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

Tuesday, 29 June 2021

BBC News

• West Yorkshire buses: Mayor aims for public controlThe process of taking bus services back into public control has been started by West Yorkshire's mayor.
• Heads of the Valleys: Frustration over 50mph limit plansAfter years changing a five-mile stretch into a dual carriageway, its speed limit could stay.
• Trains: 'Reliable' service pledge as flood-prone bridge liftedA bridge, which has been shut by flooding 30 times in 10 years, is raised to help rail services.
• Labour MP Mark Tami criticises pause to A55-A494 'red route' schemeMark Tami says the new route would cut air pollution in towns alongside the existing road.
• South Western Railway staff begin body-worn cameras trialSouth Western Railway hopes it will deter anti-social behaviour and assaults on its staff.
• Nissan to create thousands of UK jobs in battery investmentThe carmaker is set to announce a major expansion of battery production in Sunderland.

Financial Times

• Europe risks ˜two track' rollout of electric car charging points Trade body warns of poorer states falling behind as EU looks at tougher CO2 rules
• How Britain's Channel ports avoided Brexit meltdown Stockpiling, Covid and French pragmatism all helped to avert gridlock — but experts warn it could still materialise

The Guardian

• Nissan expected to announce plans to build battery gigafactory in SunderlandJapanese carmaker understood to be preparing to build 200,000 batteries for electric vehicles every year in the UK. Japanese carmaker Nissan is set to confirm plans to build a battery gigafactory in Sunderland this week, handing a significant post-Brexit jobs and investment boost to the UK's under-pressure automotive sector.
• Equinor to triple UK hydrogen output with new plant near HullNorwegian oil company's facility will be biggest in world with carbon capture and storage technology

The Telegraph

• HS2 forced to settle with Spanish train maker after row over £2.8bn contract [subscription]Ministers are refusing to disclose how much a row over a HS2 contract has cost taxpayers after striking an out of court settlement with a spurned Spanish train manufacturer.
• Motorists take to the streets in battle against Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods [subscription]Sasha Murdock’s father set up Junior’s Caribbean Cuisine in Nevill Road, Hackney, in 1997. It has served the neighbourhood for 24 years, but Murdock doesn’t think it will be in the same spot much longer.

Times Online

• Levelling up must be for everyone, and that includes the shire counties - Tim Oliver, Surrey CC [subscription]The recent local and parliamentary elections heralded the return of some form of normality, but they have also brought into sharp focus two key questions facing the country: which places require levelling-up and how can we achieve this?
• Councils rake in £1m a week from drivers after bus lane fines double [subscription]Local authorities are making £1 million a week from bus lane cameras, prompting concerns that motorists are being used as cash cows to prop up finances.

City AM

• Nissan to lay out plans for Sunderland battery gigafactory this weekCar giant Nissan will this week lay out plans to build a battery gigafactory in Sunderland, it was reported today, The post Nissan to lay out plans for Sunderland battery gigafactory this week appeared first on CityAM.
• US-UK travel corridor talks hit roadblocks over surge in cases - reportThe chance of the UK and US opening an air “travel corridor” by the end of the summer is growing The post US-UK travel corridor talks hit roadblocks over surge in cases - report appeared first on CityAM.

Network Rail

• Network Rail begins transformational work to reopen Northumberland lineA project to transform services in the North East is well underway after Network Rail completes work to renew a section of track in Newsham, in preparation for the pioneering project to reopen the Northumberland line.

Birmingham Post

• Airports group to more than treble testing sites ahead of travel restartRandox will join existing partner Collinson to operate the sites
• Nissan distances itself from 2,000-job battery plant announcementThe car manufacturer got funding last year to investigate setting up a 'gigaplant' next to its Sunderland factory, but has not directly commented on fresh rumours

London Evening Standard

• When is the London Ulez expanding and who will have to pay? The ultra-low emission zone is due to expand from central London to the boundaries of the North and South Circular roads, here is everything you need to know ahead of the major change for motorists in London.

Wales Online

• Social distancing measures eased on busier bus servicesThe change means that on busier routes some passengers may need to sit next to each other

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Wolverhampton's railway station back fully open as tram line work continuesWolverhampton's rebuilt railway station has been fully opened up to the public again one year later than planned.

Cambridge News

• A14 improvement project restores historic river footpathHighways England and Cambridgeshire County Council have provided £42,500 for the upgrades
• Where to watch the Elon Musk's SpaceX Transporter 2 mission launch liveThe Falcon 9 rocket will deliver 88 small satellites into orbit - after Transporter 1 broke record with 143 satellites

Other Regional Press

• Southern Vectis Updates Isle Of Wight Bus AppThe local operator says it offers Islanders a chance to track their bus in real-time and buy tickets instantly.
• Brighton mainline rail improvements to be axed in Tory cutsLong-planned improvements to the London to Brighton mainline railway outside Croydon, including rebuilding East Croydon Station and unblocking a bottleneck near Selhurst, could be scrapped as part of government post-covid cut-backs.
• Body-worn cameras trialled by train guards in Fratton in bid to drive down attacks on staffTRAIN guards at a city railway station at to be armed with body-worn cameras in a bid to cut down on anti-social behaviour.
• A new vision for transport in East Lancashire as campaigners hope to reinstate rail track between Colne and SkiptonRail campaigners hoping to see the reopening of a crucial transport link have created a new vision for their plan.
• Government taken to court for 'fiddling figures' on new roads planCampaigners will fight in the High Court claiming government broke the law when drawing up plans for 50 new roads including the Lower Thames Crossing.
• Electrogenic showed off an electric 1967 Series 1¼ Jaguar E-Type Coupe at the London Classic Car ShowElectrogenic showed off an electric 1967 Series 1¼ Jaguar E-Type Coupe at the London Classic Car Show

Rail Advent

• Statement released after Northern ‘left with no option’ to cancel Sunday trainsNorthern has released a statement after it says it was ‘left with no option’ to cancel and amend a number of train services this Sunday.

Railnews

• Lack-lustre reception for part time 'seasons' New part time tickets for commuters have become usable today, after going on sale a week ago.

Aviation Industry

• CCC progress report to parliament critical of delays to government net zero aviation plansThe report identifies major gaps in policy and is critical of delays to the publishing of key government plans and strategies, including the long-awaited Transport Decarbonisation Plan and the Net …

Other News Sources

• ABB technology enables world’s largest civilian hospital ship to access even the most challenging harborsABB’s Azipod® propulsion will help Global Mercy™ enter less accessible harbors off the African coast, while reducing vibrations and noise – crucial to the comfort of up to 200 patients and medical personnel on board.
• 13 Direct Rail Services class 68s removed from serviceBRITISH operator Direct Rail Services (DRS) has removed 13 of its 34 Stadler class 68 diesel locomotives from service following the discovery of a small crack in a bracket during routine inspection.