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

Saturday, 26 March 2022

BBC News

• Virgin Atlantic linked to Aberdeenshire carbon capture plantVirgin Atlantic will use a north-east base to offset its emissions by sucking CO2 from the atmosphere.
• Electric car chargepoints to overtake fuel pumpsMotoring group the RAC says the number may still be insufficient for growing demand.
• Calls for P&O Ferries boss Peter Hebblethwaite to resign growBoris Johnson backs Grant Shapps' call for Peter Hebblethwaite to quit after not consulting on sackings.
• P&O Ferries ship detained over crew training concernsIt comes after 800 of the firm's staff were sacked and replaced with workers on cheaper wages.

Financial Times

• P&O abuses expose UK’s embrace of cowboy capitalismEmployment practices need tighter regulation and better enforcement in the wake of the mass sacking scandal
• P&O in dispute with pension fund over value of ships guaranteeing debtWide discrepancy in valuations between company and trustees for three ferries pledged against £146mn deficit
• Pressure grows on P&O after ship held for being ’unfit to sail’Downing St backs Grant Shapps’ call for ferry boss to go after ’breathtaking’ admission of lawbreaking on job cuts

The Guardian

• P&O was a bastion of British pride. How quaint that seems now | Ian JackMy father worked at sea, like so many others. Shipping’s long race to the bottom has seen the end of seafarers like himA German torpedo struck the P&O liner Persia at lunchtime on 30 December 1915, when the ship was about 40 miles south-east of Crete and making all speed towards India via the Suez canal. In the dining saloon John Douglas-Scott-Montagu, the second Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, had just finished his soup. One of the ship’s boilers blew up, the sea flooded in, and the Persia sank so quickly that it dragged lifeboats down with it and left hardly any wreckage for those in the s...
• P&O ferry detained over crew training concerns, says coastguard agencyTransport secretary Grant Shapps says ship was detained in Northern Ireland for being ’unfit to sail’A P&O ferry has been detained in Northern Ireland ’due to failures on crew familiarisation, vessel documentation and crew training’, according to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).The agency said the ship, the European Causeway, was impounded at the port of Larne. Continue reading...

The Herald

• 'Hypocrisy': Ministers under fire as CalMac uses P&O tax dodge to save £46mMINISTERS have come under fire for sanctioning tax avoidance as state-controlled ferry company CalMac used the same loophole as P&O to escape paying National Insurance contributions worth £46m.
• P&O Ferries chief Peter Hebblethwaite should resign - Grant ShappsTransport Secretary Grant Shapps has called for the boss of P&O Ferries to resign after his “brazen” comments about ’knowingly breaking the law’ and vowed to force the company to ’U-turn’ and pay its crews the minimum wage.

The Independent

• P&O ferry detained in Northern Ireland for being ’unfit to sail’Company ’will not be able to rush inexperienced crew through training’, says transport secretary
• P&O ship detained in Larne after being deemed ’unfit to sail’The detention of ships is based on concerns over their safety and to prevent them going to sea.

Times Online

• Sturgeon told to explain who signed ferries deal [subscription]Nicola Sturgeon has been urged to explain her knowledge of a controversial ferry contract after one of her most senior ministers was linked to signing off the deal.
• Rolls-Royce gains altitude as Tata goes shopping for Airbus aircraft [subscription]Rolls-Royce shares took off yesterday on reports that the owner of Air India is looking to snap up around 30 Airbus aircraft, which
• Jaguar in talks with Chinese supplier to power electric cars [subscription]Jaguar Land Rover is closing in on a deal to source batteries for the electrification of its model range with Envision AESC, the Chinese company that supplies the Nissan plant in Sunderland.
• Go-Ahead retains Thameslink rail franchise after being sacked from Southeastern [subscription]The rail group that was fined by the Department for Transport (DfT) and sacked from Southeastern trains for withholding money owed to the taxpayer has retained its contract to run the Southern and Thameslink commuter networks.
• Ban on drivers using phones to take photos or browse internet [subscription]A legal loophole that allowed drivers to escape prosecution for using a mobile phone to film or take photos has been closed.

Daily Express

• Oil price crash: AA warning as petrol stations pass on less than half of fuel duty cutPETROL STATIONS have passed on less than half of the fuel duty cut to the UK drivers, the AA has warned as motorists are set for another week of high costs at the pump despite a slight dip.
• P&O Ferries vessel DETAINED by coastguard days after hundreds of UK staff suddenly sackedA P&O Ferries vessel has been detained by the coastguard in Northern Ireland after hundreds of UK staff were suddenly sacked earlier this week.

The Mirror

• 'Boris Johnson's P&O hypocrisy as PM demands ferry boss quit for breaking the law'When Boris Johnson rightly demands P&O Ferries boss Peter Hebblethwaite quit for breaking the law then the Prime Minister is duty bound to resign himself for breaking Covid lockdown laws
• Mystery as plane debris found six miles from doomed China flight crash siteA piece of metal found by an elderly farmer six miles from the crash site of a China Eastern Airlines flight could give a clue as to what happened to the downed Boeing 737

This is Money

• Beware car cloning ID theft: How it can cost you dearSo-called 'car-cloning' is on the increase leaving innocent motorists with parking tickets and speeding fines for which they're not responsible.
• UK car production down 41% in lowest February output since 2009The chip drought continues to be a major toll on the sector, with the Mini Oxford plant (pictured) forced to shut down for five days in February due to a lack of semiconductors to go into its cars.
• Tenfold increase in electric car charging points promised by 2030Industry insiders say the target might not go far enough to match the increase in demand for plug-in vehicles in the lead up to the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars.
• MARKET REPORT: Rail network deal puts Go-Ahead back on trackThee Department for Transport awarded it an agreement to run the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern rail services.

Sky News

• Petrol stations pass on just 2.71p of Sunak's 5p fuel duty price drop to drivers, data shows Petrol stations have failed to pass on the fuel duty savings announced by the chancellor in his spring statement, new data has shown.
• P&O ferry detained over safety concerns after 'failures' training new crewA P&O ferry has been detained in Northern Ireland on safety grounds - just days after 800 workers were sacked without notice and replaced with cheaper workers.

Birmingham Post

• Manchester Airport to gradually reopen Terminal Three after pandemic shut downThe phased reopening will start on Sunday, March 27
• Pass on fuel duty cuts to struggling agri-food sector - NI agri minister’It’s only right and fair the prices at the pumps come down whenever crude oil prices decrease, as quickly as they were raised."

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Transport campaigners: Fuel duty cut will boost car dependencyTRANSPORT campaigners in Yorkshire are disappointed Chancellor Rishi Sunak has cut fuel duty by five per cent while rail and bus services are still struggling to recover after the lockdown.
• Long delayed work on multi-storey car park at station to finally begin next monthWEST Yorkshire's Mayor has said she understands the
• £23m bid that will see 'zero emission' buses rolled out in Bradford is approvedA FLEET of new zero emission buses will be rolled out in Bradford after a successful bid to Government.

Manchester Evening News

• Cars dumped outside homes near Liverpool Airport as families jet away on holidayResidents have witnessed people throwing McDonald's wrappers out of car windows and urinating in private gardens

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Manchester Airport evacuated after suspected fire incidentFirefighters were pictured at the Terminal 1 departures with concerned passengers flooding social media with photos

Northern Echo

• Manchester Airport evacuated after fire reported at terminalPARTS of Manchester Airport have been evacuated after a fire was reported at the terminal.

Wales Online

• Using mobile phones in your car: The law on when you can and when you can't and how much you could be finedNew changes to The Highway Code have come into action from Friday, March 25, 2022 - and ignoring them could see you given six points on your licence and a £200 fine

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Walsall drivers must still pay fines issued before controversial bus lane's removalMotorists who have been fined for using a controversial bus gate in Walsall will still have to pay up despite it being scrapped.

Cambridge News

• Driving law change brings harsh penalties for mobile phone use behind the wheel'Zero tolerance' rules make it now illegal for drivers to use a handheld mobile phone under virtually any circumstance

Reading Evening Post

• Heathrow Airport: Why doesn't Heathrow have a Terminal 1 and what happened to it?Heathrow Airport is known for having five Terminals - but only four of them operate flights to this day - so what happened to Terminal 1?

Other Regional Press

• Forecourts not passing on fuel duty cut to drivers, says AAThe AA said petrol prices have fallen just 2.71p and diesel 1.59p despite Rishi Sunak saying a 5p fuel cut comes into effect from 6pm on Wednesday.
• New cruise ships to arrive in Southampton as industry returnsSOUTHAMPTON is set to welcome seven new cruise ships and the better part of two million passengers this year in a ’tremendous’ boost to the city.
• More than 1,600 call for barriers to stop danger bikes in SouthamptonMORE than 1,600 people have backed calls for bike barriers in Southampton to stop ’dangerous’ anti-social bike riders.
• More electric delivery bikes to hit Oxford's streets with £70k government grantWE can expect to see more electric delivery bikes on the streets of Oxford with the help of £70,000 of government money.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Government drives EV revolution with tenfold expansion in chargepoints by 2030Backed by £1.6 billion, under the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy, charging will become easier and cheaper than refuelling a petrol or diesel car, while new legal requirements on operators will see drivers of EVs able to pay by contactless, compare charging prices and find nearby chargepoints via apps. The new strategy sets out the government’s aim to expand the UK’s charging network, so that it is robust, fair and covers the entire country – as well as improving the consumer experience at all chargepoints, with significant support focused ...
• Manchester Airport announces phased reopening of Terminal ThreeManchester Airport has announced a gradual reopening of Terminal Three from Sunday 27th March. The phased reopening will start with the terminal being used for arriving passengers travelling with a select number of airlines. To allow for the additional flight movements, the airport is set to reopen its second runway from Tuesday 5th April. Initially it will operate for a limited number of hours each day and will gradually increase as the demand continues to rise. All local stakeholders will be made aware in advance of the reopening. The remainder of Terminal Three, including the c...

Railnews

• Govia Thameslink wins new-style National Rail Contract A new National Rail Contract has been awarded to Govia to run the Govia Thameslink Railway network for another three years. The new contract is a stepping stone between the former franchise model and the forthcoming Passenger Services Contracts which will be awarded by Great British Railways in future. The new contract starts on 1 April and will run until at least 1 April 2025, with up to a further three years at the discretion of the transport secretary.

Other News Sources

• Ship Engine Makers Cut Ties with RussiaFinland's Wärtsilä, a leading ship engine maker, has suspended business with Russia including equipment training while German counterpart MAN Energy Solutions is reviewing contracts, adding further trade pressure on Moscow.Russia's maritime…
• Boris Johnson backs calls for P&O boss to resign over sackingsDon't talk to the press and don't make public your payoff - the terms of a contract being offered by P&O to sacked ferry staff, obtained by Channel 4 News.  
• National Rail Contract awarded to Govia Thameslink RailwayA MAJOR rail operator has awarded a contract by the government to continue running the main train services across the country.