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

Saturday, 24 July 2021

BBC News

• Rail services face cuts as staff self-isolateOperators say they may have to run fewer trains as more employees are hit by the
• Railway engineers build beaver pass on Highland lineRailway engineers have built what they believe is Scotland's first ever 'beaver pass', to allow the animals to go under the Highland mainline.
• Covid: Wizz Air postpones Cardiff Airport launchBudget airline Wizz Air has postponed its launch at Cardiff Airport until next year, citing Covid restrictions as the reason for the delay.
• Covid-19: Air travel takes off on busiest weekend since pandemicAirlines and airports say they are having their busiest weekend since the pandemic began as schools close and the summer holidays begin for millions.

Financial Times

• Wizz Air faces investor backlash over £100m bonus plan for bossInvestment Association issues red-top warning and advisers urge shareholders to reject the plan
• Covid-hit UK aviation industry held back by Brexit red tape New requirements have taken a toll on smaller passenger and cargo carriers

The Guardian

• Big rise in UK weekend cycling amid calls for more investmentThere has been a boom in weekend cycling over the past two years with new data showing a rise in leisure-time cycling of up to 60% in some parts of the country.

The Telegraph

• Government accused of slashing another £500m from rail infrastructure budget [subscription]Rail engineers and other suppliers have bemoaned a “summer of uncertainty” caused by the failure to publish plans for network improvements
• Train passengers face pingdemic chaos as summer of cancellations looms [subscription]At least seven major rail networks plan emergency timetables for up to six weeks due to critical shortage of drivers and crew

Times Online

• Hoist the sails! How to clean up shipping at a rate of knots [subscription]Shipping could account for a fifth of global emissions by 2050. Now a British firm plans to harness the power of the wind to blow the industry and its vast vessels in a more environmentally friendly direction, writes Graeme Paton
• Tickets, please, for the hybrid tech express [subscription]New technology now allows dirty diesel trains to switch to battery power before they pull into stations, but the UK’s rail network has more work to do to cut out all fossil fuels, writes Graeme Paton
• Not enough cash to finish HS2 in the north, ministers warned [subscription]Huge upgrades to the transport system such as HS2 are being threatened by delays and mounting costs, according to a government audit.

City AM

• London Tories call for Khan to reopen van and lorry scrappage schemeLondon’s Conservatives have today written to Mayor Sadiq Khan urging him put £50m from City Hall’s business rates reserves towards reopening scrappage schemes for vans and heavy vehicles ahead of the expansion of the ULEZ zone.
• CMA urges action to fix electric vehicle charge point 'postcode lottery'The UK’s competition watchdog has today urged the government to accelerate the roll-out of its electric vehicle charging points, describing the current situation as a “postcode lottery”.
• 'Pingdemic': Transport workers set for exemption, Shapps saysSome transport workers will be exempt from having to isolate if they are “pinged” by the NHS Covid-19 app, the government has announced this evening.

Daily Record

• 'Handsome specimen' ScotRail worker 'should be Calvin Klein' model in 'poster boy' bidA 'handsome' ScotRail worker is gunning to be their poster boy as rail chiefs suggest he shoud model for Calvin Klein. Gordon Campbell from Rosyth, Fife has been a trainee train driver since July 2019.
• MSP is on board with transport firm's electric bus rollout plansConservative Graham Simpson spoke to FirstBus bosses about its trials of electric buses

i News

• Why are trains being cancelled? The services affected as train crews have to self-isolateOperators including Thameslink and Great Western Railway will cut their weekday timetables from 26 July ‘until further notice’

Mail Online

• 'Pingdemic' chaos in London as TfL closes Circle line and the Hammersmith and City line for the entire weekend as 300 staff self isolate - while train services are cut across the countryTransport for London has been forced to close both the Circle and Hammersmith and City Tube lines for the entire weekend after 300 staff were 'pinged' by the NHS Covid tracking app. 

The National

• 'Beaver tunnel' created to help animals pass safely under Highland mainlineA “BEAVER pass” has been constructed under a Scottish railway line to help the protected species pass underneath safely.

Sky News

• COVID-19: Tube lines hit by pingdemic as 300 staff isolate - and train firms cut services across EnglandReduced timetables are being introduced by operators in a bid to improve reliability after a series of last-minute cancellations.

Birmingham Mail

• Take a virtual tour of new Solihull Station as consultation opensThe new station will feature upgraded facilities, indoor garden, a new public square and a bigger underpass
• Birmingham Airport - five big changes you need to know before you flyFlights may be back up and running and Freedom Day has been and gone, but not everything is back to normal at the airport

London Evening Standard

• Train timetables reduced and Tube lines closed as ‘pinged’ staff self-isolateIn excess of 600,000 people in England and Wales were instructed to quarantine by the coronavirus app in the week to July 14.

Wales Online

• Train line blocked after discovery of unexploded bombTrain lines in south Wales have been blocked after builders found what appears to be an unexploded bomb.

Chester Standard

• Technology boost could lead to new rail link between Ellesmere Port and HelsbyBATTERY technology in some of the new state-of-the-art trains to be operated by Merseyrail could lead to a direct rail passenger link between Helsby and Ellesmere Port.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Mayor urged to intervene over ‘misuse’ of Peterborough cycling fundsFunding for new cycling infrastructure in Peterborough is being “misused,” an influential local group has claimed.

Other Regional Press

• Avanti upgrade train services throughout CumbriaTRAINS in Cumbria will be upgraded as part of the UK’s biggest ever train fleet upgrade this week.
• Plans to improve cycling and walking across Leicestershire move a step forwardAmbitious plans to boost cycling and walking through a combination of creating more networks, revamping existing routes and teaming up with schools and workplaces have moved a step forward.
• Exeter's state-of-the-art new bus station opens with family fun dayExeter's state-of-the-art new bus station opens to passengers this Sunday - and there'll be a fantastic family fun day to celebrate.

Train Operators

• ScotRail resumes services to Ayr and Stranraer after Troon station fireAnd, services between Ayr and Stranraer, which were also affected by the disruption caused by the fire, are expected to run normally from mid-morning tomorrow.

Forbes

• Raleigh Updates Century-Old Poster To Promote Women’s Festival Of CyclingBritish bicycle brand Raleigh has updated a classic 100-year-old advertising poster to promote its support of Cycling UK’s Women’s Festival of Cycling. The brand has replaced a fashionable woman on a 1922 roadster with a woman on a 2022 model year Raleigh Array eclectic bike.

Railnews

• Croydon tram inquest was 'justice suffocated' The families of seven people who were killed when a tram overturned at speed on a tight curve near Croydon on 9 November 2016 say they are 'deeply disappointed' with the result of an inquest into the deaths. Another 51 passengers were injured, eight of them seriously. A jury has now returned verdicts of accidental death, but witnesses from the operator Tram Operations Ltd and Transport for London were not called.

road.cc

• Survey finds strong support for calls for cyclists to be registeredA new survey from the market research firm YouGov has found strong levels of support for compulsory registration of cyclists – even apparently among cyclists, defined as people who confirmed they have ridden a bike in the past year.
• Prototype helmet made with new Elium material can cut critical cycling injury rates by 12%, claim researchersThe outer shell is designed to absorb more energy so that around 40% less is absorbed by the foam underneath that’s in direct contact with your head, researchers say

Other News Sources

• ‘Beaver pass’ created in Perthshire to protect animals near railwayNetwork Rail has created what is thought to be Scotland’s first “beaver pass” under the Highland Mainline in Perthshire. The river-dwelling animals had constructed a ‘beaver lodge’ at a culvert under the track, causing flooding issues. Engineers installed a pipe into an existing culvert drain, placing mesh on either side to create the pass. Video: Network Rail.