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

Friday, 23 April 2021

BBC News

• Jaguar Land Rover to suspend output due to chip shortageBritain's biggest carmaker to suspend output at two factories because of global semiconductor shortage.
• Covid: India joins UK's 'red list' as travel ban beginsIt comes as a further 55 cases of the so-called India coronavirus variant are reported in the UK.
• Tesla's Autopilot 'tricked' to operate without driverA Model Y made multiple trips on a test track without a human in the driver's seat, engineers found.

Financial Times

• Will zero emissions aviation ever take off?Aviation must find an alternative to fossil fuels if countries are to hit ambitious net zero targets by 2050
• US airlines say worst behind us as vaccines fuel recoveryAverage passenger numbers are at their highest level since the pandemic began

The Telegraph

• Channel Tunnel dividend on track despite Eurostar crisisThe Channel tunnel owner is pressing ahead with plans to pay a dividend despite the uncertainty surrounding the future of passenger rail operator Eurostar.
• FirstGroup bows to activist pressure with £3.3bn sale of US arm [subscription]The bus operator has been under pressure from activist investors to shed its Amercan businesses

Times Online

• Government must cut carbon, not corners - Philip Dunne MP [subscription]his week has been another pivotal moment for our environment as world leaders met to discuss action on climate change for President Biden’s two-day virtual climate summit to mark Earth Day.

City AM

• BA owner IAG to power a tenth of flights with sustainable fuels by 2030British Airways owner IAG has today committed to powering 10 per cent of its flights with sustainable aviation fuels by 2030.
• FirstGroup strikes £3.3bn deal to sell iconic yellow school buses in USTrain and bus operator FirstGroup has announced this morning the sale of two of its US divisions for £3.3bn to EQT Infrastructure, a year after putting the businesses up for sale.

Birmingham Post

• Humber sets course to become first freeport after topping government's wishlistSuccessful bid scored highest against all criteria set in Whitehall - now Humber wants to lead on launch

London Evening Standard

• Last flight from India lands at Heathrow ahead of new ‘red list’ curbs on travel from countryThe last scheduled flight from India to the UK has now arrived in to Heathrow ahead of the country being put on the travel “red listâ€� as the Covid crisis esculates in the region.

Wales Online

• The amazing plan to link Swansea with Paris by train and the £139 million sleeper carriages built for the projectThe Nightstar line was expected to carry as many as 800,000 passengers to European cities from Swansea and other UK destinations every year - but the carriages ended up carrying Canadians

Yorkshire Post

• Turning down the volume on aviation noise as flights take off again and Leeds Bradford Airport plans expansion: Rob LightTHE unexpected nature of a global pandemic means that we don’t know exactly when planes will return to the sky in greater numbers, and what a recovery of the aviation industry might look like.

Other Regional Press

• Heathrow and Gatwick: Vaccine passports 'to arrive next month' in time for summer holidaysIt’s looking more and more likely that so-called Covid ‘vaccine passports’ are on the way, in time to resurrect hopes of summer holidays abroad .
• Greens want card to cut train faresThe Scottish Greens are advocating a third of rail fares for all residents in Scotland.
• East West Rail Route - further going ahead The East West Rail Company has announced a further consultation will be conducted on the proposed route for the Oxford to Cambridge line, which will see a new station close to St Neots.
• SNP pledge to reopen Stranraer to Dumfries rail lineSouth Scotland list MSP Emma Harper has backed a commitment in the SNP manifesto to reopen the Stranraer to Dumfries rail line.
• Toll to cross wooden Yorkshire bridge could go up even moreThe owner of the bridge, Alex Bell, has said that the toll may see a bigger increase than the 40p to 80p rise originally put forward

Bus and Coach Buyer

• Bombshell bursts during Vere meetingCoach operators and MP Emma Hardy set out the case for coaching again to Baroness Vere, but the CPT’s bombshell mid-meeting of another setback sent the Minister into confusion

Coach and Bus Week

• CPT clarifies coach trip confusionIn a news bulletin sent to its members, the CPT has confirmed that coach day trips will be able to go ahead before 17 May after all – but only under certain circumstances.
• Flicking the ‘Switch’ on the MetroDeckerOptare, or Switch Mobility as it is now known, has been doing well with the MetroDecker EV, but it also has a diesel option. Richard Sharman looks at the Mercedes-Benz-powered diesel variant to see what it has to offer operators
• Mancunian varietyJonathan Welch takes a look at the variety of vehicles being used to cover services as a result of ongoing strike action by drivers in Manchester

New Civil Engineer

• Early work underway on £1bn trans-Pennine road upgradeWork has officially begun on the £1bn A66 trans-Pennine upgrade.
• Why the route to rail decarbonisation requires electrificationYesterday, the Railway Industry Association (RIA), the trade body for the UK rail supply community, launched a new report: ‘Why Rail Electrification?’. It is a simple question, but with currently no significant construction work on electrification projects taking place in England, the question is more relevant than ever.
• Mothballed Heathrow rail link will not be revived until airport’s finances pick upNetwork Rail staff working on the Western Rail Link to Heathrow have been moved on to other projects with no sign of the mothballed scheme restarting any time soon.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• NXWM offering free travel to refuges for domestic abuse victimsNational Express West Midlands (NXWM) is supporting domestic abuse survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic by offering free bus tickets to safe refuges.
• Go-Ahead urges motorists to switch to the bus for Earth DaySwitching just one in every 25 car journeys to a bus journey would have the same effect of switching the entire UK bus fleet to zero-emission, Go-Ahead has claimed.
• UrbanThings adds coupon function to public transport platformUrbanThings has introduced coupon functionality to its public transport technology platform. It allows operators and local authorities (LAs) to offer discounted rates to passengers with single- or multi-use coupon options to incentivise regular use.
• Birmingham Busworks takes two sets of Totalkare column liftsVehicle service and repair specialist Birmingham Busworks has invested in two sets of four Totalkare T8DC cable-free mobile column lifts.
• Cardiff Bus places order for 36 battery-electric Yutong E12sCardiff Bus has ordered 36 battery-electric Yutong E12s from supplier Pelican Bus and Coach. All will be delivered before the end of 2021 and “they will lead to a transformation of how Cardiff’s bus network is delivered,” the operator says.
• Newport Bus chooses Passenger for new websiteNewport Bus has launched a new journey planning website in partnership with Passenger. The site allows customers to access up-to-date information, including live tracking and disruption alerts, availability of the wheelchair user space and USB charging and wi-fi facilities.
• Coach and Bus Association Cymru outlines policy aspirationsThe Coach and Bus Association Cymru (CABAC) has published its short- and long-term policy aspirations for the industry in Wales ahead of the Senedd election on 6 May.

The Business Desk

• 300 jobs set to go at historic Loughborough manufacturerBrush Traction, the Loughborough firm which makes locomotives and power systems for trains, looks set to close with the loss of 300 jobs.

Other News Sources

• FirstGroup sells US businesses for £3.3bn and focuses on UK bus and railDebt will reduce from £1.4bn at the end of March 2021 to around £100mln