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

Tuesday, 17 November 2020

BBC News

• Heathrow workers plan four-day December strikeHeathrow says the airport will keep operating despite the walk-out by workers.

Financial Times

• China presses shipping line to rein in record freight ratesCMA CGM boss says costs have been driven up by strong recovery in demand

The Guardian

• Road pricing could offset loss of fuel duty from electric carsRishi Sunak looking at how to recoup lost revenues after ban on new petrol and diesel cars potentially from 2030The government is exploring options for dealing with a £40bn black hole in the public finances, which would result from a proposed ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars within a decade.Boris Johnson is expected to announce this week the cut-off date for the ban will be brought forward by five years to 2030, in a step designed to underscore the government’s commitment to a green economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading...
• Why a plan to cut pollution is making people across England so angryA slew of initiatives from local councils have meant drivers being moved off residential streets and on to busier main roads. But while many residents support the schemes, the measures have provoked protestsAs England entered lockdown in the spring, there was a huge switch away from public transport and into private cars. The government, fearing gridlock and spikes in pollution, acted quickly to allocate powers and funding to local councils for implementing traffic restrictions. The move has resulted in 200 schemes being drawn up, the majority of which are in London where traffic is often most...

The Telegraph

• 'Blue wall' voters fear climate change - but say petrol and diesel ban is unfair [subscription]New Tory ‘blue wall’ voters in the north feel a ban on diesel and petrol cars would be unfair, despite sharing overwhelming concern over climate change, according to a major new survey of attitudes.

Times Online

• We need to stop air pollution creeping back up to pre-Covid levels [subscription] The Covid-19 pandemic is showing the importance of lung health like never before. We are now all aware of the need to look after our lungs, and what can happen when our lungs come under attack.
• Road charges could win backing if not exploitative, ministers toldDrivers would support a national road-charging system providing that it was not simply used as a “cash cow” by the Treasury, ministers have been told.
• Electric bike prices cut by a third under plans for cycling revolution [subscription]The price of electric bikes could be cut by up to a third under government plans to offer commuters a “sweat-free” alternative to conventional bicycles.

City AM

• Budget carrier Easyjet posts first ever full year lossEasyjet today fell to the first loss in its history as the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic was revealed.
• Whinging car giants are giving business a bad nameNews broke last week that the UK government is reportedly planning to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars The post Whinging car giants are giving business a bad name appeared first on CityAM.

Belfast Telegraph

• SpaceX capsule successfully reaches International Space StationSpaceX’s newly-launched capsule with four astronauts arrived on Tuesday at the International Space Station (ISS), their new home until spring.

London Evening Standard

• No evidence of Covid on trains, London’s biggest rail operator Govia Thameslink Railway saysThe capital’s biggest rail operator today revealed that checks for Covid on its fleet of trains had failed to find evidence of the virus.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• North East demands 'fair share' in £6bn transport dreamLocal leaders have compiled a wish list of almost 300 upgrade schemes that they believe will transform the area by 2035 – including multiple extensions to the Tyne and Wear Metro

Bucks Free Press

• HS2 traffic causing ‘appalling’ road conditions in Denham forces drivers to clean cars ‘every time’MUD being dragged from sites by work vehicles and “foulingâ€� public highways has forced other road users to resort to washing their cars “after every journeyâ€�.

Other Regional Press

• Anti-noise campaign groups hit out at Luton Airport expansion plansTwo campaign groups dedicated to reducing noise from Luton Airport have hit out at its latest plans for expansion.
• Teesside in running for 'freeport' status as bidding process opensBids can now be submitted, with an announcement expected in the spring of next year
• Road closures for cyclists 'an accident waiting to happen'Hundreds of residents have signed a petition calling for an 'active travel' scheme to be scrapped after a spate of problems.
• JLR to develop a smart city hub to test self-driving carsSelf-driving vehicles will share the streets with cars, pedestrians and cyclists

Business Live

• £77m York City regeneration to start after infrastructure plans are approvedWork is set to start early next year on the project, which will eventually created 6,500 new jobs

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Transdev launches blueprint to build buses back betterBus operator invites decision makers to join a post-pandemic debate on the North’s transport future with its own road map for growth.  Industry-leading North of England bus operator Transdev is inviting its customers, business and political leaders to have their say in mapping its journey beyond the pandemic with the launch of its own plan for growth in 2021 and beyond. To kick-start a new debate on the future direction of transport in the North, the operator has produced “Build Buses Back Better”, a 28-page prospectus which sets out Transdev’s blueprint to create...

New Civil Engineer

• Covid-19 impact on HS2 business case still unknown“Specific analysis” of the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on High Speed 2 (HS2) has not yet been undertaken, according to HS2 minister Andrew Stephenson.
• Strong response to £4bn Cambridgeshire metro design competitionA challenge to the market to provide innovative concept design solutions which could contribute to the future delivery of the Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro (CAM) has received an encouraging response in its first phase adding certainty to the publication of initial designs by March next year.
• Contractors set to start repairs on Hammersmith western pedestals imminentlyTransport for London (TfL) is expected to instruct contractors to carry out immediate mitigation work on the two western pedestals of Hammersmith Bridge, according to reports from the latest Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce meeting.

Railnews

• Protests follow reports of inflation-plus fare rises It has been reported that fares on National Rail trains in England are set to rise by 2.6 per cent, as the government tries to recover some of the additional funding which has been needed during the pandemic. If such a rise took place, it would be the first above-inflation increase, as defined by the Retail Prices Index, for eight years.

Railway Gazette

• Alstom’s training courses awarded quality certificationFRANCE: Alstom has obtained Qualiopi quality certification from standardisation body AFNOR for the training activities that its Valenciennes and Saint-Ouen sites organise for customers, service providers and subcontractors.

Transportxtra

• TfGM bids for station licenceTransport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has applied to the Office of Rail and Road for a station licence to take over the management and operation of Horwich Parkway.

Other News Sources

• Southend is ‘London’s next thriving airport’SOUTHEND is London’s “next big airport” and will seek to lure low-cost airlines as it seeks to battle back from the devastating impact of Covid-19, bosses say.
• Hitachi Rail to acquire PerpetuumHitachi Rail Ltd in the UK has agreed to acquire Southampton-based condition monitoring specialist Perpetuum as part of a strategy to strengthen the use of digital technology in rail operations.
• Rail staff's stunning images capture life under lockdown at Crewe StationRAIL staff at Crewe station have chronicled their experiences of the railway during the pandemic to raise money for charity and encourage others to share their stories.
• Commuter hits out at hand gel dispenser 'empty for nine weeks' after being installed at rail stationA regular at the Glasgow station says there has been no hand sanitiser for two months
• Will there be a summer opening for Stanford's new rail station?STANFORD-le-Hope's new rail station could be on track to be completed by the end of next year - a new report to Thurrock Council says.
• First video footage of the new Island Line trains emerges: WatchThe introduction of the new Island Line trains is drawing closer, with video footage released last week showing one of the new trains being tested on the track in Worcestershire (see below).