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

Wednesday, 15 September 2021

BBC News

• Cambridge railway station entrance floods amid downpourA railway station's ticket office has been closed because of flooding as the east of England has weather warnings in place.
• Nationalised shipyard misses out on ferries orderTwo CalMac ships for the Islay route will be built by an overseas yard after Ferguson fails to make the shortlist.
• Boeing says air travel to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024Plane maker expects global aviation to take another two and a half years to recover.

Financial Times

• London’s transport chief calls for £17bn long-term funding boostMoney needed over the next decade to cover pandemic recovery and capital spending, Andy Byford argues
• UK inflation surges to 3.2% as food and transport costs riseIncrease is the fastest since the Bank of England gained independence to set interest rates
• Record freight container production fails to ease supply-chain crisisBottlenecks clog system as shippers struggle to transport boxes quickly enough
• EasyJet’s cash call leaves repair job to doSize of airline’s rights issue has prompted questions about its strategy

The Telegraph

• Majority of drivers want hard shoulders reinstated on smart motorways [subscription]Concerns follow spate of fatal accidents in which stationary vehicles were hit from behind as all lanes are left open to live traffic
• Fast-tracking lorry driver tests 'risks more crashes' [subscription]Insurers will also be forced to hike premiums to pay for the increased risk, bosses say

Times Online

• End of road for Johnson’s Scotland to NI tunnel after £100bn estimate [subscription]Boris Johnson’s plans for a tunnel between Scotland and Northern Ireland were scrapped after experts hired by the UK government estimated it would cost up to £100 billion.
• Sajid Javid hints PCR tests for double-vaccinated travellers will be scrapped [subscription]Compulsory PCR tests for vaccinated travellers will be scrapped in favour of cheaper lateral flow tests, the health secretary indicated today.

Sky News

• 'Not in hands' of government to guarantee enough lorries on roads for Christmas deliveries - transport secretaryFacing questions in the House of Commons, Grant Shapps tells MPs that the "whole solution is not in our hands, this is a global situation".

Birmingham Mail

• Three changes to holiday and travel rules set to be announced this weekAfter Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his Covid Winter Plan on Tuesday night, further changes are coming

London Evening Standard

• Researchers say new system could prevent repeat of Gatwick drone chaosDrone activity at Gatwick Airport saw around 1,000 flights cancelled or diverted between in December 2018.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Nexus explain 30% fall in Metro passengers on Great North Run day but it was still 'busiest day of year'Tyne and Wear Metro welcomed 63,000 passengers on Great North Run day but the number of people using the service was lower than 2019 following the change of route to finish in Newcastle city centre

Northern Echo

• £1m signed off to upgrade Billingham train station accessA £1million investment has been signed off to significantly improve disability access at Billingham railway station.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Bulk of infrastructure spending in region on HS2Future spending on infrastructure in the West Midlands is set to be one of the lowest levels in the country when HS2 is excluded, according to a new report.

Other Regional Press

• TfL and rail Boxing Day engineering works cut off HeathrowPassengers are being warned of travel chaos over the festive period with Heathrow Airport set to be inaccessible by rail or Tube.
• Concerns over planned travel hub at railway stationProposals for a new travel hub at Huntingdon railway station are a missed opportunity which will resemble a “massive car park”, a councillor has said.
• Main railway line through Fife closed after train fire at Cupar station
• East West Rail Company launches environmental surveys for £5bn railway lineEast West Rail Company (EWR Co) is carrying out environmental surveys along the route area over the autumn.

Business Live

• Chances of HS2 stopping in Notts are 50/50 says Tory MPAn MP has said the chances of the HS2 eastern leg being built as far as Nottingham are pretty much 50/50 following growing concern about the plans and spiralling costs.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• UK calls for zero global shipping emissions by 2050The UK is backing a world-leading absolute zero target for international shipping emissions by 2050.    This target, which would need to be agreed through the International Maritime Organization, would be a significant increase of ambition for the sector, which is currently accountable for 3% of global emissions.   This announcement comes as the government launches the greenest ever London International Shipping Week, building on a string of initiatives aimed at slashing emissions and establishing the UK as international leaders in green maritime.   At a speech on 15 Septem...
• Government takes further action to tackle HGV driver shortageUp to 50,000 more HGV driving tests will be made available each year, in an effort to streamline the testing process and tackle the worldwide lorry driver shortage.   HGV driving tests will be overhauled, meaning drivers will only need to take 1 test to drive both a rigid and articulated lorry, rather than having to take 2 separate tests.    This will make around 20,000 more HGV driving tests available every year and mean drivers can gain their licence and enter the industry more quickly.   Tests will also be made shorter by removing the ‘reversing exercise’ ele...

New Civil Engineer

• Podcast | Creating the strategy for regional transport decarbonisationTransport for the North (TfN) has just closed a consultation of the UK’s first regional transport decarbonisation strategy and TfN’s new chief executive Martin Tugwell joins NCE editor Claire Smith and features editor to talk about the new strategy.
• Inside HS2’s ‘beating heart’Amid a torrential September downpour, work continues apace at High Speed 2 (HS2)’s North-West London logistics hub.
• Network Rail completes another London station upgrade as part of Crossrail projectA sixth station upgrade has been complete in London as part of Network Rail’s work to ready the network for the Elizabeth line.
• Irish Sea link mastermind backs UK engineers to build it amid reports that project faces axeThe architect behind the original proposal for an Irish Sea crossing has emphasised the need for a link after reports this week that the plan is in line to be axed.

Railnews

• RMT and ScotRail start new talks over long-running pay dispute WEDNESDAY BRIEFING: RMT and ScotRail start new talks over long-running pay dispute ++

Other News Sources

• 'Being driven inland' - Bus drivers can't afford coast, says company bossBooming property prices and the demand for holiday rentals is making north Norfolk increasingly unaffordable for service sector workers, a bus firm boss has warned.
• Treasury document suggests value of HS2 ground deal has shrunkThe value of ground investigations work on phase 2b of High Speed 2 has shrunk by some £50M in the last two months, according to official documents published this week.