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

Thursday, 19 June 2025

Government

• UK Infrastructure: A 10 Year StrategyThe Strategy sets out the government's long-term plan for economic, housing and social infrastructure to drive growth.

BBC News

• Haulier fears toll of Dartford Crossing price riseMaking the Dartford Crossing more expensive would lead to nationwide price rises, the director of a haulage firm has warned. Frankie Stonebrook said his lorries made the crossing between Essex and Kent up to 45 times a day and the new charges could add £55,000 to his annual costs.
• Stagecoach to axe bus services across Dumfries and GallowayThe bus firm told Dumfries and Galloway Council that it will drop all but two of its services in the region.
• Derelict railway arches to be transformed into hubA gym and a restaurant are among the facilities earmarked for the eight arches, close to Lanyon Place station.
• HS2 line to be delayed again with no new date givenTransport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the HS2 project was an "appalling mess".

Department for Transport

• Great British Railways in action passengers benefit from track and train being united on South Eastern RailwayCollaboration has seen consistently low levels of cancellations, with operational costs expected to reduce by £50 million every year.

Financial Times

• Insurers lift prices 60% for key Iran route as conflict threatens shippingVessels face multiple dangers in Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for trade in crude oil
• HS2 rail line faces more delays and cost overruns, government admitsTrains may also need to run at slower speeds initially in order to prevent years of additional testing, report says
• Macquarie buys stakes in UK airports from Ontario Teachers’ Pension PlanPurchases come with Australian investor’s UK assets under scrutiny amid crisis at Thames Water
• Tanker rates double as shipowners steer clear of Strait of HormuzCosts to charter crude carrier from Gulf to China soar after Israel’s strikes on Iran
• Air India chair says crashed plane and engines had ‘clean history’Preliminary results from investigation could take a month, cautions N Chandrasekaran

The Guardian

• HS2: 16 years of high hopes, bruising reality and burgeoning costsAs the government announces a further delay, here are key moments in the troubled project's history so far
• HS2: a complete failure by the British state and its politiciansThere have been many chances to avert this 'appalling mess', but, fuelled by political puff and short-termism, the project has become a farce
• The Guardian view on HS2 delays: a chance to break the cycle of costly failureThe botched London-Birmingham line is a symbol of malaise in British politics. Getting it done would signal renewal
• Thursday briefing: HS2's never-ending journey continues, as Labour push back the £100bn project againIn today's newsletter: ​HS2 was meant to revolutionise Britain's rail network and Labour promises a reset, but some question whether the high-speed project is still worth i​t
• HS2: a complete failure by the British state and its politiciansThere have been many chances to avert this ‘appalling mess’, but, fuelled by political puff and short-termism, the project has become a farce. When was it obvious that HS2 was an economic turkey at risk of becoming “an appalling mess”, as the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, described today’s position. A fair case can be made for 2013, a year of two neon-lit warnings of trouble ahead. One was a scathing report on HS2 from the National Audit Office (NAO), the first of many, when the project was still at the planning stage.
• UK air pollution killing more than 500 people a week, doctors sayRoyal College of Physicians also says poor air quality costs country more than £500m a weekAir pollution in the UK is costing more than £500m a week in ill health, NHS care and productivity losses, with 99% of the population breathing in “toxic air”, doctors have said.Dirty air is killing more than 500 people a week, with health harm to almost every organ of the body caused by air pollution, even at low concentrations, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) said.

The Independent

• How HS2 squandered billions to become a national embarrassmentHS2 will provide more track, more trains, more seats and faster journeys to improve performance and reliability across Britain's rail network. So says the hitherto dysfunctional organisation that has squandered billions of pounds of taxpayers cash with precious little to show for it.

City AM

• The truth about infrastructure: investors need a returnThe government is set to unveil it's 10-year infrastructure strategy. To make it a success, they must dial down the negative rhetoric especially when it comes to water, says Jon Phillips
• Labour must not overlook London when it comes to infrastructure spendingThe Spending Review saw investment in Scotland, the Midlands and the North but this not come at the expense of London, which is essential to the growth of the entire nation. The infrastructure strategy is a chance to correct the course, says Peter Hogg
• HS2: Can it be pulled back from the brink?For anyone who has followed the debacle surrounding HS2, the transport secretary’s scathing verdict on Wednesday will come as no surprise.

Daily Express

• The 10 huge infrastructure projects that are set to supercharge BritainThe projects will help transform the nation's cityscapes and infrastructure.

Daily Record

• Glasgow Airport introduces new security procedures ahead of school holidaysThe major travel hub announced the changes and shared a video titled 'Numpty v Security'.

Local Government

• Mayor and Minister visit Coventry as part of Better Transport WeekRichard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands and Local Transport Minister, Simon Lightwood, have been in Coventry to view the city's Very Light Rail project - an innovative project to create a highly affordable, accessible and sustainable rail-based travel system.

Network Rail

• How drones will prevent one of the biggest causes of train delaysTrespassing is illegal and extremely dangerous. It's also highly disruptive to your journeys. There are about 19,000 incidents involving people going on the tracks each year. This causes 750,000 minutes of train delays for passengers and £75m in direct costs to the taxpayer.

Birmingham Post

• HS2: High-speed rail project to be delayed by at least two years amid 'litany of failures'Transport secretary Heidi Alexander will present the findings of two scathing reports into the project on Wednesday afternoon, including an internal review by HS2's new chief executive Mark Wild
• BP and Shell enjoy return to favour as oil surges amid Middle East conflictBP and Shell have been back in favour with analysts as oil prices surged off the back of the escalating conflict in the Middle East
• Port operator promises future security of Grimsby Seafood Village following dealAssociated British Ports says its acquisition of the site has boosted its Humber porftolio

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• 'I am going to break your face': Clip shows awful abuse towards train staffCamera footage showing cases where crew have been verbally abused, threatened and intimidated has been released by a train company.

Metro

• Dartford Crossing charge will go up for drivers here's how much it risesThe Dartford Crossing charge is set to increase later on this year to help ease congestion, the Department for Transport has announced.

Cambridge News

• Nearly £195,000 spent on 20mph road signs slammed as ‘disgusting waste of money’The 20mph signage was introduced after speed limits were approved last year in a Cambridgeshire town

Other Regional Press

• New transport plan to tackle youth job access crisis announcedSkates says public transport overhaul will connect people to work, drive growth
• Oxford congestion charge meeting adjourned after dramatic outburstA heated council meeting discussing the Oxford congestion charge was briefly adjourned, after an outburst from a member of the public who made a series of claims about transport chief Andrew Gant.
• Traffic fears over plans for 500 new homes next to Oxford AirportTraffic fears have been raised over plans to build 500 new homes on the eastern edge of Woodstock near Oxford Airport.
• Anger over bus pass axe as Stagecoach confirms fare rises across Nuneaton and BedworthOne bus user said the current Coventry/Bedworth bus pass was being cut

Bus and Coach Buyer

• Dartford Crossing charge to riseA cost increase for coaches and buses using the Dartford Crossing is to be in place from 1 September 2025.

Construction Enquirer

• Mark Wild radical reset plan to rescue HS2The Government has revealed HS2 chief executive Mark Wild's reset plan to rescue the troubled rail megaproject.

Construction News

• New PPP model will be restricted to revenue-raising schemesNew public private partnerships (PPP) to fund infrastructure will only be considered where schemes have identifiable revenue streams, with a handful of exceptions, the government has announced. The long-awaited 10-year ?725bn infrastructure strategy, which lays out plans to boost economic growth and upgrade rail and?
• Network Rail to launch £108m southern track works contractNetwork Rail Infrastructure Limited has announced plans to procure a new eight-year minor works contract for its Southern region, expected to be worth £108m including VAT.

New Civil Engineer

• Transport secretary admits HS2 opening delayed beyond 2033 amid 'litany of failures'Transport secretary Heidi Alexander has confirmed that High Speed 2 (HS2) services will not start by 2033 during a speech to Parliament today, 18 June, citing a 'litany of failures'

Rail Magazine

• Calls for Government to focus more on small-scale projects and rolling stock planThere was a mixed response to the Chancellor's Spending Review from across the industry.

Railnews

• HS2 to go ahead, but opening will be delayed again Transport secretary Heidi Alexander has confirmed the conclusions of two critical reports about HS2. She has also confirmed that the line will not open in 2033.

Transport Action Network

• Calls for urgent action to tackle road safety emergencyTransport Action Network (TAN) is today calling on Ministers Heidi Alexander MP and Lilian Greenwood MP to focus the Department for Transport?s (DfT) highways funding allocation in the spending review on addressing England's road safety emergency.

Other News Sources

• Local Transport Minister takes a trip on Coventry's Very Light RailwayLocal Transport Minister, Simon Lightwood, visits Coventry to view the city's Very Light Rail project
• Motorists face massive blow as Dartford Crossing increases fees by 40% for first time in 11 yearsMotorists are set to see the price of a major toll route increase by 40 per cent this year, which will see drivers pay extortionate fees to travel on UK roads.
• Dartford Crossing charge for HGVs soars by 40%Lorries will be forced to pay a 'significant' increase in the Dartford Crossing charges after the government slapped an extra £2.40 on each trip.
• Removing 400m of road for cycle path could bring city 'grinding to a halt'Plans to remove 400m of road to make way for a cycle lane have met with mixed reviews - with one claiming “the city will be in danger of grinding to a halt”