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

Thursday, 21 September 2023

BBC News

• Guide Dogs charity calls for pavement parking law changeThose with sight loss struggle to safely pass cars parked on pavements, Guide Dogs charity says.
• 20mph Wales speed limit destroying companies, claims bossOne businessman questions the point of working but a driver training school praises the 20mph limit.
• PM delays petrol car ban in major shift on green policiesThe prime minister claims the changes will support
• London Underground: Thousands of staff to strike over job cutsUnion members will walk out on 4 and 6 October and shut down the Tube, the RMT's Mick Lynch says.
• Tower Hamlets Council to scrap LTN road closure schemeTower Hamlets Council decides to scrap most low traffic neighbourhoods in the borough.
• Warning petrol ban delay may hit electric car salesCar makers have raised concerns over the move to delay the ban on new petrol and diesel sales to 2035.

Financial Times

• Carmakers in UK to face EV sales targets despite delay to petrol vehicle banGovernment intends to press ahead with quota scheme amid industry fears about sluggish consumer demand
• Airlines prioritise safe connectionsMultiple ageing computer systems and long supply chains create a security challenge
• Europe's largest cruise company pushes for change to emissions rules MSC Cruises draws ire of environmentalists as it calls for rethink on how passenger ships are assessed by UN shipping regulator

STV

• Trams cost 'underestimated by £231m' amid 'litany of failures'Lord Hardie accused City of Edinburgh Council, the local authority's trams firm and Scottish ministers of 'abdicating responsibility on a large scale' over the delayed project.

The Guardian

• All aboard! Can Luxembourg’s free public transport help save the world?It’s not quite John o’Groats to Land’s End, let alone Florida to Alaska, but undertaking an end-to-end expedition across Luxembourg has its advantages

The Independent

• Rishi Sunak swerves questions over scrapping northern extension of HS2PM refuses to ’speculate’ on future of high-speed rail, after Independent revealed talks to axe phase 2

The Scotsman

• Edinburgh Trams Inquiry: John Swinney urged to make public statement in Scottish Parliament after 'integrity' questioned by Lord HardieLord Hardie had said in the Edinburgh tram inquiry report there had been a “litany of avoidable failures on the parts of several parties” in the troubled project

Times Online

• Swinney urged to make statement over damning tram report. [subscription]John Swinney has been urged to deliver a statement to Holyrood after the Edinburgh trams inquiry questioned his integrity.
• CalMac boss flew to island meeting about poor ferry service. [subscription]The chief executive of Scotland’s ferry fleet flew to South Uist to speak to angry residents about the company’s poor service instead of taking one of his own vessels.
• Tube strikes in October will coincide with rail disruption. [subscription]Thousands of London Underground workers will strike in October in a long-running dispute over jobs and conditions, with the dates planned to coincide with strike action on the railways.

Reuters News

• Auto industry slams Britain's petrol car ban delay and confusionLONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Carmakers, which have invested billions on electric vehicles, slammed Britain's move to delay a 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, saying it would disrupt supply chains and slow the transition to greener cars.

Local Government

• £1.3m smart streetlamp pilot launchedSix areas across the UK have been awarded funding to test smart streetlamps that can charge electric vehicles (EVs) and boost wireless coverage.

Birmingham Post

• Warning over electric vehicle u-turn as PM waters down immediacy of Net Zero ambitionMyenergi co-founder speaks out as five year roll-back on 2030 plan for motors made
• Car manufacturers demand clarity from Government over 2030 petrol and diesel car banReports that date will be pushed back to 2035 as Prime Minister prepares to water down climate commitments

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Bus operators refuse to rule out further cutsBUS operators First and Arriva have refused to rule out making further service cuts, though both say they now want to “grow” the network.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Police action warning as 20mph road signs torn down and defacedThe vandalism is adding to confusion among motorists and one council has raised concerns with North Wales Police

London Evening Standard

• Sunak refuses to guarantee HS2 will ever link London and ManchesterThe Prime Minister said he would not ’speculate’ on reports the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the high-speed rail route could be axed

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Sunak refuses to guarantee HS2 will ever link Manchester and LondonRishi Sunak has refused to guarantee that HS2 will ever connect Manchester and central London, saying he would not “speculate” on the future of the route.

The York Press

• Reversal of fortune for North Yorkshire’s threatened bus servicesNorth Yorkshire’s transport boss has spoken of his optimism that all existing bus services will be saved and the network expanded over the coming years, just over a year after raising fears nearly 80 routes were close to being wiped out.
• Haxby railway station: preferred site sees overnight workOvernight drilling work has begun on the preferred site for the new Haxby railway station.

Wales Online

• More people support new 20mph speed limit than oppose it, new poll showsThe new 20mph default speed limit has been a big talking point in Wales

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• New measures being rolled out to improve road safety across region including enhanced safety camerasNew measures are being rolled out to improve road safety across the region, including enhanced average speed camera enforcement and a crackdown on mobile phone use while driving.

Yorkshire Post

• Attempts to rescue the £11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway schemeSenior councillors at North Yorkshire Council have agreed to consider different options in an attempt to rescue the £11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway scheme.
• Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Negotiations to potentially lease site for over 100 years set to begin on MondayDoncaster Council’s cabinet have today (Sep 20) given the go-ahead for negotiations to take place to find an investor to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
• TransPennine Express defends planned timetable cuts in DecemberTransPennine Express (TPE) has defended planned cuts to services this December, which it insists will be “temporary”.
• 'Promote Yorkshire's public transport initiatives better', Great Northern Conference hearsMore should be done to promote the region’s existing public transport initiatives in addition to pushing for improvements in services, industry experts say.

Other Regional Press

• Latest on £50m Mid Cornwall Metro Falmouth to Newquay railCornwall Council was asked this week why discussions on the planned Mid Cornwall Metro scheme have been delayed, after the new direct train link between Falmouth and Newquay was awarded £50m funding from the Government’s ’Levelling Up’ fund in January.
• Peterborough council leader delivers silent blow to mayor's future transport plansCllr Wayne Fitzgerald wordlessly vetoed the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s region-wide transport policy, which includes the possibility of road charging
• Alternative to Cambridge South East Transport ’would cost £100m less than busway’An alternative has been presented to the Cambridge South East Transport (CSET) busway that advocates claim would be £100million cheaper and less environmentally destructive.
• London’s capital celebration of 50 years of transport FreedomFormer GLC councillor DAVID WHITE, pictured right, looks back to a scheme that revolutionised travel for generations of Londoners and ahead to a 50th birthday event this weekend
• Wantage and Grove Station: Outline business case is 'vital'The campaign to reopen Wantage and Grove Station has taken the “next vital step” as councillors agreed to fund a plan into the proposals.
• ‘Rishi is right to scale back net-zero targets for petrol and diesel cars’A Kent MP has welcomed reports that the government is preparing to scale back its target for phasing out all petrol and diesel vehicles.
• Popular Isle of Wight Steam Railway to demolish historic bridgeA historic bridge is to be demolished, the Isle of Wight Steam Railway has decided, after years of spending time and money maintaining it.

New Civil Engineer

• National Highways sees spike in corporate and construction emissions despite claims of progressNational Highways has seen increases in both corporate emissions and emissions from construction and maintenance in the last year, despite claims of “huge strides” towards net zero.

Rail Advent

• Tyne and Wear Metro’s extensive tests of its new train fleetNexus, the public body which owns and operates the Tyne and Wear Metro, has been explaining the volume and complexity of tests it is carrying out on its new fleet of trains.

Rail Business Daily

• The importance of digitalisation in the UK rail industry: A case study on the Transpennine Route UpgradeIt’s no secret that the UK’s railway system has long suffered from outdated technology and manual processes, which have led to inefficiencies, delays, and high operational costs.

Rail UK

• New Ebbw Vale services to begin in DecemberBrand new rail services are set to be launched on one of South Wales’ key lines, almost doubling the number of travel options.

Railway Gazette

• Voyager transfer anticipated as CrossCountry gets National Rail ContractUK: The Department for Transport has directly awarded Arriva UK Trains a National Rail Contract to continue to operate CrossCountry long-distance passenger services.

Transportxtra

• Need for a Future of Transport Bill ’more urgent than ever’More than 50 organisations from a range of disciplines that operate in the transport sector have called on prime minister Rishi Sunak to introduce a Future of Transport Bill to ensure the right environment in which transport innovation can thrive.
• Robertson new chief executive at Transport FocusAlex Robertson is to become the new chief executive at Transport Focus on 1 December taking over from Anthony Smith, who will be stepping down at the end of the year.

Other News Sources

• Why a better transport network for Sussex and the South East is vital for jobs and helping to avert the climate crisisTransforming the transport network across Sussex and the South East – everything from better roads, fewer potholes, more electric vehicle charging points, safer routes for cyclists, greater bus usage, and cutting pollution and carbon emissions – was debated at a major conference. The presence of the Transport Minister underlined the significance of the event.
• TfL: Data reveals bus services cuts amid ULEZ expansion and Superloop launchThe publication of the figures comes just weeks after the mayor’s ULEZ expanded to cover all of greater London.
• First private US passenger rail line in 100 years is about to link Miami and Orlando at high speedFor the first time in a century, a private passenger rail service will launch new operations in the U.S. and this time it involves high-speed trains
• Europe’s Ports See First Signs of Business LeakageThe European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) has reiterated its support for an emissions trading scheme (ETS) as instrument for greening the shipping sector, but expresses its serious concern about first signs of carbon and business leakage due to the limited scope of the current legislation.For ESPO…
• Partners Agree Emission Reductions on Rotterdam-Singapore CorridorThe Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the Port of Rotterdam Authority and 20 partners in the Green & Digital Shipping Corridor are working to reduce 20% to 30% of emissions from international shipping by 2030. This was agreed at the third Green Corridor workshop…

News from Europe

• In one of Europe's least populated areas, on-demand public transport is keeping people connectedThe autonomous community of Castilla y León, one of the most depopulated in Spain, manages to bring basic services closer to the citizens.