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

Sunday, 24 April 2022

BBC News

• Steeple Grange Light Railway reopens after rockfall repairsA heritage railway line closed by a series of calamities has finally reopened to the public after two years. The Steeple Grange Light Railway, in Derbyshire, was forced to close in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Financial Times

• Back in business: are airlines ready for a summer travel boom?The aviation industry is struggling to ramp up operations after two years of Covid disruptions, cost-cutting and redundancies

The Guardian

• Will local elections put the brakes on low-traffic neighbourhood schemes?Sadiea Mustafa-Awan, an Oxford solicitor, spent years as a Labour member, including a decade working for one of the party’s MPs. But on 5 May she will stand for election with the express intention of removing a Labour councillor. Why? It’s all about traffic.

The Herald

• Back on track: Fifty years on, are the famous ‘Beeching cuts’ to Scotland’s railways finally being reversed?It is only a journey of the mind now. A train full of people, all in their Sunday best. Smiling and happy. Buckets and spades and sandwiches. To the left are the fields of Fife, to the right is the sea, and at times you’re so close to the water it feels like the train is flying over it.

The Telegraph

• 5 of the best holidays for the price of a return rail journey from London to Manchester [Subscription]There are better ways to spend £369.40 – seven nights in an all-inclusive Corfu resort, perhaps, or a city break in Toronto
• Russia ‘steals’ 150 planes leased from foreign owners [subscription]State-backed airlines are accused of transferring aircraft held hostage since war in Ukraine

Times Online

• DVLA backlog as medical delays to drag on until autumnThe backlog of more than 200,000 applicants waiting to learn whether they can still drive will last for several months
• Dev’s Law: Britain dragging its heels on law to fit automatic brakes on all new cars [subscription]A mother whose eight-year-old son was killed when a lorry crashed into his grandfather’s car is campaigning with the AA for all new vehicles to be fitted with emergency braking.

Mail Online

• Great British Rail FailAfter Shapps fronts half-price sale, just 0.6% of tickets included

Labour Party

• If Boris Johnson really wants to ‘build back better’, he should look to Wales - Alex Davies-Jones MP... And over the last few years, my Labour-led local authority has led the way with an ambitious regeneration project for Pontypridd, which has already delivered on bringing jobs to our area. We now have the headquarters for Transport for Wales, a major employer across South Wales, based slap bang in the centre of town. And of course, a hugely positive knock-on impact is the explosion of cafes, restaurants and bars making use of both the space and the increasing foot fall.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• North Wales rail journeys cancelled as huge freight train brought in for engineering workA huge freight train has been spotted on the tracks at Old Colwyn instead

Northern Echo

• Thirsk railway station is a 'nightmare' for those with mobility problemsA ‘NIGHTMARE’ railway station is a no-go area for anyone with mobility problems, pushchairs or large cases and it has to change, it has been claimed.

Other Regional Press

• Campaign Group pushes for rail service improvements to South Pembrokeshire lineA new pressure group has been formed to campaign for significant improvements to the rail service on the South Pembrokeshire line - Whitland, Tenby, Pembroke Dock.
• Rural depopulation can be reversed by good transport links, says north Green MSPGOOD public transport networks can reverse rural depopulation trends and revitalise communities, according to north MSP, Ariane Burgess.

Rail Advent

• LNER teams up with Anna Richardson for a special Azuma train offering masterclasses in wellness and wellbeingLondon North Eastern Railway’s (LNER) special Azuma train service will see a dedicated workshop carriage focused on wellness and wellbeing hosted by Anna Richardson on the 7th of May 2022.

Transport Infrastructure News

• Daydreaming drivers blamed for delays at traffic signalsCongestion and air pollution are being made worse at traffic signals because too many drivers are slow to pull away when the lights turn green, new research suggests.

Other News Sources

• DB and Vodafone to remove mobile blackspots across rail networkThe agreement will improve mobile connection speeds for passengers on high-speed trains.
• 'Central London is moving east and the London Underground, Crossrail and buses need to do the same'Newham and Tower Hamlets deserve better, argues MyLondon Transport Correspondent Callum Marius
• Gatwick and Heathrow Airport: Spain's latest Covid-19 face covering adviceSpain has scrapped the use of face masks indoors ahead of the May bank holiday

News from Europe

• EU Approves Investments Worth €272 Million for Improving Passenger Transport by Train in Lithuania & LatviaThe European Commission has announced that it has approved investments of more than €114 million from the Cohesion Fund to purchase new electric trains in Latvia’s Riga and Pieriga region.