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

Wednesday, 11 January 2023

BBC News

• Cardiff Airport: Wizz Air ends flights in and out of WalesThe company had already suspended winter flights due to them not being
• Business Secretary Grant Shapps defends anti-strikes billThe government will introduce a bill requiring a minimum level of service during public sector strikes.
• East Anglia and Liverpool freeports get £25m and final approvalBoth business zones will receive the cash over the next few years, says government minister.
• Rishi Sunak's use of jet for hospital trip defended by No 10Critics say the PM's choice of taxpayer-funded transport clashes with his climate pledges.
• London remains world's most congested city, report findsThe capital's roads are more congested than they were before the pandemic, researchers find.
• Petrol below £1.50 a litre for first time since Russia invaded UkrainePetrol at lowest price since Russia invaded Ukraine, but diesel still costs more than last year.

Financial Times

• Virgin Orbit scrambles to establish why first UK satellite launch failedVery public blow to British ambitions to be player in Europe’s ‘space race’

The Guardian

• Anti-strike bill: Shapps to get power to decide minimum service levelsThe business secretary, Grant Shapps, will be able to decide statutory minimum service levels for a string of public services under the terms of a new anti-strike bill condemned by Labour as likely to increase stoppages.

The Telegraph

• Locals left baffled by 'Balamory from hell' road layout. [subscription]Residents of Clevedon have criticised the use of wavy lines along the seafront, which the council say are aimed at slowing down traffic

Times Online

• All change at Stagecoach as veteran boss checks out. [subscription]Martin Griffiths leaves transport firm after 25 years, with finance chief also leaving
• Drivers get more time to go electric in energy strategy. [subscription]Motorists will get longer to switch from petrol and diesel cars to electric vehicles it has emerged under new plans to decarbonise the economy.
• Cost of charging electric cars up by 58% in energy crisis. [subscription]The cost of rapid charging of electric cars has risen by more than 50 per cent in the past eight months, the RAC says.
• It’s surely harder to drive a coach than a train. [subscription]anding at Luton airport on Thursday I flew into a trainless UK but I’d bought a National Express coach ticket to Chesterfield. This was my first coach expedition for some years; it may be the first of many for lots of us, so I was curious to try it. Summarised verdict: good, unexpectedly punctual, comfortable, quiet — but slower and you can’t stretch your legs.

City AM

• Electric truck maker Tevva gears up for UK mass productionElectric truck maker Tevva is set to start mass production of electric vans after receiving the green light from both UK and EU regulators. The Essex-based “scale up” has received the okay from the UK Vehicle Certification Agency as well as Sweden’s transport agency, meaning it can manufacture and sell trucks with both left and right-hand drive.

Birmingham Post

• "We do these things not because they are easy but because they are hard" - Space Forge speaks of UK space race failureAn attempt to make British space history by launching a rocket into orbit from UK soil suffered an “anomaly” during the flight
• Bike parts distributor ZyroFisher secures £25m funding to fuel growth in EuropeThe distribution partner to cycling and outdoors brands has received an asset-based lending facility from Manchester's Praetura Commercial Finance
• Jet2 announces Bristol Airport jobs drive as part of expansion plansThe operator is adding new destinations and aircraft to its operations at the South West travel hub

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Future of car-free transport in North Wales shown in dramatic mapsHundreds of new walking and cycling paths are planned as motorists are encouraged to ditch their cars

Nottingham Evening Post

• Major work to revamp Bulwell bus station is 'much-needed', passengers say'Some people seem to be unhappy because they think it's a waste of money but I don't think they're looking at the bigger picture'

The York Press

• City of York planners give boost to Haxby StationPlans for a railway station in Haxby are moving forward, despite opposition from its town council.

Wales Online

• Wizz Air is pulling out of Cardiff AirportThe decision by the low-cost carrier is a big blow to Welsh Government-owned airport

Other Regional Press

• Glasgow smartcard calls after city' gets integrated transport' for dayFresh calls have been made for a Glasgow-wide transport smartcard after the city’s transport system integrated “for one afternoon” due to the suspension of subway services.
• Village's hopes for railway station back on track as housing development is voted throughThe 48-home development in Baschurch, near Shrewsbury, was backed unanimously by Shropshire Council's Northern Planning Committee, despite officers saying the plans should be rejected due to it not falling within the Local Plan development boundary.

New Civil Engineer

• Talks take place on how to connect HS2 to ScotlandScottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham have had private meetings about the best way to spur the Department for Transport (DfT) into replacing HS2’s axed £3bn Golborne link to take high-speed trains to Scotland.
• Watch: Infrastructure implications for expanding freight rail in the UKRail Freight Group assistant policy manager Phil Smart, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport rail freight forum chair Julian Worth and Rail Delivery Group head of policy (freight and stations) Jonathan Chatfield discuss the future development of freight rail in the UK and the challenges which need to be overcome to expand the freight network.

Other News Sources

• Maersk Announces New Executive Leadership TeamDanish shipping giant A.P. Moller - Maersk on Tuesday announced a new organizational structure and a new executive leadership team.
• New £900,000 cycle route to Gatwick Airport branded 'waste of money'A volunteer for the South Central Ambulance Service has raised concerns over the expenditure on the new cycle path and road changes made with it
• Stronger internet signal promised for London to Brighton rail linePassengers travelling to London by train will soon have a stronger internet signal on their journey.