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

Friday, 03 February 2023

BBC News

• £2.7m study to explore rail links to ease M4 congestionA £2.7m study has been announced to improve transport links between south Wales and western England.
• HS2 main control centre approvedThe Birmingham scheme, also set for a maintenance depot, is called a
• New £14m Inverness Airport station to open to passengersThe station on the Inverness to Aberdeen railway line will open to the public on Friday.
• Edinburgh transport plans get consultation go-aheadThe city council targets a 30% drop in car journeys by 2030 as it seeks to reshape public transport.
• Stagecoach launches first electric city networkThe firm plans to follow up its Inverness services with all-electric networks in Perth and Dunfermline.
• Driverless bus coming to Belfast Harbour EstateThe Harlander service will operate between Titanic Quarter railway station and Catalyst Science Park.
• ULEZ expansion: Surrey County Council says it will not allow TfL warning signsSurrey County Council writes to the TfL expressing
• Shell reports highest profits in 115 yearsCritics call for higher taxes on energy firms as Shell reports a record $39.9bn of profit.

Department for Transport

• Department for Transport release Rail Factsheet for 2022Key statistics for surface rail in Great Britain are revealed in the factsheet up to the end of March 2022
• UK and Welsh governments to explore new rail links between south Wales and EnglandA study has been announced that will develop options for new stations and services on the South Wales Main Line.
• New research hub to help tackle decarbonisation and improve transport resilienceGovernment pledges £10 million to support innovation in transport decarbonisation.

Financial Times

• Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye to step down after 9 years in chargeUK airport chief's tenure hit by £4bn in pandemic losses and disputes with airlines over landing fees

The Guardian

• Heathrow airport boss quits after turbulent yearCEO John Holland-Kaye to resign after nine years at helm amid public souring of ties with airlines

The Telegraph

• British Airways bans pilots and cabin crew from posting cockpit selfies. [subscription]British Airways has been accused of gagging pilots and cabin crew with new rules that limit what they can post on social media.
• Heathrow’s John Holland-Kaye has been nothing but bad news for passengers and airlinesA fond farewell to the CEO is at odds with airport’s recent chaotic history

Times Online

• British Airways ’bars’ pilots from inflight social media posts [subscription]British Airways has been accused of gagging pilots and crew with social media rules that prohibit posting when “professionally engaged”.
• Boss leaves with Heathrow’s future still in the air. [subscription]John Holland-Kaye’s tenure at Heathrow has been blighted by rows over a third runway, post-Covid staff shortages and how much it should be allowed to charge airlines to use runways

Wales Online

• Five new railway stations planned on main rail line in south Wales to ease M4 congestionThe aim is to reduce congestion on the M4. Five new railway station could be built in Wales as part of plans to boost transport links with England. They would likely be created in south-east Wales on the main line between Cardiff and Bristol.

Bucks Free Press

• HS2 works update as tunnelling machines dig through Chiltern HillsGIANT HS2 tunnelling machines reach milestone under the Chiltern Hills.

Cambridge News

• 'The congestion charge will be the ruin of Cambridge'A televised debate about the congestion charge in Cambridge will take place tomorrow (February 3)

Other Regional Press

• Drone photos show progress on Darlington railway station's £105m overhaul Work began this week to knock down the former Hogans pub which has been a landmark spot for many years

Bus and Coach Buyer

• Bus’s future ’hangs in the balance’ warns GroupWith government funding for buses expiring by the end of March, the future of bus services in England ’hangs in the balance’, according to the Urban Transport Group.
• Newport’s Yutong electrics fitted with Journeo CMSNewport Transport has retrofitted 31 Yutong electric buses with Journeo digital wing mirrors, with a further 12 vehicles set to have the technology installed. The initial installations followed a trial period, where the Journeo Camera Monitor System (CMS) impressed Newport Transport with its robust construction and performance.

Bus and Coach.com

• Renfrewshire encourages bus journeys with campaignBus passengers will be rewarded for leaving the car at home thanks to a month-long boost from Renfrewshire Council’s ’Not Far? Leave the Car’ campaign.

New Civil Engineer

• National Highways sets new deadline for smart motorway safety improvementsNational Highways is aiming to have smart motorway stopped vehicle detection (SVD) technology working effectively by July of this year.
• Improving rail connectivity between England and Wales to be considered in new studyThe UK and Welsh governments will work together on a study into significantly upgrading the South Wales Main Line (SWML) to improve connectivity between south-east Wales and the west of England.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Newcastle and Gateshead Clean Air Zone beginsThe Newcastle and Gateshead Clean Air Zone (CAZ) began operation on 30 January. It invokes a daily charge of £50 for coaches and buses that do not meet Euro VI emission standards or better and which are not subject to an exemption.
• Stagecoach South Wales MD Nigel Winter to step downStagecoach South Wales Managing Director Nigel Winter will leave in May, ending a 17-year stint with the group.
• Alan French is named Stagecoach Manchester Head of OperationsStagecoach Manchester has appointed Alan French (pictured) as its new Head of Operations.
• Oxford Bus Company to take 104 Wrightbus electrics104 battery-electric buses from Wrightbus are to join the Oxford Bus Company fleet in what is parent company the Go-Ahead Group’s largest zero-emission purchase to date.
• Enviro200 and Leopard repeat delivery for HaveringThe London Borough of Havering has taken delivery of four new vehicles from Alexander Dennis in three Enviro200 buses and a Plaxton Leopard-bodied Volvo B8R coach. They have been funded by Mistral Group under a rental package.
• Arriva North East takes five Stertil Koni vehicle lift setsArriva North East has upgraded its vehicle support function with the purchase of five further sets of Stertil Koni heavy-duty wireless mobile column lifts of type ST1075FWA.
• Zeelo names four coach operators in battery-electric trialZeelo has named four of the first six operator partners that will trial a branded battery-electric Yutong TCe12 coach as part of the supplier’s zero-emission ’taster’ programme.
• CAVForth2 to grow autonomous bus work in ScotlandThe CAVForth autonomous bus project in Scotland is to grow via a £10.4m second phase, CAVForth2. It will see the current route between Edinburgh Park transport interchange and Ferrytoll park-and-ride site in Fife extended to Dunfermline, a total distance of nearly 20 miles.
• Mellor sells 42 more Sigma 7 small buses to SwedenMellor has received an order from Swedish operator Connect Bus for 42 examples of its battery-electric Sigma 7. They will be used on demand responsive services in Gothenburg and join four examples in the same city that were delivered to Nobina in 2022.
• Newport Transport retrofits Journeo digital wing mirrorsNewport Transport has retrofitted 31 of its Yutong battery-electric buses with Journeo’s digital wing mirror Camera Monitor System (CMS). Another 12 are set to have the tech installed at a later date.
• Reading Buses orders seven Enviro400s for Green LineReading Buses has ordered seven Alexander Dennis Enviro400 City models for its Green Line 702 and 703 services between Legoland, Windsor and London, and Bracknell, Windsor and Heathrow Airport, respectively.

Aviation Industry

• London Heathrow Airport’s CEO Will Stand Down After 9 YearsThe CEO of LHR, John Holland-Kaye, has chosen to resign from his position, making way for a new CEO.

Green Miscellany

• What is ’car brain’ and why does it block safer roads?’Car brain’ is how Dr Ian Walker describes the cultural blind spot that makes people apply double standards when they think about driving. In his latest study, he demonstrates how motornomativity is real, measurable and pervasive. We’ve been listening to this podcast to better understand our unconscious bias in favour of cars, how those assumptions shape our streets, and ultimately… The post What is ’car brain’ and why does it block safer roads? appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Surrey could stop London's ULEZ signs being put on roads until TfL 'has grown up conversation'Surrey County Council officers have been told to stop any discussions about where signs might go