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

Saturday, 05 February 2022

BBC News

• Aberdeen's hydrogen buses taken off the road due to technical issueFirst Bus says the 15 hydrogen-powered vehicles have a technical issue which is being investigated.
• Transport for London: Funding deal extended by a fortnightUnions have warned London's public transport will grind to a halt without a long-term financial plan.
• Climate change: Tesco using electric lorries in 'UK first'The UK's largest supermarket chain has started using electric trucks to deliver food and goods.

Department for Transport

• Public competition launched to find new home for Britain’s railwaysHeadquarters for Great British Railways will be based outside of London and bring high-skilled jobs to the winning location.

Financial Times

• HS2 rail dig opens up treasure trove of Britain's trading pastProject has created an archeological trench along the 140-mile route between London and Birmingham

The Guardian

• UK flight compensation plan will slash average payoutsGovernment says move is a Brexit win but figures suggest average sum will drop from £220 to about £23.60. The government's plan to overhaul the air passenger compensation scheme has been described as a step backwards for consumers, leading to small amounts of compensation that often won't be worth claiming. Earlier this week the Department for Transport (DfT) announced it is consulting on proposals to overhaul the air passengers rights rules but only for flights within the UK.
• ’No viable alternative’: UK must introduce road pricing, MPs sayTransport committee concludes that drop in fuel-duty revenues from shift to electric requires urgent action
• Tube workers to strike over jobs, pensions and working conditionsRMT members will walk out on 1 and 3 March, as TfL and government extend funding arrangement for two weeks

The Telegraph

• Tube shutdown averted for now as ministers extend Sadiq Khan bailout [subscription]Transport for London is funded for another fortnight with talks ongoing over the £1.5bn hole in its finances
• How working from home put the brakes on Britain [subscription ]The Great Return to Work after the pandemic is yet to happen – and it might never as staff hide behind the HR handbook
• Battle to become nerve centre of Britain's railways begins [subscription]York, Doncaster and Darlington among the bidders to host the headquarters of Great British Railways

Times Online

• New car sales hit by soaring prices [subscription]The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said today that it believed that the UK would take delivery of 1.89 million new cars this year, down from a forecast three months ago of 1.96 million. That means that new registrations will again be way below the long-term average of more than 2.3 million a year.

Bolton News

• Major upgrades in store for Bolton to city rail lineRAIL passengers are being warned that upgrades to the line between Bolton and Manchester could see delays this month.

Northern Echo

• Darlington and Stockton battling for new Great British Railways HQTOWNS in the North East face stiff competition in the battle to be crowned the new “home of railways”.

Wales Online

• The Welsh town where lorries keep hitting houses and getting stuck in narrow streetsThis road through part of a pretty Welsh town could be one of the worst bottlenecks on any main road in Wales
• Competition to find new ’home of the railways’ launchedTransport Secretary Grant Shapps says the new central headquarters of Great British Railways must be "well connected" and outside of London
• Train noise on Transport for Wales service above 'recommended levels for manufacturing workshops'A call has been made for better rail carriages with a Senedd member recording decibel levels he says are above 'recommended levels for manufacturing workshops' on one journey.
• Transport for Wales to 'start to reintroduce' a full timetable after six weeks of emergency scheduleTransport for Wales has said it will start to bring back services but there is still no fixed date for a full resumption despite six weeks of "emergency" timetable.

Other Regional Press

• Calls for Transport East bosses to deliver on green visionCAMPAIGNERS have urged the powers that be behind multi-billion pound blueprints to deliver on the green vision they have set out.
• Work begins to re-open St Clears station on the Haverfordwest to Carmarthen lineWork begins tomorrow, Saturday, February 5, to enable a railway station at the gateway to Pembrokeshire to re-open after being closed for more than 50 years.
• Milton Keynes enters national competition for Great British Railway HQMilton Keynes is bidding to become the headquarters of the new Great British Railway.

Business Live

• Competition to find new headquarters of Great British Railways launchedA competition to find the new headquarters of Great British Railways has been officially launched by the government.

Green Miscellany

• Why aren’t cars fitted with dash cams as standard?The Tesla Model 3 is fitted as standard with cameras that record the road ahead. It’s the reason Surrey Police were able to release the footage of a motorist who caused a three vehicle collision by driving on the wrong side of the road in Stanwell. Court Result ⚖️ Muhammad Aslam (42) from Sixth Avenue, Newham was convicted of Dangerous… The post Why aren’t cars fitted with dash cams as standard? appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Council wants people to scrap their cars in return for £3000 to spend on bikes and public transportThe scheme forms parts of a package of measures designed to 'make not using a car as attractive as possible'
• Key line between Fleetwood and Poulton must 'pay for itself' in growthThe country has been through a 'fiscal shock' and projects need to 'pay for themselves'
• London Underground: Transport for London given two weeks emergency funding in desperate bid to keep services runningTransport for London (TfL) has announced this evening (February 4) that it has received a 14 day funding rollover to maintain the current service levels on London's public transport network for the next two weeks. The current terms of its emergency funding settlement with central government will continue as it intends to keep negotiating for a new long-term agreement.
• Elected mayor required to feel full benefits of devolution in NottinghamshireNottingham and Nottinghamshire will only feel the full benefits of a potential devolution deal if the area creates an elected mayor, government papers have revealed. Nottinghamshire County Council leader Ben Bradley, also Mansfield’s Conservative MP, admitted councils would be the “a bit daft” not to consider this option but says the decision is not his alone to make.