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

Friday, 27 October 2023

BBC News

• Fury over higher air traffic charges after IT meltdownAirlines say passengers will foot the bill after the aviation regulator hiked charges at airports.

ITV News

• Go North East: New pay offer as bus operator seeks to avoid indefinite strikeBus workers will vote on a new pay offer aimed at averting indefinite strike action.

Financial Times

• GM's Cruise to suspend all driverless car fleets after California banCompany says it needs to ebuild public trust and will assess its processes and systems
• Union workers score big pay gains as labour action sweeps USUAW's tentative deal with Ford is latest to reflect revived power at the negotiating table

The Guardian

• Mercedes says electric car market is brutal for manufacturersGerman company points to intense price competition, which it sees as unsustainable.
• Ancient pear tree comes back to life after being felled to make way for HS2Beloved tree in Cubbington, thought over 250 years old, regrowing from transplanted stump and its cutting offspring are also thrivingA former tree of the year that was chopped down to make way for HS2 is alive and well, regrowing from its transplanted stump.The pear tree in Cubbington, Warwickshire, thought to be more than 250 years old, became a cause célèbre when it was first threatened with destruction. Despite having won the tree of the year award in 2015 and thousands having signed a petition to save it, the tree was felled in 2020 by HS2 contractors.

Times Online

• Heathrow eyes break-even after summer boom. [subscription]A bumper billion-pound holiday season in which it processed more passengers than ever before has lifted Heathrow to within £19 million of breaking even.

City AM

• New boss says Heathrow a ’national asset’ but debt pile still drags on financialsHeathrow Airport narrowed its losses significantly in the first nine months of the year, as passenger numbers soared from Covid-era lows.
• Making Heathrow profitable: Three challenges for the new boss After years of lossmaking, Heathrow could be on the cusp of a turnaround and just as its new Danish chief Thomas Woldbye steps in.

The National

• Heathrow increases passenger forecasts after busy summerHeathrow Airport has said it will handle more passengers this year than previously expected after another summer of recovery in the travel market.

Local Government

• Retention of valued Oxfordshire rail services welcomedOxfordshire County Council has welcomed a decision that two popular commuter train services connecting three of the biggest settlements in Oxfordshire and villages in-between are to remain on the timetable in December.

Network Rail

• £13.3m upgrade for customer information in Scotland’s busiest stationsScotland’s two busiest stations, Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central, are being upgraded with new high-definition customer information screens. 

Sky News

• Heathrow finance boss believes rise in airline traffic control charges justifiedHeathrow's chief financial officer, Javier Echave, welcomed the CAA's recognising the importance of investing in air traffic control and said the £2 price increase per passenger per flight is "reasonable" compared to air fare hikes. 

Birmingham Post

• Shipyards A&P Group and Cammell Laird join forces to become 'true global entity'The two companies have been combined to create umbrella business APCL Group Ltd

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Hydrogen refuelling plan for Canal Road is approvedPLANS for a hydrogen fuelling station to be included in the redevelopment of a Bradford roadside site have been approved.
• Bus operators' campaign says public control plans not neededLOCAL bus companies say the planned franchising of local bus services is not needed – as they will be able to reform services themselves.

London Evening Standard

• Heathrow finally poised to break back into blackHeathrow is on the brink of returning to the black after three years of huge losses during the pandemic as passengers flock back to the airport more quickly than expected.

Manchester Evening News

• Network North risks being 'fake network to nowhere', claims LabourThe new rail plan set to replace scrapped HS2 is 'not worth the paper it’s written on' as it is based on out of date numbers, Labour MPs have warned.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Mayor Andy Street to present his HS2 alternative to Government next summerThe elected mayor for the West Midlands expects to put his alternative proposals to the cancelled HS2 Birmingham to Manchester line to ministers next summer.

Yorkshire Post

• Devolution opens up potential for new public transport links between Sheffield and DerbyshireDevolution has opened up the prospect of new public transport connections between Sheffield and Derbyshire, a major business event was told.

Cambridge News

• New map shows how East West Rail would connect Cambridge to other UK citiesEast West Rail will connect with five key railway arteries

Other Regional Press

• Transport for London scraps planned Reading to London ticket price hike as commuters call for better servicesTransport for London has reversed its proposal to withdraw the one-day travelcard, with commuters praising the decision - but calling some services 'disgraceful'.
• Volvo and Sunsundegui formalise agreement for 9700 and 9900Train services in Wales are heading in the wrong direction under Transport for Wales, according to opposition MSs.
• Rail firm denies "unsafe" journey claimsClaims that trains travelling to and from Newtown are overcrowded and "unsafe" have bene denied by rail operator Transport for Wales.

Bus and Coach Buyer

• Bus passengers highest in three yearsTuesday 12 October was the first weekday when more people travelled by bus than on the equivalent day before the pandemic.
• 95% of council DRTs running at a loss – surveyCouncils are warning that demand responsive transport (DRT) services are not a substitute for government investment in traditional bus services.
• West Yorkshire operators propose franchising alternativeAs a public consultation opens on the future of bus services in West Yorkshire, bus operators from across the region have revealed a dynamic new plan for bus reform. And they are confident it meets the ambitions of the local Mayor, Tracy Brabin.
• Franchising row erupts between McGill’s owners and MayorA disagreement has erupted between the owners of McGill’s Buses and the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, over franchising.

Coach and Bus Week

• DfT calls for evidence on ZE coach infrastructure requirementsThe DfT has launched a call for evidence to gather information about the current and future supply, uptake and use of zero-emission coaches and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) across the UK and their refuelling and recharging requirements, and will use the responses to help inform the development of a national infrastructure strategy.

New Civil Engineer

• Government decision to approve Luton Airport expansion slammed by local council leaderThe leader of North Hertfordshire council has hit out at the government decision to back expansion plans at Luton Airport, saying that it “flies in the face of public opposition and completely ignores the climate emergency”.
• HS2 originator Adonis blasts decision to cancel high-speed line but believes plan will be built in fullThe Labour transport secretary who put the High Speed 2 (HS2) plan on the table in 2010 has has accused prime minister Rishi Sunak of “trashing Britain's future” with the cancellation of the high-speed line, but he believes the network will still be built in full.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Volvo and Sunsundegui formalise agreement for 9700 and 9900Volvo Bus and Sunsundegui have formalised an arrangement for the Spanish company to build bodies for the 9700 single-deck and 9900 coaches.
• First Solent begins electric bus preparation at Hoeford depotBattery-electric bus operation from the First Solent depot at Hoeford will start during March 2024, the operator has said. It comes as work has commenced on infrastructure to support the 62-strong Wrightbus GB Kite Electroliner fleet that is on order.
• First Bus promotes Paul Townley to Rochdale GM roleFirst Bus is continuing its preparations to take on franchised services in Manchester next year by appointing Paul Townley to the newly created role of General Manager in Rochdale.
• Glasgow bus franchising advocacy draws furious McGill’s responseFranchising of bus services in the Glasgow city region is the “most effective way” to improve them, a report from the Centre for Cities (CfC) in partnership with pressure group Get Glasgow Moving (GGM) has claimed. It immediately drew an incandescent response from McGill’s Bus Group co-owner Sandy Easdale.
• Daimler Buses UK invests to support electromobility journeyDaimler Buses UK has underlined its commitment to electromobility with investment in staff and support functions at its Coventry base. The work sits alongside receipt of the first UK orders for the battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eCitaro, including two deals with Transdev Blazefield for a total of 35 such buses.
• Blackpool Transport to migrate Omnibus software to cloud platformBlackpool Transport is to migrate its Omnibus scheduling and depot allocation software to a cloud-based platform.

Other News Sources

• Accessible transport laws are complex, unclear and not enforced, MPs are toldThe legislation around accessible transport is unclear and “ridiculously complex”, with the rules protecting disabled people from discrimination not enforced by regulators or the government, MPs have been told.
• Bus operator Transdev launches new workshop skills driveEast Lancashire's main bus firm Transdev has launched a new skills drive to beat a national shortage of engineers.