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

Thursday, 18 February 2021

BBC News

• Collapsed wall railway line to reopen in AberdeenshireThe railway line between Stonehaven and Montrose will reopen on Monday after a bridge wall collapsed last month.
• 20mph default speed limits to be trialled in eight areas of WalesThe pilots will start this summer ahead of a Wales-wide rollout from April 2023.
• Heathrow Airport: Muslim minicab drivers forced to pray in bus stopMinicab drivers say the working conditions at Heathrow Airport car park are
• A83 Rest and Be Thankful opening hours extendedThe road will now be open from about 08:00 to 17:15 every day due to longer daylight hours.
• Ryanair loses fight to block rivals' state aidBailouts granted to rivals Air France and Swedish carrier SAS were within the rules, court says.
• Jaguar Land Rover: Car maker confirms plans to axe 2,000 jobsThe proposed job losses will not affect manufacturing staff, the car maker says.

Financial Times

• Maersk aims for first carbon-neutral container ship in 2 yearsShipping line plans green methanol vessel in industry under pressure to cut emissions
• EU court rejects Ryanair challenge to state aid for rival airlinesLow-cost airline argues support given to national carriers is discriminatory

The Telegraph

• Airbus sinks to €1.1bn loss as jet sales nosedive [subscription]Aerospace giant warns demand for passenger jets will not return for years and recovery to pre-pandemic levels will be bumpy

Times Online

• Ban new diesel lorries by 2040, say cabinet advisers [subscription]The sale of new diesel lorries should be banned within two decades to cut pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, the government has been told.
• Charging electric car as pricey as tank of petrol [subscription]Motorists face having to pay up to £41 to charge an electric car amid warnings that the most expensive public chargepoints can cost almost as much as a tank of petrol.

Daily Record

• Councillors hit out at Network Rail over plans for new safety measures at Cornton level crossingScathing criticism has been aimed at Network Rail over new safety measures at Cornton level crossing which could see barriers down for almost 50 minutes an hour.

Network Rail

• £3.9m upgrade at Crawley station improves accessibility for all passengersPassengers in West Sussex are benefiting from a major investment to Crawley Station, part of the Department for Transport’s Access for All programme.

Birmingham Mail

• Jaguar Land Rover confirms the roles unaffected as 2,000 jobs axedThe car giant told BirminghamLive it "anticipates a net reduction of around 2,000 people from our global salaried workforce in the next financial year. â€�

Birmingham Post

• Brittany Ferries keeps ships laid up as travel restrictions continueCompany wanted to restart some services between Plymouth and Portsmouth and the Continent, but plans have been postponed
• Comment: Jaguar Land Rover awakens electric dreamsProfessor David Bailey casts his eye over the news this week that JLR is moving to an all-electric future
• Transport cuts in North risk making levelling up 'empty rhetoric'Metro mayors and unions in Northern regions have appealed to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps not to cut funding to Transport for the North
• Enterprise zone site hits the market in Goole with Siemens and Croda neighboursJunction 36 plot sits close to new train manufcturing plant and chemical giant's brand new distribution centre
• Jaguar Land Rover 'to axe 2,000 roles' over the next yearLuxury car manufacturer has told staff it plans to cut the salaried positions such as management and designers

Bristol Live

• Bristol Airport plane-spotters warned over breaking Covid rulesAnother force had to issue a £200 fine to an avid plane spotter

Yorkshire Post

• Grant Shapps orders leaders to delay business case for Northern Powerhouse Rail amid fears parts of scheme could be downgradedParts of the flagship high speed rail project connecting the major cities of the North could be downgraded, it is feared, after the region's transport leaders were ordered by the Government to delay submitting their plans.
• Leeds Bradford Airport decision is unjustifiable – Yorkshire Post LettersIS it complacency, ignorance or arrogance? In March 2019 Leeds City Council declared a climate emergency and committed to making Leeds carbon neutral by 2030. Last week councillors on Leeds City Council’s planning panel voted to approve the expansion of Leeds Bradford airport, ensuring that their commitment will fail, no matter what other action is taken.
• Labour accuses Government of reannouncing major Northern rail plans more than 60 times without actionLabour has accused the Government of reannouncing major rail projects in the North more than 60 times over a seven year period without any work actually being carried out.

Other Regional Press

• Future transport plans for Oxfordshire open for opinionsCHANGES to the way people travel around Oxfordshire, like using more buses instead of cars, are being opened up for public opinion.
• £200 million rail upgrade to connect North Wales and North West of EnglandA £200 million rail upgrade linking North Wales and the North West of England through a new super-hub at Chester can power a pandemic bounce-back boom in the region, it has been claimed.
• £200m rail upgrade to connect North Wales and North West of EnglandA £200million rail upgrade linking North Wales and the North West of England through a new super-hub at Chester can power a pandemic bounce-back boom in the region, it has been claimed.

New Civil Engineer

• Infrastructure clients must start future-proofing developments todayChange is coming to the UK’s building regulations: a mandatory requirement for all new residential and non-residential buildings to provide electric vehicle (EV) charging points.
• Infrastructure clients must start future-proofing developments todayChange is coming to the UK’s building regulations: a mandatory requirement for all new residential and non-residential buildings to provide electric vehicle (EV) charging points.
• Trans-Pennine route electrification in doubtAdditional funding will be needed to enable all of the planned electrification of the trans-Pennine route, despite the hope that £589M of government funding – confirmed in July last year – would “kickstart” work on a significant part of the line.
• South Yorkshire police chief calls for smart motorways to be scrappedSmart motorways should be abandoned to avoid "more serious injuries or fatalities" according to a South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner (PCC).
• Revealed: Employment rule change could leave Crossrail short Dozens of workers carrying out key assurance work on Crossrail will soon find themselves unable to continue their jobs due to changes to the UK’s employment rules.
• HS2 | Contractors sought to design and build £275M depotHS2 Ltd is seeking contractors to build a rail depot in Birmingham to serve the first phase of the rail line.

Rail Advent

• Liverpool’s new Merseyrail trains leave the Stadler Factory in SwitzerlandClass 777s have begun arriving in the UK ahead of their testing and introduction with Merseyrail.

Railway Gazette

• French night train network renaissanceFRANCE: Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djйbbari has said his ambition is ‘to have about 10 overnight train services in 2030’.

Other News Sources

• Transdev’s second phase of electric bus trialsOperator launches comparison trials using Yutong E10 battery-powered bus   Harrogate Bus Company General Manager Frank Stanisauskis (left) and driver Ricki Tomlinson with the Yutong E10 electric bus   A new trial featuring the latest zero-emission electric transport technology is now underway in North Yorkshire as Transdev Blazefield prepares for future investment beyond the pandemic. A Yutong E10 electric bus, supplied by Yorkshire-based Pelican Bus and Coach, is being loaned to Transdev by Tyneside-based operator Go North East to enable the new trial on a route linking Harrogate an...
• Cleethorpes direct train link to Manchester Airport at risk of being scrappedHolidaymakers in northern Lincolnshire might need to switch at Manchester Piccadilly if the change goes ahead
• HS2 begins search for Washwood Heath train depot contractorThe Washwood Heath site in Birmingham is where HS2’s fleet of state-of-the-art high-speed trains will be serviced and maintained once in operation.
• £200 million rail upgrade set to be pushed at major conferenceA £200 million rail upgrade linking the north of Wales and the north west of England, is set to be pushed at a major conference.
• Video: ‘Very noisy’ new trains disturbing York residentsNew diesel trains at York are causing noise pollution for some residents.
• Rail plough smashes through snow to clear tracksA Network Rail train fitted with a snow plough was used to clear tracks near Huntly.