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

Thursday, 03 April 2025

BBC News

• MP raises college transport issues in ParliamentThe issue of students having to drop out of college courses because of inadequate public transport has been raised in Parliament.
• Council unveils public transport improvement plansA council has revealed plans to enhance public transport through a series of projects.
• Consultation on major revamp of bus network closesThe results will be assessed then shared at a meeting of the West Midlands Combined Authority in May.
• Decision demanded on port closure compensationA report urges ministers to decide "urgently" if firms hit by Holyhead closure should be compensated.
• Private-hire drivers struggling over TfL glitchUnions representing drivers say hundreds are being kept off the road over issues with license renewals.
• Heathrow warned by airlines about power supply days before shutdownMPs hear the airport was warned about power supply resilience days before the disruptive closure.
• Tesla sales plunge after Elon Musk backlashThe car maker's sales slide has been attributed to competition and controversy around its boss.

Financial Times

• Airlines warned Heathrow about power supply ‘resilience’ ahead of blazeMPs hear evidence in wake of substation fire that led to hundreds of cancelled flights
• Denmark’s Maersk buys Panama Canal railwayDeal loosens US control of train link at a time when Trump is seeking to ‘take back’ trade waterway

The Guardian

• Heathrow should not mark its own homework on energy resilience | Nils PratleyExternal review of choice to close after fire would have more credibility than one by a board director. It is not too late“We purchase and pay for a resilient setup from our suppliers,” Thomas Woldbye, Heathrow’s under-pressure chief executive, told the transport select committee, adding that the airport racked up energy costs of £135m a year. “Are we then also supposed to have a setup next to it?
• Paris’s rewilded railway line: the disused track turned into a green space for wildlife and walkersInside the French capital’s ring road, the Petite Ceinture, a disused circular rail line, now abounds with nature trails, shared gardens – and even urban farmsA rustle in the undergrowth sends birds wheeling above the trees and into the sky. I’m left alone and in near total silence as I look along the train tracks that disappear in either direction. It feels as if I’m in the heart of the countryside, but actually, the Boulevard Périphérique, the traffic-choked ring road that encircles Paris, is just a stone’s throw away.

Times Online

• Heathrow fire: airport was warned about power days before outage [subscription]An airline representative says he raised fears about resilience on two occasions before the explosion that grounded flights for hours

City AM

• Tesla pays the price for Elon Musk's politics People do strange things when passions are running high. Take the brave protester in Bristol, who last month felt he had to take a stand against the Bond villain/visionary entrepreneur (delete as appropriate) Elon Musk. Armed with an anti-Musk poster and a large metal pole, he set about smashing up a parked Tesla

Sky News

• Heathrow bosses were warned about power supply after stolen cables turned off runway lights, MPs toldHeathrow bosses were warned its power supply was vulnerable less than a week before the major outage in March, a committee of MPs has heard.

Birmingham Post

• Donald Trump's 25% car tariffs 'could destroy 25,000 UK jobs in car industry'The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said the US President's 25 per cent tariffs on all car imports to America, due to come into force on Wednesday, could put 25,000 jobs at risk

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• What is happening with Bradford's promised new railway station?A councillor has called for officials to "pick up the pace" on proposals for a new railway station in Bradford - amid concerns a major transport announcement by the Prime Minister last week was a "missed opportunity" for the city.

Bristol Live

• Black cab taxi prices to rise as council warned 'they cannot compete with Uber'Some think that the council's mind is already made up on the issue

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Huge zig-zag footbridge could leave people 'peering into homes' at North Wales seaside townA new rail crossing is being considered as part of plans to increase services and get trains running faster on the North Wales mainline

London Evening Standard

• First look inside the completed Silvertown tunnel, days before it opens to motoristsMotorists paying to drive through the Silvertown tunnel will help to fund improvements in public transport elsewhere in the capital, according to Transport for London.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Rail boost for North East as Grand Central signs deal with HitachiNew battery hybrid trains will be made in County Durham after the rail regulator allowed Grand Central services to be extended until 2038
• Government update on free bus passes for over 60s in EnglandThe Government has responded to calls for free bus passes to be issued to people over the age of 60 in England, as a campaign continues to gather momentum

Northern Echo

• Hitachi Newton Aycliffe secures monumental £300m orderA County Durham train builder has secured a monumental £300m contract to build dozens of 'cutting-edge' battery hybrid train cars in a move bosses say will protect jobs at its factory.

The York Press

• Mayor says plan for half-hourly York-Scarborough train is moving forwardPlans for a half-hourly train between York and Scarborough are ‘moving in the right direction’ and a plan to recruit more drivers is underway.

Wales Online

• First Minister Eluned Morgan says she is 'frustrated' by Cardiff Airport Wales' First Minister told WalesOnline it was vital we aren't one of the 'only countries in the world without an international airport'

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• 'It's just getting worse' - Transport firms counting the cost of pothole repairs on West Midlands roadsTransport firms across the region say pothole problems in the West Midlands are getting worse - as figures show a quarter of small firms have been affected.

Yorkshire Post

• The Government cannot afford to ignore Sir Jake Berry on levelling up - Jayne DowleCiting the PM's backing of a third Heathrow runway, the Lower Thames Crossing and a rail link between Oxford and Cambridge, Berry rightly points out that once again, the North has been left to fend for itself.

Cambridge News

• Plans to improve walking and cycling routes across Northamptonshire green-litWest Northamptonshire Council has set out its ambitions to improve key active travel routes in Brackley, Daventry and Towcester

Highways News

• County Council appoints new Service Director for Transport and ConnectivityJamie Cooke has been appointed as Cambridgeshire County Council's new Service Director: Transport and Connectivity.
• Lower Thames Crossing: What happens next?Last week's decision to give the go-ahead to the Lower Thames Crossing gave National Highways the legal powers to build and operate the new road, and the organisation is now working with the government to secure funding. The type of finance chosen by government, and when the funds become available, will decide when the main construction work starts and the road opens.

Rail Magazine

• Track laying under way for Coventry Very Light Rail ahead of city debutWork has commenced in Coventry city centre on the new test track for the city's Very Light Rail (VLR) project.
• British firm on the brink of £100 million Irish wagon contractIarnród Éireann (IÉ) is set to award a £100 million contract to Mansfield-based wagon manufacturer WH Davis for the supply of up to 400 vehicles.
• Network Rail Network Rail has said it cannot support FirstGroup's open access plan for services between London Paddington and Paignton via Bristol.

Railnews

• Arriva to order new Hitachi fleet for Grand Central Arriva Group is announcing today that it will lease nine new battery hybrid trains to replace its existing Grand Central fleet. The 45 Hitachi tri-mode vehicles will be owned by Angel Trains and the lease will run for 10 years.

Other News Sources

• New viability study proposed to address Isle of Wight's transport challenges and economic impactThe urgent need for a comprehensive viability study into a fixed link between the Isle of Wight and the UK Mainland has gained significant political backing, as concerns mount over the Island's deteriorating transport links.
• Environment Secretary Steve Reed announces major reforms to environmental regulationMajor reforms to environmental regulation have been announced by Environment Secretary Steve Reed, which he says will create a more dynamic, streamlined approach to help drive economic growth and safeguard nature.
• Stena Line Introduces Wind-Assist RoRo ConceptStena Line has announced the concept for a new generation vessel: Stena Futuro, a 240-meter-long roro intended for transporting semi-trailers and cars.The hull and superstructure have been optimized to achieve the most efficient use of cargo space possible.
• Students forced to quit studies over transport woesHerefordshire students have had to drop out of college courses because of poor and costly public transport in the county – and the issue has now been raised in Parliament.
• Claims Heathrow was warned about power supply days before it closed after fireA power outage caused by a fire at a nearby electricity substation caused the airport to shut down