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

Saturday, 10 February 2024

BBC News

• New electric train fleet unveiledWest Midlands Railway's longer trains will run from Wolverhampton to Birmingham.
• A5: Minister has power to upgrade dangerous road, says mumMore than 50 people have been killed on the A5 since 2006, including Kate Corrigan's son, Nathan.
• More night bus routes to be trialled in regionNight buses will be piloted in Wigan and Bolton after buses were taken back under local control.
• Why the e-bike boom is raising fire fearsSales of electric bikes are booming but defective batteries and chargers can cause fires.
• TfL prosecutes 20,000 fare dodgersTransport for London says it is increasing the penalty fare from £80 to £100 to deter fare evasion.

Financial Times

• How a US buyout giant's bet on an empty London airport went sourCarlyle is pursuing the owner of London Southend through the courts over a £125mn loan
• Ministers cut performance targets for biggest UK rail franchiseShift comes after Govia Thameslink failed on most measures in first year of its contract

The Guardian

• Car cloning: innocent UK motorists get fines as scams accelerateIf a criminal breaks the law in a car with the same number plates as yours, you could be treated as liableOn Wednesday, Bouchaib Moussaid's £8,000 Kia Sportage car was all set to be sold at auction by bailiffs. The care worker, who lives in St Albans in Hertfordshire, and his extended family have spent the last few weeks trying to stop the sale.Moussaid is one of a growing number of people who have had their car cloned. Continue reading...

The Herald

• Glasgow to Fort William trains to be off for 9 days for worksA section of the West Highland Line will close for nine days next month, affecting trains between Glasgow and Fort William and Mallaig.
• Arran pressure group folds in frustration over ferry fiasco incompetenceA key island pressure group which has helped to expose Scotland's ferry fiasco has told how it has been forced to disband having become "fatigued from running at brick walls".
• No ports money for chaotic move to new 'green' CalMac ferriesPlans for the introduction of the 'eco-friendly' vessels at the centre of Scotland's ferry fiasco have been thrown into new chaos as it has emerged two key Scots ports will not be capable of providing the 'green' fuel.

City AM

• Row erupts over Thameslink bonuses after performance targets lowered Thameslink's performance targets were downgraded across nearly every category from last year. The targets are set by the government's department for transport.

Daily Express

• New £460m dual carriageway should end chaos on short-cut between two major UK motorwaysThe A417, a new dual carriageway in Gloucestershire, is being built to reduce chaos between the M4 and M5.

Mail Online

• Should airlines start weighing passengers? It's right to make fat people pay extra to fly - they're worse than screaming babies, says Roger Lewis. But Marion McGilvary disagrees. Who do YOU agree with? Have your say in our pollThis week it emerged that Finnair is proposing to tackle the extra pounds by weighing its passengers at the departure gate. Humiliating? Undoubtedly.

The Mirror

• Petrol and diesel car owners told 'time to reconsider' as tax rates to rise from AprilThe new fees are likely to put a big strain on people already struggling amid the cost-of-living crisis

This is Money

• Jaguar Land Rover to spend £15m to boost older cars' security - and fund policing at ports to spot stolen motorsJLR CEO Adrian Mardell last week said the brand will increase its total spending to £15million to 'improve physical and digital theft prevention of its cars dating back to 2016'.
• Councils call for ban on pavement parking across EnglandThe demand for enforcement powers comes more than three years after the Department for Transport wrapped up a consultation into pavement parking, which has seen no action taken as a result.

Birmingham Mail

• Little-known rules about when speed cameras can catch you every driver needs to knowThe Department of Transport issues guidelines about the usage of speed cameras and certain conditions which should be met before they go live

Birmingham Post

• Uber bids to start operations in Hull with around 250 driversTaxi app Uber has lodged a bid to start operating in Hull and plans to have around 250 drivers.

Bolton News

• Night buses could be launched between Bolton and ManchesterGreater Manchester's nighttime economy adviser Sacha Lord said the night buses would be 'great news'.
• Manchester City bus network to be trialled for matchdaysManchester City FC will be trialling a new large-scale bus network to help fans travel across the region on matchdays - including one of the services going to the borough.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• North Wales road labelled one of the most dangerous to driveThe A496 which weaves it's way through Gwynedd and the Eryri national park is one of the riskiest in the UK

Manchester Evening News

• Pavement parking ban powers 'should be extended'The LGA said wheelchairs users among others are at risk due to cars parking on kerbs

Wales Online

• The big changes announced to Valleys bus servicesIt includes new routes and new areas served, but also service mergers
• The M4 and main road closures hitting drivers in Wales this week One of the main M4 closures will affect rugby fans traveling to Twickenham for Wales Vs England in the Six Nations

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Driver training scheme which starts teaching youngsters at four launches its first site in regionA driver training scheme which starts teaching youngsters from the age of four is launching its first site in Stafford.

Cambridge News

• Five mile diversion in place as Cambridgeshire A14 Bar Hill bridge closed after embankment 'movement'Work will be done to install temporary surface patches after concerns were raised about settlement of the bridge embankment
• Look back at Cambridgeshire's lost railway stations over the yearsWhen one station closed, local people dressed up as mourners in protest

Other Regional Press

• Council earmarks £3m to buy 'disgusting' multi-storey car parkA council could be set to splash £3 million of taxpayers' cash on a 'disgusting' town centre multi-storey car park scrawled in graffiti.

C.N.N.

• Airline starts weighing passengers at the gateFinnair's new project at Helsinki airport is weighing volunteer passengers at the gate, along with their hand luggage. The pilot scheme is to help the airline better calculate accurate weights of passengers and baggage being loaded onto the plane.

Railnews

• GWR battery train test runs to start this spring The long-running battery train project on Great Western Railway is set to move forward this spring, when trial operation begins on a branch line in west London. GWR took over the development of battery units based on former London Underground trains when their innovator Vivarail went into administration at the end of 2022. The tests on the Greenford branch will involve a short length of conductor rail at West Ealing station which is used to charge the batteries and is only live when a train is over it.

Green Miscellany

• Derestricting e-bikes and UK lawThere’s a thriving business in tech that allows e-bikes to be derestricted. However, once an electric bicycle exceeds the power limits set out in UK regulations, it becomes a motorcycle in the eyes of the law. That means that when you’re stopped by the police, you can be charged with riding an unlicensed and uninsured motorbike. The resulting penalty points… The post Derestricting e-bikes and UK law appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• National Highways update on closed A40 after landslideA ROAD closure update has been issued for the busy A40, which links Herefordshire and Wales, after a landslide on the road.

EIN News Subscription

• Transport Minister Eamon Ryan hits back at open letter from Ryanair CEO calling on him to resign … to @EamonRyan following the Transport Minister's continued failure … and claimed, 'other EU airports are now laughing at Ireland … growth for Ireland? Tonight, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan penned … during his time as transport minister have been 'highly …
• European airline asks passengers to weigh themselves before boarding … May. Passengers boarding onto European and long-haul flights … said. Airlines can either use official data from the European Union … , New Zealand's national airline, Air New Zealand, also weighed … sent to the Finnish transport and communications agency later …