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

Thursday, 24 February 2022

BBC News

• New crossing near Harlow approved by councillorsControversial plans for a new crossing between Essex and Hertfordshire have been approved.
• Huge community orchard planned along West Midlands canal networkOnce planted, the 3,000 trees will stretch for 50 miles offering free fruit to the public.
• Covid: Ceredigion towns to keep one-way streets after pandemicSome businesses say changes brought in during Covid have led to fewer visitors and could harm towns.
• Virgin Hyperloop to focus on cargo, not peopleThe futuristic transport firm is changing direction and laying off staff, blaming the pandemic.
• Covid: Tube and bus mask rules to be scrapped in LondonA fall in Covid rates in London means people will no longer need to wear masks on public transport.
• London Underground: Two 24-hour Tube strikes to go ahead, union saysSome 10,000 London Underground workers are set to walk out in a row over jobs, pay and pensions.
• South Ayrshire school bus company goes into liquidationKeenan of Ayr called in liquidators after remote learning resulted in cash flow problems.
• Petrol prices hit new high amid Ukraine tensionsUK gas and fuel prices continue to rise as Russia-Ukraine tensions worsen.

Financial Times

• Heathrow predicts surge of summer holidaymakers will help aviation recoveryAirport signals plans to build third runway as it emerges from industry's worst crisis

The Guardian

• Passengers using Heathrow airport fall to lowest level since 1972The number of passengers travelling through Heathrow airport fell to 19.4 million in 2021, its lowest level for nearly 50 years, the airport has said as it reported a pre-tax loss of £1.8bn.

The Independent

• Go-Ahead to pay government up to £81.3m for Southeastern failuresGo-Ahead group’s stripping of the London Southeastern rail franchise is to cost the business around £81.3 million, the company said.

The Telegraph

• Heathrow plots revival of third runway to satisfy 'pent-up demand' [subscription]As passengers return to the skies, airport builds the case for more capacity The pandemic has strengthened the case for Heathrow's third runway, Britain’s biggest airport has claimed, despite passenger numbers falling to the lowest level in half a century.
• Transport for London drops mask requirement for passengers from ThursdayMasks will only be ’strongly recommended’ from Feb 24 as rules are relaxed in line with the Government’s ’living with Covid’ plan

Times Online

• Heathrow forecasts recovery as passenger levels hit 50-year lowIt may have been the most peaceful time in 50 years for millions living under the Heathrow flight path — but not for much longer.
• Sadiq Khan scraps requirement to wear masks on London’s public transport [subscription]Facemasks are no longer required on public transport anywhere in England as all remaining Covid legal restrictions end today.

City AM

• Go-Ahead says government decision to strip rail operator from South Eastern franchise cost £51.3mGo-Ahead group’s stripping of the London Southeastern rail franchise is to cost the business around £81.3 million, the company said.

Network Rail

• Seeing the wood for the trees: Pilot project takes more lorries off the roads as timber freight train runs for the first time in 18 yearsA sawmill in Abergavenny in Wales has received its first load of rail-transported timber since 2004, thanks to a partnership between Network Rail and freight operator Colas Rail.

Birmingham Mail

• Birmingham Airport braced for Boris Johnson as he promises to visit SolihullBoris Johnson is braced for a Birmingham Airport visit after Flybe opened a new headquarters in the city. The prime minister also promised to tour a local college in Solihull.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Storms don't stop major restoration of Bingley's famous Five Rise LocksEngineers have weathered the recent storms to put the finishing touches to a major restoration of the UK's steepest lock flight on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• We took a drive on the new Caernarfon bypass to see what it's likeThe road will allow traffic to flow freely and will shorten journey times

Other Regional Press

• Price hike for MCard travel across West Yorkshire as Mayor Tracy Brabin expresses disappointmentMayor Tracy Brabin said she was "disappointed" West Yorkshire residents would see "another increase in their cost of living" ahead of a price hike for MCard travel.
• Ten key objectives for the region’s railways as the industry looks to devise 30-year strategic planTen key objectives identified for the region’s railways as the industry looks to devise 30-year strategic plan Business and local authority leaders from North Wales, the Wirral and Cheshire West and Chester in the Growth Track 360 partnership have made a detailed submission to industry leaders envisioning the next three decades for Britain’s railways.
• TfL's proposed London train line that would completely change transport in Hounslow, Ealing, Brent and BarnetTransport across North West and West London is patchy at the best of times but a proposed new line would revolutionise it, giving residents a quick way of getting around without having to go through Central London. The West London Orbital, as the scheme is known, could be up and running by 2029 according to predictions from Transport for London (TfL).
• East Lancs Railway's £12m bid for heritage loco centre approvedA HUGE £12m development and restoration of an East Lancashire Railway depot is set to create ’the country’s best heritage railway’.

Airportwatch

• Go-Ahead Group, parent company of former Southeastern franchise, set to pay £81.3m to Department for Transport over financial errorsThe parent company of Southeastern - the rail company stripped of the franchise to operate trains across Kent last year - says it has cost it more than £80million.

Construction Enquirer

• Pandemic won’t cancel Heathrow Airport expansionHeathrow Airport has started reviewing its £14bn expansion plan to build a third runway but said the pandemic has only strengthened the case for expansion.

Construction News

• Case for £14bn Heathrow expansion plan ’strengthened’ by pandemicThe airport said in its accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021 that it would review the expansion plans, worth an estimated £14bn, over the course of 2022, claiming that the coronavirus pandemic had “strengthened the strategic case for expansion”.

Focus Transport

• Quantron Launch All Electric Cizaris 12 EVQUANTRON, the German Augsburg-based company have launched an all-electric version (CIZARIS 12 EV), to be followed in 2023 by a fuel cell drive (CIZARIS 12 H)

New Civil Engineer

• Contractors sought for £300M Welsh stations frameworkTransport for Wales (TfW) is searching for contractors to join its £300M framework for works on rail stations around the country.
• Heathrow claims pandemic strengthens case for expansionHeathrow Airport Ltd (HAL) has said the Covid-19 pandemic has strengthened the strategic case for expansion – despite experiencing the worst year in its history.
• National Highways reveals route for long-awaited £500M Nottinghashire bypassNational Highways has reached a decision on the route for its A46 Newark Bypass scheme, which will see the crucial trade corridor made into a dual carriageway among other upgrades.
• Future of Rail | How will Great British Railways work and what does it mean for engineers?What has been happening since plans to create Great British Railways were announced last year? It is almost a year since the concept behind Great British Railways (GBR) was born. The decision to establish the new organisation – being created to oversee rail infrastructure and services – was a key outcome of the William-Shapps Plan for Rail, published in May 2021.

Rail Advent

• Barmouth Viaduct re-opened for walkers and cyclistsThe footpath across the scenic Barmouth Viaduct in North Wales reopened last Friday, 18th February, for walkers, cyclists, and tourists, following vital safety upgrades.

Railway Gazette

• Sliding steps to improve Tyne & Wear Metro accessibilityUK: Tyne & Wear Metro has unveiled the first of the automatic sliding steps that will close the gap between its new Stadler trainsets and platform edges to improve accessibility.

Aviation Industry

• Ghost Flights and the Spectre of Climate ChangeThe danger of ’ghost flights’ may sound like something from the world of espionage, but the term also applies to the phenomenon of thousands of empty, or near empty, planes crossing our skies. In the aviation decarbonisation debate, it is unsurprising that these spectres of inefficiency have become a flashpoint in the discussion.

Other News Sources

• Go-Ahead records 'strong' performance in long-delayed resultsGo-Ahead Group reported a "strong" financial performance in its bus and Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) operations in its much-delayed full-year results on Thursday, offset by challenges in its international rail division and its former Southeastern rail franchise.
• Spalding bus service disrupted due to train barriers being stuckBrylaine Travel has reported that the Winsover Road level crossing is down which is affecting its town service.
• GFI: COP26 shifted the dial on climate finance, but the devil is in the detail EXCLUSIVE: While many questions remain about whether the financial commitments made at COP26 are robust, the fact that they were made on an unprecedented scale evidences a "paradigm shift" and an opportunity to accelerate funding flows that benefit climate and nature.