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

Wednesday, 14 December 2022

BBC News

• Transport for London: Mayor is free to raise council tax to cover fundingThe mayor of London is free to add an extra £20 to council tax to cover Transport for London (TfL) costs, the government has said.
• Post and rail workers walk out as strikes buildThe rail network will be hit for a second day running and Royal Mail staff will begin further industrial action.

Channel 4 News

• Government ’torpedoed’ deal to end rail strikes, RMT union boss Mick Lynch saysWe speak to the RMT union boss Mick Lynch and asked why his members had voted to reject the latest pay offer, given that members in Scotland voted to accept another deal.

Financial Times

• United orders 100 Boeing wide-body jets in boost for US plane makerPurchase of 787 Dreamliners comes as air travel rebounds from the pandemic
• Insurance dispute blocking oil tankers in Turkish waters resolvedAnkara says 22 out of 26 vessels waiting to pass through straits have provided requested documentation
• UK strikes intensify with walkouts by postal and rail workersDowning Street refuses to back down and insists on public sector pay restraint

The Guardian

• Passengers advised to avoid train travel during latest 48-hour strikeA wave of industrial action is expected to disrupt rail services for four weeks around Christmas. Passengers around Britain are set for another day of disrupted trains and curtailed services on the railway as a 48-hour RMT strike continues on Wednesday.The two-day strike, the first in a wave of industrial action that will affect the railway for four weeks around Christmas, involves about 40,000 members of the RMT union in Network Rail and at 14 train operators.

The Telegraph

• Heathrow has become the gateway to hell. [subscription]There was a time when Heathrow airport was regarded not just as the premier entry point into the UK but one of the most prestigious travel hubs in the world.
• Disabled people missed flights at Heathrow because of airport's poor performance, CAA finds. [subscription]The aviation regulator described the total number of disabled passengers who missed flights at the West London airport as 'unacceptable'

Times Online

• Downing St can get railways moving. [subscription]So much for Great British Railways. Rewind to May 2021 and there was former transport secretary Grant Shapps with his “promise to passengers”: a new “public body” to bring the “system under single national leadership”, deliver “more punctual services” and end “a quarter century of fragmentation”.
• Luton airport is UK’s worst for disabled passengers. [subscription]Luton has been named the country’s worst airport for disabled passengers by the aviation regulator.

Transport Committee

• Rail chaos: northern train companies to face Transport CommitteeRepresentatives of northern train operators whose customers are experiencing delays and cancellations – Avanti West Coast, Northern Trains and TransPennine Express – will face questions from the Transport Committee.

Birmingham Post

• East Midlands Railway urges travellers to brace themselves for month of strikesFranchise MD says, 'regrettably, we won't be able to run any services on Christmas Eve'

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Leeds Bradford Airport rated in CAA accessibility reportLeeds Bradford Airport (LBA) has been criticised for providing an “unacceptable level of service to disabled people” by the aviation regulator.

Manchester Evening News

• What do you think about Salford's cycling roundabout?The new road structure has caused some division

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• M6 Toll prices rising next month but local drivers offered money-saving passM6 Toll prices are increasing in January.

Wrexham.com

• Wrexham bus services ’never recovered’ from £500k council cut to public transport in 2014A Lead Member who predicted in 2014 transport cuts would have a “massive impact on public transport network”, has now said Wrexham has “never recovered from that cut to public transport”.

Other Regional Press

• Anger at Lancashire County Council land sale plan which would "kill off" Skelmersdale train station hopesIt comes just weeks after the government rejected the business case for Skelmersdale to finally be given a train station
• Dales park authority considers creating public transport ambitionThe body charged with looking after the communities and landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales is developing an ambition to ramp up public transport in the national park, despite lacking powers and resources to remedy the dearth of services.

New Civil Engineer

• Additional refuge area to be added to M62 smart motorway in YorkshireKey safety improvements on a section of the M62 smart motorway in west Yorkshire are moving to their next stage this month.

Rail Business Daily

• Transport connectivity specialist Nomad Digital secures top spot in TransportTech 50Nomad Digital has topped BusinessCloud’s 2022 ’TransportTech 50’, placing at number one in the annual ranking of innovative transport technology creators.
• New Chair of Greater Manchester Transport Committee appointedCouncillor Mark Aldred has been appointed as the new Chair of Greater Manchester Transport Committee (GMTC), as Greater Manchester progresses with its delivery of the Bee Network, an integrated, London-style transport network.

Transport Scotland

• Transport Minister visits Laurencekirk junctionTransport Minister Jenny Gilruth today reaffirmed the Scottish Government’s ongoing commitment to deliver the planned improvements at the A90/A937 Laurencekirk junction.

Aviation Industry

• London Heathrow Remains The World’s Most Diverse Airbus A380 AirportLondon Heathrow will have A380 flights from six operators next summer, the result of Etihad returning some of its double-deckers to service. It'll cement Heathrow's position as the world's leading A380 operator by the diversity of carriers, albeit obviously not by total flights, with no other airport coming close. That is despite Heathrow having one fewer A380 operator than in summer 2019.
• UK Civil Aviation Authority calls out unacceptable levels of airport accessibility performance despite improvementsAfter a challenging summer for the aviation industry, and despite signs of improvements in recent months following action taken by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, a number of airports have provided an unacceptable level of service to disabled people and passengers with reduced mobility.

Other News Sources

• EAST WEST RAIL APPOINTS TECHNICAL PARTNERS TO DELIVER NEXT PHASEA Mott MacDonald-WSP joint venture has been appointed as technical partner by East West Railway Company (EWR Co) to drive forward the next scheme development phase of the programme to build a new railway between Oxford and Cambridge.