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

Saturday, 14 November 2020

BBC News

• Alcohol ban introduced on Scotland’s rail networkPeople will not be allowed to drink alcohol on trains or at stations in Scotland from Monday, ScotRail has announced.
• Loud music could be banned on buses in West MidlandsMore than 90% of those who responded to a consultation backed the plans, travel bosses say.
• Covid-19: Belfast International Airport only opening when flights operateThe airport says it will close for several hours on certain days as a result of the Covid pandemic.

Department for Transport

• £175 million more for cycling and walking as research shows public supportSurvey reveals 8 out of 10 people support measures to reduce road traffic and two-thirds support reallocating road space for active travel.

Financial Times

• Boeing’s Max jet set to return just as customers head for exit Growing number of parked ‘white tail’ aircraft adds to pain for US manufacturer

The Guardian

• SpaceX delays Crew Dragon launch due to poor weatherForecasts of gusty, onshore winds over Florida force reschedule to Sunday of first full mission carrying four astronautsNasa and SpaceX have announced a 24-hour weather delay of their planned launch of four astronauts into orbit for America’s first fully fledged human mission using a privately owned spacecraft.The liftoff time slipped from Saturday to Sunday evening due to forecasts of gusty, onshore winds over Florida – remnants of storm Eta – that would have jeopardised a return landing for the Falcon 9 rocket’s reusable booster stage, Nasa officials said. Continue reading...

The Telegraph

• Close roads to cars to build community cohesion, says Boris Johnson's former cycling aide [Subscription]Xavier Brice, chief executive of Sustrans, says schemes should appeal to 'natural conservatism'

Times Online

• We’ll help Britain get back on its bike - Grant Shapps MP [Subscription] For years the family’s bicycles languished unloved and forgotten deep in our garage. As transport secretary, I was well aware that this was a sorry state of affairs. As far as cycling was concerned, I was at the back of the peloton. I’m pleased to say that that is conclusively no longer the case.
• Commuters face big increase in rail fares to bail out train companies [subscription]Train fares are forecast to rise by more than inflation for the first time in eight years as passengers pay the price of a multibillion-pound bailout of train companies.

Daily Record

• ScotRail accused of treating businesses with 'contempt' over delays in settling billsLabour MSP James Kelly told the Record it was time for the ScotRail franchise to be taken back into public ownership.

Mail Online

• Government grants another £175MILLION to fund new cycle lanes despite congestion clogging cities Under the Department for Transport's (DfT) 'active travel' scheme, councils have been granted millions in taxpayer money to turn over vast sections of road to pedestrians and bikes.

Network Rail

• Snodland station upgrade continues with £0.5m footbridge refurbishment in Kent and a mural inspired by a local schoolNetwork Rail is upgrading Snodland station by refurbishing the footbridge while tactile paving will also be installed along both platforms to improve use for passengers with visual impairment.

Birmingham Post

• Hays Travel founder John Hays dies suddenly after collapsing at workMr Hays was well-respected in the North East business community and had built the country's largest independent travel agent from small beginnings
• Green light for £1.7bn Stonehenge tunnel set to boost SW economyGovernment approves major upgrade of the A303 in move set to unlock vital transport artery into the South West
• Nextbike rolls out first electric bikes in WalesAn initial fleet of 50 e-bikes will be deployed next week at five stations in Penarth

Nottingham Evening Post

• Concern Toton HS2 station could be scrapped and line could terminate at East Midlands ParkwayOne council leader said the Government would scrap the Toton station "Over my dead body"

Burnley Express

• Blackburn level crossing to be modernised in rail upgradeA LEVEL crossing is to be modernised as part of a £2.1million upgrade for the East Lancashire line.

Other Regional Press

• The arty plans for Coventry's railway stationNew artwork is planned at Coventry’s railway station ahead of the City of Culture 2021 celebrations with local artists invited to come up with ideas.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• £175 million more for cycling and walking as research shows public supportTransport Secretary Grant Shapps has given councils across England a further £175 million to create safe space for cycling and walking as surveys and independent polls show strong public support for high-quality schemes. The new money, part of the £2 billion announced for cycling and walking in May, will fund measures including: • ‘School Streets’, where streets around schools are closed to motorists at school times • low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), where residential side streets are closed to through traffic to stop rat-running • segregated cycle la...
• HS2 becomes first UK transport sector client to achieve global carbon management standardHS2 has achieved the PAS 2080 global accreditation, recognising its extensive plans to reduce carbon through the design, construction and operation of Britain’s new railway. HS2 is the first client organisation in the UK transport sector, and the second in world, to achieve the standard.PAS 2080 is a global specification for managing whole-life carbon in infrastructure. Developed by the Construction Leadership Council’s Green Construction Board with the British Standards Institute (BSI), it provides a consistent framework for evaluating and managing carbon across the whole infrastr...

New Civil Engineer

• Welsh Water hydrogen project to power zero-emission vehiclesAn innovative project to convert sewage into hydrogen fuel to power zero-emission vehicles has been given the green light.
• HS2 review deputy demands ministerial meeting over £170bn cost claimsThe deputy chair of the Oakervee review into HS2 Lord Berkeley has written to transport secretary Grant Shapps demanding a meeting to discuss his projected £170bn cost for the project.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Improving communication for disabled passengers on the railwayUsing public transport has always been a source of frustration and anxiety, and sometimes outright impossible,  for disabled people with obstacles such as inaccessible vehicles, poor customer service and a lack of up-to-date information.

Railnews

• East West Rail takes next step towards new trainsTHE company building East West Rail has taken the next step towards procuring a new fleet of trains for the Western Section of the route between Oxford and Bedford, which will be the first part of the line to reopen in full.

RMT

• RMT Scotrail guards to strike at Glasgow CentralRAIL UNION RMT confirmed today that Scotrail guards are to strike at Glasgow Central in a series of actions from the end of this month over the abuse of disciplinary procedures

Other News Sources

• Hopes of new railway line between Portadown and Armagh gather steamHopes of restoring a railway line between Armagh and Portadown have been given a boost, with both the local council and the infrastructure minister keen to see the project advanced.
• HS2 becomes first UK transport Concerns over bus ‘funding gulf’ in Wales client to achieve global carbon management standardThe Welsh rail industry has received £167m in emergency support, ahead of the extra £45m the bus industry has received. Rhodri Clark reports
• New bike lanes proposed as Brighton council awarded millions THE city council has been awarded more than £2million to continue making changes to transport systems such as the Covid cycle lanes introduced over the summer.