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

Wednesday, 14 October 2020

BBC News

• Edinburgh Airport numbers down 91% over six monthsA total of 785,000 people passed through the hub between April and September, compared with 8.4 million in summer 2019.
• Creating fuel from thin air with artificial leavesPlants derive energy from carbon dioxide in the air and scientists are trying to mimic that process.
• Singapore Airlines sells out meals on parked planeThe airline is one of many carriers looking for new business models to make up for lost revenues.
• Airlines and airports in fresh aid package pleaThe industry wants current quarantine arrangements to be replaced with a new testing regime.

Department for Transport

• £17 million boost to Southampton’s rail freight capacityFunding for rail upgrade to freight services in Southampton released.

Financial Times

• Maersk raises profit forecast for a second timeWorld’s biggest shipping line says demand has recovered more quickly than it expected
• Delta Air Lines boss warns of 2-year business travel recoveryUS carrier suffers plunge in corporate revenues as it burns through more than $20m of cash a day

The Guardian

• Cost of HS2 high-speed rail line rises by £800mWork on Euston station and asbestos removal add to bill for London to Birmingham phase. HS2's costs have risen by another £800m, the government has admitted, barely a month after the official start of construction of the high-speed rail network.The reshaping of Euston station is likely to cost at least £400m more than planned, while the discovery of more asbestos than expected in demolitions along the line of the route has added around another £400m.

Times Online

• Britain’s space agency joins Nasa-led international group to sign moon accords [subscription]It’s one small treaty for man, one giant leap for lawyerkind. Britain’s space agency has joined an international group led by Nasa in signing new accords governing the exploration of the moon. It has done so, however, despite the notable absence of Russia and China and amid accusations that it is engaging in a lunar land grab.
• £4m package for Edinburgh trams and Glasgow subway not enough, says boss [subscription]The boss of the organisation that operates the Glasgow Subway expressed disappointment at a £4 million funding package which he said would result in cuts to public transport.
• HS2 costs are £800m over budget six months after ‘reset’ [subscription]HS2 is running £800 million over budget six months after the project was “comprehensively reset” by the prime minister.

Birmingham Post

• Furloughed JLR staff offered voluntary redundancy as job retention scheme endsThe voluntary redundancy programme is aimed at some salaried and management staff who are currently furloughed
• New aerospace contracts for Cube Precision EngineeringBlack Country tooling firm secures new wins which have enabled to bring staff back from furlough
• We need a Valleys development agency says former Welsh Government ministerAlun Davies says it needs statutory powers and real financial firepower to replace the toothless Valleys Taskforce

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Vandals cause thousands of pounds of 'horrendous' damage to train carriagesThe carriages, which date back to the 1940s, were vandalised at Llangollen Railway Station

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Last chance to have your say on interior design of new £362m Metro fleetPeople have the opportunity to help shape how the new 42 state-of-the-art trains look for when they are rolled out onto tracks between 2023 and 2024

Other Regional Press

• EXCLUSIVE: Heathrow chief shares ‘devastating’ impact of CovidThe chief operating officer of Heathrow Airport is not expecting the aviation industry to recover until at least 2023. Emma Gilthorpe, who will appear at the Courier Business Conference next month, said she expects a partial recovery next year, but is not expecting passenger numbers to fully return until a Covid vaccine is available.
• Third Heathrow runway could bring huge economic benefits to FifeThe Supreme Court has heard arguments from Friends of the Earth and Heathrow about whether the expansion plans can go ahead.
• How Nuneaton's ring road will change after £21.5m plans approvedThe massive changes will include the removal of one-way systems and new junctions

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Disabled people to benefit from better journeys thanks to service station fundingJourneys will be easier and more comfortable for disabled people with more than a third of motorway service stations set to have Changing Places toilets. The Department for Transport, in partnership with Muscular Dystrophy UK (MDUK), has today announced the 22 motorway service areas that have been successful in their bid for a share of government funding for Changing Places toilets. A second round of funding is now being launched, this time extended to include A roads, with operators of service stations on these routes, as well as on motorways, invited to bid. A quarter of a million people ...
• PD Ports concludes multi-million pound Ro-Ro terminal project at TeesportPD Ports has recently completed a £3.36 million pound refurbishment project on its Number 1 Ro-Ro linkspan at Teesport that will support increasing volumes of global Ro-Ro traffic and further strengthen the Port’s position as the UK’s northern gateway for international trade. Operating three Ro-Ro berths at Teesport, PD Ports currently welcomes nine sailings per week from Rotterdam and Zeebrugge, as well as a monthly call from Japan. The renovation work to the ‘Number 1’ Ro-Ro terminal, which will improve sustainability and extend service life, means that a wider...

Rail Technology Magazine

• Captain Tom Moore presented with first ever Veterans’ RailcardMilitary veterans of every generation will soon benefit from discounted rail travel, Transport Secretary announced today, as he presented Captain Sir Tom Moore with the very first Veteran Railcard.
• Cumbrian river restored to original path to protect West Coast main lineNetwork Rail is working with the Eden Rivers Trust, Environment Agency, Natural England and landowners to return the River Leith near Thrimby back to its natural course and make the West Coast main line more reliable for passengers and freight.

Other News Sources

• Heathrow Is No Longer One Of Europe’s 10 Busiest AirportsLondon Heathrow Airport has dropped out of Europe’s 10 busiest airports as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the UK aviation industry. In August and September, the airport handled just 18% of passengers compared to figures from 2019.
• Wales’s First Minister demands travel ban on people in English Covid hotspotsIn a letter to Boris Johnson, the Welsh first minister said he would act if the UK government didn't, but Downing St has again rejected the idea.
• Passenger fury at lack of social distancingA MEMBER of the pubic who was forced to shield from coronavirus has been left shocked after a bus full of people ignored social distancing measures.