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

Thursday, 25 August 2022

BBC News

• Northern Ireland ports record busiest year for freight trafficFigures show tonnage was up 9% on 2020 and 8% on 2019 - much higher growth than UK average.
• Second runway to open at Dublin AirportDublin Airport's new second runway has opened. A commercial flight took off from the 3.1km (1.9 miles) north runway on its first day.
• Notting Hill Carnival: 48-hour bus strike to hit bank holiday weekendA second 48-hour walkout could affect those going to the first Notting Hill Carnival since 2019.

Department for Transport

• Boost for UK economy and rail industry through new Israel partnershipThe Memorandum of Understanding will boost business opportunities and allow sharing of expertise.

Financial Times

• EasyJet shakes up board after difficult summerChair Stephen Hester says new directors will bring ‘experience and extra focus’ on operations and logistics
• Qantas unveils $280mn share buyback as air travel reboundsShares soar almost 10% despite Australian airline reporting $700mn annual losses for third year

The Guardian

• Dutch state railway to sell Abellio in UK management buyoutAbellio UK’s CEO Dominic Booth is understood to be leading buyout and will help fund deal using own money

City AM

• BAE backed spacecraft designer Reaction Engines prepares for IPO Boeing and Rolls-Royce backed aerospace engineering firm Reaction Engines is preparing to launch a more than £1bn initial public offering (IPO). The Oxfordshire-headquartered spaceplane designer has told shareholders it intends to raise a pre-IPO round of funding, with a view to listing its shares on public markets as soon as 2024, Sky News first reported. [...] The post BAE backed spacecraft designer Reaction Engines prepares for IPO appeared first on CityAM.
• UK car production grows for third consecutive month but still below pre-Covid UK automotive production grew in July by 8.6 per cent, marking the third consecutive month of growth, according to figures published today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Factories produced 4,605 additional vehicles – a signal that component shortages might begin to ease – while output for the UK market surged 40.7 [...] The post UK car production grows for third consecutive month but still below pre-Covid appeared first on CityAM.

Daily Record

• Transport Minister visits feeder station set to power electrification of Lanarkshire rail lineThe Transport Minister visited the first new feeder station to be commissioned as part of multi-million plans to electrify the East Kilbride rail line.

Birmingham Post

• Average price of car at Lookers grows by a quarter as semiconductor shortage disrupts automotive marketGroup says thousands are on its waiting list
• Transport group outlines new business plan to unlock full potential of the NorthThe champion of transport improvements across the north of England has published its 2022/23 business plan

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Kex Gill A59: Costs of new route for landslide-hit road rise to almost £70mA MAJOR project to replace the landslide-hit section of the A59 at Kex Gill has seen its costs rise to almost £70 million due to “volatile conditions” in the construction industry.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Arriva blames Menai Suspension Bridge weight limits for bus service cuts on AngleseyThe firm is no longer stopping at some remote rural locations on the island as some services are being diverted across Britannia Bridge

Leicester Mercury

• MP hits out at HS2 'gorging on taxpayers' money' during cost of living crisisLeicestershire MP Andrew Bridgen has hit out at continuing with HS2 through the cost of living crisis, saying the project is “gorging on taxpayers’ money”. Issues with a section of the project through the East Midlands have put works on hold, sending the cost of the project up.
• Free bus service set to launch around Leicester city centreThe council aims to increase bus travel in the city by 25% by 2025 and over 40% by 2030

Liverpool Echo

• New UK company to take over running of MerseyrailThe company responsible for the running of Merseyrail is set to be taken over by a new UK-run transport organisation.
• City centre bus gate to go live next monthA long-delayed scheme to manage traffic flow in Liverpool city centre is to go live next month.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Petition launched to re-open bus and cycle lane in Gateshead to all trafficAlmost 300 Gateshead residents have signed a petition to reopen Askew road to all traffic instead of a bus and cycle lane. The petition claims the lane creates more pollution and creates an increased financial burden for motorists and people using taxis.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottinghamshire council saving 'crucial' bus routes but uncertainty remains for those that are unfundedNottinghamshire County Council says it will be saving 19 bus services which could have faced the axe. However some level of uncertainty remains as decisions on the future of a number of unfunded routes are yet to be made by operators.

Sunderland Echo

• North East bus routes facing uncertain future as latest cash injection branded a "sticking plaster" by leadersA £130 million lifeline to stave off cuts to bus services is just “another short-term sticking plaster”, according to North East leaders.

Other Regional Press

• East West Rail has “hit the buffers” says local MPThe £5bn East West Rail project was “a fantastic concept”, but has hit the buffers, according to North East Bedfordshire MP Richard Fuller.
• Moreton Morrell College is now the destination for a new generation of rail engineersA NEW training facility has been laid at Moreton Morrell College to help develop the next generation of skilled individuals to keep the country’s trains on track.
• People being 'deliberately isolated' as bus services across Cornwall axedThere are fears that elderly and vulnerable people are being “deliberately isolated” and even placed in danger after various Cornwall Council-funded bus routes across Cornwall were cut. The changes will take effect in early September, giving just two weeks’ notice to many users of the services who rely on the transport for shopping and appointments.
• Zap! Redcar and Cleveland Council in electric vehicle charging dealA 20 year lease agreement has been reached with the company Zapcharged Infrastructure which will supply new infrastructure with the council taking a share of the revenue gained from motorists

New Civil Engineer

• Atkins-led team to explore options to transform disused Watford rail lineA team of transport consultancies led by Atkins is working with local councils to draw up proposals to bring the long disused Watford to Croxley Green railway line “back to life” in some sustainable travel capacity.

Rail Business Daily

• Sustainable Transport Midlands launches consultation on its 2050 visionToday, Sustainable Transport Midlands (STM), a sustainable transport innovation group based in Northampton, launches its public consultation on ’ourVision’ – the group’s sustainable and active transport vision for 2050. The vision is split into seven ’Policy Groups’:

road.cc

• Department for Transport assures MP it has no intention to make cyclists carry number plates and insuranceAn MP who co-chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Cycling and Walking has been assured by the Department for Transport (DfT) that there are no plans for cyclists to be required to display number plates or take out compulsory third party insurance.

Transport for the North

• Transport for the North - Business Plan 2022/23As we emerge from the worst of the pandemic so it is transport that can help to lead our way through recovery and onwards towards realising the North’s potential. - Lord McLoughlin [Chair]

Other News Sources

• Germany inaugurates world’s first all-hydrogen rail lineA fleet of 14 hydrogen-powered trains is replacing diesel units on the 100km (60 miles) of track connecting the cities of Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervoerde and Buxtehude near Hamburg.
• New national rail passengers milestone reached in August – now 95% of pre-Covid levels being hitThe DfT has this week published figures showing that national rail passenger numbers have reached a new post-pandemic milestone, with 95% of pre-Covid levels being recorded on 10 August. This came in a run of seven straight days, from Saturday 6th August to Friday 12th August, where 93-95% of pre-Covid passenger levels were hit every single day of the week.
• Stagecoach to deliver UK’s first all-electric city bus networksStagecoach has announced that it will be introducing the UK’s first all-electric city bus networks as part of its drive to deliver a net zero UK bus fleet by 2035. New electric buses will run across routes that have previously operated with largely diesel fleets, helping to drive cleaner air in these two major cities.
• Transport for the North publishes its new business plan for 2022/23Transport for the North (TfN) has today published its Business Plan for 2022/23 setting out its vision to unlock the full potential of the North of England by developing our transport infrastructure and services as a system that is user-centred, place-based and outcome focused.