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

Saturday, 21 May 2022

BBC News

• HS2: Senedd Tory leader wants share of cash for WalesOn the day the PM visits Wales, Andrew RT Davies tries to set separate path for the Welsh Tories.
• Green air travel possible - Cranfield University professorAirports can be green and air travel could be cheaper eventually, but first a high level of investment is needed, a scientist has told the BBC.
• Rail union RMT to ballot over 'derisory' pay offerThe news comes just days before ScotRail cuts almost a third of train services under a temporary timetable.
• Elizabeth line: What is Crossrail and when does it open?Three and half years late and at least £4bn over-budget, Crossrail is finally about to open.
• ULEZ expansion plans could cover nearly all of London from 2023Transport for London starts consulting on plans to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone.
• Will there be a national rail strike?A strike ballot of 40,000 members of the RMT union closes on Tuesday.

Financial Times

• The little island becoming Europe’s aviation hotspotSo many airlines are moving to Malta that planes now outnumber hotels
• UK rail groups prepare plans to restrict services ahead of strike voteOperators draft contingency measures such as a 12-hour-a-day service if unions vote for a full national strike

The Herald

• Former rail chief in Stonehaven crash train callA FORMER rail company director has raised concerns over the continued use of the model of train involved in the Stonehaven crash, calling for speed limits to be introduced for the trains until they are removed from service.

Times Online

• Applying for free bus pass no easy ride for young [subscription]Applying for free bus travel for under-22s is too complex and has alienated swathes of applicants, campaigners claim.
• Rail strike chaos looms [subscription]Rail bosses are drawing up plans to keep supermarket shelves stocked over fears that a strike billed as the biggest in modern history will bring the train network to a halt.

Mail Online

• Freight trains will be given priority to keep supermarkets stocked amid union rail strike plansRail firms are now drawing up plans to reserve tracks for goods trains, which each carry as much as 72 lorries as unions plan for a 'summer of content' that will spell chaos for many of Britain's major industries.

This is Money

• A highly charged debate: Is Government's electric car plan realistic?Are you ready for 'charging rage'? That's what experts predict will happen when too many electric car drivers compete for too few public charging points.

Birmingham Mail

• 'Secret' emergency motorway road leading to the M5 that's hidden in BromsgroveAccess route on to M42 and M5 allows ambulances and emergency vehicles to avoid queues

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• MP raises Bradford train issues and rail cuts in the NorthLabour shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh has contrasted rail service cuts in the north to improvements made in the south east, asking “what message” it sends to the public.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• All aboard! Meet the LNER train manager making people smile with his punny announcements from Aberdeen to EdinburghA LNER train manager is making a name for himself by entertaining passengers at stops on the Aberdeen to Edinburgh line.

The York Press

• York area MPs in railway HQ demandTWO York area MPs have repeated calls for central government to set up the new headquarters of Great British Railways in the city.

Wales Online

• Gowerton railway bridge struck multiple times is hit againThe road was closed as efforts were made to retrieve what appears to be an agricultural vehicle and assess damage

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• MPs hope to bring ARIA headquarters to West Midlands after launching new pressure groupTory MPs in the West Midlands have launched a new pressure group aimed at pushing the region's interests to ministers.

Other Regional Press

• Oxfordshire has received £10.4M to bolster active travelOxfordshire has received £10.4 million towards active travel improvements across the county.
• Think about car sharing in Oxford to help reduce congestionAuthor Emily Kerr, founder of ShareOurCars.com, a car-sharing advocacy organisation, explains how sharing cars can benefit everyone.
• Row over loss of Heathrow flights from Teesside Airport as mayor and MPs go toe-to-toeTeesside Labour MPs Andy McDonald and Alex Cunningham met Heathrow bosses on May 12

Railnews

• Major landmark reached in ETCS testing FRIDAY BRIEFING: Major landmark reached in ETCS testing ++ Britain’s railway safety is ‘acceptable’, says Regulator ++

Other News Sources

• Bus driver shortages lead to services being scrapped in WinchesterA BUS company has said that driver and vehicle shortages has seen it scrap services in Winchester today.