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

Saturday, 25 January 2025

BBC News

• Council to use public funds to reopen airportMore than £100m of public money will be needed to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport after councillors failed to secure the necessary private funding.
• Consultation pushes bus franchising a step closerPlans to franchise bus services in a county have moved a step closer after results of a public consultation came out largely in favour of the move.
• New app shows bus information in CornwallA new app allowing bus passengers in Cornwall to access journey information and discounted passes has been launched.
• Botley Road to reopen August 2026 says Network RailNetwork Rail has announced that a key route through Oxford will reopen in August 2026.
• Parking firms should not regulate themselves - MPsMPs are calling on the government to introduce tougher rules for private car park operators.
• The man running London's entire transport networkDave Thomas has set himself the task of running 470 miles of London's transport network.
• Busy commuter train line closes for four months Major works on electrification of the means it will be closed for 16 weeks from Saturday.

Financial Times

• Budget blowouts and delays: why the UK struggles with infrastructure a 14 mile road and tunnel is a microcosm of the cost overruns and missed deadlines that plague projects around the country.
• American Airlines shares erase 2025 gains on weaker guidance than rivalsCarrier forecasts deeper-than-expected first-quarter loss and pins softer full-year guidance on travel demand and fuel costs

The Guardian

• Electric cars in UK last as long as petrol and diesel vehicles, study findsInternational research team based findings on 300m records from MOT data to estimate failure rates of all carsBattery cars on Britain’s roads are lasting as long as petrol and diesel cars, according to a study that has found a rapid improvement in electric vehicle reliability.An international team of researchers has estimated that an electric car will have a lifespan of 18.4 years, compared with 18.7 years for petrol cars and 16.8 years for diesels, according to a peer-reviewed study published on Friday in the journal Nature Energy.
• Back by unpopular demand, the great Heathrow expansion show. If only planes ran on hot air | Marina HydeRachel Reeves flies back from Davos to lead a revival of the aviation perennial. Labour hated the idea before, but growth won’t grow itself, will it? How can people say we can’t build anything in this country any more?

The Independent

• Over £100m of public money will be used to reopen airport due to council failingsPlans to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport now rely on over £100 million of public money after the council failed to secure a private operator.

Parliament

• Bus Services Bill set for Lords committee stageMembers of the House of Lords begin their detailed examination of the Bus Services Bill, in committee stage on Tuesday 28 January.

City AM

• Rolls-Royce signs £9bn submarines deal to create 1,000 jobs Rolls-Royce has signed a £9bn submarines deal which will create 1,000 jobs and is the biggest UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) contract in its history. The eight-year Unity contract covers research and technology, design, manufacture and in-service support of the nuclear reactors that power the Royal Navy’s fleet of submarines. The Derby-headquartered FTSE 100 giant [...]

National Highways

• Raising the roof! Work started to rescue Tithe Barn in UpminsterOne of London?s oldest buildings re-thatched with 30 tonnes of reed in restoration project ... The structure was identified as being at risk and added to the register in 2023 and through the Lower Thames Crossing scheme, ?650,000 of funding is helping to restore the building.

Network Rail

• Network Rail announces updated timeline for reopening of Botley Road in OxfordNetwork Rail has today announced a new timeline for the reopening of Botley Road in Oxford to enable the building of a new bridge as part of the multi-million-pound programme to upgrade Oxford station and improve transport links to the city. The new programme will see Botley Road reopen in August 2026, and vastly improved access for pedestrians and cyclists will be introduced this summer.

Birmingham Post

• Rolls-Royce signs £9bn submarines deal to create 1,000 jobs in 'largest ever' MoD contractThe eight-year Unity contract covers research and technology, design, manufacture and in-service support of the nuclear reactors that power the Royal Navy's fleet of submarines
• Transport for Wales boss on the impact of Great British RailwaysIn Wales train operator Transport for Wales is already in public ownership

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Campaigners claim Leeds City Council is ‘misleading public’ over river bridgeA GROUP of Otley residents campaigning for a new bridge to be built over the River Wharfe has accused Leeds City Council of making misleading statements over its plans to replace the walkway attached to Otley Bridge.
• Work to install artwork at Bradford city centre railway arches is set to beginWork to install artwork at a row of railway arches in Bradford city centre is due to start next week.

Manchester Evening News

• Tougher car park and bus lane enforcement planned in SalfordTougher enforcement at Salfor's car parks and bus lanes will help the council boost its income under new plans. The town hall needs to cut costs by £5.6m to balance the books as it prepares to set its budget for the next financial year.

Yorkshire Post

• Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Campaign boss backs council's plan and criticises 'sour grapes' from Leeds Bradford AirportDoncaster Council is creating a new special purpose vehicle company called FlyDoncaster to manage the airport as part of ongoing efforts to reopen it by spring next year. It intends to work with an unnamed private operator to run the site.

Doncaster Free Press

• Doncaster Sheffield Airport: £105m plans to reopen the site revealed in government document£105m plans to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport have been revealed in a government document seen by the Free Press this evening.

Other Regional Press

• TfL spending ?3.2m to replace Croydon bus shelters by MarchCROYDON IN CRISIS: After four years of waiting in the wind and rain, the borough?s bus passengers are about to have much-missed street furniture replaced ? but no thanks to Mayor Perry and our dysfunctional council.
• New court curbs could clear runway for Heathrow and Gatwick expansionsSo called 'blockers' to major transport projects will be cleared in a move that looks set to curb challenges to Heathrow and Gatwick Airport expansions, the Government has announced.
• Relief, at last! Railway station toilets could reopen after 14 yearsThere is a fresh hope to reopen railway station toilets that have been left closed for 14 years

Construction Enquirer

• Slow spending by Network Rail hits Renew profitsSlower than expected spending by Network Rail in the current £45bn CP7 investment round has prompted a profit warning at infrastructure specialist Renew.

Rail UK

• HS2 contractor secures top standard for inclusion and diversity progressHS2's construction partner for Old Oak Common Station has achieved a prestigious workforce award recognising its outstanding commitments to diversity and inclusion.
• West Midlands Railway unveils major £5m investment in Coventry maintenance facility for new electric train fleetWest Midlands Railway (WMR) is celebrating the completion of a major £5million upgrade at a key depot in Coventry where the region's newest fleet is maintained.

road.cc

• Controversial cycling ban to be eased to ?cut congestion? ? less than a year after council claimed restrictions had ?wide support?The orders prohibiting cycling at all times on Maidenhead?s High Street could now be amended to a 10am-5pm ban to ?promote active travel and safe cycling?, despite being renewed by the council in April last year

Other News Sources

• IAG CEO calls for Heathrow regulatory reform before endorsing expansionLuis Gallego, CEO of International Airlines Group (IAG), has voiced conditional support for the proposed third runway at London Heathrow Airport, emphasizing that significant regulatory changes are required before the project can gain full backing.
• International Airport Operator ready and waiting in the wings, Mayor confirmsMayor Ros Jones has today confirmed at City of Doncaster Council's Full Council meeting that there is an international airport operator ready to run the airport.
• 'Diabolical' London bus route keeps leaving schoolkids and elderly stranded as it 'terminates randomly'The 154 links Morden with West Croydon, and regular users say the service has become poor and unreliable
• Faster than the bullet train: Etihad Rail on track to join world's top 10New 350kph rail service between Abu Dhabi and Dubai will be right up there