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

Friday, 25 February 2022

BBC News

• Luton Airport flight paths change in safety move with StanstedFlight paths and holding patterns for aircraft arriving into Luton Airport have come into effect.

ITV News

• North East transport bosses call for government to extend funding for region's public transportNorth East transport bosses are calling for the government to extend emergency funding support for the region's public transport.

Financial Times

• Airlines steer clear of Ukraine and surrounding regionShares of big European carriers tumble as flight disruption and spike in oil price prompt investor sell-off
• Go-Ahead sets aside £30mn for Southeastern rail penaltyUK public transport group was stripped of franchise last year over ‘serious failings’

The Guardian

• Brompton Bikes plans £100m wetland factory on stiltsBritain’s biggest cycle maker commissions circular factory over Ashford floodplain with capacity to make 200,000 bikes a yearBrompton has revealed plans to invest as much as £100m in a new UK factory that will secure its place as the UK’s biggest bicycle manufacturer. In an added twist it has decided to reject the normal grey shed, instead opting to build its plant on stilts amid a newly restored wetland.The folding bike maker plans for the new site at Ashford in Kent to be open by 2027, on a 40 hectare (100 acre) floodplain. The stilts will be needed to prevent the factory being regularly inu...

Times Online

• Go-Ahead bill for rail scandal hits £100m [subscription]From mis-statements and errors originally put in the low millions, the amount retained has risen to £72.6 million. The company is also providing for what it expects to be a £30 million fine from the Department for Transport, an unprecedented penalty for a train operator in 25 years.
• Low-emissions planemaker Cranfield Aerospace tries flying solo [Subscription]After 30 years designing for the world’s biggest aircraft makers, Cranfield ripped up its business model to start producing its own hydrogen-powered planes
• Rolls-Royce boss Warren East to step down [subscription]The Rolls-Royce boss Warren East is to end a seven-year reign at the aero-engine maker that has been punctuated by a regular litany of profit warnings.

Birmingham Post

• West Yorks Mayor: Scaled down HS2 plan 'can only feel like they’ve run out of money'The Government sparked a backlash in November with its Integrated Rail Plan (IRP), as northern leaders hit out at downgraded plans
• Canalside theatre project gets £75,000 from HS2The Crown Wharf Theatre has been awarded the cash from the HS2 Community and Environment Fund

Bristol Live

• Cheapest ways to travel from Bristol to London by each mode of transportSoaring rail prices have made train travel an unviable option for many

Chester Standard

• New railway objectives launched for North Wales and CheshireFaster journey times and increased passenger capacity are just two of ten suggestions made for railways in North Wales and Cheshire.

Wrexham.com

• Ten key objectives for the region’s railways as the industry looks to devise 30-year strategic planTen key objectives have been identified for the region’s railways as the industry looks to devise 30-year strategic plan

Other Regional Press

• Oxford bids for electric buses from Government ZEBRA schemeOXFORD could become home to more than £80 million worth of electric buses after a mammoth bid to the Government was submitted.
• Consultation opened over proposed bus cutsA public consultation has been set up over proposed cuts "supported" bus services around Kent.
• Tories to axe controversial road projects if they win at May's electionsThey have pledged to listen to people's views and investigate other options
• Huddersfield bus station crawling with huge 'colony' of rats as people drop foodA shocking number of large rats have been spotted emerging from beneath the car park at Huddersfield Bus Station

British Trams Online

• Manx Electric Railway Society call on Tynwald to honour decision to build full horse tramwayThe Manx Electric Railway Society – a group with the express purpose of protecting and promoting the retention and development of not only the MER but also other tramways on the island at a reasonable cost – have called on members of the Isle of Man’s parliament, Tynwald, to honour the previous decision to build the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway all the way to the Sea Terminal again.
• WMCA budget approved for West Midlands Metro extensionsThe latest West Midlands Metro Combined Authority’s (WMCA) budget for 2022/23 has been approved with £379 million of the total £879.2 million due to be spent on transport – including West Midlands Metro extensions.

Coach and Bus Week

• Tough decisions for bus industryAt the time of going to press, the Department for Transport (DfT) had yet to confirm if it would continue to provide bus companies in England with funding so that they can continue to operate essential services in the wake of the recovery from the pandemic.
• Transport for London faces the futureIn the midst of funding issues and following the launch of new high specification buses, Richard Sharman pays a timely visit to the capital to see the network from a visitor’s point of view
• Coach and bus registrations fall to lowest recorded level as pandemic dents ridershipDemand for new PCVs dropped by 16.8% in 2021, with only 3,467 vehicles joining UK roads and double-deck bus registrations down 35.4%
• Passengers benefit as bus operators in Cornwall work togetherBus companies in Cornwall will now accept each other’s tickets in what they called a ’game-changing development for customers across the county’ who will now be able to travel any bus no matter who it’s operated by with the same ticket. From the beginning of February, passengers have been able to use the same ticket on services operated by First’s Cornwall by Kernow, Go Cornwall Bus, Stagecoach, Hopleys, OTS and Travel Cornwall.
• Three new Scottish bus partnerships establishedThe Scottish Government has allocated over £800,000 in funding to support three new bus partnerships in bringing forward improvements to bus services in their local area. The Argyll and Bute Bus Partnership, Midlothian Bus Alliance and West Lothian Bus Alliance now join eight other partnerships involving 28 local authorities across Scotland.

New Civil Engineer

• Government levelling up strategy is a wake-up call for plannersConsidering the ’smartness’ of infrastructure requires looking beyond the conventional engineering domain, and aspiring to better understand and manage the wider impacts of major infrastructure to effectively inform strategic decisions.

Railnews

• TfL lifts facemasks order THURSDAY BRIEFING: TfL lifts facemasks order ++ Underground strikes to go ahead after talks break down ++ Cambrian Line to be affected for weeks by weather damage ++ Community Rail benefits from surprising find ++

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Manchester non-Euro VI charging plans ended with CAZ halt?Vehicles that were to incur charges for non-compliance with the proposed Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone (CAZ) may not be liable for them under a revised Clean Air Plan (CAP) after it was confirmed that the conurbation’s CAZ will not now go ahead on 30 May.
• UTG calls for year’s extension to England bus recovery fundingThe Urban Transport Group (UTG) has called for recovery funding for the bus industry in England to be extended “for at least another year” if major long-term patronage and service losses via what it describes as a “vicious circle” are to be avoided
• Grayson calls for more local content in zero-emission busesGrayson Thermal Systems Managing Director Stuart Hateley has called for more local content to be factored into the West Midlands’ move towards zero-emission buses.
• Ipswich Buses launches new website with Rise Digital MediaIpswich Buses has launched a new website that has been developed and built in partnership with industry technology firm Rise Digital Media. The mobile-friendly site provides users with simple and instant access to the latest service information, timetables, live vehicle tracking, journey planning, news and other items.

Transport Infrastructure News

• East Midlands highway upgrade route revealedCongestion relief has moved a step closer for motorists using the A46 past Newark after National Highways today unveiled the preferred route for an upgraded bypass of the Nottinghamshire town.