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

Thursday, 06 October 2022

BBC News

• Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Government washing its hands on closure - mayorThe government's response to plans to close Doncaster Sheffield Airport has been to "simply wash their hands", a mayor has said.
• Union considers new pay offer from ScotRailScotRail workers have already rejected a 5% pay rise and are due to walk out on Monday.
• Derry Halloween: Translink postpones planned rail workPartial closures on the Londonderry train line had been scheduled between 29-31 October.
• Covid: Hong Kong to lure tourists with free air ticketsUK-based Virgin Atlantic said on Wednesday it will stop its Heathrow-Hong Kong services after 30 years.

Department for Transport

• Tees Valley Hydrogen Hub boosted by £20 million competitionTees Valley will host a new £20 million competition, where successful bidders will push the boundaries of hydrogen to see how it can be used to create a cleaner and more efficient transport sector.

Financial Times

• The airports vs airlines battle needs a new approachIncreasing costs and environmental restrictions call for different perspective
• Serco’s Caledonian Sleeper contract to be axed next year Loss of overnight London to Scotland rail service raises prospect of renationalisation

The Herald

• Nationalisation on cards as ministers strip Serco of Caledonian Sleeper franchise seven years earlySERCO is to lose the £800m Caledonian Sleeper service franchise which operates overnight rail passenger services between Scotland and London seven years early.

The Telegraph

• Shut the railways during summer for engineering work, says former transport secretary [subscription]Lord McLoughlin suggests prolonged shutdowns could save money. Rail lines should be shut for weeks on end during the quieter summer months to perform critical engineering works and upgrades, a former transport secretary has said.

Times Online

• Caledonian Sleeper operator Serco axed amid row over funding [subscription]The operator of the Caledonian Sleeper rail service has had its contract axed eight years early over a funding row with Scottish ministers (Greig Cameron writes).

Belfast Telegraph

• Government ’too slow’ shifting new capital spending to public transport – RyanThe Transport Minister was speaking at the launch of an OECD report setting out how Ireland could halve its transport sector carbon emissions by 2030.

Birmingham Post

• HS2 launches search for manager of £50m investment fundHS2’s Innovation Investment Fund is due to launch in spring 2023

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Royle Family actor Phil Mealey in Northern fare dodger poemTRAIN operator, Northern has teamed-up with the BAFTA-winning actor and writer, Phil Mealey, to send a message to ‘fare dodgers’ on National Poetry Day on Thursday, October 6.
• £8.5m repair works to Bradford Interchange to last 18 monthsWORKS to repair the bus carriageway at Bradford Interchange will last for 18 months.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Future of rail services between North Wales and London to be decided next week - with 'all options open'Avanti West Coast has slashed all direct routes from the North Wales Mainline to London
• Hallowe’en cancelled and Santa trains at risk at North Wales railway due to cost of living crisisRising travel costs are troubling a heritage railway as it prepares for Hallowe'en and Christmas

Edinburgh Evening News

• Caledonian Sleeper contract terminated after financial disagreement between operator Serco and Scottish GovernmentSerco’s contract to run the Caledonian Sleeper service between Scotland and London has been scrapped after the operator failed to reach a revised financial deal with ministers.

The York Press

• Virgin Atlantic stops all UK-Hong Kong flights as it pulls out of cityVirgin Atlantic has stated that the closure of Russian airspace was one reason they have closed their offices in Hong Kong
• Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell joins campaign to bring buses under local controlThe Archbishop of York has joined forces with politicians, trade unions and countryside campaigners to call for better buses across the city and North Yorkshire.

Other Regional Press

• St Andrews railway bid stalls over ’disgraceful’ unpaid bill
• Stansted Airport refuses £1.4m costs offer and asks for £2.2mStansted Airport has rejected Uttlesford District Council's offer of £1.4million to cover its legal costs for an appeal over its expansion to 43m passengers a year.
• Brand the Bus competition deadline is now extendedOxford Bus Company has extended its deadline for good causes to enter its Brand the Bus competition.
• No Kirklees taxi fare hikes as drivers fear for trade in cost of living crisisThe £2 bus fare cap and private hire minicabs both threaten licensed taxis' business

New Civil Engineer

• Network Rail repairs track defects between London and Cambridge caused by heatwaveNetwork Rail engineers have carried out track repairs services between King's Lynn, Cambridge and London King's Cross after the summer heatwave caused defects in the line.
• TfL reveals plan to plug £740M funding gapTransport for London (TfL) has revealed that it will make up its £740M funding shortfall through reducing its cash reserves, halving its operating contingency and increasing efficiencies, among other measures.
• Luton Airport’s £260M autonomous light rail link delayedThe autonomous light rail link being built to connect Luton Airport with Luton Parkway station has been delayed again.

road.cc

• New Conservative government could scrap Active Travel England, Boris Johnson’s transport advisor warnsLess than a week after a transport minister reaffirmed the new Conservative government’s commitment to active travel, Boris Johnson’s transport advisor Andrew Gilligan has warned that funding for cycling and walking schemes could be cut under Liz Truss – and even implied that Active Travel England, the government body launched in January and charged with driving up standards, may not “survive” the new “radical” administration.

Other News Sources

• HS2 bosses say project has created a “jobs boom” in the MidlandsBosses at HS2 say the controversial project has created a “jobs boom” across the Midlands.