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

Tuesday, 30 March 2021

BBC News

• Suez Canal reopens after giant stranded ship is freedTraffic has resumed in Egypt's Suez Canal after a stranded container ship blocking it for nearly a week was finally freed by salvage crews.

ITV News

• Greater Anglia reinstate services as timetable starts to return to normalMore trains will run on many of Greater Anglia's rural routes as the operator reinstates services cut due to the pandemic.

Department for Transport

• Highways England new non-executive director appointedHighways England has announced the appointment of Lawrence Gosden as a non-executive director to the Board.
• Multi-million pound scheme for zero-emission buses across England launchedGovernment announces extra funding for zero-emission buses in England. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has today (30 March 2021) launched a multimillion-pound scheme to enable local transport authorities to roll out zero-emission buses as the government continues to build back greener.
• HS2 Phase One Planning Forum notes for local authoritiesThese notes have been developed through the Phase One Planning Forum for local authorities when considering Schedule 17 requests for approval.

Financial Times

• Egyptians cheer as Suez Canal traffic jam easesCairo's economic interests and national pride converge in the linchpin of global trade
• Russia seizes on Suez blockage to promote merits of Arctic route Moscow is busy highlighting the northern sea route and Nordstream as alternatives for world trade

The Guardian

• Suez canal: Ever Given container ship freed after a weekSalvage teams and strong tides help to refloat vessel that had blocked key trading arterySalvage teams succeeded on Monday in freeing a massive container ship that had been stuck in the Suez canal for the past seven days, blocking billions of dollars worth of cargo from crossing one of the world's busiest marine waterways.Insurers, the shipping industry and the thousands of businesses reliant on container goods were still counting the cost of the accident as traffic resumed in the evening with more than 422 vessels, carrying a vast range of items from crude oil to cattle, waiting to cross.

The Scotsman

• Scottish bus operator to have 68-strong electric fleet ahead of Glasgow's Cop26Scottish bus operator McGill’s expects to have a fleet of almost 70 electric buses running before the planned Cop26 event in Glasgow this autumn.

The Telegraph

• Londoners risk tax raid as Sadiq Khan faces Tube funding crisis [subscription]Analysts predict passenger numbers will permanently fall by a fifth as the pandemic changes travel habits forever

City AM

• Jet-set: Private jet sales caught a tail-wind in 2020 despite Covid grounding most travelAmericans buying and selling pre-owned private jets last year helped the market remain resilient throughout the Covid-19 pandemic last year, clocking up $14.5bn in global sales.
• Boris Johnson rules out travel ban exemption for family visitsPrime Minister Boris Johnson today ruled out an exemption to travel restrictions for people visiting family abroad, saying there would be only one set of rules for international travel.
• Lib Dem mayoral candidate blames 'toxic' Sadiq Khan for failure to get long term TfL funding dealTransport for London (TfL) has failed to get a long term funding settlement over the past year due to Sadiq Khan’s “toxic” relationship with central government, according to Liberal Democrat mayoral election candidate Luisa Porritt.
• Transport for London to face funding squeeze as journey numbers will 'never hit pre-Covid peak'The hastily-agreed Transport for London bailout extension agreed this month will unlikely be the last cash injection for TfL from government coffers, if analysts’ passenger number predictions are correct.

Network Rail

• Rail improvement work completed in LostwithielNetwork Rail has successfully completed work to renew parts of the River Fowey viaduct and repair some of the track at Lostwithiel station.
• £0.5m investment at Snodland station in Kent brings improved facilitiesSnodland station has received a £500,000 facelift with a revamped footbridge and tactile paving on platforms to keep visually-impaired passengers safe.
• Network Rail appoints two non-executive directorsNetwork Rail has appointed Ismail Amla and Stephen Duckworth OBE as non-executive directors to its Board, effective from 1 April 2021.

Sheffield Star

• Sheffield City Region leaders consider taking buses back into public ownershipMayor Dan Jarvis and South Yorkshire council leaders are still considering bringing buses back into methods of public ownership following the lead of Manchester.

Yorkshire Post

• South Yorkshire leaders to consider bringing buses under public control after Manchester moveSouth Yorkshire will consider following Greater Manchester in bringing buses under local authority control, the county’s political leaders have said.

Bucks Free Press

• HS2 security at Small Dean injured in attack by group of 30 near the A413 - with traffic 'narrowly' missing people in the road Nine HS2 security staff were injured when 30 people attacked them on the A413 - with passing traffic

Cambridge News

• Bus franchising 'will be delivered' in CambridgeshireGreater Manchester has recently announced it will move to a franchise model

Kent Online

• Eurostar in emergency talks over £400m debt as RMT union demands government 'steps up' to help save 3,000 British jobsUnion bosses have urged the government to "step up" to save high-speed continental rail service Eurostar from collapse.

Leeds Live

• £13m roads scheme could transform Leeds transportThe plans to better connect the city with Mirfield and Dewsbury include junction upgrades, cycle and bus lanes, and crossings

Peterborough Telegraph

• Bus franchise system will be delivered in Peterborough says Metro MayorThe mayor has said a bus franchise system “will be delivered” in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Other Regional Press

• Gotham bus station closes its doors - but its history will live onA Nottingham bus station has closed its doors in order to reduce its costs. Gotham Garage opened its doors in March 1926 when the South Notts Bus Company was formed by C T Dabell
• Sheffield estate blacklisted by First Bus after vile thugs lob missiles at driversBuses will no longer serve the Wybourn area of Sheffield at night due to "repeated acts of vandalism".

Business Live

• Fleet telematics and software provider valued at more than £60m after investmentMatrix Telematics works with the likes of Timpson, Johnsons: The Cleaners and Dulux
• Midlands Engine Investment Fund surpasses £100m markFund which invests in small companies across the region has helped almost 500 businesses over the last three years

Construction Enquirer

• Plan for 2.6m sq ft Midland rail freight hubOutline plans will be submitted this summer to build a 1.65m sq warehouse and rail freight hub for the Midlands.

New Civil Engineer

• HS2 workers attacked at site run by Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial and Bam NuttalA 30-strong mob attacked construction staff working on High Speed 2 (HS2) on Friday night, according to police reports.
• ‘Controlled pause’ raises doubts over future of the Western Rail Link to HeathrowPlans to build a £900M western rail link to Heathrow Airport have been brought to a “controlled pause” by Network Rail as a result of the impact of Covid-19 on the aviation industry and raising concerns that the project may never be put into place.

Rail Advent

• Biodiversity to be enhanced at Welsh railway stations thanks to £100,000 grantBat boxes, bug hotels, hedgehog houses and more to boost biodiversity
• New artwork featuring steam locomotive 60163 Tornado and 2007 Prince of Wales unveiled in DarlingtonThe A1 Steam Locomotive Trust has announced that two of their locomotives are featured in a series of artwork to celebrate Darlington railway heritage.

Other News Sources

• The 'rare' and 'very high risk' level crossing on Canterbury’s high-speed rail lineWhitehall Lane crossing is the only barrier between pedestrians and Southeastern's HS1 trains
• North-east railway restoration to move ahead after fundraising target metAlford Valley Community Railway needed to raise £5,000 to secure a grant for the same amount to add a new canopy to the structure, refurbish the inside of the building as well as repair windows and doors and repaint it.