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

Saturday, 16 July 2022

BBC News

• Birmingham tram services resume as line extension opensDisrupted Birmingham services have previously stopped at Bull Street and will now run to Edgbaston.
• Northern rail 'names and shames' schools over fare-dodging pupilsNorthern releases a list of five schools which it says has an issue with fare-evading students.
• Overdue ferry Glen Sannox enters new construction phaseThe Glen Sannox heads from Port Glasgow to a dry dock in Greenock for work on its internal systems.
• Rail passengers told to avoid travel in heatwaveNetwork Rail says people should only travel if necessary, and services could be delayed or cancelled
• Heathrow delays: Emirates agrees to cap summer ticket salesThe airline says it will work with the airport as it struggles to cope with surging demand for travel.

Financial Times

• Billion-dollar debt mountain poses invisible threat to airlines Travel disruption has attracted headlines, but now major carriers must work to deleverage balance sheets
• Heathrow boss blames airlines for staffing shortages hitting travelLetter to UK government points to lack of carrier-contracted ground handlers and says flight limits mandated
• UK train drivers to strike in first mass walkout in 27 yearsOn top of co-ordinated action by Aslef on July 30, RMT union adds two further rail strike dates in August

The Guardian

• The Uber files: how the leak prompted outrage across the worldFrom Europe to India and the US, the revelations have fuelled anger from across the spectrum, from the drivers to politiciansWhat are the Uber files?Uber broke laws, duped police and secretly lobbied governmentsThe worldwide scale of the Uber files – in numbersThe release of the Uber files has prompted a frenzy of reaction around the world, piling pressure on senior politicians, fuelling calls for a crackdown on corporate lobbying and drawing outrage from groups including traditional taxi drivers.The fuse was lit with the publication of revelations from a trove of more than 124,000 documents a...
• 'Deeply worrying': fears for UK's net zero goal under new Tory leaderClimate experts, business leaders and senior Tories stress need to protect policy, as several candidates express scepticismWhen it comes to the future of the planet, the Tory leadership contest has got off to a dismal start.

Times Online

• Farnborough could be hailed as the start of the sky taxi [subscription]Electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft are being hailed as a near-silent revolution
• Heathrow truce with Emirates over flights [subscription]The boss of Heathrow moved yesterday to end a damaging public row with one of the world’s biggest airlines after being given an ultimatum by the government to end the continuing travel chaos at the UK’s largest airport.
• Self-driving cars — the future of transport or an unnecessary indulgence? [subscription]Late one evening last month in downtown San Francisco, California, a car came to a halt at an intersection. Nobody was behind the wheel.

City AM

• Heatwave: Network Rail sets speed limitations as car breakdowns increase by 20 per centSoaring temperatures are expected to hit England this week, prompting the country’s transport network to batten down the hatches. The Met Office issued today an extreme red heat warning for the first time ever, as temperatures are set to reach between 38 and 40 degrees on Monday and Tuesday. Rail and TfL Network Rail announced it [...] The post Heatwave: Network Rail sets speed limitations as car breakdowns increase by 20 per cent appeared first on CityAM.

Daily Express

• Fuel pump rip-off! Shapps urged to stop greedy oil companies fleecing UK driversGREEDY oil companies are wantonly fleecing low income families, small firms and the haulage industry, Tory MP Robert Halfon has claimed.

The Mirror

• Heathrow 'tells airlines to kick passengers off flights' to avoid travel chaosBosses at Heathrow want no more than 100,000 departing daily passengers to go through the airport in a bid to alleviate growing problems within its terminals and flight cancellations

Belfast Telegraph

• Londoners urged not to travel on Monday and Tuesday due to extreme heatExpected extreme temperatures have prompted Londoners to be urged against travelling on Monday and Tuesday.

Birmingham Mail

• How Birmingham Airport is preparing for Commonwealth Games - with giant scanners, jobs and visible policingAs the world's spotlight turns to Brum, the city's airport said it's 'as ready as it'll ever be' for the start of the Commonwealth Games

Birmingham Post

• Northern Ireland taxi driver numbers climb as inflationary pressure biteComparison website said those looking for a second job to supplement income may be behind the increase in new driver numbers
• Port of Tyne extends partnership with Nissan to export new cars for a further five yearsThe Port handles about 600,000 Nissan vehicles destined for more than 130 international markets each year

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Update from Transport for Wales as extreme heat set to close lines and passengers urged not to travelTravellers are advised to check before travel as heat warnings are set to disrupt some of the major lines in North Wales

Liverpool Echo

• What happened to Merseytram? The light-rail system proposed to link MerseysideMerseytram was backed by the government in 2002 but they withdrew funding three years later

The York Press

• Don't take train in heatwave - rails may buckle and wires come downYORK train passengers are being warned to travel only if absolutely necessary on Monday and Tuesday - because speed restrictions and disruption are likely in the heatwave.
• Youngsters urged to draw 'train of the future' to back York's rail HQ bidYORK Central MP Rachael Maskell is inviting children to draw a 'train of the future' as voting to decide where the HQ of Great British Railways will be hots up.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Long-awaited Wolverhampton station tram extension opening plans revealedThe long-awaited £35 million West Midlands Metro extension in Wolverhampton will open “soon after” the Commonwealth Games.

Yorkshire Post

• Doncaster Sheffield Airport closure would arguably be the biggest missed opportunity of failed levelling-up agenda - The Yorkshire Post saysThe threat of Doncaster Sheffield Airport’s closure has caused real worry in Yorkshire, with thousands of people already signing a petition to save it after owners announced it may no longer be commercially viable.

Other Regional Press

• Six Crewe sites that could be used for Great British Railways HQCrewe is currently one of the favourites to become the headquarters of Great British Railways (GBR). It has made the shortlist after more than 40 places entered, leaving the town facing Derby, York, Newcastle, Doncaster and Birmingham.
• 'Play streets' could see roads shut for children's gamesA proposal to introduce 'play streets' - closing roads regularly for a few hours so children can play in safety - is to get "serious consideration".
• More full motorway closures planned - but speed limits past roadworks set to increaseNational Highways has announced a range of changes to the way it manages roadworks

C.N.N.

• Biden averts freight railroad strike - for nowWorried about supply chain problems that are already causing problems for the nation's economy, President Joe Biden took action Friday to prevent 115,000 US railroad workers from going on strike as planned early Monday morning,

Railnews

• Uncertainty grows over East West Rail There are increasing doubts about the future of East West Rail linking Oxford and Cambridge, after transport secretary Grant Shapps said he would consider cancelling Phases 2 and 3.

Other News Sources

• Stagecoach becomes first UK bus operator to invest in roll-out of bridge alert technologyIn addition to preventing bridge strikes, the new intelligent system will give Stagecoach drivers instant feedback about their driving manoeuvres to encourage safer driving that is more comfortable for passengers.
• Transport for Wales launches Snowdonia’s new bus servicePreviously known as Snowdon Sherpa, Transport for Wales’ newly branded Sherpa’r Wyddfa bus service will provide more frequent services to people travelling throughout Snowdonia National Park.
• Gatwick Airport faces water shortages leaving just two working toilets in terminalThere were complaints about the lack of available drinking water, too
• Thousands expected to come to Brighton by train this weekendTRAIN operators expect thousands of people to flock to Brighton this weekend as the heatwave continues.