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

Tuesday, 17 March 2026

BBC News

• £18bn needed to fix England and Wales potholes, road surfacing experts estimateThe cost of fixing all the potholes on local roads in England and Wales would be an estimated £18.6bn, the industry body that oversees road surfacuing has warned.
• Automated tolls at chain ferry put jobs at riskA new automated toll process for a chain ferry will put jobs at risk, its chairman has confirmed.
• Funding awarded for zero emission buses in DevonNew zero emission buses are set to be delivered with £7.53 million of funding awarded to a council.
• New brand for South Yorkshire's transport unveiledTransport bosses have unveiled a bold new brand for transport in South Yorkshire.
• Train testing under way on new Birmingham rail lineFinal testing is being carried out at five new railway stations in the West Midlands before they open their ticket barriers to passengers.
• Commuters can use contactless payments for Glasgow subwayThe change means people can tap credit cards, debit cards or mobile wallets on the ticket gates for entry.
• Car park firm NCP collapses with nearly 700 jobs at riskThe car park operator says demand for parking has not recovered to pre-Covid levels, as its administrators look to sell the business.
• Train delay repay rule changes to make claims easierThere will also be additional checks on railcards during a trial to crack down on fraud.

Department for Transport

• Delay Repay changes will make rail travel easier under Great British RailwaysThese changes allow passengers to claim Delay Repay compensation faster and the rail industry to invest in improvements across the UK.

Financial Times

• Naval escorts will not guarantee safe passage through Strait of Hormuz, says IMO chiefArsenio Dominguez does not believe military protection for ships is a sustainable solution
• Oil jumps as Iran steps up attacks on infrastructureStrikes hit Abu Dhabi upstream oil and gas project and tanker off Fujairah port in Gulf of Oman

The Guardian

• Train delays: compensation claims to be easier under Great British RailwaysRefund systems for individual train operators to be merged into single service under nationalised rail bodyRail passengers will be able to claim compensation for delayed trains directly from the website where they bought their ticket, the government has said, as part of a shake-up to make rail travel simpler.Passengers who use third-party retailers such as Trainline to buy tickets currently, have to submit applications for refunds to the relevant train operator for processing.
• Thousands of flights canceled as winter storm marches across USStorm system dumps snow in midwest and threatens east coast with high winds and possible ‘long-track tornadoes’Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA late winter storm continued a destructive, elemental march across the eastern US, with thousands of flights canceled or delayed as powerful winds combined with a partial government shutdown delayed travelers passing through airport security scanners.

The Independent

• Ghost airport: Heathrow Terminal 4 loses a third of passengers as Gulf collapse continuesExclusive: Cancellations by Qatar Airways, Etihad, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways and El Al are hitting 9,000 Heathrow passengers daily

Daily Express

• UAE closes airspace due to 'incoming missile and drone threats' from IranLive air traffic space showed an eerily empty airspace over the UAE early on Tuesday, March 17

Daily Record

• Emirates Edinburgh flight forced to divert after Dubai Airport drone attackA fuel tank at Dubai Airport was targeted seven hours into the flight as the plane was entering Egyptian airspace.

Mail Online

• British Airways cancels all flights into Dubai until summer as conflict in the UAE enters third weekThe airline announced it would also suspend travel to Amman, Bahrain and Tel Aviv until after May 31.

Birmingham Mail

• New free bus pass rule for state pensioners in England from April 6The Department for Transport (DfT) has confirmed that concessionary bus passes will be similarly impacted.
• West Midlands pothole crisis laid bare as roads face £1.94b repair backlog Just 46 per cent of the road network in the West Midlands is said to be in 'good structural condition'

Birmingham Post

• £7m Government support for more zero emission buses'Buses are the workhorses of our public transport system'

Bristol Live

• Council tackles Bristol pothole backlog as locals say 'repairs don’t last'Severe weather has created a backlog of 800 repair jobs, but the council has doubled the warranty period meaning contractors are now liable if potholes reappear within two years
• New bus route links Portishead to Bristol AirportThe new service will run up to once an hour

Nation. Cymru

• Public support for Wrexham-London rail link revival is growingOver 5,500 people have now backed a petition calling for the revival of a direct rail service between Wrexham and London Euston.

Sheffield Star

• Sheffield's under 18s to get free bus travel - this is when it will startYoungsters in Sheffield are set to get free transport as the local authority reveals long-term plans for buses, trams and e-bikes across the region.

Wales Online

• 22 stretches of road in one Welsh county which will switch back from 20mph to 30mphRhondda Cynon Taf Council is due to make a traffic regulation order to revert 22 roads from 20mph to 30mph

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Train timetable and ticket prices for travel through three new Birmingham stations announcedRail bosses have announced the timetable for services which will call in at three brand new stations in Birmingham.

Oxford Mail

• New bus service to connect Oxford to Cotswolds this monthA new bus service is set to connect Oxford and Witney to the Cotswolds this month, as Oxford Bus Service announces a new route.

Other Regional Press

• First look at Belfast International airport's Northern Quarter as it repens following refurbishmentIt closed its doors, and a temporary bar was set up in January to serve the area, making way for the new and improved restaurant and bar.
• Settle to Carlisle rail journeys expected to top one millionA historic railway route is set to attract more passengers this year.
• 'Works needed' as electric bus drivers struggle to access huge new chargerA huge new charger installed for electric buses is not yet in use - with drivers finding it difficult to access.
• West Yorkshire told to explain why mass transit scheme can’t just be busesBut mayor Tracy Brabin insists tram is the only option for long-awaited scheme
• Huddersfield Bus Station works schedule as £28m revamp gets final approvalSpades will be in the ground soon
• How much it would cost to fix all potholes as 49pc of roads 'not good'The state of our roads has been called 'a national disgrace'

Rail Magazine

• TfL plans to electrify around half of new London Overground route - at leastAround half of a planned new London Overground route will be electrified.
• Grand Central tweaks Cleethorpes plan - confirms class number of tri-mode setsGrand Central has modified its application to run direct services between London Kings Cross and Cleethorpes.

Rail Technology Magazine

• China Expands High-Speed Rail Maintenance with New Vossloh HSG 2 Grinding TrainChina has reinforced its commitment to advanced rail maintenance by ordering a new HSG‑2 (High Speed Grinding) train from Vossloh, further strengthening the German manufacturer's long-standing partnership with the world's largest high‑speed rail network. The new train will be built in Hamburg and is scheduled for delivery in the summer of 2027.

Railnews

• Chiltern Railways renationalisation date revealed The Department for Transport’s programme of renationalisation is continuing, with the next former franchise, Govia Thameslink Railway, set to be taken over by DfT Operator on 31 May.

Railway-News

• Network Rail Unveils New Maintenance Depot in ManchesterA brand-new, 10 million GBP rail maintenance depot has been unveiled at Guide Bridge, Greater Manchester.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• New brand and livery for South Yorkshire franchised network revealedMayor of South Yorkshire Oliver Coppard has unveiled the South Yorkshire People's Network, a new brand and long-term vision for the region's public transport network as it prepares to bring buses under public control from next year.
• Destination 'takeover' coach tourism events are building, says VoelNorth Wales operator derives multiple benefits from Blackpool takeover event with 200 people
• TfGM announces order of 55 battery-electric buses from WrightbusTransport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed an order for 55 battery-electric buses for the Bee Network from Wrightbus.

Aviation Industry

• Government consultation on the National Planning Policy FrameworkThe revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) sets out government’s planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied. The government recently closed a consultation on the revision of the NPPF.

Other News Sources

• New ASLEF general secretary Dave Calfe on strikes, Labour and the union's futureAfter more than four decades in the rail industry, ASLEF's new general secretary Dave Calfe made his final journey to London Euston, where he is a branch member, to the applause of colleagues and union activists.
• Doncaster Sheffield Airport scales back airspace requirementsThe revised plans will not, say airport bosses, impact the amount of future freight or passenger flights and has not lowered the airport's ambitions.
• Reading Buses thousands spent on new number platesReading Buses has answered why thousands of pounds have been spent on special registration plates for its fleet.