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

Thursday, 22 April 2021

BBC News

• Families' anger over Ravenscraig 'monstrosity'Almost 500 objections have been lodged against a proposed logistics and rail complex at the former steelworks site in Motherwell.
• Heathrow refuses to allow extra flights from IndiaThe airport tells the BBC that it turned down requests from airlines to operate additional flights.

ITV News

• Aviation industry included in Government drive to slash emissions
The Government has announced it intends to slash the country's greenhouse gas emissions - and the region could be set to play a major role in achieving it.

Financial Times

• Ryanair chief predicts full recovery for business travelMichael O’Leary expresses post-pandemic optimism at FT’s Due Diligence Forum

Times Online

• Attaching giant sails to cargo ships could slash their greenhouse gas emissions [subscription]Fitting giant sails to cargo ships could reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30 per cent, research shows.

Belfast Telegraph

• Extra 1,000 driving tests a month 'will help clear backlog'The head of the Driver & Vehicle Agency has said it hopes to carry out an extra 1,000 practical driving tests a month as it tackles a backlog built up during lockdown.

Birmingham Mail

• Birmingham Clean Air Zone - all the cars that won't get you charged or finedAround 25 per cent of the vehicles on Birmingham's roads will be forced to pay the daily charge - or face a big fine

Birmingham Post

• Community grant brings poetry to the railwaysVisitors and residents heading to Stratford-upon-Avon by train will be able to savour the Spirit of Shakespeare with poems and art boards thanks to a community grant from West Midlands Railway.
• Manchester Airport Group's CEO calls for roadmap to restriction-free travelThe group includes London Stansted and East Midlands Airport
• Merseyrail enters the red after passenger numbers slump 90% during lockdownsMerseyrail's turnover also fell by more than £25m

Bristol Live

• Metro mayor candidate promises six new railway stationsConservative candidate talks about his background and ambitions if elected as metro mayor

London Evening Standard

• Heathrow rejects requests for extra flights from India before ‘red list’ moveBritons returning to the UK after 4am on Friday will be forced to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days.

The York Press

• Rail bosses in rethink after residents hit out over compound plansPLANS for a controversial temporary works compound in York have been changed to move the Network Rail facility further away from people's homes.

North Wales Live

• Merseyrail profits hit hard by covid as passenger numbers plummetThe rail provider has struggled during the pandemic

Other Regional Press

• Plans for Heathrow Airport expansion in doubt following opposition from the Prime MinisterPlans for the expansion of Heathrow Airport are in doubt following widespread opposition from the Prime Minister and London mayoral candidates.
• Heathrow's third runway plans are 'dead', say campaigners, as government sets new emission targetsLocal campaign groups have celebrated the change, with the new emission targets seemingly making the third runway project nearly impossible
• SWR plans to track real-time capacity amid restriction easeSouth Western Railway (SWR) customers could soon be able to see how busy train carriages are following an innovative collaboration.

Train Operators

• ScotRail staff march three million steps for mental health awarenessAt a time when many of us have been neglecting our fitness, 10 plucky members of ScotRail staff have taken on a test to raise awareness of mental health issues and collect a few thousand pounds along the way.

New Civil Engineer

• 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.
• HS2 keen to overturn court-ordered pause at Chilterns with key milestones approachingHS2 Ltd is keen to appeal a court-ordered pause to its tree felling programme in the Chilterns as soon as possible, with key construction milestones coming up in the next few months.
• Senior civil servant appointed to HS2 board to ‘represent government’s interests’Transport secretary Grant Shapps has appointed senior civil servant Sir Jon Thompson as a non-executive director to the HS2 Ltd board.
• Union launches campaign to prevent Network Rail job cutsThe Rail, Maritime and Transport workers’ union (RMT) has launched its campaign to prevent thousands of rail worker redundancies and a 50% cut in rail safety maintenance work.

Rail Business Daily

• New Assistant Director for Rail for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority announcedMal Drury-Rose has been appointed as Assistant Director for Rail for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (CA).
• Railway industry urges Government to begin programme of rail electrification now, in order to meet Net Zero legal commitmentsAn open letter to the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps MP, signed by more than 15 rail businesses, and industry and campaign groups, has called for a programme of rail electrification to begin as soon as possible to meet the Government’s legally binding net zero commitments.

Rail Technology Magazine

• A green step forward: Train station harvests energy from commuter stepsLeighton Buzzard train station in Bedfordshire has taken sustainability and innovation to the next step.

Railnews

• Williams rail review quietly renamed by DfTTHE long-awaited Rail Review commissioned from Keith Williams by the Department for Transport in the autumn of 2018 has gained a new official co-author and title.

Other News Sources

• Gatwick and Heathrow: Malta will pay UK tourists to visit and stay this summer You'll need to stay for at least three nights