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

Wednesday, 21 October 2020

BBC News

• Reading West railway station set for £3.3m revampA planning application has been submitted for £3.3m worth of improvements to Reading West railway station.
• Pontypridd town centre's £38m redevelopment completedA derelict shopping centre is replaced with offices including Transport for Wales' headquarters.
• Sadiq Khan condemns 'draconian' conditions of TfL rescueSadiq Khan says Londoners face a
• Covid-19: First UK airport coronavirus testing beginsThe aim is to help people travelling to destinations where a negative result is required on arrival.

Financial Times

• Government threatens to take direct control of Transport for LondonMayor Sadiq Khan told he must accept ministerial demands, including higher fares, if he wants bailout

The Guardian

• Highways England rebrand accused of being an 'offensive' waste of £7mExclusive: National Highways name sparks anger in Wales, which looks after its own roadsThe government is planning to spend an estimated £7m to rebrand Highways England as National Highways, just five years after its last multimillion-pound rebranding.The change of name, which is understood to have been forced on the agency's leadership by the Department for Transport, has bemused observers.
• Former tree of the year felled in Warwickshire to make way for HS2Locals say loss of 250-year-old pear tree in Cubbington is 'absolutely devastating'. Residents have spoken of their “utter devastationâ€� after a 250-year-old pear tree in Warwickshire, a famous local landmark and England's tree of the year in 2015, was felled to make way for the HS2 rail line.The tree, thought to be the second-oldest wild pear tree in the country, had become a focal point in the protest against HS2, a high-speed rail line that will connect London and Birmingham, and which protesters say will cause huge environmental damage.
• Ministers threaten to take direct control of Transport for LondonGovernment accused of making punitive demands in rescue funding talks. The government has been accused of demanding “punitiveâ€� conditions to agree a funding deal with Transport for London.
• Polluted air killing half a million babies a year across globeState of Global Air report says indoor air quality causing two-thirds of the deaths and affecting health in the wombAir pollution last year caused the premature death of nearly half a million babies in their first month of life, with most of the infants being in the developing world, data shows.Exposure to airborne pollutants is harmful also for babies in the womb. It can cause a premature birth or low birth weight. Both of these factors are associated with higher infant mortality. Continue reading...

The Telegraph

• Airports lose £83 million a week, study finds, as they call for passenger duty 'holiday' and VAT-free salesAirports are demanding the Government take more robust action to protect the industry as figures show it is heading for a £4.3 billion loss

Times Online

• Paris halves street parking to make way for greenery [subscription]Half the street parking spaces of Paris are to be eliminated in the latest move by the city authorities to vanquish cars.
• One-hour Covid test at Heathrow set to reopen travel [subscription]Passengers will undergo a one-hour coronavirus test before flying out of Britain under plans to open up international air travel.
• Tree of the year felled to clear way for HS2 link [subscription]HS2 bosses have been accused of misleading the public after contractors chopped down a 250-year-old tree.
• Trains should drive the green industrial revolution - Nick Crossfield, Alstom [Subscription]The prime minister is right to pledge not just to build back better but to build back greener: harnessing skills and expertise to support jobs, exports and investment as we move towards a lower-carbon future.
• Air pollution costs city dwellers £880 a year [subscription]The damage to health caused by air pollution costs the average UK city resident £880 per year, a study has found.

City AM

• MPs back call to shift transport funding to low emission schemesTransport funding should be shifted from projects that increase carbon emissions towards low and zero carbon schemes, according to a new report which has been backed by Transport Committee MPs.
• Government warns that it will 'take control' of TfL unless bailout demands metThe government has warned Sadiq Khan that it will take the management of Transport for London (TfL) into its own hands if the Mayor does not accept its demands as part of a new bailout deal.
• Mayor "cannot accept" TfL bailout conditions - including a Council Tax hikeSadiq Khan has today warned he “cannot accept” conditions attached to Whitehall’s bailout of Transport for London. The Mayor claims The post Mayor "cannot accept" TfL bailout conditions - including a Council Tax hike appeared first on CityAM.

Mail Online

• Ministers threaten to strip Sadiq Khan of control over Transport for LondonLondon mayor Sadiq Khan needs a £4.9bn settlement to bail out TfL for the next 18 months after passenger numbers collapsed and revenue crumbled as a result of the pandemic.

Belfast Telegraph

• Cathay Pacific slashes 8,500 jobs and closes regional airlineHong Kong airline Cathay Pacific Airways has announced it will cut 8,500 jobs, or about 24% of its workforce, and shut a regional airline as it grapples with the plunge in air travel due to the pandemic.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Pop-up coastal cycle path and pedestrian zones in North Tyneside to be removedNorth Tyneside Council has said the cycle lane and temporary measures in the borough's towns can be safely removed as social distancing can now be safely observed without them

Yorkshire Post

• Airport rail link setback is bad news for Northern Powerhouse – The Yorkshire Post saysTHE GOVERNMENT’S decision not to advance the proposed rail link to Doncaster Sheffield Airport is so short-sighted on so many fronts that it will prompt many to question its wider commitment to the Northern Powerhouse.
• Dismay as Doncaster Sheffield Airport rail link plan droppedMINISTERS are being urged to think again after vetoing proposals to build a direct rail link to Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

Get Surrey

• Heathrow Airport passengers pictured following new social distancing measures in Terminal 5In October 2019, Heathrow recorded a record month - but passenger numbers this year are far lower as a result of the coronavirus pandemic

Leeds Live

• Leeds Bradford Airport to cut more than 100 jobs after Covid strugglesThey had to make difficult decisions

North Wales Live

• Merseyrail to cut services as Liverpool enters Tier 3 lockdown Current advice states that those wishing to use public transport should only travel if they need to, such as to work or school

Sunderland Echo

• East Coast Main Line clogged with services as capacity reached - North East chiefs call for investment so region can have rail links it needsA transport chief has warned that the North East is unlikely to have all of the train services it needs due to a lack of investment in a vital regional route.

Other Regional Press

• Cycle project in Didcot has been fast-tracked because of CovidA SCHEME to get people walking and cycling has been fast-tracked in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Disused rail line to become woodland walk and cycle pathIt's full steam ahead for the project

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Is your HGV ready to cross the border?As part of its plans to help hauliers and HGV drivers understand if they are carrying the right documentation, the UK government is developing a new web service. Check an HGV is Ready to Cross the Border has been set up for the Roll on Roll off (RoRo) Freight Industry.  For the end of the transition period, the Service will be introduced for RoRo freight leaving GB for the EU and will help ensure that only vehicles carrying the correct customs and import/export documentation for the EU’s import controls travel to the ports. Following a public consultati...

Railnews

• Bombardier signs £248m Arriva deal A train maintenance contract has been agreed between Bombardier Transportation and Arriva CrossCountry which is worth £248 million over three years. It follows a new award to Arriva by the government.

RMT

• RMT on reports tonight that Government are threatening a total takeover of TFLGeneral Secretary Mick Cash said: "The speculation that the Government are threatening to take direct control of TFL sounds like more bullying by this administration designed to impose their will on Londoners and ride roughshod over local democracy.

Other News Sources

• Margaret Calvert designs new typeface for Network Rail wayfinding systemAn update of one of her best-known typefaces, Rail Alphabet 2 is a collaboration between Calvert, Henrik Kubel and design consultancy Spaceagency.
• Transport For Wales Staff To Move Into New Building Next MonthRCT Council’s £38m Llys Cadwyn development in Pontypridd is now officially complete with the final building handed over to the Council today – and the keys given to Transport for Wales for its staff to move in next month.
• Coronavirus: How Greater Anglia is keeping its trains clean with biological monitoring and fogging gunsBiological detection units, fogging guns and Ghostbusters-style backpacks… welcome to train travel in 2020.
• Van Elle kicks off HS2 ground improvement schemeVan Elle has started its first ground improvement contract for High Speed 2 (HS2), providing embankment support to enable the first phase of construction in north west London.
• MP shows support for bus company mask campaignTHE BLACKBURN Bus Company has been saluted by MP Kate Hollern for their efforts to keep people safe on public transport during the coronavirus pandemic.
• Heathrow Airport's rapid £80 coronavirus test could make holidays easier for thousandsThe test, available at Terminals 2 and 5, will initially be offered to those heading to Hong Kong and Italy