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

Thursday, 16 June 2022

BBC News

• Rail strike: Wales will have just two train routes runningTransport for Wales will run one and Great Western Railway the other over three days of action.
• Rail strike to halt 90% of ScotRail train servicesMembers of the RMT union working for Network Rail are due to take industrial action next week.
• Passengers told not to travel by train during rail strikesOnly a fifth of train services are due to run during next week's strike action.

Financial Times

• North Sea producers warn windfall tax has forced rethink of UK projectsBrindex chair writes to chancellor saying ‘anti-business’ levy has led members to reconsider investments
• Thousands of trains set to be cancelled across Britain next week during strikesNetwork Rail chief plays down likelihood of resolving pay dispute before industrial action starts on Tuesday

The Guardian

• Stunning Anglo-Saxon burial site found along HS2 routeRemains of more than 140 people found at site in Buckinghamshire, along with trove of personal items An Anglo-Saxon burial site containing the remains of more than 140 people interred with some of their most favoured objects, including jewellery, knives and even a personal grooming kit, has been discovered by archaeologists working on the HS2 route.

Times Online

• Greener flights in the airships of YorkshireThe industry of its future may lie at least partly in the skies after it was announced that helium-filled airships designed to carry passengers on short-haul flights are to be built in the county. The deal has been hailed for putting Britain at the forefront of “revolutionary” greener aviation technology.

City AM

• Uber calls on rivals to offer employment benefits as Bolt faces trade union lawsuitUber has called on its rivals to give drivers employment benefits, after one of the UK’s biggest unions said it is taking legal action against ride-hailing app Bolt over its lack of workers’ protections.
• DfT accuses TfL of failing to provide recommendation for pension reformThe Department for Transport (DfT) has accused Transport for London (TfL) of failing to provide a recommendation for its pension reform just as the latest round of government funding is set to expire next Friday.
• Speedy recovery of business air travel will bring billions to UK economyA speedy recovery of business air travel could bring extra billions into the UK’s pockets, according to a study published today by WPI Economics. Figures showed that business travellers returning to pre-pandemic levels by 2023 would lead growth rates increasing by 50 per cent by 2030, whereas passenger levels going back by 2025 would cause growing rates to go back as pre-Covid.

Birmingham Post

• Battery pioneer Britishvolt launches skills partnership with Northumberland CollegeThe manufacturer says it wants to shape the battery skills landscape through a collaboration with Northumberland College and the Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Air pollution 'harms children's brain development'ACADEMICS behind a Bradford study say they have found clear evidence that traffic pollution harms children’s brain development.

Bristol Live

• Clean Air Zone test cameras in Bristol start going up as council reveals locationsThey have been installed at three locations

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Calls for airlines to cancel summer flights now in bid to avoid disruption and distressAround 200 flights are being cancelled every day, many of which are at short notice

Manchester Evening News

• Bus passengers could be paying lower fares within months as Andy Burnham announces major revampAndy Burnham has brought forward the planned changes by a year

Northern Echo

• Hopes of reopening old County Durham railway lines criticisedHOPES of opening a raft of new railway and Metro lines across the North East have been Branded “pie in the sky”.

The York Press

• 'Planned Haxby Station is in the wrong place'The claim that ‘81 per cent of participants support the [Haxby] station proposal’ (The Press, May 24) is open to misinterpretation.

Wales Online

• Rail strike map reveals the Welsh train lines affected by train staff walkout on June 21, 23 and 25Vast areas of Wales will receive no services when RMT staff strike

Yorkshire Post

• Grant Shapps swerves RMT invite for talks on avoiding rail strikesTransport Secretary Grant Shapps has swerved an invitation to meet with union leaders in a bid to head off next week’s rail strikes - saying that reaching a resolution is a matter for train bosses.

Other Regional Press

• Lack of train ticket machines 'utterly shambolic'A shortage of machines and ticketless options at one of Kent's busiest railway stations has been blamed for passengers frequently missing trains.

New Civil Engineer

• Eight major North East and Yorkshire roads to benefit from £135M National Highways improvement fundNational Highways has announced that it will invest £135M in improving roads across the North East and Yorkshire in the next 12 months, including eight major motorways and A roads.
• Tyne and Wear Metro at risk of closures due to lack of funding for renewalsConcerns have been raised that sections of the Tyne and Wear Metro may be forced to close due to funding issues for renewals work.
• TfL fights for rejected South Kensington tube plansAs reported by NCE-sister title Architects’ Journal, TfL and development partner Native Land have lodged an appeal after the council rejected plans for a mixed-used scheme above and beside South Kensington Underground station.
• DfT urged to back £100M rail link between Midlands citiesMPs and regional leaders have called on the Department for Transport (DfT) to back a £100M proposal to provide a direct rail link between Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham.

Railnews

• RMT calls for resolution to dispute before rail strikes The RMT has called for a face-to-face meeting with transport secretary Grant Shapps and chancellor Rishi Sunak before rail strikes are staged next week. Network Rail is predicting that ‘thousands of specially trained and fully qualified back-up staff will step in, but only a severely limited service will be available’. Where they do run, services will start later and finish much earlier than usual, and around half the network will be closed.