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

Monday, 28 September 2020

BBC News

• Conwy Valley rail line reopens after £2.2m flood repairsThe line linking Blaenau Ffestiniog with the north Wales coast was washed away in February.
• EasyJet 'hanging by a thread', says union officialThe airline disputes the claims made in a leaked recording obtained by the BBC.

The Guardian

• Why we need media reporting guidelines for road safetyLanguage and accuracy matter, as they can contribute to making the roads less safe for non-motorists and how the law is applied

Times Online

• Monarch Airlines administrator KPMG paid £5.5m feesThe administrator of Monarch Airlines has racked up fees of £8.2 million almost three years after the company collapsed.

Bristol Live

• Driverless vehicles could soon be seen in WestonThe idea for autonomous vehicles is including in an ambitious 10 year vision for the seaside resort

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Could Airbus giant jets ever be powered by hydrogenAirbus bosses have revealed concepts for smaller hydrogen planes but could it power bigger jets

Edinburgh Evening News

• Furious commuter slams ScotRail for putting on 'tiny, packed trains' at pub closing timeWhile pubs have been told to close at 10pm to stop the spread, one commuter pointed out that people heading home from a drink in Edinburgh were forced to pack into a tiny train.

The York Press

• Baroness takes a ride on York zero emissions bus fleet TRANSPORT minister Baroness Vere visited York to take a ride on one of First Bus's fleet of zero emissions vehicles.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• £1m plan to improve former rail lineUp to £1 million could be spent on improving a disused railway line popular with walkers and cyclists.

Yorkshire Post

• Let’s not repeat past mistakes in bonfire of the rail franchises – David BehrensBut is that to be the consequence of the Government’s bonfire of the train franchises this week? The “new deal” promised by the Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, certainly raised more questions about the future of rail travel than it answered.

Kent Online

• Council calls for planned Thameslink services from Maidstone East to London to be introducedRailway bosses are being urged to ensure long-delayed plans for a rail link to the capital are not cancelled altogether.
• Railway boss says Eurostar 'desperately needs help' before services can restart in KentHS1’s chief executive Dyan Crowther is calling for Government help so services can resume at Ashford International and Ebbsfleet

North Wales Live

• Merseyrail to highlight amazing youngsters with ECHO AwardHere's how you can nominate an incredible young person who does your community proud

Reading Evening Post

• Delays to Reading to Heathrow trains scheme 'unacceptable'The coronavirus pandemic has been partially blamed for the Great Western Rail Link problems

Other Regional Press

• Rail line works at Westbury and also on Taunton-Exeter lineHeading west on the train this week?
• Manea station car park approvedFenland district councillors have given unanimous approval for a car park at Manea station, funded by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, so that the much-needed project can now forge ahead.

Business Live

• New £2.4 funding pot to develop new transport tech projectsSeven consortia have won the grants to develop a range of concepts aimed at areas such as improving safety and helping the visually impaired

New Civil Engineer

• Infrastructure jobs market shrinks by a fifthThe infrastructure jobs market shrunk by a fifth between June and August, according to data released by Advanced Resource Managers (ARM).
• Light rail schemes face temporary closures without government supportLight rail systems are at risk of temporary closures without continued Covid-19 financial support from government, according to a new report.
• Rail industry calls for action on Western Rail Link to HeathrowRailway Industry Association (RIA) chief executive Darren Caplan has said schemes like the Western Rail Link to Heathrow should be “sped up”, after Network Rail this week announced the project is facing a two year delay.
• Green light for Birmingham railway stationPlans for a new railway station in Moseley have been approved by Birmingham City Council’s planning committee.

Rail Advent

• Avanti West Coast introduces Welsh announcements on Super Voyager fleetThe new trains will also have the same announcements when introduced

Rail Business Daily

• Transport Benevolent Fund CIO – Moving forward for a brighter futureFor nearly 100 years the Transport Benevolent Fund CIO (TBF) has been helping public transport works in Great Britain should they find themselves in need, hardship or distress.
• Chiltern Railways announces new Managing DirectorChiltern Railways, the Arriva UK Trains company, has announced the appointment of Richard Allan as its new Managing Director. Chiltern, which has recently signed a new agreement with the Department for Transport (DfT), runs services between London Marylebone and the Midlands, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Railway Gazette

• Network Rail publishes Environmental Sustainability StrategyUK: Network Rail has published an Environmental Sustainability Strategy which it describes as its ‘most ambitious and forward-looking’ to date, and a key part of its ambition to position rail as ‘the cleanest, greenest form of mass transport’.

Other News Sources

• Electric scooters still illegal on roads say policeTHE popularity of electric scooters is booming as people look for more environmentally friendly ways to make their journeys.
• Call for investigation into Brighton council over cycle lanes THE EQUALITIES and Human Rights Commission could be called in to investigate the city council.
• 25 Years On, Britain Clings to Privatized RailwayBritain’s decision this week to water down its ambitious experiment in privatized train travel risks leaving no one content.
• Solar trains pioneer gets first commercial fundingWorld-leading solar rail pioneer Riding Sunbeams has secured its first commercial funding from Thrive Renewables and Friends Provident Foundation, in exchange for a minority shareholding in the business and an active role in governance.