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

Monday, 20 January 2020

BBC News

• Low emission bus set on fire at Glasgow's Fort shopping centreThe low emission double decker was destroyed in the blaze at The Fort shopping centre in Glasgow.
• Stagecoach takes rail franchise row to High CourtStagecoach and its partners say the government acted unlawfully in barring them from bidding.
• HS2: Rail link costs could rise to £106bn, says reviewThere is

Department for Transport

• Regional Air Connectivity Review: aviation minister visits Liverpool John Lennon Airport to launch UK tour of regional airportsThe Aviation Minister, Paul Maynard, has today (20 January 2020) visited Liverpool John Lennon Airport to launch his UK tour of regional airports, as part of the Department for Transport’s Regional Air Connectivity Review.

Financial Times

• Electric car boom drives GKN-Delta link-upPartnership will enable automotive component supplier to offer more scalable systems
• Stagecoach and Arriva sue over rail franchise bidsOperators say government breached statutory duties on pension liability change
• HS2 costs could hit £106bn, warns official reviewOakervee report gives lukewarm support and recommends part of phase 2 be paused
• Airbus plans derivatives trading for airline ticketsSkytra to offer futures and options contracts based on indices that track price changes

The Guardian

• The politics may be murky, but if Flybe failed many regions would be badly hitAlthough the airline’s competitors are right to complain about the lack of transparency, ministers needed to show pragmatism
• Rail franchise bid case starts in high courtStagecoach among operators disqualified from bidding for franchises over pensions

The Independent

• SpaceX rocket explodes mid-flight in astronaut 'Abort Test'Falcon 9 rocket performs rehearsal of 'rapid, unscheduled disassembly' less than two minutes after launch

The Scotsman

• Anne Chapman: Rural sector key to attaining net zero emissionsAll eyes will be on Glasgow in December for the UN Climate Change Conference COP26. Lasting two weeks, it will be the largest summit Scotland has hosted. It is expected to be the most important climate change event since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015.

The Telegraph

• Thousands of rail staff trained in suicide prevention as attempts on railways rise sharply since 2014

Times Online

• Bus lanes and fast broadband needed to hit climate targets, ministers told [subscription]Scotland needs to provide better cycling facilities, improve its public transport offering and make sure all premises have access to fast digital connections if it is to meet its net-zero carbon emissions target, government advisers say.
• Build HS2 in full, bosses demand [subscription]Construction chiefs say axing it would damage industry and hit regions

Daily Record

• Demands for end to secrecy over Loganair flight which took off without air traffic clearanceA whistleblower has revealed how airport management intervened to allow the 33-passenger plane to take off.

i News

• Tory plan to guarantee train service during strikes is akin to slavery, union leader saysLabour-affiliated union boss Mick Whelan likened the government's plan to clamp down on train strikes to 1930s fascism

The Mirror

• Pressure piling on Boris Johnson to get HS2 back on track for the NorthPolitical leaders from the Midlands and the North are demanding the high-speed rail plans go ahead - and quickly

Birmingham Post

• Key supplier to Derby train-maker Bombardier launches search for 200 staffMotherson Rolling Stock Systems is recruiting electrical and mechanical assemblers
• The £100m depot at the heart of rail's South Wales MetroThe depot will be home to 500 staff and is expected to open in 2022

Bristol Live

• Workers awarded more than £200k after losing jobs at Bristol-based airline FlybmiFlybmi workers who were based at Bristol Airport and East Midlands Airport are in line for a big payout

Edinburgh Evening News

• Rail passengers can upgrade to first class on Edinburgh to Glasgow services for just £1Rail passengers using an Edinburgh to Glasgow eXpress service can upgrade to first class for just £1 for the remainder of the month.

Liverpool Echo

• Merseyrail passengers tell us what they think as company is rated nation's most punctual service"Overall it's great, they provide a very punctual service."

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• MP calls for more trains at one of the least-used rail stations in the countryTransport Secretary Grant Shapps is under pressure to get a village train station back on the rails - after official figures showed it was one of the least-used stations in the country.

This Is Local London Network

• 20-storey tower could be built at Barnet tube stationA development planned for a suburban tube station has been scaled back following feedback from the public.

Wales Online

• The deserted Welsh railway station with only 14 passengers a weekIt is the most geographically remote station on the Heart of Wales Line

Other Regional Press

• Ambitious proposals for a new railway station for HaltonSeveral new train stations could be added to the Merseyrail network under ambitious new proposals.
• Fill in Oxford's potholes as well as bringing in new congestion measuresBROKEN pavements and pot-holed roads in Oxford must be fixed to ‘sweeten the bitter pill’ of congestion-busting measures like bus gates and a workplace parking levy, according to a county councillor.
• Future plans for Oxford electric car chargers discussedSHOULD Oxford have petrol station-style electric charging points for cars in the future?
• Weymouth to Bristol line affected by week-long closureA RAILWAY line in Dorset will have to close for a week and also over four weekends so improvement work can be carried out.

Rail Advent

• New managing director for West Midlands TrainsWest Midlands Rail Executive has welcomed a new managing director for West Midlands Trains, Julian Edwards.

Other News Sources

• Why Herefordshire's little buses didn't work NORTH Herefordshire MP Bill Wiggin's call for thinner buses on country lanes may not have been as revolutionary as some might have thought.