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

Wednesday, 01 March 2023

BBC News

• Bus services in Wales face cliff edge cuts, industry warnsBus industry warns of reduced services and routes being scrapped altogether when Covid funding ends.
• Luton Airport expansion plans for 32 million passengers submittedOwners want to increase passenger numbers to 32 million a year, but some call it a
• RMT announces London Underground strikesMembers will walk out on 15 March, Budget Day, the same day that Aslef members are striking.
• Tesla to build new factory in MexicoElon Musk's electric car company joins other firms investing south of the US border.

Financial Times

• Threat from Berlin to block EU's combustion engine banCoalition ministers from pro-market FDP say Brussels must allow for use of vehicles running on e-fuels after 2035
• BA owner and easyJet still hold high amount of pandemic travel vouchersPassengers yet to claim hundreds of millions of pounds worth of vouchers nearly three years since start of Covid-19 crisis
• What's causing the US airline chaos?The FT's Claire Bushey explains why an estimated 25mn people were left feeling angry in US airports last year

The Guardian

• Lufthansa's green adverts banned in UK for misleading consumersAirline claim that it was protecting the world's future is latest ad to fall foul of ASA rules. An ad campaign by Lufthansa claiming that its green initiatives were protecting the world has been banned by the UK advertising watchdog, which ruled it was misleading consumers over the environmental impact of flying.

Times Online

• Global trawl to buy ferries to renew ageing CalMac fleet. [subscription]Scottish experts have examined 650 second-hand ships across the world in a search to plug the gaps in the country’s ailing ferry network.
• E-scooter riders three times more likely to have drunken crashes than cyclists. [subscription]E-scooter riders are three times more likely to have drunken crashes than cyclists and are at greater risk of ending up in intensive care, a study shows.

Bristol Live

• New bus service launched to replace axed 'lifeline' route to be cancelledThose campaigning to save the number 5 bus had predicted the 47 bus would be unreliable which would impact passenger numbers

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Busy North Wales road set to get average speed cameras Welsh Government has awarded funding to install cameras on key route in the region

Edinburgh Evening News

• Edinburgh rail passengers face months of disruption as mainline trains suspendedNetwork Rail have said that the works will last around three months and that travel between Edinburgh and Carlisle will not be possible for passengers for long stretches.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• More frequent journeys and safety officers in bus action plan to tackle dwindling passenger numbersA raft of measures are on the way to help boost dwindling passenger numbers on the region's bus network, transport bosses said today.

Other Regional Press

• North Ayrshire Council unveil transport and travel strategy draft planNorth Ayrshire residents can have their say on plans for an updated transport strategy as North Ayrshire Council launches a consultation.
• Watford mayor on 'unfair' ULEZ expansion amid bus service criticismWatford's mayor shares the frustration of residents at the state of bus services in and around the town.
• £3 million plan for footbridge to nowhere...which nobody wantsVillagers were granted their wish of a new bridge over the A249 - but cars will not be able to use it.
• Work to start on new stretch of A59 in April after years of landslipsPlans to build the new stretch of road to replace another section have been considered for years
• West Dorset MP Chris Loder criticised for talking to media over roadsWEST Dorset MP Chris Loder has been criticised by a senior Dorset councillor for taking to social media and the Press over a roads issue in Sherborne.
• Rising costs threaten some Dorset bus services.RISING costs could threaten the future of some Dorset’s bus services.
• Coventry schoolgirl's road safety sign will be used on signs in cityThe sign will urge drivers to slow down as they approach the school grounds

Business Live

• ABP outlines £2b investment as it eyes Net Zero by 2040 in new sustainability strategyHumber a huge focus for leading UK port operator. Port giant ABP has launched a £2 billion plan to clean up its operations by 2040 while helping the UK energy transition with major infrastructure projects.

Construction News

• Plans in for £2.4bn Luton Airport expansionLuton Airport has set out an expansion plan which could see its annual passenger numbers almost double. The airport is seeking consent for new terminal capacity, earthworks to create an extension to the current airfield platform, new airside and landside facilities and improvements to the…

New Civil Engineer

• Work begins to construct new station for £116M Levenmouth Rail LinkWork has begun to build the new Leven train station as part of the £116.6M Levenmouth Rail Link project.
• Global Centre of Rail Excellence gives funding boost to 24 innovation projectsGraphene-enhanced concrete sleepers, low-carbon acoustic barriers and innovative cantilevers for greener electrification are among the 24 rail innovation projects to receive a funding boost from the Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) in Wales.

Rail Business Daily

• GCRE welcomes first round of railway construction innovation fundingChief Executive of the Global Centre of Rail Excellence Simon Jones has welcomed the first round of projects to benefit from a new fund supporting innovation in railway construction.
• Rail Minister on board with Newcastle-based LumoLumo, the open access operator running between Edinburgh, Newcastle and London, welcomed Rail Minister, Huw Merriman, to its headquarters in central Newcastle, giving the Minister an opportunity to witness its service first-hand.

Railway Gazette

• Rail Partners sets out Freight Expectations for growthUK: Rail Partners has called on the government to implement five policies that would enable rail to play a greater role in decarbonisation of the logistics sector and would give freight operators and customers the confidence to invest in assets.

Other News Sources

• MP speaks up in Westminster about Skipton to Colne rail linkThe Skipton and East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership (SELRAP) argued the construction of an “effective, fast and modern transport link” between East Lancashire and Leeds would generate 270,000 to 330,000 passengers per yer, providing key transport links between Yorkshire and Lancashire.
• Transforming Leeds City Rail Station: next stage of works to beginThe Leeds Station Sustainable Travel Gateway scheme will create a much-improved and more people-friendly environment which can accommodate growing rail passenger numbers, and ensure people can enter and exit the station safely.