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

Monday, 12 April 2021

BBC News

• How to design safer cities for womenThoughtful, inclusive urban design can make streets safer for women – something that has multiple benefits.
• Rail disruption continues after train derails at DalwhinnieThe Highland mainline will remain closed into Monday after a train derailed at Dalwhinnie in the early hours of Saturday.

Financial Times

• Maersk warns real work to clear Suez backlog has only just begun World’s largest shipping company says global supply chains are likely to be disrupted until second half of May

The Guardian

• Business travellers planning to cut future flights, poll findsMost business travellers in the UK will take fewer flights than they used to, according to a poll, thanks to increased use of video conferencing. Only a third expected to return to the same level of flying as before the coronavirus pandemic, once travel restrictions are lifted.
• The dream ticket: sleeper trains could soon run from London to Europe’s citiesAn ambitious plan to take overnight services through the Channel tunnel reflects a growing interest in sustainable travel

The Telegraph

• Private firms 'profiteering' as they charge holidaymakers £300 a Covid test [subscription]Tests add £1,000 to the price of a holiday for a family of four despite processing charges only costing £20
• Air taxi entrepreneurs' ambitious plan to beat city traffic and take on Uber [subscription]The latest wave of innovators boast financial backing that could turn flying cars into more than just a pipe dream
• How drivers are affected by the easing of lockdown [subscription]Although some excursions are possible, the lack of overnight stays means the longest journeys stay tantalisingly out of reach until mid-May
• Citymapper courts businesses for its transport data [subscription]Citymapper has set up a new Enterprise website to attract businesses with its wealth of transport insights

Times Online

• Vauxhall wants subsidy to save Astra factory in Ellesmere Port [subscription]The Vauxhall car plant at Ellesmere Port could stop producing the Astra by next April unless a deal can be reached with the government to subsidise production of a new model at the factory.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Toiletry brands could be invited to sponsor ScotRail’s train loosIt could spell the transformation of the one aspect of rail travel many passengers seek to avoid – train toilets.

Manchester Evening News

• Andy Burnham urges Network Rail to make all Greater Manchester stations fully accessible by 2025Andy Burnham wants every railway station in Greater Manchester to be made fully accessible by 2025 if given a second term as mayor. The Labour mayoral candidate says he would press Network Rail to hand over control of stations that fall short of standards set out in the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).

Sheffield Star

• Letters: "It’s time for Dan Jarvis to take decisive action"In last Friday’s Star, Mayor Dan Jarvis showed why buses are so important. Even the government’s National Bus Strategy acknowledges that the 1986 privatisation of services outside London has been disastrous. We need radical change.

Sunderland Echo

• Sunderland highway scheme delivers £17m boostLocal small and medium-sized businesses in and around Sunderland have been awarded over £17 million worth of contracts as part of a new highways scheme.

Other Regional Press

• Call for workplace parking levy to cover the whole of OxfordCALLS for a ‘bold’ plan to extend a proposed charge on Oxford’s employers for as much as £600 for every parking space they have outside offices have been quashed.
• Hereford needs a joined-up transport planWith regard to Mike Smith’s letter (HT, April 1), the problem here is that Herefordshire Council does not have, and desperately needs, a joined-up transport plan that deals with the through traffic and environmental issues that are increasingly important.
• Look: Giant crane arrives at Coventry Railway Station as part of £82m worksMajor £82m works to change the face of Coventry Railway Station continue to take shape - as the building turns red.
• Dalgety Bay: Trees for the chop to prevent 'serious risk to rail safety'NETWORK Rail want to cut down trees next to Dalgety Bay Railway Station to prevent delays caused by leaves on the line.
• OPINION – Dyfi Bridge Railway Junction is lit up like Blackpool TowerAfter last week’s Spring-like weather, this cold snap has been a shock to us all, and it doesn’t seem as if it will be disappearing for a while.
• 'There's just one train per hour to Weymouth this summer'As the country slowly emerges from its Covid lockdown, it is essential for the local economy, taxpayers and the environment, that we get people back on the train.

New Civil Engineer

• Transport Scotland issues consultants call for £25M A83 Rest and Be Thankful workExpressions of interest are now being invited for the work to develop the preferred option for the relocation of the landslide-prone A83 at Rest and Be Thankful after Transport Scotland published its route proposals last month.
• Power consortium takes aim at Rail electrification packagesOne of joint ventures shortlisted for the £500M HS2 power contract has set its sights on overhauling the UK’s aging rail power systems to cut the carbon cost of powering the railways.
• Stonehaven taskforce findings key to future rail network maintenanceThe “depth of understanding” in the taskforce reviews commissioned by Network Rail following last year’s fatal Stonehaven derailment is crucial to the maintenance of the rail network going forward, according to Network Rail safety and engineering director Martin Frobisher.

Rail Advent

• Transport for London travel information as lockdown restrictions easedLockdown restrictions are due to be eased further from Monday 12th April with the opening of non-essential retail and outdoor hospitality and Transport for London has issued guidance for those returning to the network.
• Stadler to build 40 new electric trains for Vesuvian railway linesStadler has announced that they have been awarded a contract by Ente Autonomo Volturno (EAV) to supply 40 brand new electric trains.

Other News Sources

• Wrightbus speaker at hydrogen webinarThe second webinar in the GenComm Spring ’21 Series SMART H2 will focus on hydrogen supply and demand with key speakers from Energia, Wrightbus and Echelon Data Centres.
• Government guidance urges vaccinated passengers to continue applying safety measures in taxisNew Government guidance has urged people vaccinated against COVID-19 to continue applying safety measures put in place when travelling by taxi or minicab.