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

Wednesday, 20 July 2022

BBC News

• Edinburgh Airport passengers wait hours in heat to collect luggageEdinburgh Airport's ongoing baggage backlog sees hundreds waiting in the heatwave to pick up belongings.
• Net zero: Tories running away from climate pledge, Labour saysThe climate positions of Tory leadership hopefuls come under scrutiny as much of the UK bakes in a heatwave.
• Budget trebled for North rail improvementsThe government promises to commit £11.5bn to speed up journeys between Manchester, Leeds and York.
• Train passengers warned not to travel in heatwaveTrains are cancelled and railway lines closed on what is set to be the UK's hottest day on record.

Financial Times

• Ministers wasted £190mn ˜repeatedly altering rail upgrade plansWatchdog finds constant changes have delayed Transpennine project by more than a decade
• Aerospace industry grounded by lost jobs and lack of staffA shortfall of workers has resulted in supply chain disruption and cancelled flights
• China's Comac reliant on captive domestic market for salesNew C919 is less fuel efficient than Boeing and Airbus jets and may struggle to attract international buyers
• Aviation sector needs to give up the blame game To avoid future disruption, the industry and passengers will have to pay the true cost of flying
• Travel chaos hits demand for European flightsCancellations rise and last-minute bookings show marked decline among major national carriers
• Stelios calls truce in long-running battle with easyJet managementAirline’s founder relents in bitter dispute over order for more than 50 new Airbus jets

The Guardian

• North of England rail services to receive £11.5bn investmentFrom 2025, commuters can expect two extra trains every hour between Manchester and York and journey times up to 40% shorter

The Telegraph

• Fresh misery for Heathrow passengers as workers announce three-day strikeTens of thousands of passengers are facing fresh mayhem at Heathrow airport at the start of the summer holidays as workers at refuelling companies go on strike.

Times Online

• Heathrow cap on flights will extend into October [subscrition]Heathrow’s cap on flights will continue until after the October half-term, it was reported last night.
• UK heatwave: Transport chaos as roads melt [subscription]Railways cracked and roads melted yesterday, with disruption expected to extend well into today as the transport secretary conceded that it would be decades until the infrastructure could cope with high temperatures.

Mail Online

• Smart motorway safety absent in fatal crashRoad bosses are facing questions over whether the tragedy on the M1 was avoidable if stopped vehicle detection (SVD) systems had been fitted earlier.

The Mirror

• Chaos looms as holiday rush starts with 19million cars on the road at weekend, RAC warnsThe Great British getaway to seaside resorts and beauty spots will mean almost 19 million cars on the road at the weekend, with the worst jams predicted to be on the M25, A303, M4 and M5

Birmingham Post

• Green aviation fuel first praise as Jet Zero Strategy sees government commit to five plants by 2025Phillips 66 to more than double production after celebrated first commercial supply

London Evening Standard

• Grant Shapps: Aviation emissions should never return to pre-pandemic levelsThe Transport Secretary set out a series of commitments to achieve ‘guilt-free flying’.

Manchester Evening News

• Manchester to Leeds journey times to be slashed as upgrade budget trebles – but government still won't listen to local leadersA long-awaited upgrade for trains between Manchester and York via Leeds and Huddersfield will have its budget tripled, the government has announced. The Transpennine Route Upgrade, which will slash journey times and fully electrify lines, will be worth up to £11.5bn when it is done in the next 15 years.

Wales Online

• 'Soulless and grim' The big changes people in Cardiff want to see made to Central SquarePeople in Cardiff have had their say on the city's Central Square development, five years on from when the huge project began. Previously home to the dilapidated bus terminal, a 1950s office block, fast-food restaurants and charity shops, the area around Cardiff Central train station has been transformed into a vast square, but it seems not many people in the city are too fond of it at present.
• UK airport halts all flights after soaring temperatures melt runwayThe defect came to light as temperatures rocketed across the UK

Yorkshire Post

• Grant Shapps says passengers will 'see HS2 trains rolling into Leeds'Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has assured passengers they will one day “see HS2 trains rolling into Leeds”.
• Major rail upgrade in the North could be hit by more delays after £190m is 'wasted'The Government has taken “too long” to make key decisions about the Transpennine Route Upgrade and the project could be hit by more delays and run over its new budget of £11.5bn, the Government’s spending watchdog has found.

Cambridge News

• Met Office red weather warning: Extreme temperatures cause A14 road surface to buckleCambridgeshire Constabulary said the surface is "potentially very dangerous"

New Civil Engineer

• National Highways’ £1bn A66 dualling clears planning hurdleThe planning application for National Highways £1bn A66 Northern Trans-Pennine Project has been accepted for examination by the Planning Inspectorate.

Railnews

• Doubts remain over Transpennine upgrade, says Audit OfficeThe project to upgrade the railway across the Pennines has received qualified approval from the National Audit Office, but in a new report published today it warns that there are still many challenges to overcome and that is it is not clear how the intended benefits will be achieved.

Other News Sources

• Shapps: 'Aviation has shown immense resilience, but we must do more'Transport secretary Grant Shapps has praised the UK’s aviation sector for its "immense resilience" during the pandemic, but has stressed further support, collaboration and integration will be needed on a global scale to address the sector’s biggest future challenges – including those on the scale of Covid.
• The Transpennine Route Upgrade Programme [National Audit Office Report]Government has put the Transpennine Route rail upgrade on a firmer footing, but there remains a risk of delays and cost increases, and it is not yet clear how the upgrade’s intended benefits will be achieved, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).
• ULEZ expansion plan will place 'intolerable financial burden' on Tandridge residents, council leader saysMore than half of the Tandridge residents who travel out of the district for work do so by car
• Heathrow set for three-day strike this week as refuelling staff walk out over payUnite say staff have not had a pay increase for three years and have actually seen their pay decrease by 15% when accounting for inflation, which hit 9.1% in the year to May