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

Wednesday, 13 April 2022

BBC News

• Self-driving car stopped by San Francisco policeVideo shows how law enforcers are having to adapt to a new era of autonomous vehicles.
• New blueprint to help town centres recover from CovidA joint report by the Scottish government and Cosla also details measures to tackle climate change.

Department for Transport

• Government pledges £7.6 million for rail innovationFunding given to create cutting-edge technology that will help transform rail travel. Rail Minister Wendy Morton has officially announced this year’s First of Kind competition, which invites bids from companies specialising in innovative ways to modernise the railways.

Financial Times

• Travel chaos raises stakes for BA as it battles to restore its lustreUK airline has been hit hard as wider industry grapples with surge of pent-up demand

The Independent

• Airport chaos – live: Queues stretch outside terminal buildings ahead of Easter weekendStaff shortages could continue for the next year, warns expert

The Telegraph

• Priti Patel was warned over airport chaos after sending passport staff to tackle Channel migrants [subscripton]Airline industry told Home Secretary that lack of border workers risked massive queues

Times Online

• EasyJet heads for the heights after two years of turbulenceEasyJet, the dominant airline at Gatwick, the second largest airport in Britain, said that more bookings had been made during the past six weeks than in the equivalent period in 2019 as customers booked closer to departure, and it expected to operate at close to pre-pandemic flight levels for the summer as a whole.
• Security vetting to beat UK airport queue chaos [subscription]Applicants for a counterterror check, needed for an “airside” airport pass, will be “expedited up the pipeline” by the UK Security Vetting (UKSV), the department responsible for checks, sources told The Times.

Reuters News

• UK watchdog probes Deloitte audit of transport firm Go-AheadBritain's accounting watchdog said on Tuesday it has opened an investigation into Deloitte's auditing over six years of Go-Ahead (GOG.L), a bus and rail company which was fined by the government for overcharging.

City AM

• UK invests £7.6m in rail innovation competitionThe UK Government announced today it will invest £7.6m in rail innovation competition First of a Kind. A joint venture between the Department for Transport (DfT) innovation agency Innovate UK, the competition aims to find new ways to innovate the railway sector, focusing especially on decarbonisation solutions.

Sky News

• P&O Ferries' hopes of Dover crossings from Good Friday in doubt as ship 'detained' after inspectionThe company is yet to confirm whether the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's decision will scupper its plans to begin services on the crucial Dover-Calais route but it seems likely as the agency has not said that further inspections are imminent.

Belfast Telegraph

• Space jobs in NI more than triple as sector employment grows across UKNorthern Ireland is in the space race, after it emerged that jobs in the sector more than tripled in the last financial year.

Birmingham Post

• Haulage boss says Northumberland investment will drive post-pandemic boostAlan Ferguson of Fergusons Transport says the firm will invest in its Cramlington base after weathering the impact of the pandemic with a positive performance

Manchester Evening News

• M62 stretch in Greater Manchester is one of 'most high-tech roads' in the country - from TODAYNew radar technology has been launched that means drivers stuck on the M62 will be 'spotted in 20 seconds'
• Manchester Airport passengers hit with more delays amid '90-minute wait' and queues reaching car park"Queues out of the airport doors will never be acceptable"

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• SNP transport minister to visit north-east amid push for Buchan rail linksThe SNP's transport minister will visit the north-east this summer to discuss plans to bring back Peterhead and Fraserburgh rail links.

Blackpool Gazette

• MP welcomes return of full Sunday timetable but calls for reliable services on South Fylde lineFylde MP Mark Menzies has welcomed the return of a full Sunday timetable on the South Fylde rail line but urged train company Northern to make sure the trains actually run.

Hull Daily Mail

• P&O Ferries' Pride of Hull returns to city as passenger services to resumeThis is the moment the Pride of Hull ferry arrived back at King George Dock this morning, after three weeks berthed at Rotterdam's Europort. The ferry returned the River Humber at 6am ahead of passenger services resuming on Wednesday evening.

Other Regional Press

• Full steam ahead with locomotive at Llangollen RailwayTHE Llangollen Railway Trust is delighted to announce that it has taken ownership of long-term resident Class 03 diesel-mechanical shunting locomotive No 03162 from Wirral Council.
• Doctor wants face masks compulsory on London Underground and London buses again as NHS under 'serious Covid threat'A leading London doctor has called for the government to bring back compulsory mask-wearing on the London Underground and other public transport, amid concerns hospitals are unable to take the strain of rising Covid infections.
• Bournemouth Airport unveils new cargo handling serviceBOURNEMOUTH Airport has claimed to be the “fastest developing cargo airport in the UK” following the launch of its dedicated cargo handling service.
• Rail groups on track to engage communitiesMEMBERS of grassroots rail groups could have a greater role to play in helping communities to thrive.
• Stagecoach's huge shake-up of bus fares across Coventry, Nuneaton and Bedworth Some ticket prices are to rise as the firm battles to keep up with the rising cost of running bus services

C.N.N.

• Shipping generates more CO2 than aviation. This solar-powered boat could change thatHoping to show how shipping can reduce its environmental impact, Belgian entrepreneur Gunter Pauli has embarked on a three-year circumnavigation of the globe in his ship, the MS Porrima.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Sponsored News: On track: Rail supply sector to meet at Railtex / Infrarail 2022, setting out roadmap for progress.Following last year’s successful return from the pandemic, it’s now full steam ahead for the spring edition of Railtex / Infrarail, the number one showcase for railway technology and infrastructure in the UK. Taking place from 10–12 May 2022 at Olympia London, the popular exhibition will once again bring the entire rail supply sector together, presenting the latest developments in sustainable and smart rail operations.  As well as the comprehensive exhibitor line-up, the upcoming edition of the Railtex / Infrarail will deliver a diverse programme of events and an exciti...

New Civil Engineer

• Rail innovations sought to cut costs and boost performanceRail Minister Wendy Morton has launched the sixth round of the First of a Kind (Foak) competition, with £7.6M to be allocated to projects focusing on improving cost-efficiency and network performance.

Rail Magazine

• RIA blasts DfT: 900 days and no contracts updateApril 8 marked 900 days since the Government last updated its Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP). The lack of a regular pipeline of contracts is regarded by manufacturers and suppliers as the biggest challenge to their prosperity, with the Railway Industry Association again urging the Department for Transport to act.

The Business Desk

• Liverpool Baltic chosen as name for new £50m city rail stationA public vote has determined the name of a new £50m Liverpool rail station, to be situated in the heart of the city’s Baltic Triangle.
• Birmingham Airport makes multi-million-pound commitment to become net-zero by 2033Emissions have already been reduced by 33% through the use of solar, electric vehicle transition and energy-efficiency measures.

Green Miscellany

• The new breed of supersize electric SUVs that weigh over 4 tonnesThe heavier the car, the more damage it causes in the event of a crash. It’s one of the reasons the current fashion for SUVs contributes to road danger and it’s a threat to safety that’s about to become worse as large 4x4s go elelctric. The problem is set to be particularly acute in America where there’s an appetite for… The post The new breed of supersize electric SUVs that weigh over 4 tonnes appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Number of journeys at Soham's £18.6 million new railway station revealedMore than 11,000 journeys have been made at Soham's new multi-million pound railway station in its first three months.
• Bristol Underground: Map, when work will start, and will it be like London’s Tube?An underground tube network could be just the ticket to elevate Bristol’s transport system - but how do you get such a mammoth project off the ground?
• Belfast to Bangor zero-emissions ferry hoped to start in 2024Move seen as “another milestone on our journey towards leading the decarbonisation of maritime”
• UK government pledges £7.6 million for rail innovationThe UK government has made £7.6 million available for cutting-edge technology that will help transform rail travel.