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

Tuesday, 08 December 2020

BBC News

• HS2 project puts benefits of the many over pain of the fewStanding on a hill above a green valley in the Chilterns near Chalfont Saint Peter you can see red kites flying nearby. But in the valley below, there are lots and lots of HGVs trundling up a new brown, muddy road.
• Brexit: Welsh automotive jobs 'will go' without trade dealA car trim company confirms 130 jobs are being cut as the industry awaits a post-Brexit trade deal.
• Uber sheds self-driving cars to focus on profitsDriverless cars were one seen as core to the company's future but lately it's focused on rides and food.

ITV News

• First HS2 tunnelling machines arrive in Hertfordshire
HS2's first giant tunnelling machines have arrived in the UK. The two 170-metre-long contraptions were transported from Germany to a construction site in Hertfordshire near the M25 in more than 1,000 parts.

Financial Times

• Investors see lower risk of default by US airlinesCredit default swap prices tumble as lawmakers discuss aid package and vaccine nears

The Telegraph

• Hitachi pours millions into Richard Branson Hyperloop rival [subscription]HyperloopTT targets speeds of up to 760 mph using an adapted version of train signalling being rolled out across the UK's railways

Times Online

• Tyres of electric cars add to air pollution, experts warn [subscription]Electric cars with heavy batteries should face higher taxes because of toxic particles released from their tyres and their impact on the road surface, experts have recommended.

Mail Online

• Electric cars get green number plates to allow special benefits as Boris Johnson pushes eco-driveThe first green number plates will be fitted to new electric vehicles today. Plates are similar to standard versions but have vertical green stripe on left side that can be identified by cameras.

Birmingham Post

• Toyota boss warns no-deal Brexit tariffs could make Deeside and Derbyshire plants uncompetitiveDr Johan van Zyl made the comments as last ditch attempts to broker a deal are made by UK and EU negotiators

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• MP 'disappointed' by council response as Bradford taxi drivers struggle to 'make ends meet' A BRADFORD MP is

The York Press

• Bus's message of hope brings smiles to facesYORK'S biggest bus operator has placed a message of hope for 2021 on its destination screens - and it's going down well with the public.

Bucks Free Press

• First HS2 tunnelling machines that will dig under the Chilterns arrive in UKHS2's first giant tunnelling machines have arrived in the UK.
• Anti-HS2 activists build protest tower in middle of Denham Country Park's riverAnti-HS2 activists have built a a 30 foot high ‘Beacon of Truth’ bamboo protest tower in the middle of a river in Denham Country Park.

Cambridge News

• Train wash to be built near homes in Cambridge despite outrage from localsResidents also criticised the decision to work on the site over the Christmas period
• London Stansted Airport to offer Covid-19 tests to all passengersThe availability of testing should make it safer to fly and reduce the quarantine period

Leeds Live

• Jet2 has refunded £1 billion to customers since March The airline, based out of Leeds Bradford Airport, has had a torrid year

Other Regional Press

• Frome line also mentioned as ten-year rail plan unveiled to transform services in the West of EnglandA long-lost Bristol train station that shut 50 years ago could be reopened under ambitious plans for the region’s rail over the next decade.
• Figures show passenger numbers were down at Flintshire's railway stations last yearPASSENGER numbers were down at Flintshire's railway stations last year – but it has not dented hopes that railway use will revive after the Covid-19 pandemic.
• One Christmas tradition that survives Covid – buses replace trains on lines to London!Rail passengers travelling between Ipswich and London over part of the Christmas holidays will be served by a fast coach service to Stansted Airport because of engineering work on the main line.
• Defiant Pendle MP slams Extinction Rebellion protesters and defends HS2Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson has hit back at local members of the Extinction Rebellion group who protested outside his Barnoldswick office recently over the HS2 project.
• Councillor calls for end to authority's "systemic secrecy over the spending of public funds" and demands answers over Stanford's rail station projectAHEAD of yet another meeting when focus will be turned on the rebuilding of Stanford-le-Hope's rail station, a call has been made for more openness and honesty from Thurrock Council about where the many millions spent on the project have gone.
• Double yellow lines planned for ‘dangerous’ Dorset roadA PROPOSAL for double yellow lines along a stretch of road in Gillingham, which has been described as “a nightmareâ€� and “dangerousâ€� by councillors, is to now be put to consultation.

Train Operators

• International air travel curbs ‘of little use’ against Covid [subscription]Ministers are under pressure to scrap restrictions on international travel after research found they had little impact on containing the coronavirus.

British Trams Online

• South Wales tram-train vehicles start to take shapeWe don’t mention it that much but in the next few years South Wales will be home to another Metro style service – the first in Wales – with the upgrading of the South Wales Metro service. In order to operate this service – which will built on conventional railway lines to start with but with the option in the future of some street running into Cardiff – a number of new vehicles are currently being built, including some Stadler tram-train vehicles.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Government funds UK companies at the forefront of space innovationThe cash injection is going to high-risk, high-reward projects that support companies and universities with radical ideas for how we tackle climate change through Earth Observation or address satellite communications challenges, from providing greater connectivity to remote places to increasing the efficiency of our homes. Projects set for the cash boost include The Open University who will use the money to create the UK’s first Precision Forestry tool, TreeView, which will support efforts to tackle the climate emergency through detailed measurement of tree-planting initiatives aimed at...
• GRIDSERVE opens UK’s first electric forecourtGRIDSERVE has announced that the UK’s first Electric Forecourt® near Braintree, Essex, is open for business, representing a major breakthrough for massive expansion of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the UK. The site is the first of over 100 Electric Forecourts® being built by GRIDSERVE over the next five years, providing people with the confidence that the UK will have the charging infrastructure required for mass EV adoption well ahead of the 2030 ban on petrol and diesel cars. The company’s £1bn UK-wide programme aims to make EV driving an enjoyable, u...

New Civil Engineer

• Liverpool roads boss arrested in corruption probe linked to mayor Liverpool City Council assistant director of highways & planning Andy Barr has been named as one of five men arrested as part of a corruption investigation looking into building contracts.
• Alternative proposal tabled to rival TfN’s Northern Powerhouse Rail planAn alternative way to upgrade the North of England's rail network has been tabled by a group of engineers who claim their proposal is cheaper and easier to implement than Transport for the North's (TfN's) current Northern Powerhouse Rail plans.

Other News Sources

• Corwen railway station still on track despite pandemicPROGRESS on an exciting rail project is still on track to be completed next year despite the coronavirus pandemic.
• Is the ‘death of the commute’ forcing a ticketing rethink?Traditional rail tickets are generally structured around the average workday, with peak or off-peak prices shaped around rush hour and weekly season tickets. Yet with many now working from home, should fares and tickets change to reflect new commuter patterns?
• Works to repair footbridge at Goring-by-Sea railway stationWORK is underway to refurbish a footbridge to provide a safer crossing at a railway station.
• Rail work set to impact train routes across Sussex PASSENGERS have been warned of train service changes ahead of Christmas as engineering work is set to impact on routes.