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

Thursday, 28 April 2022

BBC News

• P&O Ferries under pressure to return furlough cashTransport Secretary Grant Shapps also calls again for P&O Ferries boss Peter Hebblethwaite to resign.
• UK car production down as energy costs riseAlmost 100,000 fewer cars were built in the first three months of 2022 compared to last year.
• Boeing: Plane-maker reveals losses from Trump Air Force One dealThe US plane-maker reveals costs from the deal former US President Donald Trump renegotiated.

Financial Times

• P&O ferry under inspection as Dover to Calais services resumeVessel undergoing checks after ‘mechanical failure’ as shipping company operates first ferries on crucial route
• Go-Ahead hastens renewal of audit contract after Deloitte probe announcedRunning tender three years early comes in wake of regulators starting investigation of firm’s work for bus and rail operator
• Dead in the Water — fire, fraud and murder on the high seas A journalistic exposé of a maritime fraud raises compelling questions about the morality of London shipping finance

The Telegraph

• Private e-scooters will be legal on roads under plans to ‘properly regulate them’

Times Online

• Go-Ahead back on the move as it plans to restart dividend [Subscription]Go-Ahead, which benefited from taxpayer subsidies during the pandemic, is to start repaying dividends after reporting that it expects to exceed City forecasts for its profits.
• Hire more staff, private company behind passport call centre told [subscription]The private company behind the Passport Office’s contact centre has been ordered to hire more staff to ease “unacceptable” delays.

City AM

• Railway cleaners begin 11-day strike over salariesRailway cleaners began today an 11-day strike to increase their salary to £15 per hour. The union RMT said its members working for contract Churchill aboard the GTR, Southeastern and HS1 networks will go on strike until 7 May. As part of the campaign, RMT is calling for cleaning staff to be treated like other [...] The post Railway cleaners begin 11-day strike over salaries appeared first on CityAM.
• UK automotive output down by 100,000 cars as supply chain issues continue to biteThe UK automotive production was down by 100,000 cars in the first quarter of 2022 due to supply chain issues continuing to bite.  According to data by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), output declined by 32.4 per cent on 2021 levels, going from 306,558 to 207,347 new vehicles registered.  March 2022 was [...] The post UK automotive output down by 100,000 cars as supply chain issues continue to bite appeared first on CityAM.

The Mirror

• Holiday travel chaos to worsen as BA slashes even more flights for this summerTransport Secretary Grant Shapps has revealed that BA is set to proactively cancel flights over the coming months with 100s of flights already being axed on a daily basis

Bristol Live

• Bristol M32 must be downgraded to A-road for park and ride to happen, says council leader£48million has been allocated to the project which has failed to identify a suitable site

Manchester Evening News

• 'Dangerous' and 'embarrassing' – Why Andy Burnham wants to take control of Manchester's train stationsThe Mayor claims the city centre stations have not seen substantial investment for decades

The York Press

• Calls for action over 'concerning' cuts to Northern train services in YorkYork’s council leader has called on the government to take action over “deeply concerningâ€� incoming rail service cuts that will hit the city.

Wales Online

• Latest pictures of Cardiff's long-awaited bus station as external work nears completionPassengers will be able to use the station in 2023
• Work begins on introducing controversial 20mph speed limit to parts of CardiffRedundant 30mph signs are currently being taken down

Yorkshire Post

• Leeds station needs "massive redevelopment" to deliver Integrated Rail Plan, Grant Shapps confirmsA "radical transformation" of Leeds railway station will be required to deliver the Government's Integrated Rail Plan, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said.

Other Regional Press

• Reopening of Bideford to Barnstaple railway 'transformational for North Devon'Support is growing for ambitious plans to reconnect Bideford's historic rail line with Barnstaple and the national network. The Tarka Rail Association (TRA) have welcomed visitors to both Bideford and Barnstaple Railway Station, where they have showcased the work currently being done to prepare for a future reopening.
• Rail worker strike could be 'biggest in history'Passengers could face travel chaos this summer if plans for a national rail strike go ahead.
• Park and ride sites could move as part of transport revolutionTwo huge park and ride sites could be moved as a council plans to shake up travel in the city.
• New HS2 plan set to shave nine months off railway build near LeamingtonHS2 says money saved on construction will help to 'enhance the environmental legacy' of the project locally

C.N.N.

• SpaceX mission arrives at ISS with first Black woman to join space station crewA SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts — including the first Black woman to join the International Space Station crew — successfully docked with the ISS Wednesday evening, kicking off a five-month mission.

New Civil Engineer

• HS2 | Shapps categorically rules out underground Manchester stationTransport secretary Grant Shapps has said that the government has concluded its investigation into the value of an underground station at Manchester Piccadilly to accommodate HS2 services and has determined that it “doesn’t work out”.

Railnews

• More than 500 rail projects planned for Bank Holiday weekend Network Rail is investing �70 million on 550 projects to upgrade the railway over the May Bank Holiday weekend, but is urging passengers on some routes to travel on either side of the weekend if they can. About 95 per cent of the railway will not be affected by engineering work, but there will be no trains between Milton Keynes Central and London Euston, between Waltham Cross and Stansted Airport, or between Stalybridge and Guide Bridge.