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

Friday, 11 November 2022

BBC News

• South Wales Metro: Further delays confirmed for railway upgradeMost work scheduled to end in 2024 - a year late - and it's not clear when the remainder will be done.
• Manchester Airport flights diverted after surface defect closes runwayFlights to Manchester are diverted to Liverpool after a runway is closed over a
• London bus drivers to strike in run-up to ChristmasNearly 1,000 drivers based in south and west London are due to walk out in dispute over pay.

The Guardian

• British Airways’ male crew members to be allowed piercings and makeupAirline follows Virgin Atlantic in updating its policies with non-gender-specific rulesBritish Airways’ male pilots and cabin crew are to be allowed to have piercings and wear makeup for the first time, after the airline updated its guidelines with non-gender-specific rules.All employees in uniform can wear mascara, false eyelashes and earrings from Monday, as well as carry accessories including handbags, an internal memo told staff. Continue reading...
• Climate activists target private jet airports and demand ban at Cop27Protesters gather at Farnborough and Luton as part of global action, also calling for tax on frequent fliersCop27 live – latest news updatesClimate activists have blocked entrances to two of the UK’s premier private jet airports as part of a global wave of action against private aviation timed to coincide with Cop27.The activists, from Extinction Rebellion and Scientist Rebellion, staged blockades at Farnborough airport, in Hampshire, and London Luton airport’s Harrods terminal on Thursday morning. Continue reading...

Times Online

• Sturgeon must share documents with MSPs investigating ferry scandal. [subscription]Public accounts committee want key emails, briefings and official documents published
• Stranded drivers finally met within target time on smart motorways. [subscription]Traffic officers are finally reaching stranded drivers on smart motorways within the target response time — a year later than originally planned.
• British Airways will allow male pilots and crew to wear make-up. [subscription]’Gender expression’ rules allow false eyelashes, nail varnish and carrying a handbag
• Big squeeze on schools, transport and police in new age of austerity announced in autumn statement. [subscription]Britain faces renewed austerity under Rishi Sunak’s plans to cut spending with reductions in budgets for schools, policing, transport and councils.

Birmingham Post

• Green energy focused Welsh freeport consortium bidder appoints chairRoger Maggs has been appointed chair of Celtic Freeport which is bidding to create a freeport covering the ports of Port Talbot and Milford Haven
• Rolls-Royce identifies four sites for mini-nuclear power stationsThe engineering giant said it was prioritising locations in Cumbria, Gloucestershire and Wales for its small modular nuclear reactors

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Rail minister Huw Merriman on Bradford's train servicesNEW rail minister Huw Merriman said the Government is “working on our options” for improving train services at Bradford.
• Leaders stress rail plans for Bradford should not be scaled backTHE leader of Bradford Council has stressed that she

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• First Aberdeen trial changes to 15 service following widespread safety concernsFirst Aberdeen will trial rerouting a service away from a notoriously narrow city street following widespread safety concerns

Other Regional Press

• Helium-filled blimps being mooted to improve Highlands and Islands lifeline transportThe research is backed by Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson who is also a trained a pilot and helped launched the Airlander 10
• Glasgow plans to transform five key bus routes move forward as integrated ticketing consideredLack of bus lane enforcement and delays at traffic lights are some of the problems residents have raised.
• Banbury Road roundabout to be transformed into crossroadInvestigation work is set to begin on a key ring road roundabout in the first step of a multi-million pound scheme, which will see it converted into a cross road.
• TUI announces new flights from Teesside Airport to holiday hotspotIt comes just days after the airport announced plans to double flights to Majorca next summer

New Civil Engineer

• Rail minister: ’My focus is on signing off projects’Newly appointed rail and HS2 minister Huw Merriman has said he wants to focus on signing off projects and that he is committed to looking at solutions for Bradford’s rail connectivity.
• Railway industry warns that suppliers may take money to other countriesA possible hiatus in rail work could cause rail suppliers to redirect investment to other countries or slow expansion plans in the UK, the Railway Industry Association (RIA) has warned.

Rail Business Daily

• “Rail is the connective tissue that improves lives” says Merriman at RIA conferenceNew rail minister Huw Merriman made his first public appearance in the role at the Railway Industry Association (RIA) conference in London on 10 November.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Leicester multi-operator capping saves users £53,000Multi-operator tap on, tap off contactless ticketing with fare capping in Leicester has saved bus users in the city £53,000 in over the past six months. It was launched by the Leicester Buses Partnership in March and over 24,000 journeys have been made under the scheme so far.
• Coach driver shortage as high as 26%, CPT survey findsThere is an overarching 26% vacancy rate for coach driver roles and 13% for bus drivers when operators’ prior actions to reduce services due to lack of staff availability are discounted from calculations, the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) has found.
• House of Lords report slams poor bus services and ’wasteful’ bidding processesA new report released by the House of Lords Build Environment Committee has criticised ’wasteful competitive bidding processes’, bus service cuts, and ’services not designed around passenger needs’ as being a hindrance to public transport outside of London.
• FlixBus exceeds one million UK passenger tripsFlixBus carried its one millionth UK coach passenger in the summer. That landmark formed part of what the business says was a 94% increase in customer numbers between April and September compared to the same period in 2021. 
• Stagecoach orders 200 Enviro400 diesels for 2023Stagecoach has ordered 200 Enviro400 double-deckers from Alexander Dennis for its provincial operations in England. They are to be delivered in 2023 and represent an investment of around £50m, the group says.

Other News Sources

• As chair of the Transport Committee, I would take a holistic approach to transportIn 1965, Burt Bacharach recorded Trains and Boats and Planes. If he was to compose that song today, he would find himself having to add autonomous vehicles, EVs, drones, robot delivery vehicles, buses and many more!
• New bee-friendly bus shelter with ’living roof’ installed at Seacombe FerryFrom bus stop to bush stop – the roof of a new bus shelter in Wirral has been transformed into a blanket of lush greenery to help attract bees and bring more biodiversity to the local area.