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

Wednesday, 25 September 2024

BBC News

• Boeing workers not interested in 30% pay rise - unionThe strike threatens to cost Boeing billions of dollars, deepening the crisis at the aviation giant.

Financial Times

• Combustion engine ban threatens ‘grave crisis’ for Europe, Italy saysIndustry minister Adolfo Urso warns of large-scale job losses among carmakers unless Green Deal rules are relaxed
• Avanti will not lose UK West Coast rail line early despite poor recordMinisters have found no legal grounds to strip operator of contract early under Labour’s nationalisation plans
• Uber’s next act: taking on AmazonOn top of ride-sharing and takeaways, the company’s couriers now transport goods for many retailers. But is it trying to do too much?

STV

• Transport Secretary challenged as CalMac loses two ferries on busiest routeTransport Secretary Fiona Hyslop was told some people were stranded as a result of issues with the ferry service to and from Arran.

The Guardian

• High-speed Paris-to-Berlin rail link to launch in DecemberDaytime service will take about eight hours and will complement the night route that launched last yearA new high-speed train linking Paris and Berlin is to launch in December, operators have announced.The daytime service will complement a popular night train route between the two capital cities that relaunched last year to much fanfare but has since been beset by technical problems. Continue reading...
• Pothole vigilantes: why people are mending Britain’s broken roads themselvesWith cash-strapped councils struggling to find the funds to repair their highways, residents are taking up garden tools, fishing rods and pot plants to make it happenName: Pothole vigilantism.Age: Late byproduct of broken Britain. Continue reading...

The Telegraph

• North faces Armageddon without HS2 links, says Andy Burnham [subscription]Greater Manchester mayor warns over slower trains and congestion without northern leg alternative

Times Online

• Ferries crisis a national emergency, minister is warnedScotland's ferries are in a state of national emergency, the transport secretary Fiona Hyslop has been told, with two vessels that are meant to be operating on CalMac's busiest route out of action.
• Boeing strike: union refuses to vote on 30% pay rise. [subscription]IAM says striking workers will not vote on deal that does not meet their demands as troubled planemaker prepares to furlough tens of thousands to save money

City AM

• Hurry up HS2, the diggers are comingTime is short for the government on HS2. That's been the message this week as politicians and executives gather at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.

Daily Express

• The new £2bn plan to create an incredible 188-mile rail network bypassing the Panama CanalA 50-mile water-based stretch has dominated global shipping routes for decades but Mexico is hoping to shake up the status quo with an ambitious railway plan.
• National Express apologises after passengers spot 'cockroaches crawling all over back seatThe creepy-crawlies, with long antennae, were filmed on the number 11 bus service - also known as the Birmingham Outer Circle route

The Mirror

• National Express back seat cockroach horror leaves passengers reeling - 'hope it's got a daysaver'Horrified National Express passengers came face-to-face with a bunch of cockroaches on the back seat of the Number 11 bus, prompting hygiene complaints

Local Government

• Warrington's bus revolution showcased in LiverpoolWarrington's new electric bus has taken a trip to Liverpool, to help showcase to government the bus travel transformation happening in the borough and the plans for the future.

Birmingham Mail

• New pay-per-mile car tax could mean four types of driver get 'concession'Former BBC Top Gear star Quentin Wilson has discussed the much-mooted plan with the Sun newspaper, ahead of a reported rollout.
• New pay-per-mile car tax means 'huge' bills with exact penny rate predictedOne motoring expert and road campaigner has spoken out over the mooted new Labour Party government plan - and explained "why it won’t work".

Birmingham Post

• Andy Burnham 'will not accept' £17bn funding cut for new Manchester-Liverpool railwayScheme will depend on Government funding that may not be 'practically available'
• Newcastle Airport announces best ever results and outlines big investmentsImprovements to the airport's security systems have put it in the top three in the country, it said

Bolton News

• Rail passengers can pick up their online parcels while catching a trainAs many as 50 railway stations across the North of England are set to get new parcel delivery lockers.

Bristol Live

• First look at the new Bristol railway station set to open this weekendIt will be the first time trains have stopped at the station in 60 years

Manchester Evening News

• Avanti 'will not lose UK West Coast rail line' despite calls for contract to be ended by northern leadersNo legal grounds have been found to strip operator of contract early, it has been reported

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• IT glitch waylays Aberdeen council meetings and could postpone vital bus gate talksCouncillors are due to decide on the future of one of the Aberdeen bus gates next week. There are fears IT woes will scupper the vote.

Cambridge News

• The 76 ways Cambridgeshire roads could be improved as new schemes discussedThe planned improvement schemes include parking restrictions, improving crossings and street lighting

Plymouth Herald

• Talks begin on future of Plymouth's disused airportLegal rows over the fate of Plymouth's disused airport and the Barbican's lock gates have cost Sutton Harbour Group Plc more than £600,000, it has been revealed.

Other Regional Press

• Bus company adding hundreds of journeys to Glasgow routesWest Coast Motors is set to improve the frequencies on its services 15 and 17 with a 'whopping increase of over 250 additional journeys'.
• Jon Pearce column: It's ​time to deliver better buses for people across High Peak​Bus services are not working for people. The cost, coverage and reliability of local bus services have been raised with me at my regular surgeries.
• Failure to find alternative to axed HS2 route would be anti-growth, mayor saysGreater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham claimed it will be harder to get a seat on trains heading north once HS2 opens.
• Powys rail users call on Welsh Government to block train cutThe Shrewsbury Aberystwyth Rail Passengers' Association (SARPA) are calling for strong opposition to Transport for Wales proposals to reduce services along the Cambrian line between Machynlleth and Pwllheli.
• New bus route delayed as plans not 'commercially viable'Proposals to launch a new bus route in Southampton have been delayed after initial plans were “not really commercially viable”
• Repairs to A1(M) after 'sinkholes' opened upResurfacing works have been carried out on the A1(M), after 'sinkholes' opened up on the carriageway.
• New 'green corridor' crossing plan to go-ahead for busy Bedworth roadIt can be used by pedestrians and cyclists and will provide a new link to the main park
• Readers say 'good - expand it' as £2.4m Coventry cycle lane plan moves forwardThe 500 metre two-way track will be built on London Road in Whitley, Coventry, and will help connect areas of the city, council papers said

Rail Magazine

• "Not too late to change course on public ownership"It's not too late for Louise Haigh to change course on public ownership and get the best of both worlds,says Rail Partners chief executive, Andy Bagnall.
• Opinion: Haigh launches Shadow GBR - but we're still in the darkLabour's nationalisation plan is driven by ideology, says Christian Wolmar, and it's unclear if or when it will solve the industry's real problems.
• Transport Committee Chair to investigate track access charges and HS2The new chair of the Transport Select Committee wants to investigate restrictions on flying, rail freight track access charges and HS2, she told a fringe meeting at the Labour conference.

Rail UK

• Avanti West Coast and WCPD outline future vision for customersThe managing directors for Avanti West Coast and West Coast Partnership Development (WCPD) have outlined their future vision for customers at this year's Stakeholder Conference.
• GB Railfreight unveils hybrid Class 99 locomotiveGB Railfreight (GBRf) will be unveiling its new hybrid Class 99 locomotive at InnoTrans in Berlin on today (Wednesday 25 September), signalling a significant leap forward in decarbonising the UK's rail freight industry.
• InnoTrans opens its doors at the Berlin Exhibition GroundsThis morning (Tuesday 24 September), Innotrans 2024 was opened at the Berlin Exhibition Grounds by Dirk Hoffmann, COO of Messe Berlin, and Federal Minister of Transport Dr. Volker Wissing. Once again, Berlin has become the international hub for the mobility solutions of tomorrow, and the industry's leading minds will discuss innovative concepts and smart products.

Railnews

• Metro Mayor pledges to fight for railways in north There is growing concern about the future of a major link for Northern Powerhouse Rail, after transport secretary Louise Haigh said funding for the £12 billion line between Manchester and Liverpool is in doubt, as the government continues its efforts to balance the books.

Railway Gazette

• Six firms join HS2 Innovation AcceleratorUK: High speed line project promoter HS2 Ltd has selected six businesses to join its latest Innovation Accelerator programme.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• CPT wants bus-first in National Planning Policy FrameworkThe Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) has argued the case for a bus first approach within the government's National Planning Policy Framework (NPFF) in the trade body's response to a consultation on proposed reform.

Other News Sources

• Haigh calls time on 'divisive culture wars' in conference speechTransport secretary Louise Haigh used her Labour Party conference speech to land political blows and outline her national renewal project, which she said would rip up 'the very roots of Thatcherism'.

News from Europe

• CEF Transport: €2.5 billion available for infrastructure projects across the EU under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for Transport, making €2.5 billion available to build and modernise transport infrastructure in the EU and the CEF associated countries of Ukraine and Moldova.
• Deutschland-Ticket: Germany's popular monthly transport pass will soon be more expensiveThe price of the Deutschland-Ticket will rise by 18 per cent next year. The cost of Germany's Deutschland-Ticket - a cheap transport pass - is set to rise by about 18 per cent next year, a senior official said on Monday.