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

Thursday, 22 June 2023

BBC News

• Potential new Bradford railway station plans to be unveiled soon - ministerThe government says it has been exploring potential options for a new railway station in Bradford
• Isle of Man Airport: Staff training blamed for delaysDisruption at the Isle of Man Airport has been blamed on a staff shortage of air traffic controllers.
• Bus services in Kent facing widespread cutsCuts to bus services are planned across Kent

ITV News

• Government to unveil plans for new Bradford railway stationThe government says plans for a potential new railway station in Bradford will be unveiled next week.

Financial Times

• Latest delays to HS2 forecast to add £366mn to soaring final billMinisters decision to push back section of high-speed rail link will drive up costs, according to government estimates

The Guardian

• TransPennine Express services ’worse’ under state-owned OLROperator, which covers trains across north of England and southern Scotland, cancelled more than 90 trains in a day this month

Transport Committee

• Transport Committee calls for sustained financial support for bus services in EnglandThe Chair of the Transport Committee has urged the Government to keep its focus on improving bus services throughout the country.

City AM

• Network Rail must be held to account for poor performance, says ministerThe performance of Network Rail has “not been good enough,” rail minister Huw Merriman said today, stating that the body must be properly held to account to ensure it improves the UK’s rail infrastructure.
• Local authorities putting the brakes on electric car charger rollout, industry warns Local authority bureaucracy is causing delays of up to a year in rolling out electric car charge points, industry figures have warned. “We’re getting caught up in red tape… which is stopping us deploying thousands more charges today,” Ian Johnston, head of the newly formed trade association ChargeUK, told City A.M. To build and operate [...]

Daily Record

• Campaigners call for action as Renfrewshire transport review set to take a yearResidents have said they cannot be shut off from vital transport while the assessment is carried out.

Network Rail

• Scrap that: Video and AI technology helping keep the railway tidy and railway workers safeArtificial intelligence software is helping Network Rail find and remove forgotten scrap materials from the side of the railway more quickly and safely than ever before.

Birmingham Post

• Airbus expects to recruit 13,000 staff by the end of 2023The aerospace giant employs people at its UK sites in South Gloucestershire and North Wales

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Plan for new Bradford rail station to be revealed - Minister tells MPsPLANS for a new railway station in Bradford will be unveiled as soon as next week – a Government minister has told MPs.
• Plan for new Bradford rail station to be revealed - Minister tells MPsPLANS for a new railway station in Bradford will be unveiled as soon as next week – a Government minister has told MPs.
• Recovered criminal cash used to support canal project for young peopleAN organisation that uses the District’s canals to provide young people with vital life skills has been awarded cash recovered from local criminals.

Edinburgh Evening News

• £1 billion for the construction site express still slower than the bus - John McLellanAll aboard the construction site express. Seeing as it has cost Edinburgh taxpayers £207 million, the majority of whom will never use it, I thought I should give the Newhaven tram a go.

London Evening Standard

• Esken puts Southend Airport up for sale as it warns on financesThe beleaguered owner of Southend Airport has confirmed the site has been put up for sale as it sounded the alarm on the stability of its finances.

Northern Echo

• Is this the future of rail travel in the UK?WITH ASLEF and the RMT promising strikes for the rest of 2023 and perhaps beyond, it seems that passengers are facing months of difficulties when planning their journeys by rail.

This Is Local London Network

• Network Rail invests £1.25bn in south east London and KentNetwork Rail has announced it is investing £1.25billion to railways in Kent and south east London to give passengers better journeys with fewer delays.

Yorkshire Post

• Options for new railway station in Bradford to be unveiled next week according to ministerRail minister Huw Merriman told MPs that the Government will set out its initial proposals for how a new station could be opened in the West Yorkshire city.

Plymouth Herald

• Push for 'forgotten' part of Plymouth 'left in the cold' to get new railway stationThe Green Party want a station to serve Plympton, Sherford, the commercial area of Langage and the new Plymouth Free Port site

Other Regional Press

• Motherwell station redevelopment and transport hub officially openedA joint initiative between ScotRail, North Lanarkshire Council, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) and Transport Scotland, the extensive project has created a fully integrated hub that connects multi-modal transports. 
• Marsh Barton Railway Station will open to the public on Tuesday 4 July 2023The £16 million project has been delivered by Devon County Council in collaboration with Network Rail and Great Western Railway (GWR) and built by construction and civil engineering specialist firm GRAHAM.
• Railway works that will close Barrhead station to be completed on timeRail bosses have vowed that a £63million upgrade that will see Barrhead train station being closed for six weeks will be completed on time and with disruption kept to a minimum.
• Manchester Airport starts work on the next major phase of its £1.3bn Transformation ProgrammeThe expanded Terminal 2 will boast 27 new shops, bars and restaurants, including a high-street style shopping area, a champagne bar and a food hall.
• Birmingham Airport is a 'building site' as £40m project continuesBirmingham Airport has set up a marquee to give departing customers extra space as the work continues on its £40 million new security screening area.
• Flintshire: Update on bus services provided to councillorsAN UPDATE on the future of bus services in Flintshire has been provided after it was suggested the council include the issue in its five-year plan.
• Free weekend bus travel as operators entice passengers to returnBus passengers can travel across Kent and Medway for free this weekend as part of a campaign to encourage people to use the county's services.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• CILT(UK) reveals new Chair of the Board21 June 2023 – London, UK –  The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the UK – CILT(UK) – is delighted to announce Vikram Singla FCILT, Digital Transformation Director and Sustainability Ambassador at Oracle as its new Chair. Vikram helps supply chain and logistics leaders leverage technology and data to deliver meaningful business outcomes for their organisations. He is an advisory board member at Cranfield University’s supply chain management research centre. He is currently responsible for defining and executing the go-to-market strategy for...

New Civil Engineer

• How TfL has spent £7.5M on the indefinitely paused Bakerloo line extensionTransport for London (TfL) has spent over £7.5M on developing the Bakerloo line extension to date, even as the project remains officially mothballed.

Transportxtra

• Transport returns to cabinet level in Scottish GovernmentTransport has been added to Màiri McAllan’s ministerial brief at the Scottish Government after the departure of Kevin Stewart as transport minister. He cited issues with his mental health.

Aviation Industry

• Lufthansa Group Introduces New Baggage Drop-off Counters at Frankfurt AirportBaggage drop off for passengers of Lufthasa at the Frankfurt Airport (FRA) has just become easier than ever, as 21 state-of-the-art check-in counters located at Concourses A and B of Terminal 1 have been made accessible for passengers flying with this airline.
• Alarm bells should be ringing over light aircraft noise pollutionIn 1910, the Nobel Prize winner Robert Koch predicted that one day man will have to fight noise as fiercely as cholera and pest.

Other News Sources

• Government transport consultation ignores motorcyclesThe National Networks National Policy Statement does though mention horse riders and pedestrians while completely ignoring motorcyclists
• Why the gap? The reasons behind public transport inequality in UK citiesLondoners love to moan about the Tube, but it is way in advance of public transport systems in the rest of the UK. Why the inequality?
• Southend Airport officially up for sale as owners confirm 'process has started'THE OWNERS of Southend Airport have put the business up for sale after it was revealed the “process for the sale” has started.
• Cycling group accuses Brighton council of scrapping A259 cycle laneA pro-cycling group has hit out at plans to redesign a planned cycle lane along the A259

News from Europe

• Transport infrastructure: The European Commission accelerates the shift to sustainable and smart mobility on the TEN-T network with EUR 6.2 billion in grantsThe Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) continues to contribute to delivering the European Green Deal with an additional financial support of EUR 6.2 billion for 107 new projects on the Trans-European Transport Network. Overall, 82% of this funding concerns transport infrastructure that contributes to climate objectives in line with the Union’s commitments. In addition to developing a more efficient, greener, and smarter network of railways, inland waterways and maritime infrastructure within the EU, such support will also enhance the cross-border connections with Ukraine and Moldova along the Solidarity Lanes.