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

Saturday, 25 January 2020

BBC News

• Could feathers inspire plane wing design and other newsBBC Click's Paul Carter looks at some of the week's best technology stories.
• MOTs: 'Limited private car testing' at DVA test centresInfrastructure department says those who have had tests rescheduled will be refunded half the fee.
• Moira: Streetlights call for train station 'death trap' roadSomeone could be seriously hurt unless lights are installed on a road to Moira train station, users say.
• More towns and cities to get air-filtering busesThe air-filtering bus, which removes pollution from the atmosphere, has been operating since 2018.
• Tram workers praised for restraining Victoria station knifemanTwo tram workers win bravery awards for the part they played in restraining a terror-plot knifeman.
• Uber logs 28,000 safety complaints about London driversNearly 28,000 concerns were raised with Uber in a six-month period, Transport for London reveals.
• China's travel industry counts cost of coronavirusAirlines and hotels are having to pay out refunds to tourists affected by the deadly outbreak.
• HS2 risks misjudged from the start, says watchdogNo-one took full account of how complex the project was going to be, says the spending watchdog.
• Boeing: US regulator FAA 'pleased' with 737 progressThe plane has been grounded since March 2019 after two fatal crashes.

Financial Times

• Trainline’s investment case is at risk of hitting the buffersTickets website has to navigate an overhaul of UK rail’s supporting infrastructure
• Flybe owners seek government loan of £100mStruggling regional airline requests funds as part of agreed rescue deal

The Guardian

• Ministers doing little to achieve 2050 emissions target, say top scientistsExperts call for sweeping policy changes and warn against Heathrow expansionExpanding Heathrow airport is unlikely to be compatible with the UK’s target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, leading scientists have said, adding that government policies are lacking in many other key areas from home insulation and transport to carbon capturing.Achieving the net zero goal will require sweeping policy changes, but scientists are concerned that little has so far been forthcoming from ministers. Continue reading...

Times Online

• Flybe ‘needs £100m loan to survive the winter’ [Subscription]Flybe is to ask for a £100 million loan from the government on top of the £106 million tax bill that the stricken airline has been allowed to defer.
• Lay-bys cut on smart motorways to save cash [Subscription]The smart motorway programme faced fresh criticism last night after it emerged that the number of emergency lay-bys was reduced to cut costs.
• Doctors on guard at Heathrow to stop spread of deadly coronavirus [Subscription]Teams of doctors will be stationed at Heathrow to look for travellers who may be bringing a deadly virus into Britain.
• HS2: More than two-thirds of land has already been bough [Subscription]The government has already purchased two thirds of the land needed to build the first phase of HS2 between London and Birmingham despite a threat to cancel the entire project.
• Ditching HS2 ‘could mean years of weekend closures’ [Subscription]Upgrading main railway lines in the north of England as an alternative to HS2 would be “unreasonably disruptive” to passengers and fail to deliver the same benefits.

Sky News

• Race to trace 2,000 people who flew to UK from WuhanMedics are trying to trace 2,000 people who have flown from Wuhan to the UK in the weeks since the coronavirus outbreak.

Birmingham Post

• Bus company Halton Transport ceases trading with 150 jobs at riskNotice to staff says 'Good luck to you all and your families in these trying times'

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Work closes King's Cross stationRAIL travellers are being warned that work taking place at King's Cross station means there will be no services on Saturday and Sunday.

Bristol Live

• These are the men who built the M5 more than 40 years agoKnown as the 'Cat Men', they spent 15 years building the motorway

Northern Echo

• Better transport and internet will help young people into workINVESTMENT in superfast broadband, devolution and an overhaul of public transport are some areas of development identified to help unlock North Yorkshire’s economic potential.
• Return of London flights as airport secures new routesA ‘NEW DAWN’ has been hailed for Teesside International Airport as new flights to six major connection routes have been unveiled.

The York Press

• Air-cleaning buses to be deployed in six UK regions - but not York Buses that filter air pollution are to be rolled out to six more towns and cities in England.

Wales Online

• Transport for Wales gives away free KitKats to thank passengers for their patienceBut passengers says rail bosses should concentrate their efforts on improving services

Bucks Free Press

• 'HS2 is billions over budget' - Amersham and Chesham MP Cheryl Gillan continues to condemn the controversial projectMP for Amersham and Chesham Dame Cheryl Gillan continues to voice her objections to HS2 as the National Audit Office published their report on the project today stating that it's 'over budget and behind schedule'.

Cambridge News

• Campaigners hit back at Cambourne to Cambridge busway plansFrom Adams Road it is estimated as many as 220 buses a day will be sent down the residential road
• Cambridge North the worst station for crime in the UKThere were 19.6 crimes for every 100,000 passengers entering or exiting the station last year

East Anglian Daily Times

• Network Rail gives just 24 hours notice of major weekend train disruptionThe rail line to London will be closed most weekends until after Easter – and Network Rail has given passengers less than 24 hours notice of the problems to come.
• Second new Intercity train starts work on Greater Anglia main lineGreater Anglia has introduced the second of its new Intercity trains on the main line between East Anglia and London – two weeks after the first carried its first passengers.
• Stansted Airport expansion scrapped after shock council decisionStansted Airport’s long-awaited expansion was dramatically blocked after the district council overturned a previous decision to green-light the plans.

Other Regional Press

• MP Victoria Prentis calls HS2 a 'train wreck' of a project AN Oxfordshire MP has called HS2 a 'vanity project' after a national report into the project was released this week.
• London route, Dublin and 'next stage': The full details on Teesside Airport's new flightsTees Valley mayor Ben Houchen said 'this isn’t job done' at the announcement
• 'Use it or lose it' warns mayor as new flights to UK capitals are launched from TeessideTees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen stressed that it was now key that passengers used Teesside Airport
• Workers on South Western Railway vote to continue taking strike actionWorkers on South Western Railway, which includes the Weymouth-Waterloo line, have voted to continue taking strike action in the long-running dispute over guards on trains.
• Sinkhole forces street closureA road will remain closed for three weeks after a sinkhole opened up and started to spread.

Rail Technology Magazine

• HS2 progress report released Today (Jan 24) the latest update on the rail project High Speed Two was released by the National Audit Service. The report says The Department for Transport, HS2 Ltd and government have widely miscalculated the task, leading to ambitious estimates being set for delivery dates and set...

Other News Sources

• Why cars should be banned from the school gate I was shocked to read in the Hereford Times that more than 600 Herefordians are destined for an early death from the toxicity of our air from car pollution.
• Thousands of pensioners missing out on free bus passes, figures revealMORE than a third of pensioners in Hampshire have not taken up their free bus passes, figures reveal.
• Carmakers renew calls for low-carbon revolution as grim sales figures loom Some of the EU's largest auto players have called once for a mass rollout of electric vehicle (EV) recharging points and refuelling stations for fuels like hydrogen, as the industry offered up more clues as to how it intends to lessen its climate impact.
• A27 will be closed on weekday evenings due to 'dangerous trees'THE A27 will be shut on weekday evenings because of “dangerous treesâ€�.