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

Sunday, 05 January 2025

BBC News

• Extra safety officers to patrol public transportThe team of specially trained officers will help to combat anti-social behaviour and nuisance.
• Snow brings travel disruption amid amber warningA stranded lorry has closed a major A-road and roads elsewhere are said to be impassable due to snow.
• 'Threatening communication' grounds flights at airportPolice said there was no reason to believe the threat to the airport was credible.

Financial Times

• FirstGroup to add bus and open access rail routes amid Labour nationalisation [subscription]UK’s largest train operator under pressure to diversify due to government plans

The Guardian

• Record number of electric cars were sold in UK during 2024Environmental groups urge government to keep tougher green targets despite industry claim they are unsustainableCarmakers sold a record number of electric cars in the UK last year, prompting environmental groups to urge the government to stick to tougher green targets even as the industry argues they are unsustainable.The number of new cars sold in the UK rose by 2.6% in 2024 to 1.95m, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) lobby group. Of those, 19.6% were electric, up from 16.5% a year earlier. Continue reading...
• UK weather: power cuts, traffic chaos and cancelled flights due to heavy snowClosed roads, multi-vehicle collisions and train interruptions reported as Met Office yellow and amber warnings remain in placeHomes were left without power, roads were closed, cars stranded, and flights and train services disrupted on Saturday as heavy snow and freezing rain hit much of the UK.The National Grid said on Saturday night that power was cut to properties across the Midlands, south-west England and South Wales, including Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff, and that work was under way to get services restored. Continue reading...
• ‘Eyewatering’ £100m spent on repairs in Scotland’s ‘ferry fiasco’ over past decadeGovernment plans for publicly funded operator CalMac have been mired in controversy, with replacement vessels delayed and costs spirallingAlmost £100m has been spent over the past decade on repairs for eight of the largest publicly owned ferries in Scotland.The figure has been described as “eye-watering” by Sue Webber, transport spokesperson for the Scottish Conservatives, who obtained details of the repair bill from ferry operator CalMac. Continue reading...

The Herald

• Repair bill for eight CalMac ferries hits almost £100 millionThe repair bill for eight of the largest of Scotland's publicly-owned ferries has hit almost ?100 million in the past decade.

The Independent

• UK weather live: Airports close runways leading to flight delays as snow and freezing rain hits BritainMajor health warning issued and disruption including travel chaos and power cuts likely as Met Office issues alerts across the country for first weekend in 2025

Times Online

• OPW spent €120,000 on 12 electric car chargers at Leinster House [subscription]Officials struggled to set up a payment system to ensure politicians paid to power their vehicles, records show
• Boeing is too big to fail. Here?s how it can escape its tailspin [subscription]Like the astronauts on its Starliner capsule, the aircraft-maker is going nowhere unless new boss Kelly Ortberg can succeed with measures such as faster deliveries
• Why you never see road signs for EV charge points [subscription]There are more stations than you might think, but strict laws on the size of motorway signs mean they go unnoticed - and fuel anxiety about going electric
• UK weather: airports close runways due to heavy snow [subscription[Manchester and Liverpool suspend flights and roads shut as the Met Office warns rural areas could be cut off

City AM

• New car market in UK up 2.6 per cent in 2024, figures reveal The UK’s new car market recorded its second successive year of growth with a 2.6 per cent rise in registrations in 2024, new figures show. Industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said around 1,953,000 new cars were registered last year, compared with 1,903,000 in 2023. Growth was delivered entirely by purchases [...]

Daily Record

• Flights grounded at Scots airport as cops probe 'threatening communication'Police were alerted to the incident at around 10.50am, with disruption to flights as officers investigated.

Mail Online

• New net-zero 'flight tax' on airlines could lead to sky-high family holiday costs - as Labour is accused of 'taking money out of the hands' struggling Brits to fuel its 'green madness'The cost of a family holiday could be set to skyrocket after a new net-zero 'flight tax' was imposed on airlines by the government last week.

Bristol Live

• Bristol Airport suspends flights after heavy snowfall Several flights have been diverted or cancelled with more disruption to come

Daily Post (North Wales)

• The town counting the cost of Holyhead port closure - with hotels and takeaways suffering Terminals damaged during Storm Darragh impact community that relies on port trade

Manchester Evening News

• Why I'm buzzing about Andy Burnham's buses and what it means for the Bee NetworkAndy Burnham's toughest task lies ahead - but if he pulls this off, it will be truly transformational for Greater Manchester
• The 'big' bus moment we've been waiting four decades for is finally here“I think it’s the biggest change to buses this country has seen in a long, long time”
• Full list of roads and motorways shut in Greater Manchester due to heavy snowThe M6, M62 and M61 are impacted by snow
• Manchester Airport LIVE as runways closed due to snow - cancellations and delays latestManchester Airport has shut its runways due to snow

Northern Echo

• Renewed calls for A66 dualling to begin at start of 2025 as DfT issue statementRishi Sunak is continuing his campaign for work to start on the upgrading of the A66 following a meeting with the Roads Minister.

Wales Online

• The ridiculous number of trains cancelled to a large area of Wales in just one yearWelsh rail passengers are being 'let down' according to one politician, while the Welsh Government has insisted that things are getting better

Burnley Express

• Britain's poshest train making rare visit to nearby station - when to see itThe red carpet will be rolled out in Bolton when The Northern Belle pulls into the train station to make a rare visit to the town.

Other Regional Press

• Greater Manchester railway?s electric power lines live- and residents given high voltage warningA train line between two Greater Manchester towns is now live
• Full list of roads and motorways shut in Yorkshire as thick snow causes chaosRoads are closed as Yorkshire is hit by severe weather
• Major road closures expected later this month - all you need to knowRoad closures along the A31 will be in place later this month while a roundabout is resurfaced.
• New electric car that costs just £15,000 to launch in the UK - and it's not a Citroen AmiThe Mika electric car is being developed by a little-known Warwickshire-based manufacturer and is expected to cost just £15,000 when it goes on sale in the UK