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

Saturday, 31 July 2021

BBC News

• Home car charger owners urged to install updatesSecurity vulnerabilities in two domestic electric car chargers were discovered by researchers.
• British Airways owner IAG to ramp up flightsIAG, which also owns Iberia, says it plans to run at 75% of its 2019 passenger capacity by the end of the year.
• Employee shortages: Where have all the workers gone?From hospitality to road haulage, firms say they can't get staff. So are employees now calling the shots?

Financial Times

• British Airways owner IAG outlines plans to increase flightsChief of UK flag carrier says airline is pivoting from corporate travel to attract high-paying leisure customers
• IAG: cautious summer schedule signals late take-off for recoveryOnce Covid fog has cleared, a more encouraging view of the airline group’s prospects will emerge
• Court finds government plan for Stonehenge tunnel ‘unlawful’Campaigners win battle to stop controversial building project near ancient English monument

The Guardian

• Depleted and unwanted, HS2 hurtles on as Johnson’s £100bn vanity project | Simon JenkinsIt has cost the taxpayer billions without a mile of track being laid – and it won’t even go north of CreweBritain’s new high-speed railway will not – repeat: not – get to the north of England. It will go back and forth from London to the Midlands and its chief beneficiaries will be London commuters. All else is political spin.This became certain last week as the government’s internal major projects authority declared phase two of the HS2 project, to Manchester and Leeds, effectively dead. While the already-started London-to-Birmingham stretch is still marked at “amber/redâ€� for “successful deli...
• High court victory for Stonehenge campaigners as tunnel is ruled unlawfulTransport secretary Grant Shapps ‘acted irrationally and unlawfully’ when he approved the £1.7bn project, judge rulesCampaigners including archaeologists, environmental groups and druids have won a high court battle to prevent a controversial road project that includes a tunnel near Stonehenge.The £1.7bn scheme to overhaul eight miles of the A303 in Wiltshire next to the prehistoric monument was backed by the government last year, but campaigners launched a judicial review calling for the decision to be overturned. Continue reading...

The Herald

• CalMac ferry chaos leaves passengers with 50-mile bus detour as public inquiry calls growA REPLACEMENT bus has had to be brought in to take passengers on a 50-mile detour after a CalMac ferry remained out of action for a second day yesterday after a starter motor broke down.
• CalMac ferry chaos leaves passengers with 50-mile bus detour as public inquiry calls growA REPLACEMENT bus has had to be brought in to take passengers on a 50-mile detour after a CalMac ferry remained out of action for a second day yesterday after a starter motor broke down.

The Telegraph

• Stonehenge tunnel is unlawful, High Court rules

Times Online

• BP Pulse unplugged: electric car owners are stranded without chargers [Subscription]The green driving revolution is stalling because of problems with one of the biggest charge point installers
• BA proves drag as airlines group sinks to €2bn loss [Subscription]The extent to which British Airways has gone from being a cash cow to a financial liability caught up in the government’s international travel policy has been laid bare after its owner said yesterday that this year’s losses had topped €2 billion.
• More low-traffic neighbourhoods on the way despite opposition [Subscription]Boris Johnson promised a big expansion of low-traffic neighbourhoods today despite criticism from some grassroots Conservatives.
• Plans for Stonehenge road tunnel ruled unlawful [Subscription]Unesco warns UK to protect its heritage sites
• Briton killed in ‘drone attack’ on oil tanker Mercer Street off Oman [Subscription]The UK military is investigating a suspected armed drone attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman after two crewmen, one of them a British security guard, were killed.

City AM

• Court rules Grant Shapps' plan to build £1.7bn tunnel near Stonehenge is 'unlawful'Transport secretary Grant Shapps was found to have made a “material error of law” over his controversial road building plans The post Court rules Grant Shapps' plan to build £1.7bn tunnel near Stonehenge is 'unlawful' appeared first on CityAM.

Daily Record

• Highway Code changes to impact every driver in Scotland as cyclists get priorityMotorists will be told to stop for people crossing the road even if they're not on a pelican or zebra crossing.

Mail Online

• Highway Code changes will see cyclists given more rights than motorists at junctionsA new 'hierarchy of road users' in the Code will also outline how responsibility rests with those who could potentially cause the most harm to others - with pedestrians ahead of cyclists, then horse riders.
• Three quarters of drivers want lower motorway speed limits in the wetBritain statistically has some of the safest roads in the world. However, annual death numbers have remained the same since 2012, with pressure mounting on MPs to trigger a decline in fatality figures.
• HS2's eastern link hits the buffers as the line to Leeds is shelved amid soaring costsMinisters have ordered HS2 Limited to halt all planning work on the Eastern leg and focus solely on the Western route to Manchester.

This is Money

• Bentley bounces back from pandemic with record half-year profitsThe Crewe-based luxury car firm says its operating profit of £151.5m for the first six months of this year is greater than any profit figure it has posted for a full-year.

Belfast Telegraph

• Translink ‘not aware’ of any face mask fines after compliance concernsTranslink has said it is ‘not aware’ of anyone having been fined for failure to wear a face covering in its buses, trains or premises.

Birmingham Post

• Bentley's half-year sales top €1.3bn as profits surge to highest in its historyHowever, Bentley has warned the pandemic could still impact the second half of the year
• West of England secures 'significant' funding to improve transportMetro Mayor Dan Norris said the multi-million pound investment could help deliver “real changeâ€� for the region’s transport network
• Arup appointed to move island of Ireland rail review forwardThe planning experts will look into rejuvenating the rail network and feasibility of high speed services

Bolton News

• Calls for motorway speed limits to be cut in certain weatherOf the UK drivers surveyed, 17% wanted the maximum legal speed in wet conditions cut to 65mph.

Bristol Live

• In pictures - the story of Bristol Bus StationA mildly drab concrete transport hub on the edge of the city centre, or a bustling place with a key role in Britain's modern history?

London Evening Standard

• Campaigners win High Court battle over plan for tunnel near StonehengeCampaigners have won a High Court battle over Transport Secretary Grant Shapps’ decision to approve a controversial road project which includes a tunnel near Stonehenge.
• Councils lose active travel funding for ‘prematurely’ axing new cycle lanesA number of councils scrapped pop-up cycle lanes following vocal opposition by motorists.
• Talks aimed at averting Tube driver strikes adjourned until next weekTalks aimed at averting strikes by London Underground drivers have been adjourned until next week.
• Drivers want motorway speed limit cut when it rainsA survey suggests 72% of motorists would be in favour of a lower limit in wet conditions.

The York Press

• Cyclists and walkers to get priority over drivers in Highway Code changesThe Department for Transport said the changes will include a “hierarchy of road usersâ€�.

Burnley Express

• Great Harwood Transport Festival to showcase refurbished buses and trucksA REFURBISHED vintage bus that has carried passengers all across East Lancashire over several decades will be showcased at an East Lancashire transport event in September.

Cambridge News

• Should walking and biking be prioritised over driving in new Highway Code?The Highway Code is set to change in autumn to give greater priority to pedestrians and cyclists - let us know what you think

Get Surrey

• Should walking and biking be prioritised over driving in new Highway Code?The Highway Code is set to change in autumn to give greater priority to pedestrians and cyclists - let us know what you think

Reading Evening Post

• Two M4 closures set to cause delays over the weekendThe motorway will be closed at junction 13 throughout the full weekend

Other Regional Press

• London TFL: Four-day strike set to cause 'severe disruption'Train passengers and commuters are being warned of
• Major work to start on Millbrook Station footbridgeMAJOR works to improve a railway footbridge are scheduled to take place in Southampton this weekend.
• Council delays decision on LTN roadblocks for East Oxford streetsFURTHER consultation will take place to decide whether road blocks to prevent through traffic on residential streets will be introduced in East Oxford.
• Busy road to close for weeksA road will be closed as work is carried out to improve safety, including upgrading a crossing outside a primary school.
• Kent Crossrail extension whittled down to three choicesA shortlist of options for extending the Elizabeth line into Kent has been narrowed down to three choices with the public urged to have their say.
• A2 closure postponed as bridge builders enter administrationPlans to close a stretch of busy motorway for vital bridge works have been postponed after the company appointed entered into administration.
• Calls for motorway speed limits to be cut in certain weatherOf the UK drivers surveyed, 17% wanted the maximum legal speed in wet conditions cut to 65mph.

C.N.N.

• Multiple people injured after Boston transit trains collideMultiple people were reported injured Friday after the Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority said two trains collided with one another on the Commonwealth Avenue rail line in Boston.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• TfL seeking feedback on future operation of the Congestion ChargeTransport for London (TfL) has opened consultation on the future operation of the city’s Congestion Charge.    The main proposals include no charges in the evenings to support London's COVID recovery, operating between 12:00-18:00 on weekends and retaining the current charge level of £15.   According to a TfL statement, these changes will support London's culture, hospitality and night-time businesses, and ensure gains made in reducing car dependency over more than 15 years are not lost.    The Mayor's target is for 80 per cent of trips made in the capital ...
• EWR Co launches engagement for industry first ‘Enterprise Partner’ modelThe East West Railway Company (EWR Co) has launched a market engagement exercise on a new ‘Enterprise Partner’ model to support the company in the development and launch of the new Oxford to Cambridge railway service.   EWR Co aims to test the market’s appetite to deliver train operations and asset management, and support the strategic leadership of the project at an early stage and through the launch phase of the railway.    Simon Blanchflower CBE, Chief Executive of East West Railway Company said: “The Enterprise Partner model we have been developing ov...

Other News Sources

• Transdev: Bus firm offers free travel to coronavirus jab appointmentsA TRAVEL firm is offering free trips to and from coronavirus vaccination appointments.
• Gatwick night flights continue as Covid 'used as an excuse'The Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign had called for no planes to fly for eight hours at night

EIN News Subscription

• Where can you fly right now? travel recovery hits an air pocket … pre-pandemic levels. Airlines in Europe are now operating at … tracker, which uses data from aviation specialist OAG … in June, according to data tracker FlightAware. American, … that several airlines have suspended all commercial passenger flights. Infections …
• June air travel recovery continues to disappoint … ) Load Factor Level International Passenger Markets Asia-Pacific airlines’ June international traffic … governments are not following the data or the science to restore … quarantine for vaccinated travelers. The European Commission has recommended that its …
• EU’s vaccine travel pass is highly discriminatory towards low-income countries … in the world’s total passengers in 2021 compared to … while the number of passengers travelling by air picked up after the … The EU has listed only four vaccines approved by the European Medicines … As per estimates based on information from the WHO, countries not …
• Eurostar chief demands airline tax to help save rail link to France … of a similar ban on airlines flying to destinations served by … more in taxing fuel for aircraft, and take that £1 as … merger to go to the European Commission in the first quarter … Damas is passionate about public transport and the role of the …
• Officials warn airports could face five-hour queues at the border when UK opens up to the US and EU … The Department for Transport last night said EU passengers will use … way possible.' Airlines reported staggering booking surges … back in business'. Airlines UK, which represents big … further cementing ties with our European neighbours.' Health …