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Wednesday, 23 June 2021

BBC News

• Planned Cardiff £330,000 bus lane trims 40 seconds off travel timeResidents complain they will lose parking spaces because of the 170m bus lane.
• Wales' bus service closures leaving people 'isolated'Pressure is on the Welsh government to speed up promised improvements to services across Wales.
• Wales transport: Freeze on all new road building projectsPlans for a third Menai crossing and other new routes are put on hold while a review is held.
• Climate change: Set target to cut car use, minister toldShifting to electric vehicles will still leave the UK with transport problems, a report says.

Financial Times

• Jaguar Land Rover to overhaul supply chain to avoid factory closuresCEO Thierry Bolloré says carmaker is close to selecting UK battery plant
• Jet Airways moves step closer to revival Bankruptcy court approves plan to resurrect India’s oldest private carrier
• Conservatives’ ideological splits exposed by big spending rail projects ‘Red Wall’ Tories see HS2 and Northern Powerhouse as key to delivering 2019 election promises

The Guardian

• New network of European sleeper trains announcedA French start-up aims to run ‘hotels on rails’ from Paris to 12 cities across Europe, including Edinburgh, from 2024Less than a decade after Europe’s night trains appeared to have reached the end of the line, a new French start-up has announced plans for a network of overnight services out of Paris from 2024.Midnight Trains is hoping post-Covid interest in cleaner, greener travel will generate interest in its proposed “hotels on rails”, which aims to connect the French capital to 12 other European destinations, including Edinburgh. Continue reading...
• Park in the sky? Charity aims to revamp disused Manchester viaductThe National Trust hopes to open temporary public space next summer as part of longer-term plans A Manchester viaduct that has not been used for more than 50 years could reopen next summer as a transformed urban green space, with hopes it will emulate New York’s High Line as a “park in the sky”.Trains ran on the Grade II listed Castlefield viaduct, built in 1892, to Manchester Central railway station until it closed in 1969. Continue reading...

The Telegraph

• Northern Powerhouse Rail: Treasury accused of scaling down £40bn scheme to cut costs [subscription]Concern grows that officials might consider watering down project, a key Tory manifesto pledge at the last election

Times Online

• Home Office move to Midlands is a welcome boost for levelling up - Jonathan Gullis MP [subscription]... And in my own patch of Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove & Talke, it’s no different. A Conservative Government has delivered £29 million under the Transforming Cities fund to sort out our ailing public transport system and we will be bidding for up to £80 million for the levelling-up fund to help with key projects across the city.
• Traffic jams will puncture our electric car dreams [subscription]There will be 25 per cent more cars on the road by 2050 as the shift to electric vehicles causes a congestion crisis.
• Work starts on £1.7bn mega-station for HS2 in London [subscription]Construction will start today on one of the UK’s biggest train stations in a key milestone for the £100 billion HS2 project.

City AM

• National Express acquires Spanish bus firm Transportes Rober for £11.13mNational Express today announced that it has acquired Spanish bus group Transportes Rober for £11.13m.

Belfast Telegraph

• Wrightbus: Fleet of environmentally-friendly buses built in Ballymena taking to London streets for first timeA fleet of environmentally-friendly buses built by Wrightbus in Ballymena is taking to the streets of London for the first time. 

Birmingham Mail

• The cars not compatible with new E10 fuel replacing unleaded petrolThe new fuel will replace E5 fuel in September - leaving thousands of motorists unable to use it

Birmingham Post

• Travel giants join 'day of action' to demand Government supportCalls for changes to traffic light system and for financial support

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Sword dangles over £300m North Wales bypass scheme set to link A55 and A494Road building is to be reviewed by the Welsh Government as it seeks large cuts in carbon emissions

London Evening Standard

• Construction of HS2’s west London station at Old Oak Common to be given the go-aheadTransport Secretary Grant Shapps has given the go-ahead to work to start on the HS2 station at Old Oak Common in west London.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Newcastle estates 'lack shops, schools and transport links'Newcastle MP Catherine McKinnell says residents are worried about the number of new houses being built

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• ’Deeply concerned for our future’: Aberdeen Airport bosses join calls for urgent government supportAberdeen International Airport bosses say the travel sector faces a "critical moment" this summer - amid concerns over the future of the industry.

Wales Online

• Greta Thunberg praises Wales for stopping all new road buildingA freeze has been put on plans for new roads in Wales

Yorkshire Post

• 'First step' to bring West Yorkshire buses back under public controlTransport bosses in West Yorkshire are about to prepare a bid to bring local bus services back under public control.
• Missing out Bradford on Northern Powerhouse Rail route is 'not acceptable', Transport for the North chief executive Tim Wood warns governmentThe body representing northern transport leaders has warned Ministers that failing to build a new high speed rail link to Bradford as part of its Northern Powerhouse Rail project would be "not acceptable".

Other Regional Press

• £30m funding bid to improve Wrexham to Bidston rail servicesA funding bid worth £30m has been put forward to transform a "Cinderella rail service" which links north east Wales to the Wirral.
• Somerset bus users promised "a much better service" as council bids for share of £3bn potSomerset bus users have been promised "a much better service" from April 2022 as the county council bids for a share of government funding to transform the county's public transport.

New Civil Engineer

• Highways England ’proactively’ collaborating with rail industryHighways England has “proactively” built relationships with other similar bodies including Network Rail and HS2 Ltd, according to a new National Audit Office (NAO) report.
• HS2 to review board members suitability to avoid Crossrail-style woesHS2 Ltd is to review the composition of its board to ensure that it has a breadth of infrastructure experts in place to deliver the high speed rail line on time and budget.
• HS2 contractors given green light to build Old Oak Common’s record-breaking station boxConstruction of HS2’s Old Oak Common record-breaking station box will begin today after transport secretary Grant Shapps gave the nod to begin the first permanent construction works on a HS2 station.

Railnews

• London Underground to get full mobile coverage Plans have been announced to install a 4G network in all London Underground stations and tunnels by 2024, following the award of a concession to BAI Communications. Speaking this morning, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: ˜Protecting jobs and stimulating our city™s economy is a top priority for me as London rebuilds after this pandemic, and investing in London™s connectivity and digital infrastructure is central to this.™

The Business Desk

• £400m stimulus package proposal announced by Mersey Dee AllianceThe Mersey Dee Alliance (MDA) has submitted a transformational plan for a £400m fiscal stimuls package for the Mersey Dee Economy to Ministers in the UK and Welsh Governments.

Aviation Industry

• Gatwick Airport poised for a quick COVID-19 recovery once traffic resumes, says CEOAs the UK’s second largest airport, Gatwick has faced a year of significant challenges with reduced passenger traffic and impacted revenue streams. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Gatwick’s CEO Stewart Wingate remains hopeful about the industry recovery in 2021 and ahead.
• MPs call for ’Covid Green Pass’ before reopening travel furtherA cross-party group of MPs has called on the government to develop a digital ’Covid Green Pass’ before reopening international travel further.
• Airports warn of cash crunch and demand airlines pay moreEuropean airports association ACI Europe has warned airports face a financial crunch that will curtail efforts to decarbonise for a decade unless governments and regulators act.
• Industry’s proposed interim aviation climate targets: AEF commentsTo make net zero a reality we need interim targets, especially for hard to decarbonise sectors like aviation. Sustainable Aviation's plan, however, is to allow the gross emissions from aircraft not …

Other News Sources

• Mersey Dee Alliance submits bid for £400m stimulus packageThe Mersey Dee Alliance, which represents the interests of the functional economy in Flintshire, Wrexham, Cheshire West and Chester, and the Wirral has launched a "transformational" plan for a £400m fiscal stimulus package.
• £30m ’levelling up’ bid put in to UK Government to improve Wales-England rail linkA Welsh local authority has put in a £30m bid for ’levelling up’ money to improve a Wales-England rail link which has been “starved of investment”.
• Failing to arrive: Labour slams government's green bus progressOpposition party warns government is yet to deliver on its promise from early 2020 to deliver 4,000 zero emission buses across the UK