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

Sunday, 12 February 2023

BBC News

• Top lawyer to investigate if Scottish ferries contract was 'rigged'Scotland's ferry procurement body is appointing a senior lawyer to investigate if a £97m contract for two new ships was "rigged".
• South Bristol risks becoming a 'bus desert', campaigners sayTransport campaigners say they fear south Bristol will become a "bus desert" when services are cut in April.
• LNER urged to ensure Newcastle fans can get rail ticketsA rail firm has been urged to ensure Newcastle United fans can get to London in time for the Carabao Cup Final.
• Free bus travel: Push for Cornwall scheme to go nationalCharities are pushing for the pilot project to be rolled out nationally and to be funded by the government.
• Rail strikes: RMT union rejects new pay offerThe union calls the deals from both Network Rail and the train operating companies
• New rail strikes ballot to start soon - RMT's Mick LynchMick Lynch says the union will keep talking to rail firms, after it rejected an offer on pay on Friday.

Financial Times

• Airline passengers face higher fares under new EU emissions rulesEra of super low-cost air travel may be about to end as Brussels makes industry pay more for pollution
• P&O launches next restructuring phase after crew sackingsShipping group aims to share operations with rival DFDS to keep unprofitable routes running

The Guardian

• British woman undertakes trip from London to Edinburgh using only £2 local busesA British woman undertaking an epic three-day expedition from London to Scotland using only local buses has expressed her surprise at the level of support from thousands of people following the chronicles of her journey on Twitter.

Times Online

• Why we need to repurpose our roads for cyclists. [subscription]Bicycle streets are good for our health — and the health of the planet
• Sadiq Khan’s ever-expanding Ulez leaves Home Counties fuming. [subscription]Drivers’ anger over the plan to drag in five million more people is spreading across the southeast
• Is it time to put electric car chargers on Ordnance Survey maps? [subscription]The mapping agency is asking users what they want pinpointed, from cafés to dog waste bins to bicycle repair shops

The Mirror

• Labour demands Whitehall keep out of local issues like tarting up bus sheltersLabour will today demand Whitehall keep its snout out of local issues such as tarting up bus shelters and where to put a public bench.

Nation. Cymru

• Historic locomotive finds permanent home at Welsh Highland RailwayA world-travelled locomotive which is over 100 years old and has seen action supporting the trenches of WW1 and the defence of the Afghan border has found a permanent home in the care of the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway.

The York Press

• York transport plan idea: build an underground railwayYork transport plan idea - build an underground railway

Oxford Mail

• Councillors urged to focus on Cowley Branch Line, not larger projectsCITY councillors have been urged to keep the focus on reopening Oxford’s Cowley Branch Line rather than larger rail projects that could emanate from it.

Other Regional Press

• Ryanair 'committed' to Teesside as airport passenger figures continue to climbThe low-cost carrier announced its summer schedule for Teesside this week with hotspot destinations across Europe
• Burnham questioned on Oldham’s bus and tram connectivityMayor Andy Burnham has been questioned on BBC Radio Manchester about how bus and trams will be integrated in Oldham, considering the distance between Oldham Bus Station and the nearest tram stop.
• Emergency services responding to fire on Stena Europe ferry at Fishguard HarbourA MULTI AGENCY response has been mounted following the break out of a fire on a passenger ferry off the coast of Pembrokeshire this Saturday evening

Other News Sources

• Bridge and ferry tolls could rise as council set budgetFURTHER rises in the cost of crossing the River Tamar look set to come in as councillors are asked to approve the budget and business plan for the bridge and ferry.
• Cost of Shipping Gasoline Jumps 405% After Russia SanctionsThe cost of moving gasoline and other fuels on ocean-going tankers is soaring days after sanctions targeting Russia’s petroleum sales.
• Network Rail cuts down trees near Ulverston stationRAIL bosses have defended cutting down trees which was described by one local as 'sheer vandalism'.
• The people left stranded in 'Little Europe' and their anger at empty promises"It's rubbish", 90-year-old Bella Spasojevic fumes. That's her blunt summary of the bus services to 'Little Europe' in Edgeley, where residents say they have been left stranded.
• HS2 will undo progress of stewardship schemes, say charitiesA coalition of wildlife charities has accused the company which is building high-speed rail line HS2 of underestimating its impact on habitats and wildlife.
• 15 minute transport plans unveiled for West Midlands as part of £1.3bn investmentA new transport strategy aims to place local amenities within a 15 minute distance from West Midlands residents
• More rail services proposed for LockerbieA spokesperson yesterday said: “The plan is for four return services each day, so eight stopping trains in total. They will be spread throughout the day, roughly two-three hours apart, but the final timetable is not yet determined.
• All aboard! Oxford-Cambridge rail service to go aheadMichael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, has announced his backing of a ’Pan-Regional Partnership’ for the Oxford-Cambridge region.