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

Friday, 08 January 2021

BBC News

• A83 at Rest and Be Thankful to open for first time in 2021The road has been closed for safety reasons but will open during daylight hours with the Old Military Road taking over at night.
• National Express to suspend all servicesThe firm says tighter Covid restrictions and falling passenger numbers have prompted the decision.
• Hyundai's confusion over Apple electric car tie-upThe Korean car company originally said it was in talks with the tech titan before backtracking.
• Boeing to pay $2.5bn over 737 Max conspiracyThe firm is to pay $2.5bn to settle US criminal charges over the 737 Max aircraft conspiracy.
• Brexit: Problems grow at UK ports with backlogs and delaysMany retailers believe they will be paying taxes on exports of goods that are not fully made in Britain.

Financial Times

• Hyundai in early stage talks with Apple over electric car tie-upCarmaker's stock soars after confirming discussions that would mark iPhone maker's EV entrance
• Hauliers warned to brace for tougher French customs controls Trade groups and UK officials fear difficult post-Brexit trading arrangements

The Guardian

• If Boris Johnson had any vision he would invest in people, not buildings | Simon JenkinsThe prime minister can't resist his hi-vis and hard hat, but spending on quality of life and culture would be better for our communitiesWhat do politicians desperate for headlines always promise? They promise to build something. On the day I heard my penniless local youth club was about to close, Boris Johnson offered a staggering £100m every week for 20 years to build just one new railway, HS2.Last weekend it was announced that two-thirds of small youth clubs in England were facing closure, with 20% already closing or closed and 30% likely to go by June.

Times Online

• ‘Monumental challenge’ at Northern Ireland ports after Brexit [subscription]Port officials implementing new rules after Brexit are dealing with a “monumental” challenge, Northern Ireland’s chief vet said.
• Negative coronavirus test needed for all international arrivals to UK [subscription]All international travellers, including Britons abroad, will have to produce a negative coronavirus test result to enter England and Scotland under new restrictions.
• Trains and coach services face massive reduction as pandemic travel falls [subscription]Rail and coach services will be dramatically cut because of falling passenger demand during the pandemic, it was announced yesterday.

City AM

• Aviation bosses demand end to quarantine after introduction of mandatory testingThe aviation industry has called for the government to scrap its quarantine regime following the introduction of a mandatory testing The post Aviation bosses demand end to quarantine after introduction of mandatory testing appeared first on CityAM.

Daily Express

• Grant Shapps erupts at Sky host questioning delay in arrival testing 'Didn't help US!'GRANT SHAPPS hit out at Sky News host Gillian Joseph after being asked to explain why the British Government only now imposed Covid testing requirements to travellers despite the travel industry calling for such measures for months.

Mail Online

• British Airways economy class food will now come from Michelin-star chef Tom KerridgeFood from Tom Kerridge's menu will be available on a 'buy before you fly' basis from a new 'Speedbird Café' service. The gourmet menu will include a posh Warm Steak & Ale Pie and a Soft Brie Ploughman's.

The Mirror

• 125,000 first class airline meals set for bin saved thanks to genius ideaThe food didn't go to waste thanks to a brilliant charity - the founders of which were among those who picked up very special New Year Honours
• Anyone flying into England must now test negative for Covid or face £500 fineFrom next week, all international arrivals will need to take pre-flight coronavirus tests up to 72 hours before travelling

Bolton News

• Plans to END traffic jams outside Bolton railway station THE concourse and entrance to Bolton railway station is to be rebuilt with a new road off Newport Street serving passengers.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• £161m improvement work at Leeds train station completedThe new Platform 0 at Leeds station will allow more trains, more seats and fewer delays for rail passengers using the station, including the many thousands of Bradford residents who usually travel to Leeds for work on a daily basis.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Stena Line cancels Irish Sea sailings due to post-Brexit freight trade slump and travel bansThe ferry giant has initially cut 12 sailings over this weekend and is reviewing the situation

Edinburgh Evening News

• Mask concerns increase personal rail security complaints to highest for seven yearsConcern about passengers not wearing masks has increased complaints about personal security on trains to their highest level for seven years.

London Evening Standard

• International travellers will need negative Covid test before entering England and Scotland from next weekAll travellers to England and Scotland from international destinations will from next week need a test negative for Covid before they can enter.

The York Press

• National Express suspends services as lockdown takes holdNATIONAL Express has announced that it will fully suspend its scheduled coach services from midnight on Sunday.

Bucks Free Press

• Major London station closure to disrupt journeys on Sunday Chiltern Railways have confirmed that there will be no trains running in or out of London Marylebone station on Sunday, January 10.
• National Express to 'fully suspend' all services from Sunday after passenger numbers fall National Express is suspending all its services from Sunday.

Kent Online

• Exciting DLR and Crossrail plans will finally put Kent on the London Underground mapIt could connect Bluewater Shopping Centre and Ebbsfleet international to the capital

Other Regional Press

• Thames Travel confirms new buses in Oxfordshire from January BUS passengers will see 'improved and maintained' services in the New Year, Oxfordshire County Council vowed.
• Councillor takes on rail firm over noisy train 'nightmare'Trains using the town's central station use a turnback facility and regularly wait in nearby sidings - but locals claim the noise is 'hell'
• National Express suspend all servicesA coach service will stop all of its journeys including those in Kent following the third lockdown.

C.N.N.

• Hyundai's stock skyrockets on reports it is in talks with Apple to build a carHyundai's stock recorded its best day in at least two decades after the South Korean automaker was reported to be in early talks with Apple to develop self-driving electric cars.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Santander Cycles welcomes record new users during its tenth anniversary yearNew figures released by Transport for London (TfL) show that its Santander Cycles scheme has provided a lifeline to tens of thousands of Londoners by enabling them to safely make essential journeys during the coronavirus pandemic. New 24-hour Santander Cycles membership registrations rose by 167 per cent in the year to December 2020, representing the largest increase in the scheme’s 10-year history. Meanwhile, registrations for new annual memberships increased by a quarter. Total hire numbers for 2020 were 10,434,167 – an increase of around 6,000 hires from 2019 – despite a ...
• Coronavirus testing for hauliers to continue following decision by French governmentCurrent testing arrangements for hauliers crossing the Channel – where they must have had a negative coronavirus test within 72 hours of crossing – are set to continue following a decision by the French Government.   The continuation means that hauliers – including drivers and crew of HGVs, drivers of LGVs and van drivers – planning to cross the Channel should get a negative test before travelling to Kent or other Channel Crossing points.   Following the French Government’s original decision to close the border to the UK, and the subsequent reopening of ...
• Mandatory Covid-19 testing introduced to bolster border measuresPassengers arriving from all international destinations will be required to present a negative COVID-19 test result before departing for England to help protect against new strains of coronavirus circulating internationally. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced that from next week inbound passengers arriving by boat, plane or train will have to take a test up to than 72 hours before departing the country they are in, to help protect against the new strains of coronavirus such as those seen in Denmark and South Africa. The decisive action is in response to the changes seen in the tr...

Coach and Bus Week

• Wish you were here?At the time of writing, there was still no sign that operators in England would receive any kind of financial assistance, and many were still fearful for their survival. Jonathan Welch speaks to some of those involved in the Wish You Could Hear campaign.
• Go North West buses in Greater Manchester now offer hand sanitiser as standardAll of Go North West’s 170-strong bus fleet operating across Greater Manchester are now fitted with a hand sanitiser dispenser in a safe area for customers to use as they board and leave the bus.
• FirstGroup leads industry on Green ReportingFirstGroup plc has become the first UK-based transport operator to sign up to support the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), agreeing a new green governance framework to drive progress against the TCFD’s recommendations.
• Marching through the mireWe all know 2020 was extremely tough for anyone involved with passenger-carrying vehicles – especially coaches – thanks to the small matter of a global pandemic. But it’s easy to overlook how many strides were made last year in the industry despite this adversity. For CBW’s review of 2020, Peter Jackson focuses on the positive stories that kept the sector on its feet (just), and promises not to mention Covid-19 (phew!)
• RHA launches new membership category for coach operatorsThe RHA is bringing together its expertise and the knowledge gained from supporting operators of commercial vehicles for over 76 years to introduce a brand-new membership designed specifically to support coach operators.

Railnews

• Minister resists calls to cancel HS2 The transport minister responsible for HS2 has dismissed suggestions that HS2 should be cancelled, along with an allegation that the government ordered work to start early last year to ˜bail out™ the construction industry.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Manchester bus franchising plans come under renewed attackBus franchising proposals in Greater Manchester have come under renewed attack from a group of operators in the region.
• Claire Haigh steps down as Greener Journeys CEOClaire Haigh has stepped down as CEO of Greener Journeys. The change will allow her to pursue a wider role in the decarbonisation of transport, with a further announcement of what that will entail set to follow.
• Coventry and Oxford set for All Electric Bus Town triumphCoventry and Oxford are set to be victorious in the Department for Transport (DfT) All Electric Bus Town competition.
• Go-Ahead pursuing ‘Europe’s largest order for hydrogen buses’Go-Ahead Group is in discussions over “what has the potential to be Europe’s biggest ever order for hydrogen fuel cell-electric buses.” If completed, it will see up to 52 such vehicles delivered to its Metrobus subsidiary for use on routes in Crawley and to Gatwick Airport.
• National ExpressNational Express is to introduce a second full suspension of its network of scheduled coach services. The pause will come into effect from 2359hrs on Sunday 10 January and it is expected to last for seven weeks.