financial Times

• Berlin's laughing stock airport finally opens to passengersProject reaches completion 8 years behind schedule and in middle of a pandemic

Birmingham Post

• Train builder lands contract extension worth almost £250mDeal sees Bombardier Transportation continue to maintain, overhaul, service and clean Arriva CrossCountry trains

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• New Steeton and Silsden Station car park, originally due to be completed this month, now unlikely to open before 2022A “PARK and rail” scheme that would see a new multi storey car park built at Steeton and Silsden Train Station will cost over £750,000 more than expected, and will not be ready until 14 months after the original completion date.

Wales Online

• New team is working on plans for South West Metro network for Swansea and beyondProposals for new rail stations as part of a joined-up South West Metro transport network are being taken forward by a new board, but funding questions remain.

Cambridge News

• New action plan to cut down on bike thefts at Cambridge North stationThe station has one of the worst rates for bike thefts in the country

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Transport operators urged to download NHS Covid-19 appThe Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, has written to CILT members to encourage the public transport sector to raise awareness of and encourage the public to download the NHS' Covid-19 app.  In the letter to transport operators, he says:
• Teesport invests £1.35m in pilot vessel to support future trade growth on the River TeesPD Ports, owner of Teesport and legal guardians of the River Tees, has welcomed the arrival of a new £1.35 million pilot vessel, Stainsby, to its fleet. Mia MacDonald, who has recently finished her apprenticeship at PD Ports and is now a qualified Hydrographic Surveyor, officially christened the vessel in a small, socially distanced ceremony held on Wednesday. Affectionately named Stainsby after one of the original four villages that later became Middlesbrough, the vessel will facilitate the safe transportation of pilots to and from vessels as they enter the river. The state-of-the-ar...

Coach and Bus Week

• RATP trials Solaris hydrogen busFor the next few weeks, Parisian operator RATP will be trialling a Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen bus on the streets of Paris, to allow the RATP Group to test the technology’s capabilities in regular service.
• Cardiff Bus pauses active tickets during Wales national lockdownFollowing the Welsh Government’s announcement of a national lockdown until 9 November, Cardiff Bus users have been given the option to pause their active tickets. After the further lockdown was declared from Friday 23 October, the operator placed a pause on its active 4 Week To Go, 4 Week To Go Plus and annual tickets to help relieve financial stress for customers.
• NAT Group is named Chamber Covid HeroNAT Group has been recognised by the South and Mid Wales Chambers of Commerce for going the extra mile to support the local community and essential workers during the Coronavirus outbreak. The operator was awarded the UK Business Heroes stamp as part of the British Chambers of Commerce’s campaign to acknowledge the work that businesses across the country are doing against the challenging background of Covid-19.
• Yutong: Going strongWith examples entering service with Newport Transport and First Leeds recently, and more due for Go North East, Jonathan Welch visited Pelican Engineering in Castleford to look at the latest version of Yutong’s E10 and E12
• Cornwall’s bus revolutionGo Cornwall Bus has gone from operating a fleet of 35 vehicles to 150 in just four short months. Richard Sharman visited the Cornwall Operator to find out how this mammoth task was achieved
• CPT announces Jane Cole as its first female PresidentThe Confederation of Passenger Transport, the national trade body for bus and coach operators across the UK, has revealed its new President for 2021

New Civil Engineer

• Robot launch hints how construction productivity could be increasedRobotics and automation are key to improving safety and productivity in construction, as well as addressing the growing skills gap, according to drilling specialist Hilti.
• Crossrail | First meeting of new scrutiny committee postponedThe inaugural meeting of Crossrail’s Elizabeth Line Committee was postponed yesterday, with a new date yet to be set.
• Hammersmith Bridge will stay closed to motorists for six more years Hammersmith Bridge will remain closed to vehicles for another six and a half year, chair of the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce Baroness Vere has revealed.
• Calls for disused rail lines to be used for freightDisused railways lines should be used to pick up freight from ports, removing the need to transport the material by road, according to Hull councillor Sean Chaytor.

Rail Business Daily

• MacRail appoints Steve Featherstone as non-executive director and chairmanMacRail Systems Ltd. has announced the appointment of a new Non-Executive Director & Chairman, Steve Featherstone.
• South Yorkshire blueprint to benefit future tram train schemesSouth Yorkshire’s Tram Train service will be used as a blueprint to benefit future UK transport schemes, as a two-year pilot to test the pioneering technology comes to an end.
• Mobility scooter users given greater freedom on Northern trainsMobility scooter users can now explore more of the north by rail thanks to Northern. Scooter users will be able to travel to and from more than 100 stations across the Northern network as a new accessibility scheme is introduced.
• Metro Control Centre going up at Taff’s WellTransport for Wales continues to move forward with South Wales Metro developments and has recently erected the steel frame for the new Control Centre at Taff’s Well.
• Cycle improvements for four Greater Anglia railway stationsGreater Anglia is improving cycle parking at four stations – including building a secure cycle compound at Cambridge North, following customer feedback.
• Metro cube appears in London to celebrate achievements of leading designer Margaret CalvertAn iconic station cube from the Tyne and Wear Metro is on display at London’s Design Museum to celebrate the pioneering graphic designer Margaret Calvert – the woman who created the Metro network’s famous yellow logo.
• Atkins appoints Dave Bennett as Operations, Improvements & Innovation DirectorAtkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, has appointed Dave Bennett as Operations, Improvements & Innovation Director for its UK and Europe business.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Jane Cole to become first female CPT President in 2021Jane Cole, Managing Director of Blackpool Transport, has been confirmed as Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) President for 2021. She will be the first woman to hold the position.
• Stagecoach exact fare overpayments raise £122,000 for NHS charitiesStagecoach customers across the country have been thanked for their support in making a major donation to the NHS Charities Together coronavirus COVID-19 Appeal.
• Go-Ahead London to replace fuelling equipment with IdenticGo-Ahead London has placed an order with Identic AB to upgrade 23 lanes of fuelling equipment at 14 depots. The new systems will replace older Identic refuelling equipment that is now at the end of its lives. Installation will be handled by TSG UK Solutions, which is Identic’s distributor in the UK.
• ’Time to reinvent ourselves’: John Clarfelt to step down as Ticketer CEOAs Ticketer welcomes Andy Monshaw as its new CEO, routeone speaks with incumbent John Clarfelt to talk strategy and the reason behind the change in leadership
• Excelsior Enviro400 debuts rear view cameras at Go SCCoach operator Excelsior of Bournemouth has taken delivery of a high-specification Alexander Dennis Enviro400 double-decker that will be utilised on private hires, tour work, airport transfers and corporate shuttles.

The Business Desk

• Bombardier lands £250m Arriva dealDerby train-maker Bombardier Transportation has landed a contract extension worth almost £250m, which will see it continue to maintain Arriva CrossCountry trains.

Green Miscellany

• Cargo bikes that look like carsYou don’t have to spend too much time walking or cycling in Britain to realise the hierarchy on British roads is at the expense of vulnerable road users. Research due to be published later this year will show that cargo bike riders are afforded more room by drivers owing to the primary road position adopted by their riders. The news… The post Cargo bikes that look like cars appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Network Rail recruits Mace as consultantBRITAIN’s infrastructure manager, Network Rail (NR), has appointed London-based consultancy and construction company Mace to provide consultancy services for its Project Alpha rail improvement programme.
• What will HS2 mean for rail freight in Britain?With the construction of HS2 now underway, Zoe McLernon, Multimodal Policy Manager at Logistics UK, explores how the development is set to impact rail freight and the steps that government can take to maximise the opportunities for the sector.
• Hereford bypass review to be scrutinised THE review into the planned bypass and southern link road for Hereford will be scrutinised by councillors next month.