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

Tuesday, 03 November 2020

BBC News

• Heart of Wales rail line section to reopen after storm damageServices have been unable to run on the northern section of the Heart of Wales line since August.
• Stonehaven derailment: Line reopens after three monthsThe line between Aberdeen and Dundee closed after the crash in August which left three people dead.
• Covid: Ryanair will not offer refunds for November flightsThe airline will allow passengers to change their travel plans for free amid new lockdown measures.

Department for Transport

• New funding for accessibility as government reports progress for disabled people across transport networkGovernment announces extra funding to improve travel for people with disabilities.
• £49 million uplift drives automotive industry towards green futureGovernment awards funding to low carbon automotive projects across the UK.
• Local transport update: 2 November 2020The Government and the Mayor of London have agreed a second extraordinary funding and financing package for Transport for London (TfL) for the period to 31 March 2021. It replaces the agreement signed in May. It will ensure the continued operation of public transport services in London and is proof of our commitment to supporting the capital and the transport network on which it depends.

Financial Times

• It's time for paperless passportsOur existing systems are not up to the task. The pandemic offers a chance for a rethink
• Ryanair chief criticises UK government as airline suffers lossesMichael O'Leary lambasts PM's mismanagement of coronavirus crisis
• Japanese railways: bullet pointUntil last year passenger miles on the bullet train network were growing, but everything has now changed
• Ryanair: well groundedAirline may have suffered rare quarterly loss but it has the wherewithal to survive this crisis

The Guardian

• Crossrail 2 plans shelved as part of £1.8bn TfL funding dealSettlement means Transport for London will have to further investigate driverless trains

The Independent

• A metro train that ploughed through a barrier and nearly fell off its tracks into a body of water was stopped by a whale sculpture.Officials have said no one was left injured by the crash and that the driver had been arrested and is being questioned.

The Telegraph

• ‘Ryanair of long-haul travel’ wins more than £1m of taxpayer Covid fund [subscription]Government fund, set up to help businesses impacted by Covid-19, to invest in a low-cost airline launched by former Lehman Brothers trader. A former Lehman Brothers trader has been handed more than £1m of taxpayer cash to set up a new airline, despite established carriers being repeatedly rebuffed in their bids for a bailout.
• Hundreds of thousands of people's livelihoods in the aviation industry hang in the balance because of delays over testing - John Holland-Kaye [Subscription]Ministers must work at pace with industry to put in place pre-departure testing that can get people travelling again and boost trade
• How the aerospace industry is restoring confidence in the travelling public - British Standards Institution [Subscription]Before Covid-19, some airline passengers were concerned about engine failure, or take-off and landing. Now the travelling public have a new worry: how can they minimise their risk of infection.
• Airlines will not refund Britons despite travel ban [subscription]Hundreds of thousands of Britons barred from flying during the second lockdown are to be denied refunds by some of Europe's biggest airlines.
• Five-day quarantine would catch 'up to 90pc' of cases and kickstart post-lockdown travel [subscription]Quarantine could be safely cut from 14 to five days to kickstart travel after the national lockdown and in time for Christmas ski holidays, according to the most comprehensive study yet of Covid tests on passengers.

Times Online

• Sky falls in as Ryanair slumps to €197m loss [subscription]Ryanair has reported a €197 million first-half loss following a slump in air travel over the summer and expects losses in the second half of the year to be even higher.
• Heathrow plans legal challenge to abolition of duty-free sales [subscription]Heathrow is preparing a legal challenge over a government decision to scrap airport duty-free shopping on goods such as perfumes, electronics, clothes and chocolate. Britain’s biggest airport hopes for a judicial review after a claim that the change would cause a £2.1 billion annual hit to the UK economy.

Reuters News

• UK aviation needs government support for new lockdown pain - airport boss Britain’s airports and airlines need urgent support to survive the “very bleak future” posed by a new lockdown in England, warned the boss of one of the country’s biggest airport groups.

Sky News

• More than £1bn being held in refunds for cancelled holidaysCustomers are waiting for more than £1bn in refunds due to package holidays being cancelled because of coronavirus.

Belfast Telegraph

• New PSNI team tackling crime on public transport makes two arrestsA new PSNI team tackling crime and anti-social behaviour at public transport hubs and on trains and buses has made two drugs-related arrests since last month.

Birmingham Post

• The Welsh hydrogen car venture seeking to raise £150m to build five factoriesRiversimple said each factory could employ up to 220 as it targets 180,000 vehicles by 2023

Edinburgh Evening News

• “Our house smells of diesel, and that’s with our windows shut" - Angry neighbours demand action over Edinburgh train depot pollutionNeighbours of an Edinburgh train depot say the noise and air pollution coming from the depot has left them unable to sleep and left their homes stinking of diesel.

London Evening Standard

• Congestion charge brings in £100 million amid Transport for London Covid bailoutThe extent to which motorists are being hit by tougher congestion charge rules can be revealed today.
• Profits nosedive: Ryanair reports £178million loss in six monthsRYANAIR boss Michael O’Leary renewed criticism of the government’s “failedâ€� lockdown strategy as his company announced six-month losses of 197 million euro (£178 million) from the pandemic.
• Grant Shapps: Why we agreed another TfL bailout - but it is not a blank cheque for Sadiq KhanWe are writing these huge cheques because we are utterly committed to supporting London - but they cannot be blank

Manchester Evening News

• Manchester Airport boss calls for government help as he warns of "very bleak future" for the aviation industryThe Airport Group's CEO Charlie Cornish says after promises of help "an urgent package of support must materialise"

Hull Daily Mail

• Hull Trains suspends all services as second lockdown announcedPassengers were made aware of the announcement on Twitter on Monday afternoon

Reading Evening Post

• Heathrow Airport - what the new lockdown rules mean for passengersThe country is set to go into lockdown on Thursday, November 5, with Michael Gove saying foreign holidays are banned. Here's how travel restrictions will affect the airport

Other Regional Press

• 5 railway lines that Hertfordshire is crying out for but don't existWhether for commuting or just exploring - why won't the trains just go east and west?
• Building work begins on new Gatwick Airport railway station concourseBuilding work has begun on Gatwick Airport’s new railway station concourse.
• TONY CAVE: It’s the end of the line for railway franchisingI feel as though I have been in a ‘siding’ recently – only able to make it down to the stations about one visit a week, mostly Saturday mornings, although I did manage one early morning. I cannot see things changing in the immediate future and not only because of coronavirus. However, we have monthly updates from EMR and a dedicated team for Station Adopters, which is a big improvement on a few years ago.
• £2.6m revamp for Balham railway stationBalham railway station is to undergo a £2.6 million revamp to improve and replace drainage systems so commuters will not get their feet wet.

Rail Business Daily

• Foundations milestone at new Brent Cross railway stationA key milestone has been reached at the new Brent Cross West railway station, as the first piles were put in the ground last week.
• Rail improvements to impact journeys on Looe and Gunnislake branch linesPlans to carry out improvement and maintenance work to two bridges on the Looe and Tamar Valley branch lines mean the railway between Liskeard and Looe, and between Plymouth and Gunnislake, will be closed during separate periods this November.
• Construction of new station building takes off at Gatwick AirportBuilding work started on Gatwick Airport’s huge new railway station concourse on Sunday, as the first train arrived at one of the platforms that has been rebuilt.

Railnews

• Monday essay: Getting the message A new version of a classic railway alphabet first seen in 1965 has been unveiled. Rail Alphabet was a key part of modernising British Rail™s corporate identity in the days of Beeching, and its effects eventually reached every part of the country. Sim Harris considers the prospects for Rail Alphabet 2.

Transportxtra

• Demand slumps on rail & provincial busThe impact of new Covid-19 restrictions around the country is evident in the DfT’s latest estimates of GB travel demand. 

Other News Sources

• Is Hydrogen The Future In Aviation?While still in their infancy, hydrogen-powered aircraft could be the solution to carbon-free sustainable aviation. Despite considerable advancements in engine designs that produce 25% more efficient engines than the ones they are replacing, they all still burn kerosene.
• Consultation launched for East Sussex cycling and walking networksRESIDENTS are being urged to have their say on plans for new cycling and walking networks, including potential changes to a major coastal road.