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

Friday, 12 February 2021

Government

• Phase 2a Act to bring HS2 to the northThe HS2 Phase 2a: High Speed Rail (West Midlands to Crewe) Bill has passed into law exactly a year after government gave HS2 the green light.

BBC News

• Covid hotel quarantine booking site taken downA new booking system for England's hotel quarantine scheme was taken offline minutes after it launched. The portal, set up as part of efforts to control new Covid variants entering the country, is "undergoing work to correct a minor technical issue".
• Shell: Europe's biggest oil firm sets out carbon neutral plansRoyal Dutch Shell sets out plan to be net zero by 2050, with big investments in hydrogen and biofuels.
• HS2: Next phase of controversial rail network gets green lightLegislation needed to clear the next stage of the controversial project has passed through Parliament.

Financial Times

• 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

• UK government's own climate laws may halt roadbuilding plansAnalysis: campaigners argue that, as with Heathrow, climate obligations should make £27bn scheme unviable

The Telegraph

• Ministers throw weight behind Heathrow third runway [subscription]Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick avoids opposing plans by London mayor Sadiq Khan, who does not want the airport to be expanded

Times Online

• HS2 secures approval for Birmingham-Crewe stretch [subscription]The second phase of HS2 received official approval yesterday after Boris Johnson promised that the high-speed line would be built in full.
• Highways England may face charge over smart motorway death [subscription]Highways England could face manslaughter changes over the death of a grandmother who was killed on a “smart motorway” without a hard shoulder, it emerged today.

Mail Online

• BEDLAM at the borders! Heathrow arrivals queue for FOUR hoursFootage shows one border force official telling an impatient passenger at Heathrow it was taking up to 30 minutes to wave through a single person.

Birmingham Mail

• Eight things you didn't know about Solihull's huge new HS2 Interchange StationNew details have been released about the huge HS2 station being built in Solihull, which is set to handle thousands of passengers an hour when it opens around the turn of the decade.

Birmingham Post

• Next phase of HS2 given royal assentPhase 2a will run between Birmingham city centre and Crewe and is due for completion by 2033
• New £46m Dyfi Bridge project gets start date from Welsh GovernmentThe current bridge on the A487 near Machynlleth is prone to flooding

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Network Rail clears icicles from West Yorkshire tunnels RAIL workers were out again this morning clearing icicles which had formed on railway tunnels after temperatures dropped below freezing overnight.
• Leeds Bradford Airport expansion plan is approved after eight hour planning meetingPLANS for a £150m overhaul of Leeds Bradford Airport have been approved in principle by a panel of Leeds City Councillors.

London Evening Standard

• Heathrow sees passenger and freight numbers collapse as quarantine hotels mean borders “effectively closedâ€�Cargo volumes collapse triggers added fears for UK trade after Brexit hit

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham bus company fears plans to cut services will leave passengers stranded'These reductions will also aggravate loneliness and isolation, which all public transport services seek to minimise'
• More trains announced from Nottinghamshire to SkegnessMore train services have been announced to run from Nottinghamshire to Skegness.

Sheffield Star

• Sheffield could lose direct rail link to Manchester Airport in ‘problematic’ shake upSheffield could lose its direct rail link to Manchester Airport under proposals to shake up train services in the north.
• Angry? No, I’m furious that they can still get away with it - Editor's commentLevelling up? What a joke. It was a promise made before the last election, repeated endlessly since and yet still only seems to work in the wrong direction.

The York Press

• "Here's an idea ... build parkway station at Copmanthorpe" INSTEAD of designing York station so that either more cars can be parked nearby or asking commuters to take the park and ride, could not a parkway station be built outside, say at Copmanthorpe?

Yorkshire Post

• Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority postpones decision to support bus services in rural areaThe guardians of Europe's most popular national park have postponed a decision on a charity's plea for help propping up bus services, despite being warned ignoring the appeal could harm their integrity.

Bucks Free Press

• Little Missenden: Plans for temporary roundabout on A413 to access HS2 vent shaft thrown out Plans to build a temporary roundabout near to give contractors access to a vent shaft have been thrown out.

Other Regional Press

• Teesport operator works with Europe's largest port on technology projectLink-up with the Port of Rotterdam is part of PD Ports' ambition to make Teesport the best in the UK by 2050
• TfL wants your views: should CCTV be mandatory in taxis? Transport for London is consulting the public on whether CCTV should be mandatory in all black cabs and private hire vehicles across London, including Uber.
• Council left Byrned as rail station planning progress is put on hold by unhappy councillorsTHURROCK Council’s top brass got a bit of a bloodied nose as plans to push through designs for Stanford-le-Hope’s new station hit the buffers when planning councillors decided they would not be railroaded into making a quick decision.
• Hope renewed for a half-hour train service at Oldham stationOldham’s only main rail station could have a half-hourly train service if it gains enough public support.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• PD Ports announces partnership with Port of RotterdamPD Ports has announced a new partnership with the Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port, to deliver digitalised solutions that will improve efficiencies and support the future growth of the River Tees.   Having recently launched its bold ambition to make the River Tees the UK’s most successful port region by 2050, PD Ports is accelerating its pace of digitalisation with the development of a Port Community System (PCS). Working in collaboration with the Port of Rotterdam, PD Ports has started the first phase of developing this critical infrastructure, aligned with Teesport&r...
• Phase 2a Act to bring HS2 to the northThe HS2 Phase 2a: High Speed Rail (West Midlands to Crewe) Bill has been given Royal Assent, cementing in law the government’s commitment to bring the new high-speed railway to the north. The act of Parliament was passed exactly 1 year after ministers gave the project the green light and will allow HS2 Ltd to begin work to construct the next phase of the new high-speed railway between Crewe and Birmingham, creating thousands of jobs. Construction of the first stage of the project between the West Midlands and London is already underway and now supporting more than 15,000 jobs and 500 a...

Coach and Bus Week

• Andy Warrender is new face at the wheel of RHA CoachesFollowing the initial launch of RHA Coaches, the organisation has been putting together a team ready for when membership opens in April, and as part of its recruitment drive has brought on board Andy Warrender. RHA Managing Director for Commercial Operations, Richard Smith said: “We’ve been working hard to give coach operators the benefit of our experience as the key representative organisation for commercial vehicles.
• Working together to move forwardsIn mid-January, VisitBritain joined with the Coach Tourism Association to hold a webinar looking at the road to recovery for Britain’s coach sector. Jonathan Welch provides a brief summary of the discussion

New Civil Engineer

• Leeds Bradford Airport’s £150M expansion plans approvedLeeds City Council has approved plans to expand Leeds Bradford Airport.
• French scrap £8bn Charles de Gaulle airport expansionThe French Government has scrapped plans to expand Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport.
• Gatwick expansion backed over Heathrow third runwayThe London Plan – drawn up by Sadiq Khan and approved by Communities secretary Robert Jenrick – includes no provision for Heathrow Airport Ltd’s plans for a third runway.
• Demand for South Wales Metro unaffected by CovidDemand for the South Wales Metro project is unaffected by the Covid-19 pandemic despite the change in journey patterns, according to Transport for Wales (TfW) chief executive James Price.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Ticketer unveils new driver alert feature for its ETMsTicketer has launched a new driver alert feature for its electronic ticketing machines (ETMs) which aims to warn drivers when a vehicle is approaching an area of restricted access on unfamiliar routes.
• DPTAC calls for PSVAR to capture all ‘for hire’ coachesThe Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) has issued an extraordinary call to the government asking it to embark on steps towards mandatory compliance with PSVAR for all coaches that are used on “for hire” work.
• Alexander Dennis pledges support to Skills Challenge as competition returns in 2021Long-term support for the bus industry is one of the main factors behind the creation of the Skills Challenge competition and a vision that is shared by bus builder Alexander Dennis (ADL).
• Is it time to encourage passengers back on board?Graham Vidler: ‘Now is the time to embed coaches as a crucial part of the UK’s economic, social and environmental agendas’ 
• Interbus: Cross-border coach and bus services after BrexitWhen the Brexit transitional period came to an end on 31 December 2020 the right of access to the European Union (EU) previously enjoyed by UK coach and bus operators was removed.
• Transport Select Committee to examine coach industry plightThe Transport Select Committee will soon convene a standalone, “deep dive” session to consider issues currently facing the coach industry. The development was announced by Committee member Greg Smith MP at a virtual political lobbying event on 10 February that was called to highlight coaching’s ongoing need for nationwide bespoke support.
• Transport Scotland deploys Unicard smart ticketing systemTransport Scotland has chosen Unicard’s smart ticketing system to manage its commercial journeys and the Scottish National Concessionary Travel Scheme.

The Business Desk

• Business leaders call on HS2 to be delivered in full as second phase receives Royal AssentThe second phase of high speed train project, HS2, has received Royal Assent. The move means the line from Birmingham to Crewe will be built – with business leaders now calling for a commitment from the Government to decide on the future of the Phase 2b project – or the Eastern leg as it has become known.

Aviation Industry

• Approval of Leeds Bradford Airport expansion is a backward step for the climate, says AEFLeeds City Council has today approved (subject to additional conditions still to be negotiated) Leeds Bradford Airport’s plans for a larger terminal to accommodate more passengers. In response to this news, …

Other News Sources

• Crewe HS2 plans revealed in stunning images and videoConstruction of phase 2a from the West Midlands to Crewe is due to begin in 2024
• Gatwick Airport to start charging vehicles using North Terminal forecourt from next month The airport will introduce a £5 charge for drivers who drop off passengers directly outside
• Gatwick and Heathrow Airport: All the countries that require stay in quarantine hotel for arrivals New testing, self-isolation and quarantine rules are being introduced