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

Friday, 15 October 2021

BBC News

• Climate change: Diesel and petrol cars widespread in public sectorFewer than 20% of cars used by publicly-funded bodies run on electricity, hydrogen or are hybrid.
• Manchester Metrolink tram strike cancelled after pay deal agreedWorkers' union Unite accepted a two-year pay deal for more than 300 drivers and supervisors.
• Night Tube: London Underground service to resume on two linesTrains will run between 01:00 and 05:30 on the Central and Victoria lines from 27 November.
• ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper strike confirmed during COP26The RMT says its ScotRail members will strike for the entire duration of the climate summit in Glasgow.

Financial Times

• Lateral flow Covid tests to be allowed for international arrivals in EnglandTravel industry welcomes switch to cheaper and faster alternative to PCR checks in time for half term
• The waiting game: where are the world’s worst port delays?From Shenzhen to Los Angeles, storms, Covid and labour shortages are causing disruption
• Scottish rail and refuse workers vote to strike during COP26Halt to services could throw forthcoming global climate talks in Glasgow into chaos
• How airlines survived to fly another dayCarriers and their lawyers used legal innovation in a race against the clock

The Guardian

• Bus network in Britain facing strikes over drivers’ low payCancelled services likely as RMT and Unite unions plan action over wages at Stagecoach
• Boeing pilot indicted for allegedly deceiving US regulators over 737 MaxMark A Forkner accused of giving FAA false information about flight-control system in plane that was involved in two crashesA Boeing pilot involved in testing the 737 Max jetliner was indicted on Thursday by a federal grand jury on charges of deceiving safety regulators who were evaluating the plane, which was later involved in two deadly crashes.The indictment accuses

The Telegraph

• £2.8bn HS2 contract 'shrouded in mystery', Siemens lawsuit claims [subscription]HS2 bosses accused by Siemens Mobility of serious failings after they backed a rival bid from Hitachi and Bombardier
• Haulage group frozen out of Whitehall after being 'hijacked by Remainers' [subscription]Britain’s biggest haulage lobbying group has been frozen out of meetings with ministers following claims it is biased against Brexit and deliberately sparked last month’s fuel crisis.

Times Online

• Heathrow plan for prices won’t fly [Subscription]Inflation is everywhere. So no big shock to see Heathrow’s billionaire owners getting in on the act. Their response to the corona crisis? An attempt to jack up the airport’s charges by 90 per cent.
• Buses back in gear at National Express [subscription]was no update from National Express on its bid for Stagecoach, other than confirmation that talks and due diligence work were continuing. However, the company, which also has extensive operations overseas, particularly in North America and Spain, said that it remained on course to meet market expectations for annual underlying pre-tax profits.
• HGV crisis: Leave our drivers alone, bus company pleadsThe Confederation of Passenger Transport said six per cent of driver posts are vacant, more than double the 2019 figure. “More bus drivers are quitting than we can recruit and talk of higher-paid jobs in road haulage is adding to the problem,” said a spokesman

London Evening Standard

• London's Night Tube to return from November - but only two linesNight Tube services are to return on the Central and Victoria lines in time for the Christmas party season at the end of November, Sadiq Khan confirmed on Thursday.
• London ULEZ expansion: Thousands of scrappage scheme applications rejectedThousands of motorists who asked for help to scrap their car ahead of the expansion of the ultra-low emission zone have had their application delayed or rejected.
• British Airways recruits cabin crew after cutting thousands of jobs in 2020The airline is hiring an undisclosed number of people to work on flights in summer 2022.
• Scottish rail workers to strike during Cop26Large-scale transport disruption had already been predicted during the climate conference due to major road closures.

The York Press

• Northern launches Virtual Reality services for supportA NEW Virtual Reality (VR) simulation is being developed to support disabled people to better access travel on a train firm's services.
• New study aims to 'shine a spotlight' on railways' links to slaveryTHE links between slavery and one of York's great manufacturing institutions - chocolate - have already come under scrutiny. Research by the Rowntree Society published earlier this year revealed that the Rowntree chocolate company may indirectly have profited from the slave trade.

Carlisle News & Star

• Transport for the North urge Government to deliver on HS2 and rail upgradesMore is set to be revealed about plans to "level-up" UK rail infrastructure but fears grow that it could be bad news for the North of England - sparking calls to deliver HS2 and the Northern Powerhouse in full.

Other Regional Press

• Passengers fed up with 'poor, expensive and unreliable' bus servicesThe majority of bus users in Shropshire think services are 'poor' with hundreds complaining of expensive fares and unreliability, the results of a poll have found.
• Preparations made to deal with Autumn weather track problemsTransport for Wales and Network Rail are utilising the latest technology this autumn to prepare for a growing number of storms and bad weather caused by climate change.

Coach and Bus Week

• Ryze Hydrogen and HyNet come together to accelerate the hydrogen sectorRyze Hydrogen, the low carbon hydrogen distribution company founded by Jo Bamford, has agreed a deal with HyNet that will see it distribute hydrogen from the ‘ground-breaking’ facility.
• Transdev extends £1 evening fare offerTransdev is to extend its £1 evening fare offer to the end of the year, to encourage more people to come back to bus and enjoy a safe night out in the region’s pubs and restaurants. The offer gives passengers travel on any of its buses across Yorkshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester for £1 after 1900hrs.
• Arrival chosen by UK Government to showcase at Global Investment SummitEV manufacturer Arrival has been selected by the UK Government to showcase to leaders of the business world at the Global Investment Summit in London.

New Civil Engineer

• Werrington upgrade | Inside the record-breaking box jack pushed beneath the East Coast Main LineIn the years, decades and maybe even centuries to come, passenger and freight trains will zip through this little area of land just north of Peterborough in a matter of seconds.
• Network Rail vows to minimise disruption caused by engineering worksNetwork Rail has announced its intention to implement new practices to reduce disruption caused to passengers during engineering works carried out on the railways.
• Liverpool Lime Street job set for delay after council terminates NMCN contractA major redevelopment of Liverpool’s Lime Street area will be delayed after the council terminated its contract with NMCN.
• Sluggish reality of electrifying Britain’s railways revealedA lack of urgency to electrify Britain’s railways threatens to undermine government and Network Rail decarbonisation pledges, according to rail industry professionals.
• What HS2 could have learned from HS1’s 30 years of successPolitical gamble and against-the-odds are both descriptions used to describe probably one of the few private sector successes in challenging a major government infrastructure scheme.

Railnews

• Date set for Night Tube restart THURSDAY BRIEFING: Date set for Night Tube restart ++ New Southeastern md is aiming at 'smooth transition' ++ Northern engineer celebrates first 50 years ++
• Railfreight goes back to diesel as electricity costs soar Some rail freight operators have abandoned electric traction, at least for now, because the price of electricity has been rising sharply. The electricity tariffs include a 40 per cent renewable energy tax, and following the latest rises diesel traction is now cheaper. The drivers' union ASLEF is calling for the government to intervene.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• National Bus Strategy money to continue beyond 2024/25?The Department for Transport (DfT) has asked local transport authorities (LTAs) in England what potential funding they may need beyond the three-year horizon of National Bus Strategy (NBS) money in order for them to deliver on its policy objectives, hinting that politicians could be considering longer-term support for those aims.
• Rail replacement: Affected by driver shortages – or not?Ongoing driver shortages have led at least one rail replacement provider to undertake an in-depth examination of how it resources services. That work comes amid concern from elsewhere in the sector that it can now be “challenging” to provide sufficient capacity, and that driver availability at some operators is affecting the ability to deliver sufficient PSVAR compliant vehicles.
• Bus patronage sees predicted spike in SeptemberWeekday bus patronage in Britain outside London grew strongly in September as further educational establishments began the new academic year. As a percentage of pre-COVID-19 usage, that ridership rose from 59% on the first day of the month to a peak of 81% on 28 September, with 13 consecutive weekday returns of 75% or better concluding the period, data published by the Department for Transport has shown.
• Arriva proposes closure of Guildford depotArriva Kent and Surrey has announced plans to close its Guildford depot. The group says that its business there “has unfortunately experienced ongoing decline in passenger numbers over recent years” and adds that despite efforts to achieve efficiencies, the operation “is no longer sustainable.”
• ‘It is still a challenging time for operators’CPT CEO Graham Vidler outlines the trade organisation’s continuing efforts to address the driver shortages affecting the coach and bus sector

Aviation Industry

• Government mulls counting aviation biofuel as generating zero emissions under UK emissions trading schemeWhat is the UK ETS? The UK ETS, which works on a ‘cap and trade’ principle, replaced the EU ETS on 1st January 2021, following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. … The post Government mulls counting aviation biofuel as generating zero emissions under UK emissions trading scheme appeared first on Aviation Environment Federation.

Other News Sources

• Why light rail expansion is vital to green recoveryProtecting and expanding light rail services is key to ensuring towns and cities can recover from the impacts of Covid-19, according to a new report.
• Public transport changes for customers in Reading as bus company offer ticket options to fit the new normalWith the confidence to get out and about for social events as well as going back to the office, travel has changed - and so have Reading Buses ticket options.
• Manchester airport to push for further simplification of travel rulesThe government will be urged by Manchester airport to further simplify rules so international travel “can start to feel as it was” before the pandemic.