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

Friday, 31 March 2023

BBC News

• London Stansted Airport: The race against time to resurface a runwayA team of more than 200 engineers and technicians are halfway through a five-month project to resurface London Stansted Airport.
• New Birmingham Airport security area to be ready by June 2024Birmingham Airport says the overhaul costs £40m and will enable it to process more passengers.
• Anger grows at latest CalMac ferry disruptionIslanders tell of threats to tourism and a disrupted wedding as the ageing fleet is hit by more problems.
• Derry to London flight support expected to be extendedThe Loganair flight is expected to switch from Stansted to Heathrow under the new arrangements.
• Community transport: Funding extended until end of JuneFunding for transport for elderly and disabled passengers is extended until the end of June.
• Virgin Orbit: Sir Richard Branson's rocket company lays off 85% of staffVirgin Orbit will cease operations for the foreseeable future, according to media reports.
• Heathrow strikes to go ahead for 10 days over Easter breakLast-ditch talks between Heathrow Airport and the Unite union representing security guards break down.

ITV News

• Cross border railway £10million feasibility study due to get 'underway imminently'A £10million feasibility study into expanding the Borders Railway to Carlisle is due to get "underway imminently".

Department for Transport

• Government completes review of airport ground operations to increase sector’s resilienceThe government has set out 10 areas for the aviation industry to focus on to ensure airport ground operations get back to full capacity and avoid a repeat of the travel disruption seen last summer.
• New onboard announcements to make Britain’s buses accessible for everyoneAudible announcements and visual displays will identify the route and direction of buses, upcoming stops and the beginning of any diversions.

Financial Times

• Branson injects $11mn towards pay for sacked Virgin Orbit staffChief executive says company ceasing operations indefinitely as it struggles to find new investors

The Independent

• UK passengers set to pay a third more to travel by train than by plane, study findsSome flights create up to 275 per cent more CO2 emissions than an equivalent rail journey

Times Online

• Electric cars must make up fifth of sales next year, manufacturers told. [subscription]Government announces net-zero strategy to curb carbon emissions and bolster energy security
• The worst railway station in London, possibly the UK, just got worse. [Subscription]Sometimes a picture is really worth a thousand words. One example was widely circulated this week, and it made me angrier than I have been for, I don’t know, several days at least. In one devastating image it seemed to epitomise the decline and fall of the United Kingdom as a sane, competent nation.

Mail Online

• Trains cost up to 239% more than FLYING, figures reveal, as families prepare for Easter getawaysSky-high rail fares mean people travelling across the country face having to pay up to 239 per cent more for a return trip by train compared to flying (graphic comparing rail and flight costs).

The Mirror

• Disused UK airport once busier than Gatwick to restart passenger flights this summerLondon Ashford Airport, also known as Lydd, will see Air Alderney flights take off from this summer, the first time commercial flights have operated from the Kent airport since 2018

Sky News

• Easter strikes at Heathrow Airport go ahead after talks failTen days of of strikes by security guards at Heathrow Airport start today after last-minute talks failed to resolve a pay dispute.

Birmingham Mail

• Birmingham Airport's new 'state of the art' security hall likened to football stadium rebuildNick Barton, the airport's chief executive, likened the £40m undertaking to a "football stadium having its stands rebuilt and its pitch re-laid while continuing to stage matches"

Manchester Evening News

• TransPennine Express rail boss 'deliberately' moved home so he could experience commuters' train delaysPassengers facing 'a doubling' this year in 'planned disruption' due to TransPennine Route Upgrade project

The York Press

• York MP calls for better public tranport as A64 upgrade is delayedYORK Central MP Rachel Maskell has urged government support for better public transport as an alternative to ‘expensive’ road schemes.

Wales Online

• Westminster decision that English rail projects benefit Wales is 'abuse' - Welsh Government ministerA Welsh Government cabinet minister has attacked the UK Government's decision to categorise a second major English rail project as also benefiting Wales, so there will be no funding for the Welsh Government.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• First Bus Leeds: Outraged residents fear being 'cut off' as bus services in Farsley set to be slashedResidents of Farsley fear being “cut off” ahead of a raft of First Bus timetable changes due to come into effect from this weekend.

Lancashire Telegraph

• Fears as Lancashire to Dales rail service is axed this summerA long-running Sunday train service which takes Lancashire visitors to the Yorkshire Dales and Cumbria is being cancelled this summer, sparking fears for its future.

Other Regional Press

• HS2 works around Lichfield will continue as planned, Rail Minister confirmsRoadworks linked to HS2 around Lichfield will not be paused during a “re-phasing” of the controversial high speed rail scheme, Government chiefs have confirmed.
• Southeastern ’not listening to Greenwich Council about rail cuts’Southeastern has been accused of “not listening” by Greenwich Council’s transport chief – who said that the government-owned rail company had not responded to her complaints about service cuts.

Bus and Coach Buyer

• Greyhound partners with Paysafe for online cashIconic US long-distance coach operation Greyhound Lines is partnering with payments platform Paysafe to roll-out online cash services.

New Civil Engineer

• Cost of electrifying South Wales Metro has soared by a third to £1bnTransport for Wales (TfW) has announced the cost for its project to electrify and convert the Core Valley Lines into the South Wales Metro has risen by a third to £1bn.
• Roads minister explains why 80% of RIS3 committed spend is designated to southern parts of EnglandRoads minister Richard Holden has said that the concentration of roads expenditure in the south of England in the next Roads Investment Strategy (RIS) period, which runs from 2025 to 2030, supports levelling up as the benefits will be felt in other regions too.
• HS2 faces Euston tunnel dilemma after station mothballedHigh Speed 2 (HS2) Ltd and the Department for Transport (DfT) face a dilemma over whether to press ahead with construction of a 7km tunnel linking Old Oak Common with Euston later this year after the station project itself was put on pause earlier this month.

Railnews

• Final phase of work on Barmouth Bridge in sight Network Rail is to close Barmouth Bridge for up to 13 weeks this autumn so that its restoration can be concluded. Network Rail will be working with its contractors to reconstruct the metal sections of the bridge, as well as renewing the track near Barmouth Toll House on the northern edge of the viaduct.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Onboard bus announcements to be made mandatoryVisual and audible onboard announcements will be required by law on buses and local coaches by October 2026. In making the announcement, the government committed £4.65 million in funding for small operators to make the necessary upgrades.
• Westway and Equipmake link up for UK’s first electric coach Westway is set to become the first UK coach operator to repower diesel vehicles to electric, thanks to a partnership with Equipmake announced today.
• Martin Gibbon announced as new Stagecoach South Wales MDMartin Gibbon will take over as Managing Director for Stagecoach South Wales in May, the operator announced today.
• First Bus to build ’super depot’ in PortsmouthFirst Bus has purchased land in Portsmouth with a view to building a new depot for all-electric buses.

Other News Sources

• Liverpool Airport Gears Up For Its Busiest Summer Since The Pandemic BeganAfter living through the quietest months of COVID-19 with minimal operations, airports in the UK, and indeed around the world, are enjoying being busy once again. In northwest England, Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL) is seeing strong growth, to the extent that this summer will be its busiest since the pandemic began.
• ’Unlocking the potential for rail freight within the construction sector is up to the industry’As the Head of Rail for Tarmac, Chris Swan is committed to strengthening further the relationship between industry and the railways. His company may have a name that is synonymous with road construction in its home market. However, in its wider remit as a sustainable buildings and construction materials provider, Tarmac is in the ideal position to unlock all the advantages of rail for delivering the prodigious quantities required for regional and national infrastructure projects.