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

Thursday, 11 February 2021

BBC News

• Leamside railway line: Calls to reopen service in fullThe 21-mile long Leamside railway line runs between Pelaw in Gateshead and Tursdale in County Durham.
• Trains: Plans for new Cardiff to London services hit buffersRegulator dismisses bid by Grand Union Trains to run new services from Cardiff and Carmarthen.
• Rail and road problems as temperatures hit new low of -17.1CScotland has faced a second day of travel disruption after further heavy snowfall and freezing conditions.
• Birmingham Airport to get £18.5m emergency loanBirmingham Airport says it welcomes support after passenger numbers fall by 91% due to Covid.
• Travel chief scorns 'puerile' holiday plan warningTransport Secretary Grant Shapps' call for people to pause summer holiday plans gets a rough reception.
• US airline set to buy flying electric taxis for airport runsUnited Airlines plans to buy 200 of the aircraft to fly passengers to airports within the next five years.
• Shift to green energy 'could cost oil states $13 trillion' by 2040Some countries could lose 40% of government revenue as the world cuts back on fossil fuels, says report.

Financial Times

• Maersk boss defends shipping industry over sky-high ratesExporters have complained about brutal rate rises and broken contracts
• Buckle up: Ken Moelis Spac takes flightDeal with electric aircraft maker Archer values company hoping to commercialise urban air taxis at almost $4bn

The Guardian

• Indonesia plane crash: Sriwijaya Air jet throttle may have been faulty, says reportAutomatic throttle may have caused Sriwijaya Air jet pilots to lose control of Boeing 737-500A malfunctioning automatic throttle may have caused the pilots of a Sriwijaya Air jet to lose control, leading to the Boeing 737-500's plunge into the Java Sea last month, Indonesian investigators have said.National transportation safety committee investigators said on Wednesday they were still struggling to understand why the jet nosedived into the water minutes after taking off from Jakarta on 9 January, killing all 62 people on board.

Times Online

• Maersk handed lockdown bonus by retail surge [subscription]The world’s largest container shipping group has suggested that freight rates have almost peaked and backlogs at large ports should ease from April.
• EasyJet chief wants plan to revive travel [subscription]The boss of easyJet has called on the government to explain how it plans to ease Covid-19 travel restrictions amid growing fears over summer travel.

City AM

• Uber launches same-day parcel delivery service pilotUber has today launched a new same-day delivery service which will allow users to have their parcels chaffeur-driven to their The post Uber launches same-day parcel delivery service pilot appeared first on CityAM.

The Mirror

• High Speed 2 rail line to Leeds hasn't been scrapped, Boris Johnson insistsDoubts had been raised over the eastern leg of the rail line as costs mount - but the PM today said it was his intention to "develop the eastern leg as well as the whole of HS2”

London Evening Standard

• Grant Shapps sparks doubt over Brits going on holidays this summer - at home or abroadThe EU’s slow pace of vaccinations may impose limitations on some European destinations
• TfL boss Andy Byford: Overhaul funding to avoid ‘self-defeating’ Tube and bus fare risesHe said said annual rises in fares would be “self-defeatingâ€� as they would drive passengers back into cars
• Anti-HS2 protesters splatter pink paint over Department for Transport buildingAnti-HS2 campaigners have splattered pink paint over the Department of Transport building in central London.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Boris Johnson promises to build 'the whole of HS2' high speed rail lineThe Prime Minister spoke following suggestions that the North East and Yorkshire sections of HS2 could be scrapped

Yorkshire Post

• High-speed rail and skills dividend for regionTHE awarding of a prestigious £40m contract by Siemens Mobility to Yorkshire-based GMI Construction Group is far more than a vote of confidence in this region. It is also an investment in the county’s future.
• How Leeds Bradford Airport revamp puts region and environment first – Gerald JenningsTHERE is no doubt that the last 12 months have been the most challenging for our regional economy and communities in peacetime.

Carlisle News & Star

• £9m competition to transform UK railways has opened.A £9 MILLION competition to find 'cutting-edge' ideas to transform the railways has opened.

Other Regional Press

• Department committed to funding £100,000 Portadown to Armagh railway link feasibility studyThe possibility of a railway link between Armagh and Portadown has inched closer following a ‘positive’ meeting between officials from the Department of Infrastructure and Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council.

Business Live

• Plymouth railway station upgrade moves ahead with £4m 'shovel ready' cashMoney from the Government's Getting Building Fund will help kickstart the ambitious Brunel Plaza scheme
• Plans for new South Wales to London rail service rejectedGrand Union's bid for six daily return services has been turned down by regulator the Office for Rail and Road.
• Siemens train plant progress 'light at end of a Covid tunnel' - project directorFuture on the Humber is brighter than it has ever been according to Siemens' project director Finbarr Dowling
• Birmingham Airport to receive £18.5m council loanBirmingham City Council agrees funding package with more capital expected from other shareholders to support airport hit by travel ban

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Yorkshire company wins £40m Siemens Mobility contract to build the UK's newest train factoryAs part of its commitment to UK jobs and growth and supporting the Government’s levelling up agenda, Siemens Mobility has awarded the £40m contract to build its new rail manufacturing site at Goole to Yorkshire-based GMI Construction Group Plc. It is part of the first phase of investment in Siemens Mobility’s new £200m train manufacturing plant and rail supply chain village, which has seen contracts worth £50m let to UK companies – the majority of which are based locally in Yorkshire.  In addition to the main facility, GMI will construct the four and ...

New Civil Engineer

• Watch: New way to perform hot smoke demonstrations in tunnelsIn this session, NCE news editor Rob Hogan talks to Christian Pérez, senior tunnel ventilation engineer about that Atkins about innovative new research to improve the safety of tunnels during a fire.
• Engineering alliance formed to provide ‘consolidated voice’ for sectorA new alliance of UK engineering and research bodies has been formed to provide the sector with a “a single, consolidated voice”.
• Beware ‘cowboy’ drone pilots offering ‘bargain-basement rates’, infrastructure sector warnedNew regulations surrounding drone use may enable “smaller” firms to offer commercial drone services “at bargain-basement rates” but “without the training or experience required”, according to tech firm Sensat chief data officer Harry Atkinson.
• Confusion over contractual liability for Covid delays and cost hikesOne in three contracts were not fit to deal with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and, as a result, clients are bearing responsibility for additional costs and time delays, according to research from Turner & Townsend.
• Highways England to respond to M1 death inquest with possible manslaughter charge loomingLawyers for Highways England will today make submissions in relation to the road operator's case, after a coroner said she was considering whether the roads operator should answer manslaughter charges in connection to the death of a woman on a smart motorway.
• Concerns M25 upgrade could compromise safety of nearby railwayNetwork Rail is concerned that planned upgrades to the M25 in Essex would hinder its ability to run a “safe and efficient operation of the railway”.

Other News Sources

• LNER trains to run at reduced speeds this week – then East Coast passengers face three months of disruptionLNER’s fleet of electric trains has been forced to run at a reduced speed due to the number of repairs needed during the winter weather.