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

Wednesday, 05 February 2025

BBC News

• New railway station given updated opening dateA new railway station is now expected to open by 2031 after plans progressed.
• Night-time bike riding 'socially unsafe' for womenNearly a quarter of London's cycleways remain largely unused at night by half of the population.

Financial Times

• European airlines push back hydrogen ambitions Net zero road map shows sector no longer expects fuel to make significant contribution to decarbonisation by 2050

The Independent

• Heathrow expansion will only go ahead if it meets climate targets ? MilibandThe Energy Secretary said the extension of any airport would have to meet existing carbon budgets and environmental restrictions.
• Airline bans power banks after plane destroyed in horror fireAir Busan said the changes were in response to an increase in the number of power banks overheating

Times Online

• All-electric cars are now one fifth of UK market [subscription]New car registrations in January fell 2.5 per cent to 139,000 amid weak consumer sentiment, high borrowing costs and inflated prices
• British Airways tweaks frequent flyer scheme after backlash [subscription]BA?s revamped loyalty scheme has irritated passengers and now the airline is making it easier to earn points

National Highways

• Lower Thames Crossing raises the bar with 70% carbon target as industry responds to net zero challengeThe improved new target has been published in the project's second annual sustainability report

Birmingham Mail

• Ryanair scraps all flights to European destination in protest over new rulesThe budget airline says it has been forced to make changes due to taxes, with services to Aalborg in Denmark axed by the low-budget airline and low-cost carrier.
• Free bus passes for everyone over 60 backed with Labour due to give updateA petition on the Parliamentary website, which has been backed by 10,000 names after Karen Hickman created it, urges Labour to "e xtend free bus travel for people over 60 in England".

Birmingham Post

• Forget Heathrow expansion we need to create new hub airports in places like south WalesA new international hub airport at Severnside would provide a huge boost to the Welsh economy

Bolton News

• All change at Moor Lane bus station as Bolton town centre redevelopedIt’s an area of Bolton which has undergone more redevelopment than most

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• TPE and Northern services to be impacted by works in MarchTransPennine Express and Northern customers are being asked to plan ahead as TransPennine Route Upgrade engineers prepare for works.
• Push to roll out 1,000 EV charging points in Bradford is welcomedA £3.1 MILLION push to create more electric vehicle charging points in the District has been welcomed, with a meeting told that one local village has no public charging points.
• Multi-million pound cost of Bradford Interchange bus station closure is revealedThe multi-million pound cost of the year-long closure of Bradford Interchange bus station can today be revealed.

Bristol Live

• BA announces more changes to loyalty scheme and says 'right thing'The rules have been changed again after anger when the scheme was replaced last year

Bucks Free Press

• New Maidenhead to Reading bus service set to launchA new Maidenhead to Reading bus service is set to launch

Other Regional Press

• Spat over council question that Conservatives were not allowed to askFollowing last week's full council meeting, local Conservatives were angered when Orsett councillor Barry Johnson was not allowed to ask an 'urgent question' relating to the Lower Thames Crossing.
• "Putting green lipstick on a pig" - campaigners ridicule Lower Thames Crossing claimsCAMPAIGNERS from the Transport Action Network (TAN) have ridiculed National Highways' attempt to brand the proposed Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) as the "greenest road ever", describing this as "putting green lipstick on a pig" and a rehash of previous announcements. Costing over £10 billion, the project would be the biggest new road in a generation, requiring huge quantities of concrete as well as unleashing a huge wave of traffic in the middle of a climate emergency.
• Case for western rail link to Heathrow is now 'stronger'The case for a western rail link from Reading and Slough to Heathrow Airport is 'stronger than ever before' amid hopes the project could be resurrected.
• HS2 completes longest viaduct slide in project history in four daysHS2 has completed the heaviest and longest single-stage viaduct deck slide so far in the project, near the Oxfordshire border.
• Rail link branded 'expensive fantasy' after government questions 'value for money'Plans to reinstate a rail service in Oxfordshire were branded 'a fantasy' after the government questioned whether it represented 'value for money'.
• Petition calls for Oxford LTNs to open during roadworks and emergenciesBusinesses have supported calls for LTNs in Oxford to open during major roadworks or emergencies to help tackle traffic congestion.
• Should everyone over 60 have free bus travel? Government faces calls for changeLabour is facing calls to bring the required age for free bus travel in England to 60 years of age.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• DRS to cut major CO2 emissions with new rail service announcementDirect Rail Services (DRS) has begun moving over 46,000 tonnes of material by rail, yielding significant environmental benefits. Nuclear Transport Solutions’ rail division, DRS, has launched a new rail service to deliver aggregate for a project vital to the safe and secure disposal of nuclear waste. During the first campaign, DRS will operate two trains a day, four days a week, to Nuclear Waste Services’ (NWS) Low Level Waste (LLW) Repository site, in Cumbria. The trains will deliver aggregate for the Southern Trench Interim Membrane (STIM) project – a project ...

Construction Index

• Comment: Time for Lower Thames Crossing contractors to seize controlConstruction companies already working on billions of pounds worth of Lower Thames Crossing contracts are likely to face two choices if the project is to survive: either re-tender for the work or seize control of the project themselves. Phil Bishop reports.

New Civil Engineer

• Lower Thames Crossing improves green credentials with new 70% carbon reduction targetThe £9bn Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) project to construct a new tunnel under the Thames Estuary between Kent and Essex is now targeting a 70% reduction in its construction carbon emissions, up from the 50% reduction pledged in its development consent order (DCO) application.

Rail Business Daily

• Plans for new railway to open up access to Heathrow Heathrow Southern Railway Limited (HSRL) the independent private sector venture set up to transform the rail network serving Britain's busiest airport wants to unlock easier access to Heathrow Airport through the construction of up to eight miles of new railway from the west end of the existing Terminal 5 station, linking with the railway lines coming out of London Waterloo.

Rail Magazine

• DB Cargo Class 66 recovered for repairs after months out of trafficA DB Cargo Class 66 that has been stopped at Newhaven aggregates terminal since August, with wheelset defects preventing it moving by rail, has been taken by road to Toton by by Allelys Heavy Haulage.

Transport Action Network

• Lower Thames Crossing greenwashing challengedCampaigners from Transport Action Network (TAN) have ridiculed National Highways' attempt to brand Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) as the "greenest road ever", describing this as "putting green lipstick on a pig" and a rehash of previous announcements. Costing over £10 billion, the project would be the biggest new road in a generation, requiring huge quantities of concrete as well as unleashing a huge wave of traffic in the middle of a climate emergency.

Other News Sources

• Lower Thames Crossing raises the bar with 70% carbon targetNational Highways? Lower Thames Crossing has today revealed a new target to reduce its construction carbon emissions by 70%; an ambition made possible thanks to the project?s Delivery Partners? and suppliers? commitment to making the new crossing the greenest road ever built in the UK.
• UK?s Infrastructure Renaissance: Managing Environmental Impact in Britain?s Biggest BuildThe United Kingdom stands at the threshold of an unprecedented infrastructure transformation. With projects valued at over ?25 billion recently announced, this wave of development promises to reshape Britain?s transport networks, boost economic growth, and create thousands of jobs. However, success means carefully managing environmental impacts, particularly air quality.
• ESSEX CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE WELCOMES LOWER THAMES CROSSING MILESTONEIn her speech on economic growth on 29 January the Chancellor signalled the government?s commitment to delivering a new Lower Thames Crossing. In response, Denise Rossiter (pictured), CEO of the Essex Chambers said:
• Is the North being forgotten?... Indeed, the day after Reeves' speech, The Guardian was reporting that MPs from the north of England had voiced fears of a "brain drain" to southern infrastructure projects after Rachel Reeves' announcement of several major developments in the south.
• Carbon emissions target for Lower Thames Crossing revealedNational Highways' Lower Thames Crossing has revealed a new target to reduce its construction carbon emissions by 70%.
• Lower Thames Crossing announces major update just days after Rachel Reeves gives go-ahead - 'Path forward'A major UK road project has announced ambitious new targets to cut its construction carbon footprint by 70 per cent, marking a first for National Highways.
• MT Asks: Will a third Heathrow runway deliver growth?The planned runway is being hailed as a catalyst for growth, but it's crucial that it is integrated into broader economic and environmental strategies.
• Heathrow's third runway cleared for take-off, but will it boost growth?Heathrow Airport will finally get its third runway but critics argue a bigger Heathrow isn't the answer to boosting growth.
• Settle to Carlisle Railway shortlisted for national awardsSettle Carlisle Railway Development Company has been shortlisted for three national awards.
• Civil engineer wins contact to build the 'substructure' for HS2's Curzon Street - involves 140-strong teamA civil engineering specialist has won the contract to build the 'substructure' for HS2's flagship station in Birmingham. A team of approximately 140 people will start the works in early 2025.