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

Thursday, 06 March 2025

BBC News

• Businesses push government to extend HS2 lineThe firms want it to run to Crewe instead of the current plan to stop north of Birmingham.
• More details emerge on what led to port closureHolyhead port owner says two vessels made "contact" with a steel structure, causing it to collapse.
• Carmakers win reprieve from Canada and Mexico tariffsTrump says he will exempt cars from the new import taxes, while continuing his criticism of Canada.

Department for Transport

• Updates to National Technical Specification Notices for rail interoperabilityFollowing a comprehensive review, the government will publish updates to 7 NTSNs.
• New era of rail accountability for passengers as performance data goes live at stationsDisplay screens at stations will help rebuild trust with passengers as we tackle root causes of rail delays and cancellations.

Financial Times

• Air France-KLM targets ‘unbelievable’ spending of American travellersSurge in demand for premium leisure will help airline group boost profits, says chief executive Ben Smith

The Guardian

• ‘The entire coastline will be cemented over’: the tiny Italian town set to become a dock for giant cruise shipsOnly 20 miles from Italy’s capital, Isola Sacra was ignored for years but now Royal Caribbean has plans to turn it into a major new portOn a cloudy day in January, Isola Sacra, a hamlet in Fiumicino, 20 miles from Rome, does not look like a place that would attract masses of tourists. Low-rise family homes with small gardens alternate with meadows and fields and life has the sedate pace of a provincial town.An old lighthouse now lies in ruins and not far away is the darsena dei bilancioni, the beach that takes its name from the stilt houses, or bilancioni, once used for fishing. Continu...

The Telegraph

• Rail firms to be named and shamed [subscription]Screens at train stations will display details of cancellations and delays as part of a new era of rail accountability

Parliament

• House of Lords - Open access operators and government plans for rail reformOpen access operators are independent train operators that run passenger rail services on the national network, often in competition with services provided by franchised operators.

Daily Record

• Scotrail alcohol ban could still be in place five years after 'temporary' measure was introducedEXCLUSIVE: Customers can be regularly seen flouting the booze ban on trains leading to claims it is "unenforceable".

Sky News

• Train performance stats to be displayed at stations in new 'era of accountability'The government hopes that in holding train operators to account, they will be encouraged to drive up efficiency and productivity - providing better value for money.
• Train performance stats to be displayed at stations for the first timeRail passengers in England are being shown how often trains are cancelled and delayed at each station in a new "accountability drive".

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• New images give ‘exciting glimpse’ at how Leeds Bradford Airport expansion will lookNew images have been released that give an “exciting glimpse” into how Leeds Bradford Airport’s expansion will look once it has been completed.
• More than 550 train services cancelled at two main Bradford stations in a monthMore than 550 train services were cancelled in the space of a month at Bradford's two city centre stations, it has been revealed.
• Have your say on £45m plans for two major Bradford roadsUP to £45 MILLION could be spent improving roads to the South of Bradford, and members of the public are being asked for their views on the proposals.

The York Press

• Hawks employed to fend off troublesome pigeons at Northern stationsHawks are being used by Northern to deter pigeons at three East Yorkshire railway stations.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds Bradford Airport unveils first video animation of terminal expansionA video and new CGI visual has been released for the first time providing a fascinating glimpse into Leeds Bradford Airport's transformative £100 million terminal expansion.

Yorkshire Post

• Heathrow shareholders flying high with first dividend payment since Covid and expansion on horizon: Mohammed NihadHeathrow Airport is set to pay its shareholders a dividend for the first time in five years following the release of its full-year earnings last week. The divided of £250m is the airport's first payout since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chester Standard

• Government figures show Cheshire railway tops cancellationsINCE & Elton railway station, near Ellesmere Port, has been named as having the highest cancellation rate of any station in the UK.

Kent Online

• Transport group proposes 'cheaper' rail alternative to Lower Thames CrossingIt is claimed that using rail links would cost a quarter of the price of the current road-based proposal

Other Regional Press

• Opinion: Government must give East Anglia a rail upgradeI seem to have spent much of my time over the last few years writing about how vital it is for the rail junctions at Ely and Haughley to be upgraded - but this time it really does feel like an absolute necessity.
• Meeting discusses boost to rail services and Shrewsbury station revampA Shropshire MP's plan to revamp Shrewsbury's railway services alongside breathing new life into the town's Victorian station received another boost this week.
• Great Northern 'proud' of charging £4.20 for 2 min journeyA major UK train company has been slammed for appearing to be 'proud' of charging £4.20 for a two-minute journey.
• Number of cancelled trains at Watford stations revealedNew figures have revealed how many trains were cancelled at Watford's rail stations in the month of February.

Railnews

• HS2 seeks 30 graduates this year, as pressure continues HS2 Ltd has launched a search for 30 graduates in a range of disciplines to join its 31,000-strong workforce this year. The news comes in the wake of the latest report about the high speed project from the Commons Public Accounts Committee, which has said that delays and rising costs are damaging the country’s reputation, and that the struggling project has become a ‘casebook example’ of how not to run such a scheme.

Transportxtra

• Mayors and devolved authorities must have 'central role in local rail services'Mayors and devolved authorities must have a central role in the running of local rail services in the forthcoming Rail Reform Bill, to ensure rail complements local plans for growth, housing, skills and the environment, according to a new report.

Other News Sources

• Hopes Felixstowe port sale can boost roads and railTransport bosses and business chiefs in Suffolk are hopeful the sale of the Port of Felixstowe could be the catalyst for vital road and rail improvements in the county.
• Jason Prince: Expand transport devo to unleash growthTransport devolution is delivering but can go further in some critical policy areas, writes the director of the Urban Transport Group.