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

Wednesday, 16 April 2025

BBC News

• Bus passengers face fare increase on Easter SundayA bus company is set to increase some of its fares from Easter Sunday because of rising costs.
• City centre to ferry terminal bus link reinstatedA bus link between Liverpool's Isle of Man Ferry Terminal and the city centre has been restored.
• Fifteen years after a volcano shut European airspace, could it happen again?For eight days in April 2010 UK and European airspace was closed or partially closed causing chaos to travellers around the world.
• Taxi marshals return to make city nights out saferTaxi marshals have returned to York to ensure two city centre cab ranks are safe for people to use on Friday and Saturday nights.
• Hospital among first to trial new electric bikeA hospital in East Yorkshire is one of the first NHS sites in England to trial a new electric bike.
• E-bike share scheme 'streamlined' in PlymouthAn e-bike operator has announced plans to reduce its service in a Devon city.
• Zero carbon research team aims to change the worldSustainable air travel. Electric HGVs. Hydrogen-powered shipping. These are just some of the projects researchers are expected to work on at the new Zero Carbon Innovation Centre (ZCIC) in the East Midlands.
• Funding for new ferry promised at 'crisis' meetingFunding has been earmarked for another new large ferry to serve the Western Isles, Scotland's transport secretary has told islanders.
• New-look trains for East Midlands routesRefurbished trains have started to be rolled out in the East Midlands as part of a £23m investment.

Department for Transport

• Thousands of miles of roadworks lifted ahead of Easter as drivers set to be £500 better offWe are tackling the real problems that drivers face by lifting miles of roadworks and cracking down on disruptive streetworks.

Financial Times

• Network Rail paid almost £1mn to lobbyists who arranged meetings with top Labour figures Between 2021 and 2025 Network Rail, which maintains the UK's train tracks, paid Lexington £875,000 for services that included stakeholder engagement and communications advice, according to a freedom of information request submitted by the Financial Times.
• United Airlines cuts capacity and warns economy is ‘impossible to predict’Cautious move comes after strongest first quarter since Covid-19

The Independent

• Solved: some of the endless mysteries of the railwaysThe Gatwick Express takes people to and from the UK's second-busiest airport, doesn't it? Surely if a passenger express gets stuck behind a broken-down freight train for over half an hour, it will be late?

The Scotsman

• Islanders welcome CalMac move to 'urgently review' South Uist ferry serviceIslanders in South Uist have welcomed a pledge from CalMac to 'urgently review' ferry links to the island to improve the significantly depleted service caused by faults and fleet overhauls.

The Telegraph

• Labour must explain rail nationalisation blunder that cost taxpayers £250m [subscription]MPs demand answers amid fears that fares will rise to meet extra costs of South Western Railway takeover
• Use trains instead of planes, City accountancy giant tells staff [subscription]Grant Thornton is encouraging staff to use trains instead of planes when travelling abroad as part of its effort to contribute to the net zero push.

Times Online

• Carmakers lifted by Trump hint of tariff exemption [subscription]President Trump raised hopes that a 25 per cent tariff on all vehicles and parts imported into the US could be the latest levy to be paused, leading to gains in the share prices of global carmakers.

Welsh Government

• Improved A55 resilience as 330m scheme marks second anniversaryResilience on the A55 and opportunities for active travel have improved since the £30m Aber Tai'r Meibion scheme was officially opened, almost two years ago.

Leicester Mercury

• First look at revamped EMR train amid £23m plan to refurbish 44 regional Class 170sThe first has been completed and many more are about to get a new lease of life

South Wales Argus

• Peredur Griffiths MS on bus bill and public transportThe most notable thing to emerge from the Senedd in recent weeks has been the publication of the long awaited Bus Bill.

Other Regional Press

• Falkirk cyclists can go further thanks to return of free bike bus serviceThe Inner Forth Bike Bus is returning for another season after a successful pilot programme in 2024.
• Gwynedd police and council campaign for safer bus travelGwynedd police and the county council are working together to reduce antisocial behaviour on buses across the county.
• EAST WIGHT MP SECURES APPOINTMENT TO SHADOW TRANSPORT TEAMJoe Robertson MP has been appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Shadow Transport Team, which is led by Gareth Bacon MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Transport.

Coach and Bus Week

• Dependable public transport relies on total fleet efficiencyCoach and bus companies work tirelessly to provide a seamless operation, delivering a trustworthy public transport service to customers and ensuring the profile of coach and bus journeys is escalated to become the preferred and more sustainable travel option for the future.

Rail Magazine

• Transport Secretary: government still sees role for open accessTransport Secretary Heidi Alexander has told RAIL the government still sees a role for open access operations, after rail reform.
• Fears of skills being lost as railway industry sheds thousands of jobsSkilled railway jobs are being lost as government investment in the industry is held back, according to NSAR (National Skills Academy for Rail).

Railnews

• FirstGroup makes last-minute open access pleaThe Department for Transport's consultation into Great British Railways closes tonight, and FirstGroup has made a final plea for open access services to continue.

Railway Gazette

• Rail Skills Academy strengthens the future of the industry's workforceUK: South Lanarkshire's second Rail Skills Academy has been launched to equip 11 young people with the skills and experience required to thrive in the railway maintenance sector.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Collaboration to define new bus driver trainingMandatory training on anti-social behaviour will be figured out in partnership, says Local Transport Minister Simon Lightwood

The Business Desk

• City transport gets 316m boost as Nottingham prepares for major upgradesMore than £16m of external funding will be invested in Nottingham's transport network during 2025/26, following support from the new East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA).

Aviation Industry

• AEF supports the extension of the UK ETS beyond 2030 AEF recently responded to a consultation on extending the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) beyond 2030, when the current phase is due to end. The first phase runs from the start of 2021 until the end of 2030, and the intention of the UK ETS Authority is for the scheme to continue until at least 2050

Other News Sources

• Rewarding low-emission shipping 'wind in the sails' for achieving climate targetsProfessor Pietro Tricoli responds to the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) passing new agreement to tackle shipping emissions
• Adam Price MS wants better rail system in South West WalesA Plaid Cymru MS has backed the creation of a "rail system fit for the 21st century" across South West Wales that would feed Ammanford.
• Network Rail project stabilises 'large and complex' landslide in DurhamNetwork Rail and its contractors have completed a £33M project to stabilise a 'large and complex' active landslide that has been disrupting a railway line in County Durham for 150 years.
• Bromsgrove MP calls for backing of Rail Hub ahead of spending reviewBROMSGROVE MP Bradley Thomas has urged the Government to continue backing the Midlands Rail Hub ahead of its Spending Review.
• Why AI could be the saviour of public transport - if we let itGet it right and the rewards could be there. Thomas Ableman looks at how transport in the UK and beyond might be transformed by artificial intelligence
• Stroud MP Simon Opher visits PHINIA manufacturing plantSTROUD'S MP has visited a manufacturing facility to discuss the future of clean transport.