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

Saturday, 05 August 2023

BBC News

• Belfast Transport Hub: MRP chosen for new central station schemeTranslink has chosen County Tyrone developer MRP as its commercial partner for the Weavers Cross development at the new Belfast central station.
• British Airways workers to get 13% pay riseAround 24,000 staff will get a pay increase and one-off payment of £1,000, the Unite union says.
• Travel disruption set to worsen with climate change, warns government adviserThe UK must invest in rail and road networks or accept more extreme weather disruption, a government advisor says.

Financial Times

• Maersk forecasts long and deep contraction in global tradeContainer shipping group says companies are still cutting inventories
• British Airways and union agree 13% pay rise for 24,000 staffAirline industry has been trying to avoid a repeat of last year's travel chaos

STV

• Return of main ferry on lifeline route 'unlikely before end of August'The primary vessel used for the Corran ferry crossing is unlikely to be ready to return to service before the end of this month, it has been announced.

The Guardian

• How electric cars became a battleground in the culture warsEVs have become weaponised amid fears over cost of shift to battery power and job losses at carmakers Three pickup trucks lined up on a highway in front of a Tesla in Phoenix, Arizona, to form a rolling roadblock. The Tesla driver, a computer scientist, moved lane to wait for them to let him past. What came next was unexpected: a video on social media from the incident in June shows a belch of acrid black smoke from the engine of one of the trucks, enveloping the electric car following behind.
• Mayors of Oslo, Montreal and Milan back Sadiq Khan on London Ulez planCity leaders say UK capital's scheme to improve air quality is inspiring and explain their own measures. Mayors from cities around the globe have urged Sadiq Khan to stay strong in the face of harsh criticism of his clean air policies.
• The rows over Ulez and LTNs lose sight of the truth: they save lives | Devi SridharWhile Rishi Sunak spouts pro-motorist rhetoric, Amsterdam, Paris and Edinburgh are leading the charge to be healthier citiesWhen friends from my home town of Miami visit Edinburgh, where I now live, one thing they always remark on is the quality of life here. Sure, Miami has more sunny days, a mild winter, South Beach and Lionel Messi, but it is practically impossible to get around there without a car. Compare this with Edinburgh, where you can walk, cycle, or take the bus or tram.
• British Airways workers to get 13% pay rise after Covid cutbacksAbout 24,000 British Airways workers have secured a 13.1% pay rise in a deal hailed by Unite as a reversal of cuts brought in at the height of the Covid crisis.

Times Online

• Maersk is boxed in by global trade downturn. [subscription]A tightening in global trade conditions will be worse and longer than previously feared, AP Moller-Maersk warned yesterday, with the shipping and logistics group blaming weak economic growth and customers reducing stocks.
• HS2 is ’unachievable’ — but it’s proving impossible to ignore [subscription]The government has been accused of ’panicking’ as costs rise, however, industry leaders say the high-speed rail line is vital

City AM

• British Airways staff secure 13.1 per cent pay increase – and £1,000 one-off sumBritish Airways (BA) workers have secured a 13.1 per cent pay increase, trade union Unite has said. Staff at the airline will receive the pay increase over an 18-month period, as well as a £1,000 one off payment.

Birmingham Mail

• Most common offences committed at Birmingham Airport amid crime surgeBirmingham Airport saw the 4th largest increase in crime of any UK airport last year

Nation. Cymru

• Newport Transport agrees deal to convert buses to fully electric vehiclesNewport Transport has signed a deal with Equipmake for eight of its buses to be to repowered to fully electric vehicles.
• New integrated link to Cardiff International AirportA new integrated rail and bus ticket partnership will make getting to Cardiff International Airport by public transport easier.

The York Press

• Wigginton Road level crossing to close in York Wigginton Road level crossing is set to close in York for railway works.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds buses: Transdev to launch new 60A Bramley service after First Bus axe key routeTransdev are set to launch a new bus service in west Leeds filling a gap left by First Bus.

Yorkshire Post

• Northern Rail launches sale offering Yorkshire students 75% off train tickets in bid to encourage more students to use trains instead of carsTrain operator Northern is encouraging more students to use trains instead of cars from September with the offer of 75 per cent off train tickets for Yorkshire students to commute to school.
• Still time to get HS2 back on track but we need to rethink our approach to large infrastructure projects - Henri MurisonWhen the Elizabeth line – a new high-speed railway across London - opened to the public last May, it felt like a genuinely historic day. Hundreds queued for hours in the rain for the chance to be one of the first ever passengers.
• HS2 was always going to fail, if only politicians had listen from the start - David BehrensSo now we know: after a decade and a half of delays and out-of-control spending, Britain’s high speed rail project is officially “unachievable”. That was the verdict this week of the government’s infrastructure watchdog, and guess what? It’s what everyone who knew what they were talking about had said from the start.

Bucks Free Press

• HS2 unveils conveyor belt to move earth over WendoverIt aims to prevent 70,000 lorry journeys and should reduce disruption for residents.

Intelligent Transport

• TfL achieves largest zero-emission bus fleet in Western EuropeLondon’s red buses are turning green as TfL achieves a significant milestone with over 1,000 zero-emission buses, in line with its goal of a fully zero-emission bus fleet by 2034.

Rail Business Daily

• Levenmouth rail link progressJenny Gilruth, Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Mid-Fife and Glenrothes visited the site of Levenmouth Rail Link project to see first-hand the latest progress on the £116m Scottish Government investment.

road.cc

• "If you don’t like cyclists going through red lights, support proper cycling infrastructure": Calls for better cycling infrastructure after cyclists jumping lights goes viralTime to bring back this old adage from the road.cc way of news: "Getting on a bike does not make you a saint", so it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise or a shock that cyclists sometimes jump traffic lights, as evident by this viral video on Twitter from yesterday.

Other News Sources

• MP calls for progress on Oswestry to Gobowen railwayNorth Shropshire MP Helen Morgan has called for the Government to “get the wheels turning” on restoring the Oswestry to Gobowen railway link.
• First look at Gatwick Airport's two-runway expansion plans that would double its capacityThe planning inspector has agreed to examine Gatwick's plan it build a second runway and add 100,000 extra flights a year