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

Wednesday, 12 August 2026

BBC News

• More data centres approved for west LondonAnother data centre in west London has been approved by a council, despite concerns surrounding its demand on water and energy supplies.
• Loganair confirms withdrawal of all Dundee operationsThe news comes after the airline announced it would end its service from Dundee to London Heathrow.
• Electric bus fleet could include up to 48 dieselsWest Yorkshire's new publicly-owned electric bus fleet could include up to 48 new diesel vehicles, due to delays in the rollout of electric charging points.
• EMR to suspend services amid heat warningEast Midlands Railway (EMR) has announced plans to suspend numerous services this week as temperatures are expected to soar.
• Pedestrianisation expansion proposal after Belfast FleadhInfrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has said she will bring forward a consultation which will include proposals for the expansion of pedestrianisation in Belfast city centre.
• London Heathrow no longer Europe's busiest airportHeathrow has lost its position as Europe's busiest airport to Istanbul, new figures show. The west London airport said 7.86m passengers passed through its four terminals in July, whereas Istanbul Airport in Turkey's largest city recorded 8.15m passengers.

ITV News

• Unite threatens London-wide bus strike over 'crisis conditions' and will take fight to Andy BurnhamOne of Britain's biggest trade unions has threatened to ballot London bus drivers for strikes, warning services in the capital could be brought to a standstill unless urgent action is taken to improve working conditions.

The Guardian

• Heathrow says need for expansion clear as it loses title of Europe's busiest airportAir transport hub in west London reports 7.86m passengers in July, compared with 8.15m for Istanbul's new airport away from the city
• A question for Burnham as he tours the country: how to reduce the magnetic pull of London? | Peter HetheringtonAs someone who has specialised in regional policy, I know the task is huge ? not least because there is no plan to ensure prosperity throughout England

The Independent

• London Heathrow records its busiest day of the year so farThe West London airport said 7.86 million passengers passed through its four terminals in July

Times Online

• Broken necks and brain trauma: rise of e-scooter injuries laid bareThe mother of a boy killed in a crash urges the government to introduce a licensing scheme to save lives as a report reveals 500 child injuries since 2019

City AM

• Heathrow overtaken by Istanbul as Europe's busiest airportHeathrow said the case for expansion has 'never been clearer' after it was overtaken by Istanbul as Europe's busiest airport.

Daily Express

• Fury as Labour 'fleeces motorists' out of £189m to cross UK bridgeLabour has been accused of trying to 'fleece' drivers after the Dartford Crossing recorded a major increase in income. The Dartford Crossing is the only fixed road crossing of the River Thames, east of London, and one of the most important links in the strategic road network. The crossing is now used by an average of over 150,000 vehicles every day and up to 180,000 vehicles on the busiest days.

Daily Record

• Scots over 60 saving £1,000 thanks to bus passesSingle bus fares will be capped across England at £2 from January - but no firm date has been announced for when such a scheme will apply across Scotland.

GB News

• England's first 'cycle street' forced to close over poor road markings despite £2.4million costEngland's first "cycle street" has been shut within just months of being operational, despite costing £2.4million.
• Labour slammed as Dartford Crossing cashes in £128m from daily driving feesThe Dartford Crossing has raked in millions after raising its daily fee last year, forcing motorists to pay more to travel along the busy Thames route.

The Mirror

• Major European airport closed for months - more than 3,000 flights cancelled or divertedAffected travellers may be offered to rebook to at an airport on the other side of the city - it takes around 45 minutes by car or over an hour by train to get between the two hubs.

This is Money

• Heathrow says case for third runway 'has never been clearer' as it loses top spot to IstanbulThe case for a third runway at Heathrow 'has never been clearer,' the airport said today, after it lost its position as Europe's busiest airport to Istanbul.

Local Government

• Major progress in county's electric vehicle charging network madeWarwickshire's efforts to expand and enhance its EV charging network have taken a major step forward with the award of a new contract to deliver significantly more charge points across the county.
• Next stop, better buses: more bus improvements for the WestA raft of improvements to bus services in the West of England is set to be introduced, after feedback from thousands of residents across the region who responded to the 'Next stop, better buses' survey.
• New Bluestar 6 to improve bus links across east SouthamptonThe new Bluestar 6 service will operate via Peartree Avenue and Woolston, creating new travel opportunities for residents while significantly improving bus frequencies in Peartree. The route will operate every 30 minutes during the day Monday to Saturday and hourly on Sundays.
• New age of transport dawns in Hull as new Stagecoach East Midlands electric buses hit the roadsPublic transport in Hull has taken another major step forward in terms of comfort, reliability, safety and environmental impact, as a new fleet of ultra-modern electric buses have started to take passengers around the city.

Network Rail

• Investment to deliver track and drainage upgrades in the East MidlandsA £1.49 million investment in the railway in the East Midlands will mean a weekend when buses replace trains between Leicester and Peterborough.

Birmingham Post

• Bristol Airport car park plans near Mendip Hills refused on appealIt would have been about 25 minutes' drive from the South West transport hub
• Q-Park takes on 20 former NCP car parksDeal includes sites in Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle and Cardiff

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Train line in North Wales to close for two weeks Buses will replace trains on the route between Wrexham and Bidston as major works are carried out

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Major update on Newcastle Central Motorway roadworks - and it's good newsThe £9 million renovation works on the Central Motorway began exactly a year ago and have led to major disruption

Yorkshire Evening Post

• First look at plans to build Thorpe Park railway station next to The Springs shopping centre in LeedsResidents are being offered a first look at plans to build a new railway station next to a major shopping centre in east Leeds.

My London

• Andy Burnham urged to scrap Heathrow and other London airport expansions in favour of alternativeAndy Burnham should reject the expansion of London's airports and invest in major hubs in the north of England instead, a senior London Assembly Member has said.

Other Regional Press

• Council commissions Saturday service bus between Lampeter and AberystwythCeredigion County Council has commissioned a Saturday bus service between Lampeter and Aberystwyth following a lack of commercial interest in running the 585 service at weekends.
• Questions about how bus franchising will work across Calderdale's bordersThat is a shame, but has a silver lining in that any issues should be ironed out before it gets here, said Calderdale Council's leader, Coun Daniel Sutherland.
• Work to make Pokesdown station step-free set to begin in OctoberPokesdown station is set to become step-free, with work beginning in October 2026.
• Bold plan for green Somerset rail line unveiled by Go-opBattery-powered trains, electric bus links, and renewable-energy charging hubs could form part of a new plan to expand rail services in Somerset and Bristol.
• Cambridge wins 33.88m to bring self-driving buses a step closerGreater Cambridge has secured £3.88 million of grant funding provided by the UK Government to take its pioneering self-driving bus programme to the next stage, bringing autonomous public transport a major step closer.

Bus and Coach Buyer

• Autonomous bus project takes next step in CambridgeAlexander Dennis is to continue its work in developing connected and automated buses through the Commercialising Connector project.

Highways Magazine

• DfT launches engagement on 'research, evaluation and analysis' contractThe Department for Transport (DfT) has published a preliminary market engagement notice for a shared research, evaluation and analysis call-off contract valued at £7.2m.

Rail Advent

• Major bank holiday work on historic North Yorkshire railway bridgeNetwork Rail is to spend £800,000 carrying out significant works to Brotherton bridge near Knottingley in North Yorkshire over the August bank holiday weekend, causing disruption to some passenger journeys.

Rail Business Daily

• London's Deputy Mayor for Transport to share climate change lessons at ICE Resilient Transport conferenceThe Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has announced that Seb Dance, London's Deputy Mayor for Transport and the Deputy Chair of Transport for London, will deliver a keynote address at its inaugural Resilient Transport conference.
• Greater Anglia to fund 33 projects in a £350K boost to communities across its networkGreater Anglia is investing more than 350k in 33 community-led projects in the third year of its Customer and Community Improvement Fund (CCIF).
• West Midlands Interchange delivers more than £7 million boost to jobs, local business and communitiesWest Midlands Interchange (WMI) has launched its first Social Value Impact Report (2022-2025), revealing how the project has already delivered more than 7 million in social value across South Staffordshire, Staffordshire and Wolverhampton.
• First look at latest Thorpe Park Rail Station plansPeople can have their say on the latest plans for a new railway station which will create a new link between east Leeds and the city centre.

Rail Magazine

• "Unprecedented faults" hit Lumo's Class 222s on Stirling-Euston routeLumo and Alstom are reviewing the open access operator's fleet position after reliability problems on Stirling-London Euston service.

Railnews

• CIRO sets out Great British Railways priorities The Chartered Institution of Railway Operators has warned that Great British Railways will need to respect local devolution while also maintaining a consistent approach throughout the country. In a new report, CIRO has set out its objectives for the organisation. CIRO says it recognises the ‘significant opportunities’ presented by bringing track and train closer together under a single organisation, but also says that reform needs to be accompanied by the right leadership, culture and methods of making decisions

Railway Gazette

• Self-levelling sleeper research offers transition zone hopeEUROPE: A novel self-levelling railway sleeper designed to tackle problems relating to transition zones has been developed and tested by researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, working with colleagues at the University of Leeds and across Europe.
• Experience Luna Rail's Hotel Pod and Seat Pod night train concepts at InnoTrans 2026Berlin-based night train interior design start-up Luna Rail is to unveil its Hotel Pod and Seat Pod concepts in a real passenger vehicle for the first time at InnoTrans 2026.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Stagecoach South gets its customer service bus onto the roadStagecoach South is taking a specially adapted customer service bus to communities across West Sussex, Hampshire and Surrey.
• Vernon Everitt confirmed to remain as Greater Manchester Transport CommissionerVernon Everitt has been confirmed to continue as Greater Manchester Transport Commissioner.

Safer Highways

• £33m Caerphilly transport hub moves closer as TfW launches contractor search Plans to transform Caerphilly's bus and railway connections have taken another step forward, with Transport for Wales beginning the search for a contractor to deliver a new £33 million integrated interchange.

Transport for Greater Manchester

• Bee Network to launch more night buses, new routes and more frequent servicesExtra night buses, new routes and more frequent bus services are being rolled out across the Bee Network at the end of this month, benefiting passengers in every borough of Greater Manchester.

Other News Sources

• Minister visits Port of Tyne plastic clean-up after government criticismThe Marine Minister has visited Port of Tyne after criticism of the government and Environment Agency's response to the plastic pollution clean-up operation.
• Why public ownership is the answer for Scotland's buses, and our climateWe've been hearing a lot about bus fare caps lately. A key pledge in the SNP's manifesto ahead of May's elections was a roll out of the £2 single bus fare cap nationally expanding beyond the places where a trial was already in place, like the Highlands and Islands.
• Arriva London acquires final batch of 72 electric double-deckers from Volvo Bus UKVolvo Bus UK & Ireland has completed delivery of 72 battery-electric vZL Electric double-decker buses to Arriva London. The final vehicles have been received at Arriva's Tottenham depot and will enter service across North London, as part of a wider £340m investment by Arriva in renewing its UK bus fleet.
• Stagecoach deploys first 42 electric buses in HullThe UK operator has introduced 32 Alexander Dennis Enviro400EV double-deckers and 10 Yutong E10 single-deckers in Hull. The operator plans to expand the city's electric bus fleet to 55 vehicles in the coming months.