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

Thursday, 16 December 2021

BBC News

• Middlesbrough rail station: Plans for £34m of repairs submittedPlans for £34m of repairs to Middlesbrough's 19th Century railway station have been submitted to prevent it deteriorating further.
• Electric cars: Fee to use charging points being consideredThe network is free to use in NI but the possibility of introducing fees is being considered.
• Transport for London: Mayor could raise council tax to cover fundingSadiq Khan is proposing a £20-a-year rise in council tax and a phasing out of over-60s free travel.
• Motoring groups criticise cut in electric car subsidiesThe government has further reduced the amount of subsidy for buying electric cars, this time from £2,500 to £1,500.
• A380: last of the superjumbos handed to new ownerThe final A380 to leave Airbus' production line has been handed to its new owner. What does the future hold for the plane?
• Qantas to switch domestic fleet to Airbus in blow to BoeingThe Australian airline also said it expects to make a first half loss of more than $788m.

Financial Times

• Iberia owner IAG poised to cancel takeover of Spanish rival Air EuropaEU and UK regulators raised competition concerns over €500m deal

Times Online

• Refunds for rail delays made simple with push notifications“The process for making a delay compensation claim will be a whole lot clearer for passengers,” said Stephanie Tobyn, the regulator’s deputy director for consumers. “When things go wrong, passengers will now have a clear understanding of the eligibility criteria for making a claim, the levels of payment, methods to claim, what information they will need to provide, timescales, payment options and how to contest a rejection.”
• Government slashes electric car grants by 40% [Transport]Ministers have cut grants to buy new electric cars by 40 per cent. The maximum discount motorists can now receive has been cut from £2,500 to £1,500. A surge in demand for plug-in vehicles had placed a massive strain on the scheme.

City AM

• Heathrow airfares to rise as CAA confirms interim price capThe UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has written to Heathrow, confirming the £30.19 interim price cap the airport can charge its airline customers will take effect from 1 January.
• Sadiq Khan hikes council tax as the government refuses to ‘properly fund’ London’s public transportLondon Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced plans to raise council tax by around £20 a year as the Government refuses to “properly fundâ€� Transport for London (TfL).  The post Sadiq Khan hikes council tax as the government refuses to ‘properly fund’ London’s public transport appeared first on CityAM.

i News

• Sadiq Khan: London mayor announces plans to raise council tax to help fund capital’s transportCouncil tax will rise by around £20 a year for households in the capital, while free travel for over 60s could be reduced

Birmingham Mail

• Huge rise in e-scooter incidents as police chief issues warning to parentsThere were hundreds more reports this year compared to 2019

Birmingham Post

• Andy Burnham calls for first class to be scrapped on northern trains until 'managed decline' stoppedAndy Burnham has refused to back a new timetable through Manchester until the Government provides plans to solve the Castlefield bottleneck
• Airbus secures deal with Singapore Airlines for A350F freighter planesThe wings for the planes will be made at Airbus Broughton in North Wales

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Snowdonia railway planning more trains over fears Britain will still be 'in the shadow of Covid-19'The railway is said to have had a 'hugely successful' 2021 as less people travelled abroad

Yorkshire Post

• Northern leaders urged to stand against 'managed decline' of railwaysNorthern leaders have been urged to stand against a "period of managed decline” of the railways and resist plans to reduce passenger services

Kent Online

• The quietest railway stations in Kent that see fewer than 160 passengers a weekThe pandemic hasn't made a difference to some of Kent's eerily deserted stations

Other Regional Press

• Lincolnshire councillors and MP meet transport minister to claw back roads funding cutLincolnshire councillors and MPs lobbied a the Transport Minister in a bid to recoup more than £12 million of funding cuts to road repairs budgets.
• As Smarter Cambridge Transport retires, what state is city’s transport system in?After six years, campaign group Smarter Cambridge Transport has decided to retire from the stage. After writing hundreds of columns in the Cambridge Independent, founder Edward Leigh talks to us about what the group has achieved, and what the future holds for transport in the region.

Train Operators

• Northern’s new trains get better and betterRail passengers across the north of England are benefitting from 100 newly introduced trains and improved service reliability.

New Civil Engineer

• Shapps delays decision on yet another National Highways road schemeTransport secretary Grant Shapps has delayed his decision on yet another National Highways planning application. This time, Shapps has deferred his decision on the planned M25 upgrade at Junction 28.
• ‘Euston Stampede’ ended with platform access improvements completedNetwork Rail has said that improvements to the ramped access to platforms at Euston Station in London have removed bottlenecks and will bring to an end the “Euston Stampede” that resulted as passengers rushed through the restricted space.
• Manchester mayor will object to new rail timetables unless DfT makes infrastructure assurancesManchester mayor Andy Burnham will be objecting to any new timetable proposals until assurances of infrastructure upgrades are received from the Department of Transport (DfT), he told Transport for the North’s (TfN) Rail North Committee during a consultation call on December 15.

Aviation Industry

• Qantas To Use Sustainable Aviation Fuel On London FlightsQantas is making good on a previous promise to increase its investments in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The Australian airline will start using blended SAF on their flagship London flights from January. The environmentally friendly choice will see Qantas’ carbon emissions on its London flights fall by 10%.

Other News Sources

• Hydrogen for heavy industry and autonomous transport 'pods': The best green innovations of 2021As we approach the end of 2021, edie has rounded up some of the best breakthrough technologies and carbon-cutting solutions which could accelerate climate action, in an article powered by our innovation partner Spingwise.
• We need more focus on transport linksI HAVE to agree that there should be more focus on local transport links for the good of our citizens and the local economy.
• MaaS market to be worth $40.1 billion by 2030A new market research report shows that the Mobility as a Service Market size is predicted to reach $40.1 billion by 2030 from an estimated increase of $3.3 billion in 2021.
• Christmas travel: Are London Underground services and buses running over the holidays?Reduced services on public transport to and around London will run over the Christmas holiday period as travellers are warned to plan ahead.
• European Commission adopts transport proposals to reduce emissionsTHE European Commission has adopted four proposals to modernise the European Union’s (EU) transport system as it sets about formulating plans to deliver planned 90% reductions in transport emissions.