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

Thursday, 12 November 2020

BBC News

• Bristol-bound GWR train driver went nearly 100mph over limitA passenger train driver who sped through a 20mph (32km/h) zone at 117mph (188km/h) was "misled" by the way "lineside information was presented".
• Sheffield freight train derailment causes major travel disruptionA freight train has derailed in Sheffield, resulting in disruption to services across the north of England.

Financial Times

• Tui under fire as delayed payments put businesses at riskGreek operators say they are being ‘punished’ for extending credit terms in a year they cannot afford to

The Independent

• Transport minister: ‘I’m spending money like water at the moment’‘I’m not entirely sure why we could ask the national taxpayer to pay for free travel for my 16-year-old,’ said Baroness Vere Addressing an event organised by the passenger watchdog Transport Focus, Baroness Vere said: “It’s grim. But it’s good because it’s got to be done.”

The Telegraph

• ‘There’s a snobbery about e-bikes, but they’ve helped injured riders like me get back in the saddle’ [subscription]Sales of electric bikes have rocketed since the pandemic, but it’s not just commuters and cycling newcomers who are feeling the benefit
• Emirates turns A380s into cargo planes [subscription]Move by biggest operator of the Airbus superjumbo reflects rising demand for transporting goods while passenger flights remain grounded
• Japan begins tests of driverless bullet trains [subscription]The country is turning to automation for its famed train network as it grapples with a shrinking work force

Times Online

• Surge in demand to get goods across Irish Sea before Brexit [subscription]Irish Sea shipping services are experiencing a surge in demand as businesses stockpile during continuing uncertainty around post-Brexit trading arrangements.
• Traffic bans outside schools rise fourfold [subscription]Children at almost 400 schools in London are now protected from air pollution by temporary traffic bans, a more than fourfold increase in less than six months.

City AM

• Transport for London demands £2.9bn to keep Tube service running in 2021City Hall today said it’d need another £2.9bn to keep Transport for London services such as the Tube running as they are in the next financial year, after the Covid-19 pandemic led to a collapse in ticket revenue.

Network Rail

• Network Rail delivers car park improvements to 14 stations across Surrey, Wilts, Hants & DevonNetwork Rail has completed improvements to 14 car parks across the South as part of a joint commitment with South West Railway (SWR) to improve facilities for passengers.

Birmingham Post

• Jet2 planning to open tenth airport hub, creating 200 jobsThe holiday and tour company will be operating up to 56 flights a week
• Exeter Airport boss Matt Roach announces departureMatt Roach has left the business amid troubled times for the aviation industry

Bristol Live

• Bristol Airport statement as Jet2 announces new hub The airline will serve 33 destinations from the South West terminal
• Opening of Portishead railway line now delayed until 2024The pandemic has caused another delay to the long-awaited project

London Evening Standard

• Surge in road schemes that fine parents for doing school run by carAlmost 400 ‘school streets’ in London as campaigners call for the schemes to be made permanent

Manchester Evening News

• Footage shows Manchester Airport ‘like a ghost town’ as second lockdown continuesDozens of planes have been left parked all over the airport as most international travel is banned

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Taxi drivers' anger at Newcastle Central Station fees charged during pandemicDrivers have called on London North Eastern Railway to ease the burden of permit payments at the station due to the the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on their business

The York Press

• Buses in York "need protecting" - York Bus Forum Zoom meeting GETTING essential bus services back up and running in York will be top of the agenda at a meeting next week.

Yorkshire Post

• New £22m train station in Leeds will be key to new homes, jobs and offices, says developerA new train station in Leeds will be the catalyst for hundreds of new homes, thousands of new jobs and further office space at an adjacent business park, according to the developer behind the project.

Cambridge News

• Notorious Cambs bridge lorries crash into 'every fortnight'Two Cambridgeshire railway bridges have landed themselves on the list of most bashed bridges in the nation again

Doncaster Free Press

• 'Substantial' damage caused by Sheffield train derailment to impact travel in 'coming days’Network Rail is urging passengers planning on travelling on routes to, from or through Sheffield over the coming days to check before travelling as work to recover a derailed freight train is ongoing.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Minister signals green light to clear bottleneck for East Anglia trainsHopes are rising that the £500m upgrade of the region’s worst rail bottleneck will soon get the go ahead – allowing more trains to run from Ipswich to Peterborough and more cross-country freight services to operate from Felixstowe.
• Travel firms failure to issue holiday refunds is ˜like theft, says airline bossAn airline boss whose company operates out of Stansted has blasted travel firms who have failed to cough up when holidays are cancelled.

Other Regional Press

• Coronavirus means new way of running rail services neededA NEW model for operating rail services across Britain needs to be found due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a Welsh Government minister.
• Cheshire's HS2 hub moves step closer with council voteTHE CREWE HS2 regeneration project took a major step forward after councillors approved a host of proposals at cabinet.
• Exeter's transport strategy for the next decade agreed by County CouncilIt aims to tackle congestion, reduce carbon and support clean growth
• Massive crane arrives at Cov Railway Station for next stage of £82m makeoverThe new-look station should be complete by spring 2021

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Drones to fight fires and deliver COVID-19 supplies are first to receive share of over £33 million government fundingInnovative projects harnessing the latest technology to support the fight against COVID-19 and other challenges like climate change, while creating hundreds of jobs across the country, have been backed by government investment, Business Minister Nadhim Zahawi has announced. The 20 winning ideas will receive a share of £7 million funding ranging from the development of drones capable of delivering COVID-19 medical supplies to remote areas, to technology to enable remote inspections of infrastructure and construction sites - removing the need for workers to potentially be put at risk. Th...
• Addison Lee launches new delivery serviceAddison Lee has launched a new delivery service to provide consumers with access to their own dedicated delivery drivers to help them during lockdown. AL REQUEST is a new click and collect feature in their existing courier service which will help both businesses and consumers as they navigate the second lockdown and future COVID-19 restrictions.    Immediately after the first lockdown in March, demand for Addison Lee’s courier services rose by 30% as businesses and people adapted to spending lots more time at home. The focus at that time was to support a monumental shift in the...

Christian Wolmar

• Rail 916: So that’s why Crossrail was delayed…Had it not been for the Covid-19 crisis, the further delays and extra costs of the Crossrail project would have attracted far more publicity than they did when the latest announcement was made in August.

New Civil Engineer

• Skanska’s Dutch-style roundabout sparks safety fears two months after openingSafety concerns have been raised over a £2.3M Dutch-style roundabout in Cambridge just two months after it opened.
• Roads minister says she would ‘build Stonehenge Tunnel tomorrow’ as opposition to scheme mountsRoads minister Baroness Charlotte Vere has said she would "build Stonehenge Tunnel tomorrow” if it was her decision.
• Bechtel accuses HS2 of ‘unlawful negotiations’ as Old Oak Common case comes to a head HS2 Ltd held unlawful contract negotiations with Old Oak Common construction partner BBVS, according to lawyers for losing bidder Bechtel.

Other News Sources

• Transport for Wales launch capacity checker website to help passengers social distanceTransport for Wales is launching ‘capacity checker’ to help passengers check before they travel which trains may have most space available for COVID-19 social distancing safety.
• Green hydrogen and retrofitted boats: Shipping giants plot course to net-zero A coalition representing more than 120 large maritime, energy and infrastructure businesses has published a blueprint for bringing zero-emission shipping innovations to scale.
• New driving test measures reaction time on the roads A new test is demonstrating how important wearing high-visibility clothing is when it comes to helping improve a driver’s reaction time.
• Letter: Only cycling leads to a cleaner, greener cityIT WAS disappointing to see your poll on removing the cycle lanes. It seemed to be there to stoke up division rather than try and help resolve a tense situation.