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

Friday, 06 November 2020

BBC News

• The foul-smelling fuel that could power big shipsEngineers think ammonia, if made sustainably, could be a greener fuel for shipping, but challenges remain.
• Brexit: Irish Sea border will involve checks in NI and BritainMLAs told there will be checks on containers in ports like Cairnryan and Liverpool, as well as NI.
• Belfast-Derry rail line: New study to look at half-hourly serviceThe study will also examine the viability of establishing additional stops along the rail line.
• Croydon tram crash: Inquest postponed until Spring 2021An inquest into the November 2016 crash that killed seven will not be held this year as planned.
• Tory mayor candidate attacked over 'TfL facts' websiteThe Transport for London Bailout Facts website is run by Shaun Bailey's campaign for Mayor of London
• Uber sees 'fundamental shift' in food delivery demandThe firm's Uber Eats business has more than doubled as the pandemic increases appetite for takeaway.
• Bentley reveals map to go fully electric by 2030The luxury carmaker will scrap petrol engines within a decade and become carbon neutral.

Financial Times

• Wizz Air sticks to bold expansion plans despite air travel collapseChief executive positions airline for recovery next year as he prepares for difficult few months

The Guardian

• Don't become a pilot as there are no jobs just huge debts, says unionBalpa points to Europe’s 10,000 unemployed commercial pilots as it issues warningCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe pilots union, Balpa, has warned prospective pilots from starting any training courses, saying they would be left with huge debts and no prospect of employment.Trainee pilots could end up owing more than £100,000 and would not find a job to pay back loans, the union said. Continue reading...
• UK closes Denmark travel corridor over mink Covid scareGrant Shapps, the transport secretary, announces travellers arriving after 4am on Friday must self-isolate for 14 daysDenmark has been removed from the British government’s list of travel corridors.Travellers arriving in the UK from Denmark after 4am on Friday must self-isolate for 14 days. Continue reading...

The Scotsman

• Bad Caledonian Sleeper trip? This is why it was worse for the staff – Alastair DaltonIf you haven’t tried it, travelling by sleeper train can be unique and exciting experience.

The Telegraph

• Volvo eyes deliveries of heavy-duty electric trucks in 2022 [subscription]The Swedish company's trucks have a range of 186 miles
• EasyJet in state aid talks with European governments [subscription]The budget airline also made an appeal for cash to the UK Government before the second lockdown was announced
• Eurotunnel freight rebounds to pre-Covid levels [subscription]Freight volumes were just 7pc down on October 2019, which were flattered by Brexit stockpiling
• Rail tunnel to Northern Ireland under consideration [subscription]Boris Johnson gives blessing to Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy's decision to conduct a review of a link between Stranraer and Larne

Times Online

• We need a ‘levelling up’ tsar to take the lead - Baroness Valentine [Subscription] Let me start by congratulating the government. Last autumn, the prime minister recognised that the country needed “levelling up” and announced a £3.6 billion programme that would invest in 101 of the UK’s “forgotten towns”.
• Two-week quarantine for travellers set to be cut to five days [subscription]The two-week quarantine period for people arriving in Britain could be cut to only five days, as the government prepares to impose new restrictions on travellers from Germany and Sweden.
• Electric trains back on track in push to cut carbon emissions [subscription]More rail lines are to be electrified in a green transport upgrade as figures show that most of the network still relies on diesel trains.

City AM

• TfL to start ferry service at Hammersmith BridgeThe Department for Transport has announced a ferry service will begin at Hammersmith Bridge just days after it hammered out The post TfL to start ferry service at Hammersmith Bridge appeared first on CityAM.

Mail Online

• Truckers 'face chaos at the UK border from January 1' as the Brexit transition period endsGovernment spending watchdogs said there could be queues of up to 7,000 lorries waiting to cross the Channel from Dover.

Sky News

• EasyJet eases financial pressure as Christmas hit loomsEasyJet has announced a boost to its coronavirus-hit finances while revealing expectations of further cuts to services in the current Christmas quarter.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Yobs slammed over 'reckless' attacks on Bradford buses THERE are fears someone could be “seriously hurt or worseâ€� - and that key workers are being deprived of a vital means of transport - by yobs unleashing mindless attacks on Bradford buses.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Holyhead port's post Brexit customs checks will be done in England until new island facility builtTransport sources have told North Wales Live the temporary locations - and they're not near Holyhead

London Evening Standard

• Croydon tram crash inquest delayed for another five months due to lockdown Bereaved families face another delay in search for answers to 2016 tragedy
• Hammersmith ferry service to be Government condition of £1.7 billion TfL bailoutA ferry service crossing the River Thames following the closure of Hammersmith Bridge is to be one of the Government’s conditions for its e £1.7 billion Transport for London (TfL) bailout.

Manchester Evening News

• From traffic jams to deserted roads... Manchester's new lockdown in picturesThe city centre's roads were looking a lot less busy tonight

Reading Evening Post

• M4 Reading to close in both directions for entire weekendTraffic is expected as the M4 is closed for smart motorway works

Other Regional Press

• Next phase of removal of railway tracks along Weymouth pushed forward during lockdown THE SECOND phase of track removal work along Weymouth’s harbourside is being brought forward to make the most of quieter roads during lockdown.
• Further funding needed for air quality planThe government will be sought for further financial support

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Port of Tyne announces £1 million investment in cargo handlingThe Port of Tyne, one of the UK’s leading deep-sea ports and a major employer in the region, has announced a £1 million investment in its wood pellet-handling operations. The investment sees state-of-the-art equipment installed and a range of measures put in place to help combat dust emissions from the dry wood pellets it handles into the UK.   The actions put Port of Tyne at the forefront of technology and systems at UK ports, and underlines its position as a key player in the growth of offshore renewable energy industries in the North East of England. In May, the Port annou...

Coach and Bus Week

• Arriva Group awarded new €259m bus contract in LisbonDB-owned Arriva has been awarded a new seven-year contract to operate buses in the south-west region of Lisbon. The contract is due to start in October 2021 and will see Arriva operating 350 buses on 116 routes in the districts of Almada, Seixal and Sesimbra. This includes 43 new routes, plus improved frequencies across the whole network, which it says will provide a significant boost to local communities.
• MPs and transport leaders back Transdev’s face covering driveFour local MPs representing Harrogate, Burnley, Rossendale and Darwen, and Blackburn, plus Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Transport, Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, are all supporting Transdev’s campaign to make it easier for everyone who can wear a face covering to do so, in line with legal requirements. All five also praised the bus firm’s teams on the road and behind the scenes for their efforts in keeping services running smoothly throughout the Coronavirus pandemic.
• Stagecoach switches off local WiFiFrom 26 October, Stagecoach has announced that it is temporarily switching off WiFi on many of its local buses. The operator said that it is reviewing all aspects of its operation as the Covid-19 pandemic continues, to make sure it can focus on running services which are safe and reliable. It said it has found that many customers are not using the bus WiFi, especially on shorter local bus journeys.
• New identity for First in SheffieldAs part of its plans to revitalise operations in South Yorkshire, First has unveiled a new livery for Sheffield which it says is designed to showcase what its team is proud of in their city.

New Civil Engineer

• HS2 boss claims project’s ‘momentum’ is building as Phase 2a nears green lightPhase 2a of High Speed 2 (HS2) is nearing royal assent, chief executive Mark Thurston told the Railway Industry Association (RIA) Annual Conference this week.
• Rail minister backs £500M Ely rail upgrade despite 20-fold cost hikeThe Ely area capacity enhancement (EACE) programme should be accelerated despite costs escalating to almost 20 times the original estimate, according to rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris.

Railnews

• First stage of Barmouth bridge work complete Work to upgrade a Welsh viaduct which came close to being destroyed by a wood-boring marine worm has reached the end of its first stage. The £25 million upgrade to Barmouth bridge involves replacing more than 1,000 timber and metal elements.
• Claims that HS2 costs are soaring are ˜baseless™ says DfT Claims that the final cost of HS2 could be £170 billion have been dismissed by the government. Lord Berkeley, who is a veteran critic of the scheme, has warned that the eventual price could be almost three times as much as the original estimates, and that Phase 1 between London and Birmingham, now under construction, could cost five times as much. The Department for Transport responded: ˜We do not recognise these baseless, false figures.™

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• TfL funding settlement confirms LEZ will tighten in March 2021Introducing Euro VI standards for coaches and buses entering London’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ) from 1 March 2021 forms a condition of the government’s latest funding settlement with Transport for London (TfL), which is worth around £1.8bn.
• Lifetime achievement award for Stagecoach Director Robert AndrewStagecoach Director Robert Andrew has been recognised with a lifetime achievement award at the virtual 2020 Scottish Transport Awards for his outstanding contribution to transport in Scotland.
• TfL contract awards give boost for zero-emission operationTransport for London (TfL) has announced that several more bus routes are to be converted to largely zero-emission operation after new contracts to operate them are issued in 2021. They include at least four that utilise double-deckers and that have a combined peak vehicle requirement (PVR) of 82.
• Ultra Low Emission Coach definition ‘challenging’, says LowCVPWork by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) to define an Ultra-Low Emission Coach (ULEC) is progressing. But getting the scheme up and running in a way that will benefit operators is proving challenging, attendees at a kick-off meeting for LowCVP’s Coach Interest Group were told on 29 October.
• Six-cylinder StreetDeck makes UK debut with Go North EastThe introduction of a six-cylinder engine option for the Wrightbus StreetDeck in the UK market represents “a new era” for the double-decker, the manufacturer has said.

Other News Sources

• Highways England announces £140m improvement planHIGHWAYS England has announced a £140 million improvement plan for motorways in the South East.
• Gatwick Airport: British Airways to suspend flights due to lockdown 2 Operations will be paused at the airport until early December