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

Friday, 20 January 2023

BBC News

• National Express West Midlands engineers to strike over payServices in Birmingham, Walsall, Wolverhampton, Coventry and West Bromwich are expected to be affected.
• Rochdale MP criticises government for axing railway plansMinisters confirm a Bury to Rochdale rail line will no longer go ahead due to
• Labour calls for Transpennine Express rail contract removalThe north of England rail service has
• Tube strikes: Bakerloo line staff to stage walk-outsAslef objects to a plan it says would cause trains to go into sidings and depots without checks.
• Rail workers given fresh pay offer in disputeTrain companies have increased their offer to RMT rail workers in an attempt to prevent more strikes.
• Starmer: UK car industry 'needs to be saved'The Labour leader says the sector needs a strategic plan, following the collapse of Britishvolt.

Financial Times

• Britishvolt: how Britain’s big battery hope ran out of chargeStart-up’s collapse deals blow to UK’s attempt to supply electric-car industry
• US airlines: higher fares and (hopefully) better serviceUnited and Delta upbeat over leaving low-cost rivals behind
• Anglo-US group completes test flight of propeller aircraft powered by hydrogenStart-up ZeroAvia hails flight as major breakthrough for industry
• UK train companies offer RMT union higher pay in drive to end strikesRail body makes ‘best and final offer’ after talks improve, while nurses’ union urges Sunak to ‘grab olive branch’

The Guardian

• Shell to spend $450m on carbon offsetting as fears grow that credits may be worthlessBritish multinational to spend huge sums on schemes that do not bring genuine carbon reductions, analysis showsMore than 90% of rainforest carbon offsets by biggest provider are ‘worthless’Greenwashing or a net zero necessity? Scientists on carbon offsettingCarbon offsets flawed but we are in a climate emergencyThe fossil fuel firm Shell has set aside more than $450m (£367m) to invest in carbon offsetting projects, and plans to buy the equivalent of half the current market for nature offsets every year, the Guardian can reveal.But a joint investigation by the Guardian, Die Zeit and Source Mate...
• UK rail firms ordered to stop abusing train cancellations loopholeCancellations far higher than official data suggests, says ORR, driven by use of unrecorded ‘pre-cancellations’The rail regulator has ordered train companies to stop abusing a loophole which means that any train they cancel the night before does not count in their official cancellation statistics.The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said train cancellations were at “record levels”, far worse than official figures suggest, driven by an increased number of unrecorded “pre-cancellations”, known as “p-coding”. Continue reading...

Times Online

• How safe is your Tesla? Electric car MoTs will test for safety. [subscription]The MoT is set for an overhaul to make inspections of batteries mandatory as electric cars surge in popularity despite concerns over fire risks.

City AM

• BritishVolt’s collapse is disturbing but it’s not surprising BritishVolt's collapse is alarming news for Britain's automobile and electric vehicle industry, but it's not surprising after we failed to build the infrastructure we needed, writes former Nissan exec Andy Palmer. The post BritishVolt’s collapse is disturbing but it’s not surprising appeared first on CityAM.

Birmingham Post

• Government support for North East EV battery plant 'still on the table', industry leader saysSir John Armitt, chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, hopes a deal can be done to resurrect the Northumberland plant
• Levelling Up Fund awards eight West Midlands projects £155mNew homes, a theatre and public transport projects are among those to receive a slice of more than £2bn in UK-wide funding
• Asda-owning billionaire Issa brothers 'eyeing £1bn sale' of US petrol stationsEG Group, whose brands include Euro Garages, Coopland and Leon, has over 6,600 sites across the world

The York Press

• Police Project Servator at York Station in York city centrePOLICE have been out in force in York city centre in Blossom Street, York Railway Station and Spurriergate.
• 'Don't dual the York ring road - just scrap the roundabouts''Don't dual the York ring road - just scrap the roundabouts'

Wales Online

• Swansea Airport to launch first passenger flights in 20 yearsIt is the first of many improvements to come, those behind the airport say

Cambridge News

• Peterborough granted almost £50m to fund Station Quarter developmentThe government announced that more than 100 projects across the UK will receive funding in an effort to "create opportunities for everyone across the UK" by investing in local areas

Peterborough Telegraph

• Green light for £48 million grant to create new rail station gateway into PeterboroughPeterborough has secured a £48 million grant that will transform the railway station and its surrounding area into a modern gateway into the city.

Other Regional Press

• South West Railway plans to fix train line at HookSOUTH Western Railway (SWR) has issued a service plan for the remainder of this week and weekend following a major landslip on the train line.
• Rail firm 'sorry' as journey from Weymouth to London takes nine hoursA Weymouth lady has hit out at a rail company after it took her son nine hours to get back to his home in London from the Dorset town.

C.N.N.

• FAA says unintentionally deleted files are to blame for nationwide ground stopA contractor working for the Federal Aviation Administration unintentionally deleted files related to a key pilot safety system, leading to a nationwide ground stop and thousands of delayed and canceled flights last week, the FAA said Thursday.
• Boeing ordered to appear in court next week on fraud conspiracy chargeA federal judge has ordered Boeing to appear in federal court in Texas next week for an arraignment on a fraud charge involving the certification of the 737 MAX.

Bus and Coach Buyer

• Lewis-Horner takes new leadership role at Alexander DennisThe newly-created role will be a key member of the Alexander Dennis executive leadership team, reporting to President & Managing Director Paul Davies. Paul Lewis-Horner will define and drive the quality and reliability strategy for the business, as the company increases its focus on enhancing operators cost of ownership and profitability, improving the lives of the travelling public and accelerating decarbonisation.

New Civil Engineer

• What are freeports and what benefits could they offer?Eight new English freeport locations were announced by the government in the March 2021 budget. A further two green freeports are planned for Scotland and at least one freeport will be established in Wales. But what exactly are freeports, what benefits do they bring, and why are they regarded as playing a key role in the government’s levelling up agenda?
• Funding bid to convert abandoned Cotswolds line into light railwayBackers of a very light railway system in the Cotswolds have applied for an additional £50,000 to complete a full feasibility study of the proposals.
• Funding pulled for Bury to Rochdale abandoned railway restoration due to cost concernsThe government has pulled its support for reinstating the Bury to Rochdale railway line under the Restoring Your Railway Fund.
• In full: The 111 projects to be financed by £2.1bn second round of the ’Levelling Up Fund’The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has revealed the 111 schemes around the UK to benefit from the second round of its Levelling Up Fund, with a combined outlay of £2.1bn awarded.
• Cardiff Crossrail and new Cornwall metro get significant boost from ’Levelling Up Fund’Plans to build new metro lines in Cardiff and Cornwall have both benefitted from £50M of funding from the second round of the government’s Levelling Up Fund.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Space-age tech to revolutionise Northern journeysA collated talent pool of more than 60 national and international rail sector professionals have had access to a sneak peek of pioneering NASA technology converted for the train operator Northern.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Coach tourism hopes strong for 2023, operators reportHopes for a strong year of coach tourism in 2023 are buoyant after two operators active in that sector reported heavy festive demand and a high level of interest at the start of the new year.
• ’Around 70%’ of operators meet BODS AVL requirementAround 70% of operators in England that are within scope of the Bus Open Data Service (BODS) were providing the necessary automatic vehicle location (AVL) data in early January, Department for Transport (DfT) partner in the scheme KPMG has said.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro100EV: Small bus redefined?As the smallest member of the latest-generation Alexander Dennis battery-electric bus range, the Enviro100EV is what the manufacturer describes as “a white space product.” That is because it has effectively been designed on a clean sheet of paper.

Other News Sources

• Number of Stansted Airport passengers more than doubles in a yearThe total number of passengers that passed through the airport in 2022 reached 23.3 million, up 226% on 2021
• Go-Ahead invests in transport skills with target of hiring 1,020 bus and rail apprentices in 2023The Go-Ahead Group, the largest employer of apprentices in the UK transport industry, has set a target of hiring 1,020 apprentices in 2023 to train as bus drivers, rail drivers and engineers.