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

Saturday, 18 March 2023

BBC News

• Passport delay warning as five-week strike calledThe five-week walkout will have a
• London Bridge: New station layout in a bid to beat overcrowding dangerRail bosses respond after commuters were trapped on platforms, with some having panic attacks.
• New delay to CalMac ferry for Arran a 'catastrophe', says island groupCampaigners say islanders are anxious about the impact on business and visitor numbers.
• Heathrow security to strike for 10 days including EasterThe airport says contingency plans will be in place when 1,400 guards walk out in a pay dispute.
• Disruption for train passengers as rail strikes continueRMT members at 14 train operators are walking out, leaving some areas of the UK with no services.

The Guardian

• Rail strikes to severely disrupt travel in Great Britain this weekendRMT staff at 14 operators to take action, affecting LNER, Avanti, LNER and Southern among othersRail travel around Great Britain will be severely disrupted again this weekend after the second 24-hour strike in three days started on Saturday morning.Thousands of members of the RMT union working as train staff at 14 operators are on strike in the long-running dispute over pay and jobs. Continue reading...

The Independent

• Passport Office strike: How will five-week walkout affect your travel plans?Even the announcement of a strike by members of the PCS union will precipitate a surge in applications
• Train strikes: Dates and everything you need to know ahead of next walk-outs RMT union has rejected 'best and final offer' from train operators in long and bitter dispute over pay, jobs and working arrangements

Times Online

• Holidays hit as passport staff walk out over pay [Subscription]More than a million applications face delay with month-long strike ’timed to cause disruption’

Mail Online

• Chaos as Heathrow security workers and passport office staff stage strikesApplicants are being told to allow up to ten weeks to obtain their replacements. At least a million passports would typically be processed over the period of the strike.

This is Money

• Budget failed to fuel electric car revolutionIndustry figures spoke out amid mounting fears that the UK will not be ready for the ban of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030.

Sky News

• More than half a million trees have died next to one 21-mile stretch of roadThe government agency responsible for our main roads, National Highways, has admitted that over half a million trees have died beside a single 21-mile stretch of new carriageway.
• Train passengers warned to check before travelling as rail workers strike over payTrain passengers have been warned of a much-reduced service today as workers walk out in the latest round of strikes.

Birmingham Post

• Developer resubmits plans for controversial £750m Leicestershire rail freight hubPlans have attracted criticism from MPs, councils and people living nearby concerned about the scale and impact
• Spencer sets to work on Grimsby's £5m Corporation Road Bridge restorationHull firm appointed on major overhaul ahead of Grade II listed crossing's centenary

Bolton News

• Bolton taxis are not always licensed by Bolton CouncilBolton Council has no way of tracing the number of private hire taxi drivers working in the town who got their licence from outside the town.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Taxi drivers can apply for up to £10k through CAZ-funded grantsTAXI drivers in Bradford will be able to apply for grants of up to £10,000 to buy or hire electric vehicles.

Bristol Live

• Bristol Airport issues warning to travellers as roadworks may spark delaysPeople travelling to the airport next week should 'allow extra' time for their journey
• A48 Severn Bridge fully closed all weekendThe 'old' Seve3rn Bridge should be fully re-opened next week after £5m safety investigation

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Llyn Ogwen parking crackdown with double yellow lines on A5 to tackle 'selfish' drivers Welsh Government has issued an order to ban parking along a stretch of the road that gets swamped with visitors

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Train passengers issued warning as rail strikes set to cause weekend disruption14 train operators are due to be affected by the latest walkouts on March 18, with up to 60% of rail services expected to be cancelled across the country

The York Press

• RMT rail strike: How LNER, Transpennine and Northern will be affectedHow the latest RMT rail strikes will affect York passengers on LNER, Northern, Cross Country and Transpennine Express services.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Bus driver strike action hanging in the balance as ballot opens on improved pay offerBus drivers who were due to start continuous strike action on Monday in a row over pay are now being balloted on an improved pay offer.
• Long disused railway line set to be return to life as route for walkers and cyclistsPlans to transform a derelict railway line into a greenway for cyclists and walkers are moving forward.
• Division among driving instructors over examiner strikes amid test backlogThe impending strike action by driving examiners has provoked strong comments from instructors.

Get Surrey

• Roads minister on A3 Guildford tunnel: 'Everything's always under consideration'Richard Holden said it was 'very early days' to be looking at works on the scale of tunnelling the A3 under the town

Other Regional Press

• 128 substandard bridges on Somerset roads says RAC FoundationDEVON and Somerset are among the local authority areas with the most substandard bridges in the country, according to the RAC Foundation.
• The Botley Road closure - what we know so far from Network RailTalks regarding the closure of Botley Road for a major revamp of Oxford rail station are expected to continue for at least the next two weeks.
• Botley Road delays: Oxford commuters face days of miseryThames Water is currently carrying out repairs to a pipe on Botley Road near to St Frideswides Church.
• £3m levelling up cash to move from Yarm to Preston Park and 'unaffordable' cycle plans to be reducedStockton Council found Yarm High Street improvements needed less money, Preston Park 'transformation' needed more, with cycle plans to be scaled back

New Civil Engineer

• Experts dispute RAC Foundation claim that one in 24 UK road bridges are ’substandard’Bridge experts have disputed the RAC Foundation’s survey that suggests one in 24 road bridges in the UK are substandard.

Railnews

• ORR calls for full cancellation figures to be published The rail regulator is telling the industry that it can no longer leave out cancellations from official statistics when the decision not to run a train is made no later than the night before. The Office of Rail and Road has named TransPennine Express, where the cancellation total increased from 7.2 per cent to 23.8 per cent when P*-coded trains cancelled because train crew were not available were included. Northern and ScotRail also reported ‘significant numbers of full pre-cancelled services’ caused by a shortage of train crew.

EIN News Subscription

• Ryanair Says It Will Inevitably Relocate Future Aircraft Due to Rising Passenger Charges at Dublin Airport Following the rising passenger charges at Dublin airport, the Irish carrier Ryanair has … the Dublin Airport less attractive compared to other airlines in Europe. The airline recently … service as well as shorter security queue times, which according to …
• UK airports fail to make top 100 rankings as post-pandemic struggle continues … , this data demonstrates that most UK airlines experienced higher-than-expected passenger traffic while … . "With this in mind, airports in Europe have managed to retain the … UK had the most passengers to deal with in Europe at 101million, its …
• Air Mauritius Ditches London Heathrow For Gatwick As Flights Increase … data, London-Mauritius had approximately 290,000 roundtrip point-to-point passengers … ~290,000 passengers flew non-stop, with Air Mauritius necessarily the … Turkish Airlines over Istanbul Airport and Kenya Airways via Nairobi. Air Mauritius' Europe …
• EXPLAINED: Why travel chaos from transport strikes in Germany could get worse … of local public transport operators and airport employees have been … not just local public transport and airports, but also train … local administration, hospitals, local transport, waste disposal and other … flight delayed or cancelled, EU law states that you…