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

Friday, 04 April 2025

BBC News

• Bus services criticised ahead of mayoral takeoverPassengers have criticised rural bus services in an area where an elected mayor is about to take over responsibility for running them.
• Winter rail chaos could happen again, report warnsThe reasons why a rail network ground to a halt in icy weather earlier this year have been made public.
• Midlands firms feel uncertain over Trump tariffsOne firm owner says US expansion plans are "in tatters", as job cuts in the car industry are feared.
• Birmingham Airport £10m infrastructure investmentA new baggage carrousel and UK Border Force desks will be installed.
• Woman punched on Tube 'failed by emergency system'Sally Wynter says she hit an emergency button several times after being attacked but received no answer.
• Luton airport expansion approved by governmentAnnual passenger numbers are due to almost double to 32 million, despite environmental concerns.

Financial Times

• Luton airport expansion gets government approvalProject includes a new terminal but not another runway and will see passenger capacity almost double to 32mn
• Cross-Channel rail owner to offer incentives for new operatorsLondon St Pancras Highspeed, the former HS1, aims to attract more train companies and encourage extra Eurostar services

The Guardian

• Cross-Channel train services to be cheaper to run as operator cuts chargesLSPH chief executive announces ‘groundbreaking proposal’ intended to grow international rail travel from the UK Cross-Channel train services serving new destinations will be cheaper to run under a scheme to grow international rail travel from the UK.London St Pancras Highspeed (LSPH), which owns and operates the railway and stations from the capital to the Channel tunnel, said it would slash charges for operators planning new routes.

Times Online

• Luton airport expansion forced through by ministers [subscription]The planning inspectorate had rejected the project, which will almost double the number of passengers, because of environmental fears

City AM

• Luton Airport expansion gets go-ahead Luton Airport's major expansion has been given the green light by ministers, who overruled advice from planners to reject the project until it met certain environmental conditions. The approval, granted by transport secretary Heidi Alexander, means the north London hub can break ground on construction work that will see it add a new terminal

Mail Online

• Say goodbye to the plastic bags! Major UK airport completely scraps 100ml liquid rule in favour of major changePassengers will find new security rules at one of the UK's biggest airports in time for the Easter holidays.
• Labour APPROVES expansion of Luton Airport after ministers overrule environmental concerns - with passenger numbers now set to doubleTransport Secretary Heidi Alexander gave the go-ahead to the Bedforshire airport's development consent order (DCO) application.

The National

• First Bus rolls out AI timetables for dozens of Glasgow bus routesFIRST Bus is set to roll out AI timetables in an effort to improve punctuality across Greater Glasgow services.

Local Government

• More improvements to local bus servicesBus services across the borough will see improvements from Saturday 6 April, including more frequent and better-connected journeys.
• Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram provides statement on the newly published Merseyrail Winter Weather Resilience ReviewDespite some early teething problems, Merseyrail has returned to being the best-performing rail network in the country but even the best systems can have bad days.

Network Rail

• Electrification project's major milestone delivered on time and under budgetThe railway line between Kettering in Northamptonshire and Wigston near Leicester has reached a major milestone by being officially declared ready and safe for electric trains.

London Evening Standard

• TfL has a plan to speed up London's buses but it's doomed to fail for this reasonAverage bus speeds in London have reached a ten-year low. Despite promises and targets to speed buses up, no progress has been made.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Hitachi £300m train deal sparks big hopes for County Durham factory's futureNine new Grand Central trains will be built at Hitachi's Newton Aycliffe plant, but bosses are most excited by cutting-edge battery technology they believe can deliver more and more orders

Wales Online

• Welsh Government to give a further £20m to Cardiff AirportThe funding is part of government plans to give the airport £205m over the next decade, but there could be a legal challenge

Yorkshire Post

• Sir Keir Starmer excelled with his performance in Huddersfield but can he deliver rail improvements for Yorkshire? - Ismail MullaA lot of politics is performative but the majority of seasoned observers know this and sometimes even revel in it. They'll recall moments where one political opponent will have outmanoeuvred another. Witty remarks in the Commons that will have cut one career short and elevated the other.

Cambridge News

• Luton Airport expansion approved by minister despite advice to reject planThe Cabinet minister gave the go-ahead to the Bedfordshire airport's development consent order (DCO) application regardless of advice from the Planning Inspectorate that she should turn it down over environmental concerns

Other Regional Press

• Craig Hoy MSP criticises Lothian Buses at Holyrood for 'dodging' meetAN MSP has criticised Lothian Buses at Holyrood for 'dodging' a 'vital' meeting ahead of controversial changes to bus services which come into force on Sunday.
• Concerns rise over Welsh Government's bus nationalisation planLaura Anne Jones MS voices doubts about the Welsh Government's plan to nationalise bus services, fearing it may worsen service quality. This comes as Newport Bus and other providers express concern over funding and local knowledge loss.
• 'Most punctual' airline and it's not Ryanair, easyJet or Wizz AirThe most punctual airline in the UK has been named, and at the top is a carrier you might not have even heard of
• New photos reveal stunning refurbishment of historic trainshed roof at Huddersfield Railway StationNew photographs have been revealed of refurbishment work on the historic trainshed roof at Huddersfield Railway Station.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Peel Ports Group announces £750 million construction frameworkPeel Ports Group, the UK's second-largest port operator, has established a new construction framework worth up to £750 million, appointing 18 contractors to deliver projects across its UK and Ireland operations.

Construction News

• Lower Thames Crossing enabling contracts launchedContractors building the roads serving the Lower Thames Crossing have launched three new early-stage tenders as the project moves ahead following government approval last week.

New Civil Engineer

• Four suppliers named on Network Rail's £750M Wales and Western minor works frameworkNetwork Rail has named four suppliers to support it with minor reactive works in its Wales and Western region on a framework worth £750M.
• Lower Thames Crossing: Project partners jubilant at approval and eye new construction blueprintProject partners on the Lower Thames Crossing project have expressed their excitement at what the major road scheme could mean for the future of construction and regional economies, now that it has been approved.

Rail UK

• Chris Fowler appointed as Managing Director for GTSChris Fowler will take on the role as Managing Director for GTS, the future operator of the Elizabeth line.

Sustainable Bus

• First customer test drive (and first order) for the Mercedes eIntouro: will be deployed by Eurobus RustexpressBEV intercity bus Mercedes eIntouro successfully passed its first customer test drive at the beginning of April, travelling for 380 kilometres on the regular route of the Eurobus Rustexpress from Swiss Bassersdorf via Zurich to the Europa-Park theme park in Rust, Baden-Württemberg, and back

Aviation Industry

• Granting Luton airport expansion is a dangerous gamble with the climate, says Aviation Environment FederationIn response to today’s news that Rt Hon Heidi Alexander MP, Secretary of State for Transport, has approved Luton Airport’s application to raise its passenger capacity from 19 million to 32 million per year, AEF says that the decision puts the Government’s legally binding climate goals at risk and will bring more noise misery to local communities.

Other News Sources

• TfL accused of 'ignoring' major West London town centre from Superloop bus routeTfL had previously claimed 'in error' it was considering adding the town to the route
• UK Mayors Being Urged to Buy Scarborough BusesMayor's across the UK are being urged to buy British buses when they look at moving to franchised bus systems.
• Lower Thames Crossing approved after Stonehenge tunnel axedA SHREWTON resident has expressed his "disappointment" after the government approved planning permission for a Lower Thames Crossing, less than a year after plans for the Stonehenge tunnel were axed.