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

Wednesday, 21 April 2021

BBC News

• Ettyl announces Carlisle airport and Stobart Air purchaseThe sale of Stobart Air and Carlisle Lake District Airport has been announced.
• Climate change: UK to speed up target to cut carbon emissionsRadical new climate change commitments will set the UK on course to cut carbon emissions by 78% by 2035, the UK government has announced.
• Climate change: Growing doubts over 'chip fat' biofuelNew research questions the environmental impact of rising imports of used cooking oil (UCO) into the UK and Europe. Chip fat and other oils are considered waste, so when they are used to make biodiesel it saves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.
• London elections: 'I don't feel welcome in this city'Successive London mayors have promised to modernise the Tube network when it comes to making it more accessible for disabled people. But Katie Pennick, a campaigner for more accessible transport with the group Transport for All, says almost every promise has been broken.
• Welsh election: Homeworking could ease M4 traffic, says ministerWelsh Labour responds as Tory manifesto pledges to resurrect plans for M4 relief road at Newport.
• Manchester bus drivers 'attacked and abused over refusal to strike'Bus operator Go North West claims its drivers are facing daily harassment over a refusal to strike.
• No new smart motorways without additional safety measuresAny motorway without a hard shoulder will need to have radar technology to detect stopped vehicles.
• Shanghai Auto Show: Five electric car brands to look out for in ChinaRobin Brant talks through five companies showcasing electric vehicles at the Shanghai Auto Show.

The Guardian

• Ministers urge Heathrow to dedicate terminal for ‘red list’ arrivalsMinisters have urged Heathrow airport to dedicate a terminal to processing passengers arriving from “red list” countries, amid fears that the number of people coming from India could swell and create a more dangerous environment for Covid variants to spread.
• Government promises radar on UK smart motorways to detect stopped vehiclesSafety campaigners say plan does not go far enough and demand hard shoulders be reinstated
• Ignore the rhetoric: the UK government still fails to grasp the climate crisisIt’s been a rollercoaster couple of years for anyone interested in the future of the planet. From thinking we’d forever shout from the sidelines at politicians who’d never listen, to 4 million of us, spurred on by schoolchildren, taking to the streets across the world to demand climate action.

The Independent

• Heathrow to lose its European crown to Istanbul, says aviation analystExclusive: ‘By the time international hubs recover, Istanbul’s mega-airport is likely to have established itself as Europe’s busiest’
• Heathrow to lose its European crown to Istanbul, says aviation analystExclusive: ‘By the time international hubs recover, Istanbul’s mega-airport is likely to have established itself as Europe’s busiest’

The Scotsman

• Avanti West Coast passengers to Edinburgh and Glasgow face two weeks of delays after track damaged during engineering workPassengers heading for Edinburgh and Glasgow on west coast main line trains face disruption for two weeks after track was damaged during engineering work at the weekend.

Times Online

• Joe Biden’s driving a revolution in the land of the car [subscription]The president was supposed to be a moderate but his radical plans to decarbonise the economy may soon transform American society
• Unstoppable charge of the electric car [subscription]fter years of political lobbying that undermined attempts to cut emissions and make vehicles cleaner, carmakers have pulled a handbrake turn on electric vehicles (EVs).
• Smart motorways will be made safer but ministers reject hard shoulders [subscription]New safety measures on smart motorways will be accelerated by up to ten months amid government warnings that reinstating the hard shoulder will make roads more dangerous.
• Airport operator Esken dumps little-used airfields [subscription]Britain’s only stock market-quoted airport operator has halved the number of airstrips it runs.

Birmingham Post

• PD Ports seals deal with UAE steel supply chain partner for Immingham expansionSheet Piling UK's operations are being enhanced in new agreement focused on Humber operations of PD Ports

Daily Post (North Wales)

• The A55 investment plans from parties vying to lead next Welsh GovernmentThe dual carriageway is the main route across North Wales and a vital link with the rest of the UK and beyond
• How to tell if your vehicle is incompatible with new E10 petrol ahead of major fuel change this autumnFuel retailers will be required to make E10 the standard by September this year - but some vehicles aren't compatible

London Evening Standard

• Two-thirds of London workers want return to office, exclusive survey revealsBut most favour free, rapid Covid tests and many have worries over busy trains
• Smart motorways: Key questions answeredTransport Secretary Grant Shapps said the Government would ‘do all we can to help drivers feel safer’.

Manchester Evening News

• The forgotten railway turntable being transformed into a new visitor attractionVolunteers hope to transform the once-overgrown land into a place for walkers to enjoy

Bucks Free Press

• HS2 ordered to stop felling trees at Jones Hill Wood, near Wendover, after campaigners launch legal action against Natural England HS2 has been ordered to stop tree-felling at ancient woodland in the Chilterns after campaigners launched a landmark legal case against Natural England.

Oxford Mail

• Great Western Railway's oldest working locomotive to hit the tracks this Bank HolidayThe oldest working Great Western Railway train will be getting back on the tracks at Didcot Railway Centre.

Other Regional Press

• ScotRail announce a return of ticket checksScotRail is announcing a return to on-train duties for ticket examiners and conductors from Monday, April 26 with customers urged to plan ahead to stay safe.
• New bridge and lifts at Crowborough StationThe proposal is an Access for All Scheme which involves the erection of a bridge with stair and lift access to provide step free access to Platform 2.
• Cycling charity calls on residents to back net zero campaignA charity which aims to provide improved cycling routes across Cambridgeshire is calling on residents to support a new campaign to help achieve net zero carbon emissions. 
• Smart motorways to stay but with technology to make them saferCritics say the government is gambling with motorists' lives
• Pothole-related breakdowns hit record-breaking high on roadsThe RAC has recorded a three-fold increase in incidents between quarters

Train Operators

• Station partners plant a greener welcome to Elstree & BorehamwoodElstree & Borehamwood station is starting to see its share of a Ј15 million Passenger Benefit Fund created by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), parent company of Thameslink. The fund is being used to provide tangible benefits for passengers who had faced disruption after major timetable changes in 2018.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Rail travel vouchers extended for passengersRail passengers with unused travel vouchers have been given extra time to redeem them to ensure they are not left out of pocket from Covid-19 related restrictions. Thousands of passengers with rail travel vouchers, which have expired or are due to expire between 20 October 2020 and 30 June 2021 will get an additional 6 months after their original expiry date to redeem them to recognise the fact that most passengers had been unable to use them during the second and third national lockdowns. The government’s roadmap out of lockdown has ensured significant parts of the indoor economy and f...

New Civil Engineer

• Change of plan for Menai Strait bridge repairs after birds found in towerNetwork Rail has had to make changes to planned refurbishment works on the Grade II listed Britannia Bridge in North Wales, after a pair of peregrine falcons were found in its middle tower.
• Northern Powerhouse Rail | The technology driving ‘most complex’ project in the worldThe Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) project will use digital twin technology to facilitate the efficient construction of the "complex" rail project.
• Plans to reopen abandoned Portishead railway marred by flood risk and construction concernsHighways England and the Environment Agency have raised concerns with plans to restore the abandoned Portishead railway line.

Aviation Industry

• End of era for fossil-fuelled aviation in the UK as Government legislates to cap emissions from flying internationallyDespite decades of talk from the aviation industry about tackling the sector’s climate impacts, emissions from UK aviation were higher in 2019, just before the pandemic, than ever before, and …

Other News Sources

• Heathrow Express TV rebrands to reflect service’s role as ‘gateway’Global entertainment and aviation media specialist Spafax has produced a new creative strategy, visual identity and branded content for Heathrow Express TV, which entertains passengers travelling onboard from London Heathrow Airport to London Paddington station.
• EU fines Deutsche Bahn €48 million for role in rail cargo cartelThe European Commission has agreed a settlement with German state-owned rail company Deutsche Bahn, as well as two other companies, after they admitted to exchanging information to allocate customers for cross-border rail cargo transport services.
• Martin Tugwell appointed as Chief Executive of Transport for the NorthMartin Tugwell will succeed Barry White in becoming the next Chief Executive of TfN from summer 2021, with Tim Wood acting as Interim Chief Executive in the meantime.
• FirstGroup to set science-based target for net zero emissions by 2050FirstGroup has become the first transport operator in the UK to commit to setting such an ambitious net zero by 2050 or earlier emissions target.
• Four arrested at anti-HS2 protest in BuckinghamshireThames Valley Police have confirmed arrests were made yesterday.
• Govt warned airport queues could worsen after 17 MayEfforts to check Covid border papers could buckle under the weight of additional demand if international travel does resume next month, it has been warned.
• London City Airport launches passenger travel portalLondon City Airport has launched a new Travel Portal to help passengers make informed travel plans as air travel begins to ramp up this summer.
• Cycling levels continue to rise in the capitalRecent data suggests Londoners have been increasingly opting for their bike to make essential trips and for exercise, despite a significant drop in the number of journeys being made over the past year as people worked from home and were only able to travel for legally-permitted reasons.
• Cycling campaign to lead with unsustainable stat: “60% of 1 to 2 mile journeys are driven”The bike industry-backed Cycling Marketing Board will lead a spring/summer campaign with the shock tactic message that 60% of short journeys (between 1 and 2 miles) are driven, calling on people to consider doing their bit to collectively address congestion, pollution and climate issues.

News from Europe

• Rail vs aviation, charging points rollout criticism, and measuring microplastics... ome MEPs, however, feel that next year would be better spent celebrating a different pandemic-hit form of transport: aviation. Ninety-six lawmakers from the European Parliament’s Sky & Space intergroup have requested that 2022 be the “European Year of Aviation”.