Breaking News
Government to cut £1bn from rail budget
The cut comes at a time when the industry is suffering from low passenger numbers due to the pandemic.
MPs continue to clash over controversial railway proposals
TWO MPs are continuing to battle over the future of a disused railway line that could be used to strengthen links to a small town.
Friday, 04 December 2020
BBC News
- Climate change: PM aims for world-leading UK emissions cutsBoris Johnson is set to unveil plans for world-leading emissions UK cuts - but are they enough?
- Government to cut £1bn from rail budgetThe cut comes at a time when the industry is suffering from low passenger numbers due to the pandemic.
- Boeing 737 Max sees first firm order since crashesIrish airline Ryanair's purchase is a boost for the Max, which was grounded after two deadly crashes.
Financial Times
- Southwest warns 6,800 staff they could be furloughedPilots union calls carrier’s move a ‘heartless’ negotiating tactic to reduce pay
- Boeing clinches first firm order for 737 Max since aircraft’s groundingMultibillion-dollar Ryanair deal marks start of efforts to rehabilitate jet after two fatal accidents
- Budget to upgrade Britain's railways cut by £1bn Executives say it is unclear which projects will now be cancelled
The Guardian
- Road and rail works curtailed to aid UK Christmas travel plansSome Christmas rail engineering works will start later and hundreds of miles of roadworks will be paused to minimise possible disruption during the UK’s 23-27 December travel window, the government has announced.
The Telegraph
- Transport Secretary says planned Christmas rail works cannot be held up during festive bubble periodGrant Shapps says engineering upgrades due to start over the holidays have been planned for years and delaying them would mean problems
Times Online
- Rail and bus group Go-Ahead to restart dividend payouts [subscription]Go-Ahead, one of the country’s leading bus and train groups, signalled growing confidence in a return to some normality next year, announcing that it is to reinstate its dividend payments.
- Tree planting is latest weapon to protect Rest and Be Thankful from mudslides [subscription]More than 250,000 trees are to be planted to try to prevent the landslides that forced the closure of a key road.
- Relaxed quarantine rules for key travellers will help the economy [subscription]Tens of thousands of business travellers, musicians, dancers and journalists will be exempt from quarantine under new measures designed to boost the economy.
- Crossrail paying 140 drivers up to 18 months before the line opens [subscription]Crossrail is employing 140 drivers to operate trains through central London, up to 18 months before the heavily delayed line opens to passengers.
London Evening Standard
- Sadiq Khan set to seize control of High Street Kensington to reinstate cycle lanes being axed by councilMayor demands council return £320,000 as activists stop contractors removing the lanes
- Extinction Rebellion in last-ditch protest to stop cycle lane from being ripped up in west LondonExtinction Rebellion activists have tried to block a cycle lane from being removed on a busy road in west London following a backlash over the plans.
Northern Echo
- MPs continue to clash over controversial railway proposalsTWO MPs are continuing to battle over the future of a disused railway line that could be used to strengthen links to a small town.
The York Press
- Flights take off again from Doncaster Sheffield Airport FLIGHTS to holiday hotspots such as Gran Canaria and Tenerife take off from Doncaster Sheffield Airport again from today, Friday.
North Wales Live
- Merseyrail services set to increase this weekendThe operator has announced more services to coincide with the first weekend after lockdown
Airportwatch
- No new corridors, but business travellers exempt from quarantine [subscription]No destinations have been added or removed from the UK’s travel corridors list, Grant Shapps has announced. However, business travellers arriving from high-risk countries will be exempt from quarantine from December 5.
Coach and Bus Week
- OBC increase Airline services to help students returning home for ChristmasThe Oxford Bus Company reinstated its Airline coach service to Gatwick Airport on 29 November, and added more services to Heathrow Airport.
- Bus Users welcomes ambitious ‘network of alternatives’ for the M4The South East Wales Transport Commission is recommending an ambitious ‘network of alternatives’ in its final report on sustainable transport options for South Wales. The Commission was set up to identify alternative options to expanding the M4 motorway as a way to tackle congestion.
- Irizar incorporates natural gas into range of power optionsUK coach operators are to benefit from the option of further green-powered coaches from the Irizar range
- First Bus app scoops ‘App of the Year’ awardFirst Bus has won the Travel App of the Year award at the UK App Awards with app partner Future Platforms. Judges announcing the win praised the implementation of its ‘customer-first’ features that were fast-tracked during the Covid-19 pandemic.
New Civil Engineer
- Bakerloo Line Extension land safeguarded for 2024 construction startTransport secretary Grant Shapps has announced that the government has approved plans to safeguard the land needed to construct the proposed Bakerloo Line Extension.
Rail Business Daily
- Two Greater Manchester stations given £382,000 faceliftNorthern customers travelling from two Greater Manchester stations will benefit from more than £350,000 of improvement works.
- Britain’s railway stations go purple to celebrate disabled people worldwideRays of purple light will beam from railway stations across the country today as the rail industry joins the global #PurpleLightUp movement and celebrates the contribution of disabled people around the world.
- Network Rail completes vital restoration work to Grade II listed feature at Scarborough railway stationNetwork Rail has completed work to protect the heritage of a Grade II listed bench at Scarborough railway station, which will make sure that it can be enjoyed by passengers for years to come.
- c2c and Greater Anglia invite customers to join new Accessibility PanelEast of England train operators c2c and Greater Anglia have joined forces to give local disabled people the chance to create a more accessible rail network and have a say in how future policy is shaped.
- Rail industry and community groups will work together to restore passenger confidenceCommunity Rail groups and the rail industry have agreed they must work closely together to protect rail services following the impact of the pandemic. This was a key outcome from this winter’s Transport for the North Community and Rail User group event attended by 100 delegates from across the North of England.
- Appointment of new Managing Director for South Western RailwayClaire Mann has been appointed Managing Director of South Western Railway and will take up her post early in 2021.
Railnews
- Alstom-Bombardier merger date revealed The date for the completion of the buyout of Bombardier by Alstom has been revealed. Alstom said ˜all necessary regulatory approvals™ had now been received.
- New BTP chief constable named The next chief constable of British Transport Police has been named and will join in the New Year, shortly before the current chief Paul Crowther retires in February.
- New managing director at SWR: Hopwood returns to GWR A shuffle of senior train operator posts has been announced by FirstGroup. A new managing director has been appointed at South Western Railway, while Mark Hopwood will be returning to Swindon and his main job as md at GWR.
Route One (Bus and Coach)
- Optare to become Switch Mobility with global aspirationsOptare is to be renamed Switch Mobility by Ashok Leyland, subject to regulatory approval. The name change “signals our strategic ambitions in electric and green mobility,” says Dheeraj Hinduja, Chairman of Optare’s Indian owner Ashok Leyland.
- WebTicketManager 360 platform set to benefit coach tourismWebTicketManager has developed a COVID-secure online ticketing platform that it says will benefit coach tourism operators as the market for day trips and holidays begins to reopen.
- Scottish Power takes Scotland’s first Yutong electric busScottish Power has taken delivery of the first Yutong battery-electric bus to enter service in Scotland. It is a seatbelt-equipped E10 that is powered by renewable electricity.
- Wrightbus £66m Translink deal to see 100 zero-emission busesWrightbus has been awarded a £66m contract by Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure that includes the delivery of 100 zero-emission buses to Translink. 45 low-emission diesel models complete the deal.
- Hopes rise for Scottish coach industry support packageHopes of a sector-specific support package for the coach industry in Scotland have risen after Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn and Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy, committed to taking operators’ case for backing to his ministerial colleagues.
The Business Desk
- Digital transport software company on track with freight services contractSheffield-based digital transport solutions provider, 3Squared, has secured a contract with GB Railfreight for renewed and expanded use of its RailSmart software platform.
Other News Sources
- Scots in favour of shared transport50% of people in Scotland are in favour of shared transport, according to a survey conducted by transport charity Survation for Collaborative Mobility (CoMoUK).
- With its decision on HS2 Westminster has shunted Wales on to a railway to nowhereIt was hard to conclude anything other than last week’s Spending Review being a disaster for Wales, from its public sector pay freeze, to its cut to farm payments to the centralisation of control over replacement EU funds by Westminster.
- London Underground weekend closures: All the Tube lines closed on December 5 and 6 The city is likely to be busy with Christmas shoppers this weekend
- Major road and rail works suspended to avoid travel chaos over ChristmasMinisters say they are trying to head off the prospect of travel chaos and overcrowding over the festive period
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