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

Monday, 09 November 2020

BBC News

• Virgin Hyperloop pod transport tests first passenger journeysVirgin Hyperloop has trialled its first ever journey with passengers, in the desert of Nevada. The futuristic transport concept involves pods inside vacuum tubes carrying passengers at high speeds.

Financial Times

• Virgin claims hyperloop trial success with passengersTwo people ride short section of test tube in the Nevada desert
• Travel agent boss blasts airlines over refundsLastminute.com chief renews attack on carriers for withholding funds for cancelled flights

The Guardian

• Covid set back attitudes to public transport by two decades, says RACThe pandemic has put back attitudes to driving versus public transport by two decades, with almost two-thirds of UK car owners now considering their vehicle essential, research has found.

The Telegraph

• A tunnel to Belfast would be Boris Johnson's ultimate white elephant [subscription]One thing always bothered me about having Boris Johnson as Prime Minister: his weakness for vanity projects. From his Routemaster bus, to his cable car across the Thames and his aborted garden bridge, he has never been short of elaborate ways to waste our money.
• Scrap air passenger taxes or risk 8,000 jobs, MPs tell Rishi Sunak [subscription]Twenty-nine MPs and peers have written to Rishi Sunak to urge him to scrap air passenger taxes for a year or risk losing nearly half the air routes that could be otherwise saved and 8,000 jobs.

Times Online

• Easyjet and British Airways refuse to refund unused travel vouchers [subscription]Passengers face losing thousands of pounds from flights grounded by the pandemic as leading airlines refuse to refund unused travel vouchers.
• Green light for longer and heavier lorries on roads [subscription]A new generation of “mega-lorries” could take to roads under government plans to cut overall vehicle emissions.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Welcome to Yorkshire seals more Cycle England fundingTHE number of cyclists visiting the county from other parts of the UK looks set to be boosted in 2021 after Welcome to Yorkshire secured a second round of funding from VisitEngland to grow its Cycle England project.

Manchester Evening News

• The second lockdown threatens 65,000 aviation jobs at Manchester Airport, says Andy BurnhamSome 65,000 jobs in and around Manchester Airport are at risk because of the second national lockdown.

The York Press

• Cycle ramp and traffic lights plan for Scarborough Bridge route approvedPLANS to build a new cycle ramp near Marygate Car Park and Scarborough Bridge, and to widen the Railway Walk have been approved.

Yorkshire Post

• Walking and cycling path along Stockton and Darlington Railway route could be 'major heritage attraction'A local authority developing plans to celebrate the bi-centenary of the world’s first passenger railway looks set to press ahead with a proposal to develop a walking and cycling route along 26 miles of the historic line.

Bucks Free Press

• Wycombe Smartzone bus tickets extended to under-18s A bus ticket created to help making travel around the county easier has been extended to under-18s.

Cambridge News

• 4 huge developments which will transform Peterborough in the next decadeFrom a new university to a redeveloped train station, there's a lot going on in Peterborough

Other Regional Press

• £2million unclaimed in Newcastle bus lane refundsNewcastle council bosses are still sitting on more than £2 million that is yet to be claimed in refunds from the John Dobson Street bus lane saga.
• Winchester City Council on Southampton Airport expansionWINCHESTER City Council is still likely to object against the expansion of Southampton Airport – despite the application being updated recently.
• Southend Airport Amazon flights: Could cargo planes move to daytime?Glyn Jones, the CEO of Stobart Air, Southend Airport’s owners, insisted the Amazon operated night flights would most likely be remaining overnight, despite a lack of passenger flights during the day.
• Southend Airport sets out coronavirus recovery planSOUTHEND Airport is facing a four to five-year battle back to normality from the devastating impact of Covid-19, its boss has revealed.
• Southend Airport become pre-travel coronavirus test centreSOUTHEND Airport could become a test centre with bosses eyeing up the possibility of passengers using self testing kits before departing the country.
• Historic Calderdale rail bridge built in 1860 restored in £3.7m projectPassengers are being thanked after a nine-day railway closure for the restoration of a historic railway viaduct in Calderdale designed by railway pioneer George Stephenson.
• Call for electrification of West Midlands rail linesUrgent investment is needed on West Midlands railway lines if the Government is to meet its own emissions targets, a campaign group has claimed.
• Cross-border trains warning as Welsh 'firebreak' endsPassengers are being reminded that cross-border restrictions between England and Wales still remain, despite the Wales firebreak lockdown ending today.
• New cameras keep an eye on Ryde transport comings and goingsTransport enthusiasts will have a new way of watching the comings and goings on Ryde Esplanade, thanks to two new eyes on the scene.
• What transport in Exeter could look like by 2030Park and ride sites on every corridor into Exeter, enhanced rail services, and a new single ticketing platform to boost the convenience of non-car travel into and around the city are all part of the long awaited Exeter Transport Strategy.

C.N.N.

• Virgin Hyperloop completes first test with actual passengersVirgin Hyperloop gave the first ride on its test track Sunday in Las Vegas, but it will be years before the public can potentially take a high-speed ride on a hyperloop.

New Civil Engineer

• 251km of electrified track added to UK railways in last yearThe Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has revealed that 251km of electrified track was added to the UK’s rail network during the past 12 months.
• Network Rail drainage systems can’t cope with increasing heavy rainfallNetwork Rail’s drainage systems are not used to “coping” with the amount of rain that fell prior to the Stonehaven derailment in Scotland earlier this year, according to chief executive Andrew Haines.
• Crossrail chief advises HS2 boss to keep designs simpleCrossrail chief executive Mark Wild has urged High Speed 2 bosses to keep the high-speed railway as simple as possible.

Rail Business Daily

• Midlands home to Britain’s three most bashed rail bridges as drivers urged to ‘wise up and size up’New figures show three railway bridges in the Midlands have topped the list for the most bashed in Britain in 2020.

Other News Sources

• Manchester Airport moves all operations into Terminal OneWith England returning to a national lockdown for a minimum period of four weeks from Thursday 5 November, Manchester Airport is moving all its operations into Terminal One in response to the drop in passenger numbers. The airport is also issuing the latest advice for any passengers who still need to fly on what to expect when using the airport.