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

Thursday, 26 November 2020

BBC News

• 'Systemic' failures hinder Birmingham school transport serviceA report exposes a raft of failings in Birmingham including pupils being taken to the wrong schools.
• New aircraft spy opportunities amid aerospace woesStart-up firms target regional routes around the world with quiet, cheap electric aircraft.
• How sunshine can make the railways greenerThe railways in the UK, Australia and India getting power from the sun in different ways.
• ˜My electric car is helping to power my homeOVO Energy's trial allows some electric car owners to turn their vehicles into mini power stations.
• Covid in Scotland: First screening site opens at Edinburgh airportPassengers, staff and members of the public will be able to pay for swab tests at Edinburgh Airport.

ITV News

• Funding to open a new railway station in York has been confirmed by the ChancellorThe Government has confirmed it will provide the funding for a long-awaited new commuter rail link on the edge of York.

The Guardian

• Eurostar calls on UK for urgent support as it fights for survivalRail operator appeals to Rishi Sunak with passenger numbers less than 1% of pre-Covid levels. Eurostar has appealed to the UK government for urgent financial support, warning it is fighting for survival with just one train a day now running from London to Paris.Passenger numbers on the cross-Channel train service have been down 95% since March but are currently believed to be less than 1% of pre-Covid levels under travel restrictions that will last into at least December.

Times Online

• Bigger cars leave drivers with just 21cm to squeeze out of a space [subscription]Motorists are being left with as little as 21cm to wriggle out of their vehicle in car parks following a sharp increase in the size of cars over the past 50 years, according to research.

City AM

• Car production falls again as nightmare year stretches onCar production fell once again in October as the sector’s nightmare year showed no sign of ending. Just 110,179 cars The post Car production falls again as nightmare year stretches on appeared first on CityAM.
• Eurostar is our green gateway to Europe — we cannot abandon itAs the end of the EU transition period looms, the UK must be able to showcase the strength of its The post Eurostar is our green gateway to Europe — we cannot abandon it appeared first on CityAM.

Sky News

• Gove faces secrecy claims over Brexit haulage 'shambles'Government secrecy over its new border operating system is hindering the country's Brexit preparations, according to haulage industry bosses who labelled the process a "complete shambles".

Belfast Telegraph

• More projects to reverse Beeching rail cuts given Government fundingBoris Johnson pledged to ‘restore many of the rail services lost in the Beeching cuts’.

Birmingham Post

• 5G being used in new generation of driverless carsVodafone installing latest kit at Horiba MIRA's vast vehicle test site in central England

London Evening Standard

• Christmas travel hit by ‘absurd’ price hikes as Londoners try to get home Londoners planning to leave the capital for Christmas have said they are facing travel “chaosâ€� with December travel timetables yet to be decided, planned rail works cancelling hundreds of services and uncertainty around coronavirus restrictions.
• Putting Crossrail in mothballs will turn Britain into laughing stock, TfL chief Andy Byford warns GovernmentElizabeth Line already suffering ‘brain drain’ as engineers quit for HS2Ministers told ‘this week is D-day’ and they must provide final £275m

The York Press

• National Express increasing services to meet demand in DecemberNATIONAL Express is increasing its services to meet demand once the current Covid-19 national restrictions end on December 2.
• Grand Central urges people to book festive travel tickets now RAIL passengers are being urged to reserve their festival travel tickets now.

Yorkshire Post

• Struggling taxi drivers in North Yorkshire claim to have been 'forgotten' during the coronavirus pandemicStruggling taxi drivers in North Yorkshire have claimed the trade has been “forgotten” during the Covid-19 pandemic as many cabbies call time on their driving careers because of dwindling passenger demand.

Bucks Free Press

• Are Wycombe's e-scooters being abused already? Abandoned vehicle has to be retrieved by councillorsHigh Wycombe’s new e-scooters appear to be being abused already – with councillors forced to retrieve abandoned hired vehicles and return them to the High Street.

Other Regional Press

• Improvements agreed to series of local bus servicesA number of bus services will be enhanced across the Scottish Borders as part of a review of the local network.
• First Bus reacts to Bristol Airport proposal for new transport hubTransport providers including First Bus have reacted to Bristol Airport's plans for a new multi-million-pound transport hub.
• Campaigners call for widespread 20mph zones in Hertfordshire Calls for 20mph speed limits across large areas of Hertfordshire’s roads have been rejected.
• £160m bid for Oxford station and railway upgrades A £160m plan to turn Oxford’s railway station into a 'transport hub of national significance' could be signed off this week.
• Ryanair announces first flights from Teesside in over ten yearsThe surprise announcement will see the budget airline run flights to two holiday hotspots
• Dorset Council offers free parking on selected days in December FREE parking is being offered on Saturdays in the run-up to Christmas in a bid to boost business on the High Street.
• National Express to increase services when lockdown endsThey expect demand to grow, particularly among students

New Civil Engineer

• A12 noise barrier innovation a first for the UKA new noise barrier installed on a busy stretch of the A12 has become both an acoustic shield and public artwork in Bromley-by-Bow, East London.
• A12 noise barrier innovation a first for the UKA new noise barrier installed on a busy stretch of the A12 has become both an acoustic shield and public artwork in Bromley-by-Bow, East London.
• Passenger slump allows Network Rail to upgrade busy London routesNetwork Rail engineers have been taking advantage of lower passenger numbers during lockdown to record “quick wins” on traditionally busy London routes.
• HS2 contractors to assist with Birmingham metro extension enabling worksHS2 Ltd has agreed to assist with enabling works for the planned Birmingham Eastside extension to the West Midland Metro.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Spending Review 2020: £2bn for transportChancellor Rishi Sunak delivered his Spending Review 2020 speech. Within his speech he said that over £2 billion is to be used to keep transport arteries open, subsidising rail networks

Railnews

• Support for rail services set to rise to £8bn this year The price of keeping trains running in England during lockdown restrictions is set to reach a total of £8 billion in the year to March 2021. The figure appears in the small print which accompanied today™s Spending Review. Light rail and trams in the provinces, Transport for London, buses and cycling are expected to share another £4.8 billion. It had already been revealed that supporting train services in England has been costing around £600 million a month since the first Emergency Measures Agreements were introduced in March.
• RMT claims Eurostar is ˜staring into the abyss™ The RMT has called on the government to provide urgent financial support for Eurostar, warning that a failure to act threatens the future of the service and the thousands of jobs that it supports.

Other News Sources

• Fresh HS2 plans in mid Cheshire 'adding to our Covid stress'A FURIOUS councillor has slammed HS2’s latest proposals for mid Cheshire – claiming they have broken the hearts of rural residents.