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

Wednesday, 28 January 2026

BBC News

• Newcastle International Airport takes fourth Yutong airside busBattery-electric ABe14 can carry 110 passengers and follows success with three prior arrivals
• Greater Anglia to install anti-trespass measuresGreater Anglia is putting anti-trespass measures at railway stations across the East of England, after figures from the past year revealed that trespass incidents caused more than 18 days' worth of delays.
• Transport authority steps in to save bus routesFour at-risk bus services have been saved after the regional transport authority said it would intervene to keep them running.
• Expected closure of railway line extendedThe expected closure of a railway line between West Sussex and Surrey following a landslip has been extended until at least the middle of next month.
• Can hydrogen fuel replace petrol and diesel in cars? Keele University runs cars with green hydrogen, whose only emission is water, but can the fuel be made available across the UK?
• Record rise in London e-bike and e-scooter firesE-bike fires killed two Londoners last year and the LFB wants further formal regulation.
• Madeleine the boring machine poised for new HS2 tunnelThe high speed rail line from Birmingham will be extended from west London to Euston station.
• EasyJet warned over 'misleading' £5.99 cabin bag feeThe airline said the fact there were no bags available for less than £5.99 meant the claim was not misleading.

Financial Times

• Carbon-free flying by 2050 is ‘pie in the sky’, say aircraft leasing chiefs AerCap’s Aengus Kelly says no one is willing to pay higher costs of sustainable aviation fuel

The Independent

• HS2 station will serve 'whole country' when line finally built, says rail ministerLord Hendy said HS2 line and Euston station should be full of trains to go everywhere in Britain'

The Telegraph

• Labour's rail nationalisation tsar to get £300,000 for working two days a week [subscription]DfT says new chairman position will save £275,000 by merging two roles together

Times Online

• Thames tunnel has that sinking feeling [subscription]The government needs to come clean over its financing for the Lower Thames Crossing

Transport Committee

• Transport Committee calls for action to secure skills for transport manufacturingA new Transport Committee report has urged the Government to make the most of once-in-a-generation opportunities to better support the transport manufacturing sector to nurture and grow the skills it needs to thrive.

Birmingham Mail

• HS2 blamed for difficulty recruiting officers at watchdog committeeDudley councillors told overspend was due to spending on expensive interim officers and HS2 demand meant a shortage of surveyors

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Minister defends decision not to publish mass transit tram reviewA Government minister has defended the decision not to let the public see details of a vital report into a delayed major transport project.

Bristol Live

• Regulator slams easyJet over misleading £5.99 baggage charge claimThe airline jas been banned from using the same tactics in future

Liverpool Echo

• Update on progress of £1m Moorfields faceliftA £1m overhaul to upgrade an 'outdated' Liverpool city centre railway station could be completed by the spring. It was announced last June how the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) would pump vital cash into giving Moorfields a much needed makeover.

London Evening Standard

• Euston, here we come! HS2 starts digging tunnels to central London in landmark moment for long-awaited schemeHowever, new station - alongside a revamped mainline station - is not due to open for 15 years

The York Press

• Long-awaited Sunday bus service is relaunched in YorkA long-awaited Sunday bus, Service 15, in York has made a strong start after its relaunch.

Cambridge News

• Free parking trial coming to these Cambridgeshire areasThe Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough said the cost of parking means customers are 'lost' to retail parks and online shopping
• Fewer wheelchair accessible taxis on city streets as drivers hand back platesCambridge City Council is hoping a policy change will slow down the loss of wheelchair accessible taxis in Cambridge.

Carlisle News & Star

• Carlisle MP backs rail plans for the north despite Cumbria snubCarlisle's Labour MP has backed the government's rail upgrade plans despite Cumbria not getting a mention in the announcement.

Kent Online

• Dartford MP Jim Dickson calls for Dart Charge refunds after lorry caused extensive damage to Dartford TunnelAn MP is calling for Dart Charge users to be refunded after severe disruption caused by a caused by a lorry crash in the Dartford Tunnel.

Other Regional Press

• Sadiq Khan rules out linking proposed TfL line to Heathrow citing 'limited benefits'The West London Orbital is expected to have a HS2 connection, but Transport for London is against it running to Heathrow Airport
• Will all current bus routes be maintained in the coming years as passenger numbers fall?Buses will be less frequent and more crowded say the Conservatives as Mayor refuses to commit to key bus route renewals
• Second Okehampton railway station will have no loos, drinking waterTOILET and drinking water facilities will not be available at the new Okehampton Interchange railway station, a decision described as 'ridiculous' by an Okehampton town councillor.
• Chiltern railways new train line for Oxfordshire travellersOxfordshire travellers can now get a Chiltern Railways train to the West Midlands as the newest service to and from the area has begun.
• Work on £77 million link road could start in two yearsThe start date for a major new link road project has been earmarked ahead of plans finally being submitted later this year.

Highways News

• Transport Committee calls for action to secure skills for transport manufacturing A new Transport Committee report has urged the Government to make the most of once-in-a-generation opportunities to better support the transport manufacturing sector to nurture and grow the skills it needs to thrive.
• Council reports 14% journey time improvement after MOVA installationHighways managers in the city of Southend in Essex is reporting measurable improvements at a key junction in the city after the installation of MOVA technology at a set of traffic signals.
• Central government underfunding blamed for road floodingFalls in funding for local authorities are being blamed for a rise in the number of roads being flooded, because councils cannot afford to clear storm drains before bad weather.
• Operators announced for first publicly run bus services in the Liverpool City Region for 40 yearsFollowing a competitive tender process, two operators have been appointed to operate the first locally controlled services in the Liverpool City Region since the 1980s, marking the biggest change to public transport in the region for more than a generation.

New Civil Engineer

• £100M contract awarded to Costain for new junction on M5 to serve Somerset gigafactoryCostain has been appointed to design and construct a new junction on the M5 near Bridgwater in Somerset, in a contract worth about £100M over five years.
• First TBM for HS2 tunnelling to central London launchedThe first of two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) building the HS2 route to central London has begun its 7.2km drive from Old Oak Common today, 27 January.
• Skanska UK president and CEO on bringing certainty to public sector infrastructure delivery"This government has been bold. I'd give it 10 out of 10 for everything it has said and everything it's trying to do, but the proof is in the pudding, says Skanska UK CEO Katy Dowding.

Rail Magazine

• Hull MPs and government discussing using private finance to bring electrification to cityHull's three MPs are having talks with the government and stakeholders in East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire with a view to businesses funding electrification of the main line to the city.

Railway Gazette

• TfL seeks ideas to provide calm spaces for neurodivergent passengersUK: Transport for London is seeking market feedback on potential ways to provide neurodivergent passengers with a calm, quiet space when travelling on the public transport network, without needing to undertake any infrastructure changes.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• TfL lays out plans to cut congestion and boost bus speedTransport for London (TfL) has unveiled a five-year plan to cut overall congestion in the capital and speed up bus services.
• Strong words around bus franchising are yet to disappear entirelyThose who have been around the bus industry for a long time will likely recall the extent of rancour when early hints of franchising came in the mid-2010s. Language from both the for and the against camps was blunt in making their respective positions known.

Other News Sources

• Government must stop undermining NI bus manufacturing through Windsor Framework - CampbellEast Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell has criticised the ongoing impact of the Windsor Framework in a Westminster debate on bus manufacturing, warning that Northern Ireland companies are being placed at a clear and unacceptable disadvantage.
• Plan to improve sustainable transport at Oxfordshire science hub is approvedA plan to create a healthier, better connected and more sustainable future for an Oxfordshire scientific hub over the next 25 years has been approved.
• "Once-in-a-generation leadership role": Great British Railways Chair position advertisedThe Department for Transport has published the job advert for the Chair of Great British Railways.