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

Sunday, 11 May 2025

BBC News

• Council plans to push for half-hourly busesSome bus services in Herefordshire could be made more frequent and speedier under new council proposals.
• Firm adds three new coach routes in CornwallA German travel company has added three connections in Cornwall as part of National Coach Week.
• Polluted airport water 'destroyed my unborn lambs'A pedigree livestock farmer plans to take legal action against East Midlands Airport, claiming a leaking pipe polluted the brook that runs through his rented grazing land.
• Polluting older buses 'offset' green benefitsThere have been calls to speed up the introduction of newer, less polluting busses as figures revealed around 40% do not meet higher emissions standards.
• New £50m bypass opens after delaysA new £50m bypass designed to divert traffic away from a number of villages in West Sussex will open on Friday.

The Guardian

• 'It's an illogical job': Why driving a train isn't as cushy as it might seemThe rulebook is hefty, the hours are awful and the hurdles to becoming a train driver huge. But 18-year-olds can now apply
• 'Really a mess': US's air traffic control system suffering from years of neglectRoots of the crisis go back to Reagan but Musk's Doge team accused of making things worse can it be fixed?

The Telegraph

• Network Rail bosses spend '10k a week' on planes. [subscripiton]There is absolutely no excuse, say campaigners as managers flew 1,000 times within the UK in a year
• These new rail routes will change holidays forever [subscription]From Iberia's high-speed link to a giant tunnel between Germany and Denmark, these projects promise exciting new train holiday options
• Heathrow warned it cannot afford a third runway. [subscription]Planned expansion to increase passenger charges and add to ballooning debt, damning report claims

Times Online

• How expensive are British trains compared with Europe and the US? [subscription]People have tried to work this out but become bogged down by the insanity of rail prices
• All aboard the 'Nostalgia Express' the world's first steam railway [subscription]A trip down the Stockton and Darlington Railway line, where the first passenger steam train ran 200 years ago, brings rail locomotive history to life
• How many stupid o'clock flights can airlines have? We're about to find out. [subscription]An Bord Pleanala is to rule on flight numbers at Dublin airport, a decision that could affect the growth plans of Aer Lingus and Ryanair

Daily Express

• The huge new £25bn mega project set to become 'the travel capital of Europe'A huge £25billion mega project set to transform European travel is moving ahead, and it's not in the UK, France, or Germany. Instead, the game-changing development is being built in central Poland, where work is now underway on one of the largest transport hubs in the world.

The Mirror

• Huge £1bn EU airport where chaos forced its closure after just 4 yearsDespite a massive investment of over £1bn, an unfortunate mix of permit and planning hiccups saw this Spanish airport close less than four years after opening

Other Regional Press

• Lower Thames Crossing construction traffic delays could top £1bnTRANSPORT Action Network (TAN) [1] has calculated that the cost of the delays caused by constructing the Lower Thames 'smart' motorway Crossing (LTC) [2] could be well over £1bn, based on the disruption caused by the controversial M25 Junction 10 scheme in Surrey. The LTC will have a 7-year construction period, twice that of the M25 scheme.
• MPs host ferry roundtable to push for Isle of Wight changesIt was a pleasure to welcome Maritime Minister Mike Kane to Cowes recently for the first-ever roundtable of its kind to discuss the Island's ferries.
• Cinderford faces high risk of transport exclusion, report revealsCINDERFORD is in the top one percentile of Transport Related Social Exclusion (TRSE) risk areas in England, according to a report by Midlands Connect, a sub-national transport body.
• Powys Council to review risks linked to £150m railway test centre projectA REPORT outlining the risks of the potential failure of a major economic development near Ystradgynlais to Powys County Council is set to go before members of the Governance and Audit committee.

Construction Index

• Milestone reached on Coventry VLRColas Rail UK has completed the first phase of construction of a test bed for the Coventry Very Light Rail project.

Rail Advent

• Stockton and Darlington Railway to Launch Trail of DiscoveryThe Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) has announced the launch of its Trail of Discovery.

Railway Gazette

• Freight: The challenge of moving cars by railRail already plays a critical role in ensuring new cars can be moved out of automotive factories effectively. But many of these flows are short distance and driven by space limitations in auto plants, and rail struggles to compete with road for longer distance auto flows. Maria Eriksson* explains how a new partnership is seeking to boost its role.

Railway Supply

• Fare Dodging on Tyne and Wear Metro Nears Pre-Covid LevelsFare evasion on the Tyne and Wear Metro fell to 4.6% in 2024, a significant drop from 8.3% in 2021 and close to the 4.0% level reported in 2019. This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Transport Action Network

• Lower Thames Crossing construction traffic delays could top £1bnTransport Action Network (TAN) [1] has calculated that the cost of the delays caused by constructing the Lower Thames 'smart' motorway Crossing (LTC) [2] could be well over £1bn, based on the disruption caused by the controversial M25 Junction 10 scheme in Surrey. The LTC will have a 7-year construction period, twice that of the M25 scheme.

Aviation Industry

• Heathrow's Third Runway Project Faces Financial HeadwindsDALLAS - London Heathrow Airport's (LHR) ambitions for a third runway have come under scrutiny as S&P Global issues a stark financial warning. The credit ratings agency said the £20-25 billion expansion could significantly increase the airports debt burden, which already stands close to £20 billion.