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

Friday, 30 April 2021

BBC News

• Heathrow Airport: Home Office must 'get a grip' on border delaysBoss of Heathrow Airport warns border control may not be ready for the easing of air travel next month.
• Ryanair told to compensate passengers over strike cancellationsThe airline had said strike actions were

Financial Times

• Patchwork of vaccine passports complicates return of global travel  Efforts to certify Covid-19 status are proliferating but it is not easy to make them compatible
• Heathrow fears border crisis if overseas travel resumes in MayLondon airport warns thinly staffed immigration desks will struggle to cope with Covid passenger checks
• High Court tells Ryanair to pay passengers for strike cancellationsPilots and cabin crew took industrial action in 2018 to secure better pay and conditions
• London City airport replaces control tower with virtual systemAir traffic controllers 70 miles away to oversee landings in UK first

The Guardian

• Top 10 railway walks in Britain, chosen by readersTrack down fascinating, family-friendly walking and cycling routes with our tipsters’ pick of rural and urban trailsMy favourite railway walk is along the Manifold Track, a narrow gauge railway in the Peak District that closed in 1934 and was probably one of the first railways to become a footpath, thanks to the foresight of Staffordshire Council. This is limestone country and full of interest. The mysterious River Manifold disappears underground completely in the summer just below the old halt at Wetton Mill and picturesque Thor’s cave overlooks the tiny track bed that winds its way up the va...

Times Online

• Rename A1 for Queen’s platinum jubilee, says Edward Leigh [subscription]A Conservative MP has started a campaign to rename the A1 the Queen’s Highway to mark the Platinum Jubilee.
• Hopes rise for overseas travel to dozens of green list countries [subscription]Hopes of a summer holiday in Europe were boosted yesterday with the possibility of non-essential travel to destinations such as Portugal and Malta as soon as mid-May.
• London City Airport: Digital masts spell end of air traffic control towers [subscription]The end of the air traffic control tower is in sight after London City became the first big airport in the world to switch to a digital system.

Birmingham Mail

• Solihull launches town centre bike scheme and everyone gets a free goAs West Midlands Cycle Hire continues to expand across the region, we test one of the first bikes delivered to Solihull to see if it's a Boris Bike... or a Jasper Bike
• 'On an average day it’s hell' - residents say traffic has become unbearableSome say the Low Traffic Neighbourhood Scheme combined with roadworks has caused lengthy queues around certain roads

Birmingham Post

• Airbus plane with jet lag reducing cabin delivered for new transatlantic servicesUS based JetBlue Airways has taken delivery of its first of 13 A321LR aircraft featuring Airbus’ new Airspace interior

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Minicab drivers to protest over plans for Clean Air Zone in Bradford PRIVATE hire drivers are set to hold a protest outside City Hall next week over plans for a Clean Air Zone.

London Evening Standard

• Drivers of higher-polluting vehicles should be charged to drive in London, say big majority of residentsPoll reveals majority in favour of extending Ulez to North and South Circular roads
• Heathrow boss: ‘Bad organisation’ at Border Force could cause long queuesPassenger levels at the airport fell by 91% in the first three months of the year, compared with 2019.
• EasyJet boss wants summer hotspots on green list due to ‘minimal’ impactChief executive Johan Lundgren said popular destinations such as Spain, Portugal and Greece should be placed in the lowest risk category.
• British holidaymakers vaccinated against coronavirus or with negative test ‘can visit France from June 9’British holidaymakers will reportedly be able to visit France from June 9 if they are vaccinated against coronavirus or have a recent negative test.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Half-hourly train service ‘highly likely’ for historic County Durham rail lineServices between Bishop Auckland and Darlington could step up a gear in the next two years
• Transport Secretary considering re-opening Leamside rail lineDecisions on northern rail lines, including Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2, have been delayed

Yorkshire Post

• HS2: Why David Cameron is to blame for neglecting Leeds link – The Yorkshire Post saysAT least Transport Secretary Grant Shapps was being candid when he conceded that starting construction of the entire HS2 high speed rail project from north to south would “probably have been sensible”.

Bucks Free Press

• HS2 slammed for Chiltern tunnel amid fears work could damage rivers Misbourne and Chess A charity has slammed HS2 for its “imminent intentionâ€� to start digging under the Chilterns AONB amid fears it could damage fragile chalk aquifer under the Misbourne Valley.

Other Regional Press

• More than 100 jobs created at electric vehicle motorway services in RugbyThe opening was delayed due to the pandemic

Bus and Coach Buyer

• Wrightbus hydrogen deckers clock-up 100,000milesFirst Aberdeen‘s hydrogen-powered double-deckers from Wrightbus have completed 100,000 miles of operation.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• DfT celebrated as one of The Times Top 50 Employers for WomenThe Department for Transport has been announced as one of The Times Top 50 Employers for Women for its work on gender equality. Run by the charity Business in the Community, The Times Top 50 Employers for Women is the UK’s most high-profile listing of employers striving for gender equality in the workplace. The prestigious accolade was presented to DfT for its work to improve the recruitment of women, secure a more diverse talent pipeline and promote flexible working and an inclusive culture. Examples include: • mandating gender decoders to ensure the language in job adverts does...

Coach and Bus Week

• ‘The benefits of a thriving coach industry’Jonathan Welch reports on the recent CPT coach strategy discussion event with the Ministers for Transport and Tourism
• Bus Strategy in focusJonathan Welch reports on the latest meeting of the Transport Committee, which looked at the implementation of the National Bus Strategy
• FirstGroup becomes first UK public transport operator to commit to net zero targetFirstGroup has become the first bus and rail operator in the UK to formally commit to setting an ‘ambitious science-based target’ to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 or earlier.

New Civil Engineer

• ICE backs ‘Cardiff Crossrail’, M4 relief road and Swansea-London electrificationThe ICE has thrown its weight behind a raft of transport upgrades in Wales.
• Network Rail chief tips restoration of abandoned lines as key to industry’s futureRestoring abandoned railway lines is among key solutions to secure the future of the industry given the pandemic-driven decrease in commuting, according to Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines.

Rail Business Daily

• Employers can lead reduction in commuter transport emissions – CBIDecarbonising the journeys of commuters in England will be vital if the country is to hit net-zero targets – and businesses should take more responsibility for cutting their employees’ emissions, says the CBI.  
• Interim MD of TransPennine Express to retire from current full-time roleLiz Collins, Interim Managing Director of TransPennine Express (TPE), has decided to retire from her current full-time role and will take up a new part-time position in West Coast Partnership as Finance & Commercial Director. She will begin her new role in June.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• D&G Bus assists work on V-Stop automatic vehicle sanitisationRestoring customer confidence to a level that allows them to use coaches and buses in the same way that they did before COVID-19 is a key consideration presently. That has been one of the primary drivers of development of the V-Stop automatic cabin disinfection system. 
• Volvo 9700 new generation launched into UK and IrelandVolvo has launched its new generation 9700 integral coach into the UK and Irish markets. It is built on established B11R running units and, says the manufacturer, “blends luxury, performance, practicality and flexibility for any operation.” 
• Yellow Buses engages customer service training providerBournemouth-based Yellow Buses, and its Yellow Coaches arm, have worked with local company Simon Scarborough Associates to deliver what the operator calls “a bespoke package of customer service training” to drivers that will operate its summer leisure network.