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

Friday, 30 July 2021

BBC News

• Airport chief welcomes travel changes but warns normality 'long way' offEdinburgh Airport chief Gordon Dewar says Scotland is
• Didi: Chinese ride-hailing giant denies plans to go privateDidi shares surged by almost 50% in pre-market trade after a report that it planned to go private.

Department for Transport

• £338 million package to further fuel active travel boomFunding for infrastructure upgrades, changes to The Highway Code and new requirements to ensure that active travel schemes' effects are properly assessed.

The Guardian

• Electric trains offer the best route to greener transportRob Harris on why electric lorries are not the answer, and Prof LJS Lesley on the benefits of electrifying the rail network. Plus Graham Larkbey laments the neglect of an England-Wales border station The experiment with electric lorries on the M180 (UK government backs scheme for motorway cables to power lorries, 27 July) is laughable when compared with the lack of interest shown by the government in furthering railway electrification at a time of an HGV driver shortage.Just 8.5% of freight locomotives in the UK are electric.

The Telegraph

• Eurostar chief demands airline tax to help save rail link to France [subscription]Jacques Damas says encouraging more Britons to take the train to northern Europe will boost Boris Johnson's green agenda

Times Online

• Highway Code will tell drivers to stop for pedestrians [subscription]Motorists will for the first time be told to give way to pedestrians crossing the road in an overhaul of safety rules.
• Britain faces backlash from France over Covid travel rules [subscription]Raab blames curbs on cases 6,000 miles away but Paris says quarantine is discriminatory

Birmingham Mail

• Changes to Highway Code announced that will affect every driverA new 'road user hierarchy' is being created
• Gadgets and CCTV secrets of Birmingham's first hydrogen-powered double-deckerThe first hydrogen-powered double-decker bus in Birmingham has been to Centenary Square for a photoshoot

Birmingham Post

• Plans for larger electric only trains for Principality Stadium rugby gamesGreat Western Railways said Electrostar trains could also been introduced between Cardiff and London on weekends

London Evening Standard

• Highway Code changes will put pedestrians at top of road user hierarchyThe proposed revisions will also give pedestrians priority at zebra crossings and raise further awareness about the dangers of speeding.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Tory mayor and MP call on Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to stop East Coast Main Line timetable changesConservative mayor Ben Houchen has joined calls for Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to intervene over plans to cut services on the East Coast Main Line.
• Metro train services cancelled again due to driver shortagesRail Services are still subject to potential cancellations at short notice due to staff Covid-19 isolations

Wales Online

• First ever electric-only train runs to CardiffGreat Western Railway says the long-term ambition is to provide additional capacity when ‘big-ticket’ events are happening in Cardiff

Other Regional Press

• Huddersfield's 'underwhelming' bus station set for major revampBus station was built in the 1970s and is going to get an impressive front entrance

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• DP World reports record UK handling volumesA record volume of cargo was handled at DP World’s two UK ports in the first half of 2021.   Between January and June this year, DP World’s smart logistics hub at London Gateway saw throughput of 888,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, a more than 23 per cent increase on the previous H1 record set in 2020.    At DP World Southampton, Britain’s second largest container terminal, throughput in the first six months of the year was 995,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, which contributed to a record combined UK total of 1,883,000 twenty-foot equivalent units.  &n...
• DPD UK commits to electric deliveries in OxfordDPD UK has confirmed that all future parcel deliveries in Oxford will be made with electric vehicles.     Oxford will become DPD’s first all-electric city, with nine further UK ’green cities’ to be confirmed this year.   Vision 25 is DPD’s pledge to deliver ’green’ to 25 major UK towns and cities, covering 25 per cent of the UK population by 2025, and is backed by a £111 million investment in electric vehicles.    All Oxford parcel deliveries will be made from DPD’s new Bicester eco-depot.    The 60,000 sq ft hu...
• Scania to participate in HGV electrification studyScania is set to participate in a feasibility study into the operation of long haul electrified trucks utilising dynamic charging provided by overhead wires on electric roads.     This will be the first study of its type to take place in the UK, with the aim of demonstrating the readiness of the technology for a national roll-out.    The study is part of the £20 million put aside for zero emission road freight trials under the recently-announced Transport Decarbonisation Plan.   Scania's involvement is as part of a consortium whose other members include Siemens M...

Coach and Bus Week

• West Yorkshire ticketing revamp for under-19sA new range of tickets for under 19s was introduced from Sunday 25 July by the West Yorkshire Bus Alliance, a partnership between the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) and bus operators, aimed at helping Yorkshire’s young people to get out and about and reduce the cost of travel when they return to education in September.
• Preston Bus make changes to encourage passengers backPreston Bus has announced a number of improvements to bus services from 26 July to encourage passengers to get back on bus following the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions.
• Hydrogen buses enter service in Dublin, battery bus order to followIreland’s NTA has placed its first hydrogen buses into service, and intends to place an order for its first 120 battery-electric buses within the next month
• FirstGroup down to one international subsidiary as sales are completedFirstGroup plc announced on 22 July that it has completed the sale of its American subsidiaries First Student and First Transit to EQT Infrastructure, which was approved by FirstGroup shareholders on 27 May.
• Go-Ahead announces appointment of Group Chief ExecutiveThe Go-Ahead Group has announced the appointment of Christian Schreyer as Group Chief Executive with effect from the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting on 5 November this year. He will join the group on 1 November.

New Civil Engineer

• Contract awarded for final stage of Barmouth Viaduct restorationAlun Griffiths has won the contract for the final stage of the Barmouth Viaduct upgrade project in Wales.
• East West Rail looks beyond rail firms to assist project deliveryEast West Rail has launched an innovative “enterprise partner” model to assist the launch of the new Oxford to Cambridge railway service.

Railnews

• Pressure grows as councillors call for East West Rail to Aylesbury The government is to be pressed by Buckinghamshire councillors over the suspension of a plan to include Aylesbury in East West Rail by running EWR trains from Claydon Junction, between Bicester and Bletchley, down to Aylesbury.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Team Pennine plans outlined by Transdev as brand launchesTeam Pennine was go on Sunday 25 July as Transdev Blazefield took over the Yorkshire Tiger business from Arriva. Its new pink-based brand was present in a modest way on the first day in the form of five Alexander Dennis Enviro200s that have been sourced and refurbished by the new owner since the deal was agreed in April.
• Under-22 free bus travel in Scotland set for 31 January 2022Around half of all residents of Scotland will be eligible for government-funded free bus travel from 31 January 2022 after the Scottish Government confirmed that the benefit would be extended to under-22s from that date.
• Neil Collins named Wrightbus Managing DirectorWrightbus has named Neil Collins as its Managing Director. He will lead the Ballymena bus manufacturer alongside Executive Chairman Jo Bamford and Chief Executive Buta Atwal as it prepares for further growth.
• Opp-charge Volvo 7900e fleet joins Stagecoach West ScotlandStagecoach West Scotland has taken delivery of Scotland’s first opportunity charged battery-electric buses in the form of six Volvo 7900e models. £2m from SP Energy Networks’ Green Economy Fund (GEF) has funded five of them, with the sixth, and all associated charging infrastructure, having been fully financed by the operator.

Other News Sources

• Heathrow is giving away free flights as travel opens up againHeathrow is offering passengers a chance to win a free travel package, which includes flights and experiences from the airport
• Plan to widen A320 breaches climate commitment, says councillorThousands of homes in Runnymede are dependent on improving the road from Chertsey to Ottershaw
• EDF and Nissan launch V2G charging solution for business fleets EDF and Nissan have launched a new service for UK businesses that enables electric vehicle (EV) fleets to access vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging technology.