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

Thursday, 14 January 2021

BBC News

• Covid-19: NI Executive to meet over international traveller testingMinisters will consider plans to make international arrivals into NI produce a negative Covid test.
• Stena Line's new Belfast ferry moves to Rosslare in 'Brexit busting move'The Stena Embla was to sail between Belfast to Liverpool but moves in a
• Covid-19: New test rule for England arrivals pushed back to MondayA negative test had been due to be required from Friday, but ministers said people needed time to prepare.
• Covid-19: Passengers told to check train times as routes cutServices in England are being cut from 87% of normal levels to 72%, the Rail Delivery Group says.

Department for Transport

• UK on the cusp of a transport revolution, as self-driving vehicles set to be worth nearly £42 billion by 2035The full economic value of self-driving vehicles in the UK has been revealed, as Transport Minister Rachel Maclean sets out that the connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) market could be worth £41.7 billion by 2035.

Financial Times

• Pledge to level-up UK questioned after northern transport budget cutsTfN’s budget slashed by 40% by government and more than £100m funding for contactless tickets cancelled

The Guardian

• UK rail services to be reduced to 72% of pre-pandemic levelsRail services in Britain will be reduced to 72% of pre-pandemic levels over the next few weeks, and passengers are being asked to check before they travel that their service is running.

The Telegraph

• Hidden emissions from plug-in hybrid cars could mean Germany misses climate targets, study finds [subscription]Study’s authors called for German government subsidies and tax incentives to be reviewed
• Launch of pre-departure testing for airlines and passengers to be delayed until Monday amid fears of test chaos [subscription]Airlines and travellers will get a grace period before the introduction of pre-departure testing for passengers on Monday
• Essar gives UK hydrogen production a £750m boost [subscription]New joint venture will produce industrial quantities of the clean-burning fuel at Cheshire oil refinery in the coming years

Times Online

• Cadillac plans a flying leap into the future [subscription]It is perhaps the epitome of the American car, beloved by stars from Elvis to US presidents, and immortalised in countless songs. But now the Cadillac really hopes to take off.
• Beijing’s bullet train aims to go 1,000 km/h [subscription]Assuming there are no leaves on the line, a train being developed in China will be able to travel the equivalent of London to Edinburgh in a little over a hour.
• Traffic levels are far higher than first Covid lockdown [subscription]Traffic levels are more than three quarters higher than during the first lockdown in another sign that the “stay at home” message may be failing to have the desired impact.

City AM

• Britishvolt: The batterymaker leading the charge towards the 2030 diesel car ban2020 was a dire year for the UK car industry, but buried amid the reports of tumbling vehicle sales was The post Britishvolt: The batterymaker leading the charge towards the 2030 diesel car ban
• Government launches legal action against former Carillion directorsMinisters have launched legal action against eight former directors of collapsed outsourcing giant Carillion, a move that could see them The post Government launches legal action against former Carillion directors appeared first on CityAM.

The Sun

• NO GO One of world’s biggest transport firms halts deliveries to UK over ‘Brexit red tape’ONE of the world’s biggest transport companies has suspended deliveries to Britain — blaming Brexit red tape. Germany-based DB Schenker said several UK-bound consignments had been stuck at Channel ports because customers’ paperwork was not properly filled out.

Sky News

• Air Canada latest airline to cut capacity as COVID pandemic continues to hurt aviationThe airline is one of many to have been significantly hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.

Belfast Telegraph

• French police stop ski trip group from boarding Eurostar in LondonThe group was pictured carrying at least one large bag of winter sports equipment.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• 'Ongoing rise' in active travel as trips on Bradford cycle route up 90 per cent LAST year saw an
• New Northern train timetables will see reduced services and capacityNORTHERN is joining the rest of the UK rail industry by introducing amended timetables from Monday.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Lothian Buses increase the amount of morning bus journeys on busy routes following Evening News storyLothian Buses have increased the amount of journeys on one of their services following images emerging of a crowded bus on the busy Edinburgh route on Tuesday morning.

Liverpool Echo

• Bus company's poignant journey to helping families access funerals during the pandemicSouth Central Community Transport used to help pensioners access activities, now they are supporting bereaved families to get to funerals

London Evening Standard

• New rules requiring UK arrivals to have negative Covid test delayed to give travellers time to prepareNew rules requiring people arriving in England to have a negative coronavirus test have been delayed to give travellers time to prepare.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Transport officials warn Transpennine Express rail services will be cutThe East Coast Main Line doesn't have capacity for all the services that train companies want to run

Wales Online

• All the changes to Cardiff Bus services coming into force because of lockdownCardiff Bus is bringing in widespread changes to its services as a result of the ongoing lockdown.

Yorkshire Post

• Fears for Northern transport funding as Department for Transport reveal cutsPlans to roll out contactless technology across the North’s transport network are in jeopardy after the Department for Transport have revealed funding cuts.

Sunderland Echo

• New bid to extend Sunderland Metro services to Washington by reopening mothballed rail lineTransport campaigners are launching a new bid to persuade the Government into backing the reopening of a mothballed train line.

Other Regional Press

• Eastleigh's Xelabus offers free travel to vaccination hubsA BUS company is offering to provide transportation to vaccination points free of charge.
• Return of Dundee bus service welcomed but long-term solution needed in West EndThe temporary reinstatement of an axed West End bus service has been hailed as “excellent” news.
• Councillor calls for more temporary bus services following Wrexham Arriva 'outbreak'A LOCAL councillor has called for temporary bus services after news the Arriva depot in Wrexham was forced to closed due to a small COVID-19 outbreak.
• GWR cuts off-peak services between Bristol and London as Covid-19 hits staffGreat Western Railway has been forced to cut some services from Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington because of staff shortages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• ScotRail train breakdown nightmare left Highland passengers on Glasgow-Inverness train stuck in ‘freezing’ carriages between Aviemore and Inverness for almost eight hoursA NIGHTMARE breakdown left rail passengers stranded in “freezing” conditions for eight hours in the middle of the night - “without food, blankets or heating”.

C.N.N.

• American Airlines is relocating crews from downtown DC hotels for inauguration weekAmerican Airlines said it will relocate crew members from downtown Washington, DC hotels to lodgings closer to airports through January 24 because of heightened safety concern surrounding Wednesday's Inauguration Day.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Traders must act now with border traffic expected to increase next weekBusinesses and hauliers trading between Great Britain and the EU have been urged to ensure they meet necessary requirements before travelling to the border, as the Government warns that expected traffic could increase next week. Exporters must provide the right documentation to hauliers, including export declarations and the extra certificates needed for products like plant and animal products, and hauliers heading to Kent must get a negative Covid test and obtain a Kent Access Permit before heading to port, or risk facing a fine and being turned away. Since the end of the transition period ...
• First LNG-powered ferry to serve UK takes to the waterThe next ship to join Brittany Ferries’ fleet will be called Salamanca, and will be powered by cleaner LNG. Salamanca’s launch ceremony took place on 6th January 2021 at the CMJL shipyard in Weihai, China, where she is under construction. She is the second of three E-Flexer class ships ordered by Brittany Ferries and will join sister-ship Galicia, when she enters service in the spring of 2022. Fleet renewal is one of the pillars of Brittany Ferries’ five-year recovery plan. The investment in new ships was made well before the pandemic began, but a trio of cleaner, more effici...
• British Airways announces a new partnership with Michelin-starred chef Tom KerridgeBritish Airways has announced that it will be partnering with celebrated, British Michelin-starred chef, Tom Kerridge, who has designed a number of gourmet food items, which include signature pies and sandwiches, to pre-purchase for the airline’s Euro Traveller (short haul economy) customers.   The move marks a renewed focus on the short haul customer experience, which also includes the completion of a full WiFi rollout across its airbus short haul fleet and the ability to pre-order duty free items directly to customers’ seats through its inflight retail site, Highlifesh...
• easyJet cabin crew to be fast tracked to support the NHS vaccination programmeThe NHS is recruiting easyJet cabin crew as vaccinators to support nationwide UK vaccine roll-out. easyJet cabin crew will be trained to administer the vaccine in NHS Vaccine Centres across the UK. Following easyJet’s recent offer of help to the UK Government, easyJet cabin crew are being recruited and fast tracked to support the NHS as part of the vital nationwide effort to distribute the Coronavirus vaccine. The airline wrote to the UK Prime Minister in November to offer support to the Government on its efforts to implement the national Covid-19 vaccination programme this winter. With ...

Railway Gazette

• Hitachi fleets to be fitted with updated brake pads and discsUK: The Class 800/801/802 inter-city trainsets supplied and maintained by Hitachi are to be fitted with a new generation of brake pads and discs which has been developed by Knorr-Bremse to improve brake system performance and reduce life-cycle costs by facilitating longer maintenance intervals.
• High speed train order increasedCHINA: China State Railway Group has awarded the Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation joint venture a 297m yuan contract to supply a further two eight-car CR400AF high speed trainsets by the end of June.

Other News Sources

• Researchers produce lightweight grab-poles with anti-microbial property for public transportSince the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic many people have been, or may feel, hesitant about taking public transport, due to the perceived risk of picking up germs from areas such as the grab-poles on trains, buses and trams, which are the principal point of contact.
• Camelon coach builder commits to electric bus partnershipAlexander Dennis Ltd (ADL) is teaming up with electric mobility firm BYD to design and assemble cutting edge electric single and double decker buses.
• 2020 was the most challenging year the commercial aviation industry has ever faced, yet leasing giant Avolon performed ll.There is little room for argument, 2020 was a disastrous year for commercial aviation, the pandemic and resulting border restrictions and closures caused airlines to ground all or most of their fleets of aircraft for weeks and m months at a time. Even now, the industry is teetering on a knife-edge, with many airlines struggling to survive January alone.  It is a sentiment echoed by Dómhnal Slattery, the CEO of aircraft leasing giant Avolon, which has released its latest figures. 
• Car-free city centre: Poll shows support for proposals MORE than two-thirds of people support a series of environmentally-friendly changes to transport systems in Brighton and Hove, a poll has shown.

News from Europe

• Public transport passengers asked to be silentThe Balearic government has asked passengers on public transport to make their journeys in silence. Not speaking on buses, trains and the Metro is one of the government's public transport recommendations for combating the spread of the virus. Others are paying with the intermodal card or a bank card and planning journeys so as to avoid times when transport is at its busiest.