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

Friday, 13 March 2020

BBC News

• Anger at 'smashed up' Alton Victorian railway bridge stairsPart of a unique Victorian railway bridge has been "smashed up" by contractors, conservationists have claimed.
• Smart motorways plan aims to boost safetyBetween 2015 and 2018 11 people a year have died on average on smart motorways in England.

The Independent

• Pavement parking could be banned in EnglandAnnouncement from Department for Transport comes on the back of a report published last year

Times Online

• ‘Safe’ smart motorways get a £700m overhaul [subscription]Smart motorways are in most ways “as safe or safer than conventional ones”, the transport secretary said yesterday, despite calls for them to be scrapped after several deaths in recent years.
• Minister hints at Irish Sea bridge plan [subscription]Boris Johnson is poised to announce a feasibility study into a road crossing between Scotland and Northern Ireland, according to his Scottish secretary.

Daily Record

• While the world is self-isolating the last thing we care about is the bridge that Jack builtOur columnist Annie Brown gives her views on the proposed bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Mail Online

• Smart motorways will FINALLY get an overhaulMinisters yesterday admitted smart motorways are not as safe as they should be after a new report revealed that 44 deaths have been attributed to the schemes since 2015.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• £2.5bn Budget pothole pledge a 'drop in the ocean' with Newcastle facing huge repairs backlogHighways chiefs in Newcastle say they have £117m worth of fixes to the city's roads and pavements waiting to be completed far beyond the government's funding promise

Other Regional Press

• Questions about future as Oxford to Cambridge Expressway 'paused'‘PAUSING’ work on a major new road between Oxford and Cambridge has led to calls for the government to shift focus to railway links.
• Questions about future as Oxford to Cambridge Expressway 'paused'"PAUSING" work on a major new road between Oxford and Cambridge has led to calls for the government to shift focus to railway links.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Action plan announced to boost smart motorway safetyAn action plan to ensure smart motorways are as safe as possible has been set by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. Work will focus on getting help to broken down drivers much quicker and making the schemes less confusing. This follows analysis commissioned by the Transport Secretary which found that overall, evidence shows that in most ways smart motorways are as safe as, or safer than, conventional ones. Data shows that the risks that are lower on smart motorways compared with conventional motorways include tailgating, rapid changes of vehicle speeds, vehicles drifting off the carriageway an...

Rail Technology Magazine

• New Kintore station set to encourage greener electric vehicles Scottish Government has secured additional funding to increase the number of electric charging bays at the new Kintore station, leading the way in encouraging greener commutes. In total 24 out of the 168 spaces at the new transport hub will be for electric vehicles, a huge increase on the two...