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

Tuesday, 22 March 2022

BBC News

• New £82m Coventry Railway Station opens to publicA new £82m city centre railway station has welcomed its first passengers. The new building in Coventry has improved access to platforms, shops and an entrance from Warwick Road.
• M40 lanes to close for Birmingham link road worksInitial work on the northbound carriageway will begin on Monday, National Highways said.
• Birmingham Airport's driverless shuttles are 'the future'Passengers are taking a special vehicle from car parks to the departures building.
• West Midlands Metro services to resume 'in weeks', says mayor Andy StreetThe tram service was again suspended after cracks were found in the bodywork of some trams.
• Non-Ukrainian refugees wrongly denied free Wales rail travelA Sudanese man is mistakenly told he must buy tickets amid confusion over free travel for refugees.
• Why is petrol so expensive and what is fuel duty?UK fuel prices are at record highs and there are calls for the government to act.
• Larne seeks meeting with sponsors P&OIrish Premiership club Larne says it is seeking a meeting with sponsors P&O Ferries after the company made 800 staff redundant without warning.
• Boeing jets under 'surveillance' after China crashIndia's aviation authority has ordered 'enhanced' scrutiny of 737 aircraft after China Eastern crash.

Financial Times

• P&O Ferries hits political storm as Channel crossings remain at anchorUK transport secretary warns of consumer and industry boycott after company sacks staff
• Australia warned it faces ‘national emergency’ as commercial shipping fleet dwindlesCountry risks supply chain disruption when geopolitical tensions rise, says industry group
• Why San Francisco turned sour on Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing appsA new service hopes to offer something new to drivers and riders. But it shouldn’t expect an easy ride

The Guardian

• P&O Ferries owner to benefit from at least £50m of UK freeport schemeDubai-based DP World runs shipping terminals at Southampton and London GatewayThe Dubai-based owner of P&O Ferries is expected to benefit from at least £50m of UK taxpayer support as part of the government’s freeport programme, raising questions over its role in the scheme after the sacking of 800 workers.DP World, the Emirati logistics giant behind P&O, runs the UK’s second- and third-biggest shipping terminals at Southampton and London Gateway – locations among the first 12 freeports in the UK to be picked by the government last year as a flagship part of its levelling-up age...
• Revealed: ships may dump oil up to 3,000 times a year in Europe’s watersCollaborative investigation shows ships regularly discharge ‘bilge’ water illegally instead of treating it, with toxic effect on marine lifeUp to 3,000 cases of oil dumped by commercial ships may be happening every year in European waters, according to a new investigation, which found the scale of illegal “bilge dumping” is likely to be far higher than publicly acknowledged.Bilge water is a mix of liquids from the engine room of a ship along with other potentially toxic substances including lubricants, cleaning solvents and metals such as lead and arsenic, which collects at the bottom of the v...

The Herald

• Ukraine: Minister to speak to Ryanair after airline rejects Poland to Dublin fare hikeTHE Irish government is to speak to Ryanair after the airline was accused of increasing fares from Poland to Ireland - a route being used by Ukrainian refugees fleeing the conflict.

Times Online

• Doctor who tried to save girl killed on e-scooter calls for safety law [subscription]A teenage girl is thought to have become the youngest person in the UK to be killed while riding an e-scooter after she collided with a van in east London.
• No 10 eyes toll roads to collect tax lost to e-cars [subscription]Downing Street is discussing plans to set up a network of toll roads as ministers search for new ways to tax drivers.

City AM

• Experts call for “step change” in EV infrastructure roll outElectric vehicle (EV) infrastructure’s roll out needs a “step change”, industry experts warned today. In report published today by EV infrastructure company Connected Kerb, experts from EY, Motability and UKPN outlined that growing demand is not met by a similar roll out of infrastructure. While EV registrations went up 154 per cent of 2021 levels, [...] The post Experts call for “step change” in EV infrastructure roll out appeared first on CityAM.
• Exclusive: Seraphim Space posts UK Finance chairman to boardSeraphim Space has lured in a new City veteran, City A.M. can reveal today, as the chairman of UK Finance steps onto the space capital firm’s board as a senior advisor. Bob Wigley, formerly chairman of Merrill Lynch – now Bank of America – for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will maintain his role [...] The post Exclusive: Seraphim Space posts UK Finance chairman to board appeared first on CityAM.

Daily Record

• Sacked P&O ferry crews replaced by 'Indian seafarers paid £1.80 an hour', union claimsMick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said it amounted to “shocking exploitation”.

The Mirror

• Brit drivers 'may have to pay road tolls after fuel duty is slashed'The UK government is reportedly considering introducing toll roads for motorists as a way for the Treasury to bring in more money with Chancellor Rishi Sunak set to slash fuel duty

Sky News

• Fired P&O Ferries workers 'forced to sign gagging order in return for redundancy pay'Eight hundred P&O Ferries workers fired suddenly last week are only being given redundancy pay on the condition they sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), according to the transport secretary.

Birmingham Mail

• Transport boss piles pressure on mayor over axed Midland Metro servicesCouncillor Waseem Zaffar, cabinet member for transport and environment, has demanded a better "working system"

Birmingham Post

• London Mayor Sadiq Khan calls for transport funding clarity as he tours new Goole train plantWarning over future TfL contracts surrporting regional jobs

The York Press

• TIER and Zipabout promote e-scooter options to York rail usersRAIL passengers arriving in York will now be offered the option to hop on an e-scooter or e-bike to finish the final leg of their journey.

Blackpool Gazette

• Transport Secretary Grant Shapps takes look at plans to improve rail services to Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Lytham and St AnnesThe case for a passing loop on the South Fylde rail line was laid out to Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps as he visited Squires Gate Station.

Other Regional Press

• Train passengers warned over Easter travel chaos as disruption to hit bank holidayAvanti West Coast customers planning journeys between the Scotland and London are being urged to travel either before Friday April 15 or after Monday April 18.
• Oxford Bus Company celebrates tourism week with more sightseeing toursMore city bus tours of Oxford will be available to celebrate English tourism week.

New Civil Engineer

• High speed rail heavyweights jointly promote rail’s role in decarbonising transportLeading figures from politics, business and environmentalism have come together with the High Speed Rail Group (HSRG) to put a spotlight on the role of high speed rail in delivering net zero carbon transport in the UK.
• National Highways has spent over £36M redrafting plans for its two major road tunnelsNational Highways has spent tens of millions of pounds redrafting planning applications for its two flagship tunnel schemes, NCE can reveal.

Rail Advent

• Avanti West Coast hosts a ’Trackathon’ in a bid to find a name for its brand new fleet of Hitachi trains.The ’Trackathon’ saw guests asked to join in and propose suitable names for the new Hitachi Sets which will be coming into operation during 2023.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Transport for the North releases revised Strategic Transport PlanTransport for the North (TfN) has published its policy positions on active multimodal hubs as it works to updates its 2019 Strategic Transport Plan (STP).

Other News Sources

• East West Rail protest planned for Mayor’s Climate Change EventBedfordians campaigning against the proposed East West Rail route through north Bedfordshire will be hosting a protest to coincide with the Mayor’s Climate Change Event this weekend.
• Heat pumps and car-free days: How can the UK respond to the energy price crisis without backtracking on net-zero? Ahead of the Spring Statement and the publication of a new energy security strategy, trade bodies and NGOs are urging the Government to double down on low-carbon heat, renewable electricity and energy efficiency.