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

Saturday, 01 May 2021

BBC News

• Covid: 'Urgent change' needed to get people back on trainsUrgent changes are needed to get people out of cars and back on trains after Covid travel restrictions are eased, campaigners have warned.
• Birmingham medical students create green car-sharing appThe pair use their spare time to create the app that can pay for renewable energy projects.
• Wolverhampton railway station shut after bomb discoveryDisruption is expected to services through Wolverhampton until 20:00 BST, Network Rail said.
• Ferguson shipyard made £100m loss after being nationalisedThe figures for Ferguson Marine cover the first few months after it came under Scottish government control.
• EasyJet and Virgin Atlantic call for re-opening of skiesAirlines say travel to Europe and the US is largely risk-free and easing restrictions must not be delayed.

The Guardian

• Travellers to get one-week notice of overseas rule easing as ministers play it safeHolidaymakers and airlines could get as little as one week’s notice of the rules to allow overseas travel from England this month, as government sources insisted they would err on the side of caution when easing restrictions.

Times Online

• Passengers from green list countries with low Covid cases to be fast tracked [subscription]Holidaymakers returning from “green list” countries will be fast tracked through passport control under plans to combat queues at airports, The Times has learnt.

City AM

• Uber UK boss Jamie Heywood on the recovery, workers' rights, and electric vehiclesJamie Heywood, Uber’s top man in the UK, Northern and Eastern Europe, has a spring in his step – at The post Uber UK boss Jamie Heywood on the recovery, workers' rights, and electric vehicles appeared first on CityAM.

Mail Online

• Biden celebrates 50 years of Amtrak by getting a flight to Philadelphia after last train trip was canned over safety concerns after the Capitol riotPresident Joe Biden took planes, automobiles - but not trains - to Philadelphia to mark Amtrak's 50th anniversary on Friday. 

The National

• ScotRail engineering staff set for strike ballot as colleagues walk outA UNION is to ballot ScotRail engineering staff over strike action as ticket examiners and conductors prepare to walk out tomorrow.

Sky News

• Deadline missed for list of holiday destinations under traffic light system - but 'early May' date setAn initial deadline for grading countries under a new traffic light system for international travel has been missed by the government.

Birmingham Post

• Harland and Wolff apprenticeship scheme reopensHarland and Wolff has reopened its apprenticeship scheme for the first time in more than a decade.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Northern's new train timetables gives passengers flexibility NORTHERN is preparing to change its timetables to give people returning to rail travel more flexibility.

London Evening Standard

• Revealed: Tory candidate Shaun Bailey’s battle bus breaches London’s toxic air rulesConservatives pay £300 a day toxic air levy to drive 20-year-old double decker in London

Nottingham Evening Post

• Hospital worker's concerns over 'inconsistent' trentbarton bus services spark apologyBus company trentbarton has apologised after staff at Nottingham City Hospital said its services had been a 'lot more inconsistent' in recent months - saying they'd even missed a GP appointment because of a 40-minute delay.

The York Press

• LNER marks historic milestone as tunnel reopensA YORK-BASED train firm has marked an historic milestone that will lead to "faster and smoother" train journeys to more destinations.

Wales Online

• Photos of Merthyr Tydfil's new bus station ahead of its openingThe new bus station is closed to the train station and will support the South Wales Metro transport links

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Transport Secretary praises 'beautiful' buses on visit to Black CountryLower fares and a weekly contactless cap on buses in the West Midlands has been described as "brilliant news" by the Transport Secretary.

Bucks Free Press

• Chiltern Railways trains expected to be busy this Bank Holiday weekend Chiltern Railways is warning passengers that its services will be much busier than normal this weekend - because it will be the only direct route running between Birmingham and London.

Get Surrey

• How Gatwick and Heathrow airports got their names The two airports serving Surrey have become the UK's biggest

Other Regional Press

• Tracy Brabin's message to voters if West Yorkshire's transport hasn't improved by 2024'If at the end of my three-year term we don't have changes to our transport network, you must not vote for me again'
• Transport for Wales asks passengers to respect staff and follow adviceTRANSPORT for Wales is asking passengers to respect its staff and follow the latest travel advice to ensure safe and pleasant journeys for everyone travelling this weekend.
• Grant Shapps unveils National Express plan to cut bus faresTRANSPORT Secretary Grant Shapps stopped off in Dudley yesterday to unveil plans by National Express to cut bus fares when legal limits on social contact are removed.
• 1930s cycleways in Oxford could create a new network Cylox member Andy Chivers checks out some old cycleways and looks at the possibility of them being upgraded.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Timeline for second National Infrastructure Assessment announcedThe UK’s second National Infrastructure Assessment will be published in the second half of 2023 and consultation and analysis to inform its recommendations will commence this autumn, the National Infrastructure Commission has confirmed.    The Commission’s Corporate Plan for the next three years, published today, sets out the process it will follow to develop a comprehensive set of recommendations to help the UK prepare for the challenges and opportunities of future decades.     The project will begin with publication of a baseline analysis of the current s...
• Bill to modernise airspace and tackle illegal use of unmanned aircraft receives Royal AssentThe Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft (ATMUA) Bill, designed to modernise airspace and clamp down on the illegal use of unmanned aircraft, has received Royal Assent. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has been granted a range of additional powers to help enhance and decarbonise the country’s aviation infrastructure. The new law means airports that don’t implement changes quickly enough could be directed to modernise their airspace, helping deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys. Modernising the use of UK airspace through the re-routing of existing flight paths wi...

Railnews

• Ticket examiners join ScotRail walkouts from Sunday The RMT has confirmed that strikes of ScotRail conductors and ticket examiners in two separate disputes over payments for rest day working will go ahead on Sunday. Unless an agreement is reached more strikes are set to follow during May.

Transportxtra

• Public transport roadmap will take us backwardsCovid has obscured many anniversaries and I have just realised I am marking 50 years in the public transport business. It caused reflection and contemplation of where we are heading.
• Huge number of transport pledges in election campaignsTransport decarbonisation pledges feature prominently in many of the manifestos for next week’s local elections in England and the elections to the Welsh Senedd and Scottish Parliament. 

Other News Sources

• Fewer Orders of New Vessels Supports Dry Bulk Shipping, Cargill SaysLONDON, April 30 (Reuters) – A lack of orders for new ships is providing further support to the dry bulk freight market as demand for commodities accelerates, a senior executive at U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill said.
• Taylor Maritime Investments prepares to float $250m shipping trustTaylor Maritime Investments has announced plans to float on the London Stock Exchange in an initial public offering (IPO) looking to raise $250m.