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

Saturday, 21 November 2020

BBC News

• Rishi Sunak to reform anti-Northern spending biasThe government has confirmed it will make a major reform to the way it assesses the value for money of big spending projects.
• Rishi Sunak to reform anti-Northern spending biasThe government has confirmed it will make a major reform to the way it assesses the value for money of big spending projects.
• E-scooters: Sharp rise in crashes in LondonCrashes involving e-scooters are
• Luxury carmaker Maybach has high ambitions for ChinaThe high-end brand owned by Daimler wants to tap into China's ambitious electric vehicle targets.
• Carnival Cruise boss banks on safety measuresThe hugely profitable business has been brought to its knees by coronavirus.

Financial Times

• Sunak set to launch UK infrastructure bank to fund capital projects [Subscription]Sunak set to launch UK infrastructure bank to fund capital projects

The Guardian

• How communities are divided over low-traffic neighbourhoodsClosing roads to cars promotes safety and neighbourhood spirit, but measures can also deepen divides between residentsTell us about your experiences of reducing traffic and creating green neighbourhoodsSo you want to set up a low-traffic neighbourhood? Here’s where to startMythbusters: eight common objections to LTNs – and why they are wrongIn Poole, 41-year-old teacher Kate Salter said a low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) had transformed her community. Salter was involved in proposing the measures to her council, which came into force at the end of August.“As soon as the planters went in, there ...

Times Online

• Aviation: the comeback starts now [Subscription]Covid-19 has plunged the airline sector into crisis. Here, Chris Haslam looks at what lies ahead — and asks industry insiders for their blueprints for survival
• How to save money and go green [Subscription]From electric cars to new ways to heat your home, here’s how to grab the best deals

Daily Express

• UK weather forecast: Travel CHAOS fears as fierce storms batter BritainSTRONG gales are due to batter parts of northern Scotland today as the Met Office issues a yellow weather warning for the area.

Mail Online

• Royal Navy tracks Russian fleet off the Scottish coastHMS Tyne shadowed the Russian fleet which included the Udalov-class destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov as it returned from patrolling the Mediterranean with three other vessels.
• Coronavirus UK: Gatwick Airport to open testing facility this monthBosses hope next-day results from 'fast and accurate' PCR swabs will allow more passengers to fly to countries requiring proof of a negative Covid-19 test.
• Government spends £16m on 93 new polluting DIESEL grittersThe gritters use heavily-polluting seven-litre diesel engines. The news comes just days after Boris Johnson's announced he will accelerate the ban on new cars with combustion engines to 2030.
• Coronavirus UK: Foreign travel quarantine cut from 14 days to fiveMinisters have approved plans to cut the 14-day travel quarantine to just five days from next week in an effort to get the aviation industry moving again.
• Coronavirus UK: Road blocks NOT set up on Scotland-England borderEntering or leaving Scotland with no reasonable excuse was banned from 6pm on Friday and anyone caught doing so could be hit with a £60 fine.

The Mirror

• Drivers not using car in lockdown could be fined for making simple mistakesYou could face a court prosecution, a fine or even your vehicle being seized if you make these mistakes during the latest coronavirus lockdown

This is Money

• Is Britain ready for electric cars? This is Money podcastThe car itself isn't going anywhere - just the way it is propelled - so how much difference will the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars make?
• Government spends £16m on 93 new polluting DIESEL grittersThe gritters use heavily-polluting seven-litre diesel engines. The news comes just days after Boris Johnson's announced he will accelerate the ban on new cars with combustion engines to 2030.

Belfast Telegraph

• Just where in the world can you go on holiday?As most of us prepare for a winter within the same four walls we've been staring at for the past eight months, the idea of getting on a plane and travelling for more than eight hours feels like a dream too impossible to imagine.

Birmingham Mail

• This is how many killed or seriously injured on Worcestershire roadsA breakdown of the number of casualties, vehicle type, age range, road and junction type on Worcestershire roads has been analysed from Department of Transport data
• The most annoying things drivers do on the M5 and M42 motorwaysWorcestershire's motorists have revealed their biggest frustrations

Birmingham Post

• Stena Line marks 25 years on Holyhead to Dublin serviceThe Swedish ferry giant has seen a fivefold growth in the route but faces Brexit 'challenge'
• Leaders put Northern Powerhouse Rail recommendations to governmentThe proposals will be sent to the Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps, Trasnport for the North said, with further decisions set for January
• Helicopter firm Leonardo praised for productivity in UK IP reportYeovil manufacturer of the Wildcat and Merlin whirlybirds is highlighted for doing its part to boost exports and boost the economy

Bolton News

• Pothole hotspots: The areas with the most and least amounts in the UK revealed New research has revealed the areas with the highest and the lowest amounts of potholes in the UK.
• Lancashire Council slammed over failure to fix massive pothole A motorist has slammed council chiefs for failing to repair a six foot deep pothole on a country road that is big enough for a fully grown ADULT to stand in.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Full train service expected to run from Bradford Interchange NETWORK Rail has confirmed that a full train service is expected to run at Bradford Interchange from tomorrow, following five days of changes due to a large fire near the railway.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• 'Heartbreaking' job cuts at Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland RailwaysThe Gwynedd heritage railway has been forced to make over 30 staff redundant as income plunged from £6m to £1m

Northern Echo

• Bid to extend scheme to help people get to work A SCOOTER scheme that provides transport to people who would otherwise struggle to get to work is set to be extended.

Bucks Free Press

• Council respond to Aylesbury motorists after new bike lane is built The residents of Aylesbury have been told to ‘give trial schemes like this a try,’ following heavy criticism of a new cycle lane which has been implemented in the town.

East Anglian Daily Times

• New policing team will monitor commercial traffic - including those using Port of FelixstoweA new policing team will be dedicated to commercial vehicle use across the county - focusing on the strategic road network and the significant volume of goods vehicles generated by the Port of Felixstowe.

Reading Evening Post

• Government's demand over Reading cycle lane is 'supreme b******s' Tony Page, the lead member for transport has slammed the government for 'micro managing' the £1m funding allocation
• M4 closes this weekend on busy stretch for more smart motorway worksHighways England is carrying out work as part of the £848m project

Other Regional Press

• Chancellor urged to provide £20m to fund Cheshire, North Wales and Wirral rail improvements£20 MILLION of improvements are being sought to revitalise the railway network in Cheshire and North Wales.
• Driving test measures reaction time on the roads How fast do you think you are?
• Bicester part of £3m cash boost to get more people cycling and walkingBICESTER has been named as one of three areas in Oxfordshire to benefit from a £2.98 million cash boost to get more people walking and cycling across the town.
• Highways Agency schedules motorway closureDrivers are being advised of yet more overnight carriageway closures on a stretch of motorway which has experienced months of disruption this year.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Government funds 93 new gritters as it bolsters transport network for winter amidst COVID-19 pandemicRoads Minister Baroness Vere has called upon local authorities across the country to ensure key transport routes to COVID-19 test centres are kept open and running smoothly this winter. Baroness Vere has written to councils urging them to ensure their supplies of salt and grit are topped up so that essential routes, such as those to hospitals and COVID-19 testing stations, are well maintained as the country prepares for the potential challenge of severe weather alongside COVID-19. Alongside councils’ stocks, Highways England maintains a salt stock of 270,000 tonnes for use on its road...
• 2030 petrol and diesel ban: Chartered Institute of Transport and Logistics respondsThe Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) welcomes the announcement that the government will ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030, and hybrid vehicles from 2035.  The Institute believes that this announcement provides clarity on the Road to Zero and responds to the pressing need to reduce transport emissions. The timing is just sufficient for model replacement cycles and for the cost of battery technology to fall based on both developments and economies of scale. Our first note of caution, however, is that consumer and business anticipation of the chan...
• New rail tech roll-out set to bring more reliable journeys and boost jobsThe roll-out of digital signalling – set to improve safety and slash delays – has been accelerated through £1.2 million of new government funding announced by Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris. Feasibility work for digital signalling will be accelerated on vital sections of the West Coast Main Line, Midland Main Line and East Anglia route, including Peterborough to Kings Lynn on the Anglia route, and in the Warrington and Wigan area on the West Coast Mainline North. This work will identify the most effective way to apply this type of technology to the railway and new way of...

Railnews

• Avanti West Coast abolishes morning peak fares on Fridays Passengers on Avanti West Coast have been able to travel at off-peak rates from the start of services today, and Fridays will continue to be ™off-peak™ until the New Year. The axeing of more expensive fares is seen as one way of attracting passengers back to rail, but the move has come at the end of a week when concern grew about passenger figures in the longer term. On Wednesday rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris told the Commons Transport Committee that the cost of maintaining National Rail services in England since the first lockdown in March has risen to a total of £4.2 billion.

Other News Sources

• Council leaders seek £20 million for improving vital rail linksLOCAL authority leaders across North Wales, the Wirral and Cheshire West and Chester in the GT360 Partnership are seeking £20 million from the Chancellor of the Exchequer in next week’s Spending Review to develop rail improvement schemes in the borderlands region for future prosperity.
• UK PM Johnson Outlines Plans to Build Europe's Most Powerful NavyPrime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to restore Britain’s navy to its position as Europe’s most powerful maritime force on Thursday, highlighting that shipbuilding could also help heal divisions between the four nations of the United Kingdom.With…
• Huge fall in how many bus journeys are made in HerefordshireFEWER local bus journeys are made in Herefordshire than five years ago, as service coverage in the area is squeezed.
• Herefordshire Council leaders to decide future shape of transport in Hereford COUNTY council leaders are expected to make a decision next month which could shape the future of transport in Hereford for decades to come.
• Green light for Esher Road pedestrian crossings despite several hundred objections Refuge islands mean a reduction of four lanes to two on the A244
• London Underground weekend closures: All the Tube lines closed on November 21 and 22This weekend, national train lines are disrupted as well as Tube lines and London buses
• Gatwick Airport launches Covid-19 screening service for passengers, staff and publicA negative coronavirus test result is now required by many destinations
• Most rail passengers wear a face covering, trial finds A PILOT scheme to ensure passengers wear a face covering while on trains has led to “almost totalâ€� compliance.

EIN News Subscription

• Heathrow to furlough all managers except chief executive … lockdowns have curtailed global travel. Passenger numbers fell 82pc in October … Gaulle as Europe's busiest airport.  "A well-designed passenger testing regime … travel". Workers at the airport - including security, baggage staff and engineers …
• Aer Lingus seeks slots in Manchester for transatlantic flights … even though many other EU countries accept the faster … airline’s statement said. The Government recently confirmed that passengers from … on Thursday. All other European countries were considered high … regions or lacking sufficient data to make a judgment. …
• EU says Boeing 737 Max won't fly over the Continent just yet: The US can make its own choices over pilot training … on Friday afternoon the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA … now safe enough for passenger flights again. While the … before Maxes can grace EU-controlled skies again. As … both airliners called MCAS (Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System), fed data …