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

Thursday, 11 March 2021

BBC News

• Four trains an hour pledge for Wrexham-Bidston rail lineTrain services will increase four-fold on a line dubbed the "Cinderella" route linking north Wales with Merseyside. Only one train an hour currently runs on the Borderlands line between Wrexham and Bidston.
• Grant Shapps says UK government wants to 'fix' M4 and A55 congestionA Westminster review will consider whether Wales' two most congested roads could do with upgrades.
• Bus drivers' strike: London passengers warned of disruption throughout MarchUnite union defends 'last resort' weekly strike action throughout March over pay and conditions.
• Covid shutdowns add £4.3m to over-budget ferry costsThe Ferguson shipyard had to suspend operations twice to ensure safe working during the coronavirus pandemic.
• Heathrow says airport border queues at 'unacceptable level'The airport regularly sees queuing times of three hours and on occasion six hours, an executive says.

Financial Times

• GE to sell aircraft leasing business to AerCap in $30bn dealCombination brings together the two biggest companies in the market
• Don't expect shipping costs to buoy inflationSurge in freight rates may be passed on to consumers but any shock is likely to be a one-off
• Cathay Pacific: pandemic drag outweighs recovery upliftShort-term outlook is bleak for Hong Kong flag carrier
• American Airlines launches biggest debt deal in industry’s historyCarrier is raising $10bn through bonds and loans with investors still on the hunt for returns

The Telegraph

• Boris told to build Crossrail 2 before tunnel to Ireland [subscription]The former boss of HS2 and Crossrail has questioned the economic benefit to Boris Johnson’s plans to build a tunnel between Scotland and Northern Ireland.
• Rural drivers should not be 'demonised and penalised' for using cars as they have no choice, FSB says [subscription]The Federation of Small Businesses warned motorists should not be pushed towards electric vehicles until ‘realistic’ options are available

Times Online

• Pet Shop Boys in £5m drive for safer smart motorways [subscripton]Highways England turned to the Pet Shop Boys and a couple of singing flies yesterday as part of a £5 million campaign designed to improve safety on smart motorways.

City AM

• MPs urge government to ensure travel restart plans are made publicMPs have today urged the government to make public the Global Travel Taskforce’s recommendations when the body reports to the The post MPs urge government to ensure travel restart plans are made public appeared first on CityAM.

Network Rail

• Flood prone Victorian tunnel gets once in a generation repairTrain journeys are being made more reliable on the West Coast main line thanks to major work to stop tracks inside a Victorian-built railway tunnel from flooding.

Birmingham Post

• Aston Martin to cut more than 200 jobs at St Athan siteA union said the redundancies represents a 'huge chunk' of the total workforce at the south Wales site
• Aircraft parts factory workers planning strike actionUnion says workers at SPS Technologies in Leicester will be left out of pocket under contract changes

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Bradford taxpayers spend up to £1.7 million to fix potholes BRADFORD ranks in the top 20 UK cities for highest spending on pothole repairs - coming in at £1.735 million.

Liverpool Echo

• Merseyrail 'first in UK' to achieve near perfect arrival recordNew figures show 99 per cent of Liverpool City Region operator's trains arrived either on time or within five minutes

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Hope for 'rapid' progress to reopen Leamside rail line as part of £7bn North East transport dreamNorth East transport officials have set up a new board tasked with quickly producing a full business case that will convince the government to restore the mothballed line
• Better road and rail connections between Newcastle and Scotland named as top priority for UKA review of the UK's transport network has identified better links between Newcastle and Scotland as a top priority.

Other Regional Press

• New rail station plan for Wakefield amid concerns over appalling public transportWakefield councillors have unveiled proposals for a new train station to reduce car travel and boost economic prosperity. Labour councillors Darren Byford and Lynn Masterman announced that they were developing plans to build a railway station on the Huddersfield to Leeds via Wakefield Kirkgate line.
• Ferries from Weymouth and Portland to Channel Islands supported by councillors HOPES of a Channel Islands ferry crossing service have once more been raised for Weymouth and Portland after it emerged that discussions between Weymouth councillors and representatives in Guernsey have been progressing.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• £5 million boost for local authorities to tackle air pollutionLocal authorities across England have been granted more than £5 million in government funding to deliver innovative projects to improve air quality. The money, from the government’s Air Quality Grant, helps councils develop and implement measures to benefit schools, businesses and communities and reduce the impact of dirty air on people’s health. More than double the funding awarded in 2020 has been made available for this year’s grant, meaning a raft of particularly strong applications are being supported. The application process especially welcomed projects to tackl...
• Metro drivers step on board a full-size replica of their new trainsMetro drivers are getting to step on-board a full-size replica of their new trains that are due to start arriving next year.  A detailed mock-up of the new Metro cab, which is fully fitted out, has been built to assist with workforce familiarisation – a key part of the design process for the new £362m Metro fleet. The new Metro trains, which are being made by the Swiss train builder Stadler, are set to enter passenger service in 2023, delivering a step-change in quality and reliability for passengers.  The mock-up boasts the full cab layout, a driver’s seat, a da...
• Aviation sector boost as new jobs portal launchesThe aviation sector is set to benefit from further government support with the creation of an all-new Aviation Skills Retention Platform (ASRP) to boost employment and upskill candidates in the industry. The platform is an ‘online skills and recruitment centre’ specially tailored to find jobs for candidates who currently may be unable to work as a result of the pandemic, or similar roles that match their existing skillset. The government has partnered with several leading employers, including the Civil Aviation Association, BAE Systems and Rolls Royce to offer an initial 2,185 va...
• evo-rail to deliver rail-5G to UK railwaysevo-rail, part of FirstGroup, is launching rail-5G, the global first multi-gigabit communications service specifically designed for the railway.  rail-5G powers the on-train Wi-Fi system with over a gigabit of internet data, which will allow passengers to experience unprecedented levels of connectivity, similar to what they would enjoy at home or work. The innovative new system will also offer continuous connection for passengers through tunnels. Current bandwidth restrictions mean that customers are restricted to using onboard Wi-Fi for simple tasks such as email or web browsing.  r...
• HS2 launches contract race for Engineering Management SystemHS2 has started the search for a specialist contractor to deliver the high-tech monitoring systems that will enable remote supervisory control of railway assets and systems by key operational personnel allowing the UK to run some of the world’s most reliable, safe and efficient high-speed rail services. The new contract opportunity covers the design, manufacture, installation, integration, testing and commissioning of an integrated Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) solution that will be used across the whole network – and up to 25 years of technical support. The Eng...
• United Seaways launches a ‘Brexit buster’ route direct from Morocco to the UKA new direct shipping route, which will connect the UK and Morocco, is to be launched. The route, which has been established by maritime and transport specialist, United Seaways, will link Poole in Dorset to Tangier, Morocco.   The new line has been in planning for over two years and will help bypass post-Brexit traffic congestion and additional import procedures on goods arriving via Europe. It will also significantly reduce emissions compared to current logistic chains by road.   The route will run once per week and cut journey times on Moroccan goods to fewer than three days, comp...
• New Rail Service from the Port of FelixstoweA new daily rail service has been introduced at Hutchison Ports Port of Felixstowe. The new service is operated by GB Railfreight and connects the UK’s largest container port with Wakefield in Yorkshire. The new service is the 13th operated by GB Railfreight and the 12th daily rail connection to destinations in Yorkshire. Commenting on the latest addition to the port’s roster of rail services, Chris Lewis, Chief Executive Officer at the Port of Felixstowe, said: “Expanding the number of rail services available to importers and exporters from the port is one of our key ...
• 'Go left!' Highways England launches biggest ever motorway safety campaignIf you break down - go left! That’s the message as Highways England launches its biggest ever campaign to help drivers feel safer on the country’s motorways. Millions of journeys are made every day on the country’s busiest roads – motorways and major A-roads – and most are incident-free. But around 600 journeys a day involve a breakdown, and when you are on a busy motorway that can be frightening. So Highways England has set out what drivers should do if they encounter problems with their vehicle – go left.  The campaign is being supported by partners a...

New Civil Engineer

• Green light for dualling on four more sections of Scotland’s longest A roadThe Scottish government has given the go-ahead to further dualling on the A9. In total, an additional 35km of the A9 will be widened in four different locations.
• Linking HS2 with Scotland and Wales priority for union connectivityThe lack of High Speed 2 (HS2) connections with Scotland and Wales tops Network Rail chair Sir Peter Hendy’s list of union connectivity concerns.
• Government invests £90M in green technologyThe government has launched three new innovation challenges across key areas of the green energy sector including energy storage technology, floating offshore wind and biomass production.

Other News Sources

• Many Air France Domestic Flights Will Be Replaced By TrainsAir France will significantly scale back its domestic network in a bid to cut costs and reach environmental goals required by its bailout deal. The changes will mean that the airline’s domestic network out of Paris Orly Airport will shrink drastically, with routes to cities like Lyon and Bourdeaux canceled and replaced by train services. Here’s more on these changes.
• Grimshaw's HS2 Euston station set to be scaled back, says ministerAndrew Stephenson thinks smaller scheme would reduce cost and risk Plans for Grimshaw's HS2 station at Euston look set to be scaled back, with the minister in charge of the project saying a reduction in scope would help with risk and cost.
• Beaulieu Park station moves forward as Essex County Council set to approve £200mA LONG-awaited station will move a one step closer to reality after £200 million of grant funding is approved.
• HS2’s Euston station set to be scaled back, railway’s minister tells MPsAndrew Stephenson says smaller scheme ‘would have some benefits in terms of reducing costs and risks’
• Impact of East West Rail on Cambridge to Newmarket corridor to be discussed at campaign group’s webinarThe group believes that the £5bn line, due to be completed by the end of the decade, ought to approach Cambridge from the north, rather than heading to Cambridge South, as is currently planned by Network Rail.