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

Tuesday, 03 August 2021

BBC News

• Cardiff Airport: New flight service to Edinburgh to startThey will be the first flights linking Cardiff and Edinburgh since Flybe collapsed last year.
• Stockport Council: Heaton Mersey cycle paths recommended amid criticismsA Stockport Council report recommends approving Heatons Cycle Link through Heaton Mersey Common.
• London Underground: Union calls off two 24-hour strikesA further two days of strike action remain planned for the end of August, the RMT union says.
• Qantas stands down 2,500 staff over Sydney lockdownThe airline says it expects Australia's largest city to be closed for at least two more months.

ITV News

• Tyneside transport depot creates conservation project to protect rare butterfliesA Tyneside transport depot has created a conservation project to protect a rare species of butterfly. Ecological surveys showed that Howdon Metro depot is home to the Dingy Skipper, which is native to the UK but is becoming increasingly rare.

The Guardian

• The lost history of the electric car and what it tells us about the future of transportTo every age dogged with pollution, accidents and congestion, the transport solution for the next generation seems obvious but the same problems keep coming backIn the 1890s, the biggest cities of the western world faced a mounting problem. Horse-drawn vehicles had been in use for thousands of years, and it was hard to imagine life without them. But as the number of such vehicles increased during the 19th century, the drawbacks of using horses in densely populated cities were becoming ever more apparent.In particular, the accumulation of horse manure on the streets, and the associated stench...
• Diesel car suits me better than electric, says PM's climate spokespersonAllegra Stratton cites time taken to recharge on long journeys, despite average electric vehicle now having range of over 200 milesBoris Johnson's climate spokesperson has criticised the infrastructure that she says is putting people like her off switching to an electric car.Allegra Stratton, the prime minister's former press secretary, revealed she drove a third-hand” diesel Volkswagen Golf.
• Call for action as UK driver shortage hits supermarket shelvesSituation likely to continue unless government does more to tackle issue, suppliers warnGaps on supermarket shelves are likely to continue for several months unless the government does more to tackle the labour crisis hitting haulage firms, suppliers have warned.Logistics and hauliers’ organisations said August would be a pinch point in the shortage as workers take summer breaks, while firms offering bonuses and sign-on fees to recruit drivers were not helping matters. Continue reading...

The Telegraph

• Bolt takes aim at Uber after raising €600m [subscription]Markus Villig wants to ’replace the private car’ by offering ride-hailing and vows: ’If Uber is not worried, they should be’
• Electric cars threaten HS2’s green benefits [subscription]Ministers have boasted about the £100bn project's environmental credentials - but a former rail regulator says the line will not cut carbon

Times Online

• Unions vow to strike if nationalised ScotRail costs frontline jobs [subscription]Nicola Sturgeon’s government will face unprecedented industrial action from railway unions if ministers attempt a “frontline decimation” of ScotRail’s workforce once it is nationalised.
• Senior flying high in wake of Lone Star buyout bid [subscription]Senior has swung to a £22.3 million pre-tax profit and said it had “renewed confidence” as the outlook for its end markets improves.

i News

• Hours-long queues at Heathrow as ’one in four’ Border Force staff go off sick with CovidTailbacks snake their way to arrivals and passengers report faulty e-gates – but families enjoy emotional reunions after change in travel rules

Birmingham Post

• US electric car giant Rivian mulls UK factoryThe multibillion-pound California-based company is backed by major investors including Amazon and Ford

Bristol Live

• Air travel 'returning to normal' as new Bristol flights announcedThe new deal "shows confidence" that people will be able to jet off for holidays

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• DB Cargo to invest £2.6M in new automotive facilitiesDB Cargo UK has announced plans to invest £2.6 million in new facilities at its depot in Toton, Nottinghamshire, to facilitate the export and import of a new generation of Toyota cars.   The investment will see the construction of a new vehicle storage compound and associated loading and unloading facilities on a disused section of the site.   Subject to planning approval, new services will start in January 2022 with hybrid Corollas manufactured at Toyota’s Derby plant being exported to France and the Czech Republic.   Toyota Aygo, Yaris and the new Yaris+ vehic...
• HS2 rail network to harness 3D concrete printingOn-site 3D reinforced concrete printing is set to deliver environmental, cost and community benefits for Britain’s new high speed rail network.   The technology, Printfrastructure, will be deployed by HS2’s London tunnels contractor SCS JV.   Printing concrete with computer operated robots will enable SCS JV to make structures on site, instead of transporting them as pre-cast slabs by road before being assembled and lowered into place by large cranes.   SCS JV estimates that the process, which it is developing with Worcestershire-based partner ChangeMaker 3D, could r...

Construction News

• Go-Ahead For £150m Rail Testing FacilityA planning application for the development of a world class rail testing facility on the Powys and Neath Port Talbot boundary has been conditionally approved by Powys County Council Planning Committee.

New Civil Engineer

• Is Defra dithering delaying £99M Bridgwater tidal barrier?The construction of a £99M tidal barrier in Bridgwater is understood to have been held up as the Department for Environment Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra) has yet to approve a Transport Works Act Order (TWAO) for the project 18 months after it was submitted.
• Crossrail | Potential opening date for eastern and western sections revealedCrossrail’s eastern and western sections could open by autumn 2022, according to the project’s latest update to the London Assembly.

Rail Magazine

• New TfN chief to push for ’levelling up’New Transport for the North Chief Executive Martin Tugwell has declared his commitment to ensuring that Prime Minister Boris Johnson sticks to his ’levelling up’ promises.

Railnews

• Fine after boy was electrocuted in freight yard The operator of Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal near Rugby has been fined £6.5 million after being found guilty of negligence over the death of an 11 year-old boy in June 2017.

Other News Sources

• Former Swansea district railway line set to be transformed for walkers and cyclistsA former railway line in the north of Swansea is set to be transformed into a new walking and cycling route.
• Fears of ticket office closures and service cuts by ScotRailAn internal report has called for ScotRail to cut services, close ticket offices and reduce staff, a union has claimed.
• Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye on Boris Johnson's potential amber list plansHeathrow boss John Holland-Kaye on Boris Johnson's potential amber list plans