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

Tuesday, 23 February 2021

BBC News

• Brexit: Mid and East Antrim Council rejects inquiry into port checks decisionMid and East Antrim councillors vote against investigating the withdrawal of Brexit checks staff.
• Covid in Scotland: Drones to carry Covid samplesThe medical cargo is being carried up to 40 miles in hard-to-reach parts of Argyll and Bute.
• Boeing 777: Signs of 'metal fatigue' found on Denver plane engineThe aircraft had to make an emergency landing after its engine failed, scattering debris over homes below.

Financial Times

• Dozens of Boeing 777 aircraft grounded after United engine failure US regulator orders inspections of planes using Pratt & Whitney’s PW4000-112 turbines
• ‘Metal fatigue’ believed to have caused Boeing engine to break apartFederal investigators examine damage to jet turbine on United Airlines flight

The Guardian

• Air New Zealand to trial Covid vaccine passport on Sydney flightsAirline aims to ‘streamline health verification’ for travel as vaccinations begin Air New Zealand will trial a digital vaccine passport in April on flights between Auckland and Sydney with Qantas investigating similar technology.As vaccination begins in Australia, attention has turned to the potential resumption of international travel and how Australia could track whether potential visitors have been vaccinated. Continue reading...
• Denver plane engine fire consistent with metal fatigue in fan blade, say investigatorsUS reveals preliminary results of inquiry into Pratt & Whitney engine fire that led to grounding of dozens of Boeing 777s around the worldMetal fatigue in the fan blades may have been behind the engine failure of a Boeing jet in Denver at the weekend, the US National Transportation Safety Board has said.The Pratt & Whitney engine caught fire shortly after take off on a United Airlines Boeing 777-200, during a flight from Denver to Honolulu, with 231 passengers and 10 crew onboard. Pilots issued a mayday call and returned to Denver. Continue reading...
• Tunnel visions and the romance of the railways in Scotland | LettersReaders respond to an article by Ian Jack on proposals for a rail tunnel between Scotland and Northern Ireland and a long-lost railway lineIan Jack (A tunnel linking Scotland and Northern Ireland? Fantasy has replaced British modesty, 19 February) mentioned “a vast munitions dump on the seabedâ€� on the route of the proposed rail tunnel between Scotland and Northern Ireland. The dump lies in the Beaufort Dyke, a deep trench in the North Channel. I reported its presence nearly 30 years ago for BBC News. The Ministry of Defence originally told me that it had dumped munitions there since the end of...
• Fifth HS2 protester leaves Euston tunnelLarch Maxey’s exit leaves four in tunnel, as judge grants possession order to HS2A fifth HS2 protester has voluntarily left the Euston tunnel, leaving four people still in occupation.The decision by Dr Larch Maxey came on the same day that a high court judge granted a possession order to HS2 for the site in London. Continue reading...

Times Online

• Employment tribunal was entitled to find that Uber drivers are covered by ‘worker’ protectionsAn employment tribunal was entitled to find that private hire vehicle drivers, whose work was arranged through Uber’s smartphone app, worked for Uber under workers’ contracts and so qualified for the national minimum wage, paid annual leave and other workers’ rights.

Birmingham Post

• Muted response to potential Manchester Airport rail link loss for South HumberChamber, LEP and pan-Humber place marketing board all tight-lipped ahead of March 10 consultation deadline

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Multi-million pound plans to transform railway station at gateway to the DalesMULTI- million pound plans for the redevelopment of Skipton Railway Station have been thrown open to the public for comment.
• Objections to traffic calming measures on Hollingwood LaneDOZENS of people have objected to proposals to install traffic calming measures on a Bradford street.
• Clean Air Zone to start in Bradford in January A NEW Clean Air Zone could be fully implemented in Bradford by January.

Northern Echo

• MP calls for reopening of railway extensionAN MP has launched a campaign to look at reopening a railway to link a rural community to a main line.

Bucks Free Press

• HS2 slammed after dead shrew found inside rubbish-filled trap by angry residentHS2 have been accused of wildlife crimes after a dead shrew was discovered at one of their development sites by a concerned walker.

Cambridge News

• TUI, Jet2, easyJet and Ryanair latest flight and holiday updatesBoris Johnson said: "A successor to the global travel task force will report by April 12 so that people can plan for the summer.â€�

C.N.N.

• Engine on United Airlines flight was showing signs of metal fatigue, NTSB saysThe Pratt & Whitney engine that failed minutes into United Airlines flight 328 showed signs of metal fatigue, investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board said during their first public briefing on Monday.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Yodel cuts emissions by 25%UK independent parcel carrier Yodel has reduced its carbon emissions by 25% despite record growth over the last five years. The significant reduction can be attributed to Yodel’s £17m investment in its fleet and technology.  Fleet improvements As part of its long-term commitment to more sustainable deliveries, Yodel has introduced a policy whereby all vehicles owned by the business must be three years old or younger. Thanks to this initiative, every Yodel vehicle is Low Emissions Zone (LEZ), Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ), and Euro 6 compliant, meeting all Clean Air Zones (C...
• Business support scheme to boost UK space industry has lift offThe up to 10-week Business Accelerator programme, delivered in partnership with business growth experts from Entrepreneurial Spark and The University of Strathclyde, offers free virtual sessions to help companies with their sights set on space to make progress. Businesses that may not have previously considered the opportunities presented by the space industry can also benefit. Pre-launch activity already involves a nationwide targeting of relevant businesses to alert them to the possibilities for growth. The scheme, getting under way in early March, aims to find entrepreneurs from a wide ra...
• Government announces plan to scrap EU law, ensuring British drivers avoid £50 a year insurance hikeBritish drivers will avoid an estimated £50 a year increase in motor insurance costs as the government confirms it plans to do away with the controversial EU ‘Vnuk’ law, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced. The Vnuk law requires a wider range of vehicles than those such as cars and motorbikes to be insured, including ones previously not requiring insurance, such as golf buggies, mobility scooters and quad bikes. The law also extends to vehicles on private land, meaning people with a ride-on lawnmower at home would require insurance where it would have previously not ...

New Civil Engineer

• Costain Skanska JV ‘finishes’ construction of Crossrail’s Paddington stationConstruction at Crossrail’s Paddington station is now “sufficiently finished”. Crossrail announced that work on the central London station has now reached its T-12 landmark.
• Five contractors to build and upgrade London’s roads, bridges and tunnelsTransport for London (TfL) has awarded five contractors places on a new framework to construct and repair its highways network, including the construction and maintenance of bridges and tunnels.
• Crossrail urged to delay schedule to ease ‘intense pressure’ on assurance workersJacobs has encouraged Crossrail bosses to push back the project’s schedule to ease the “intense pressure” on assurance workers.
• Underground roundabout beneath Isle of Man proposed to link three Irish Sea tunnelsDowning Street officials have proposed an “underground roundabout” alternative to the Irish Sea tunnel plan championed by prime minister Boris Johnson.

The Business Desk

• £82m railway station scheme remains on trackWork has begun to install the cladding at the redevelopment of Coventry Railway Station as the £82m project remains on track to be completed for UK City of Culture.

Transport Network

• New rapid COVID test to support key workersSiemens Healthineers has released the CLINITEST Rapid COVID-19 Antigen Test - a 15-minute nasal swab test to benefit at-need and on-site workers such as transport staff.

Other News Sources

• Mark Griffin, Hydrogen Market Development Manager for Clean Fuels, BOC, explains how to deploy hydrogen transport infrastructure to meet net-zero in this guide for councilsIn the last two years, 74% of UK councils have declared climate emergencies, including eight combined authorities/city regions. The challenge for many is to act on their declarations. That means committing to policy, funding green infrastructure projects and engaging with the public, businesses and public sector stakeholders to lower emissions.
• Downham Market GP calls for return of the Lynn to Norwich trainMore than 600 people have already signed a petition by a Downham GP calling for the train line between Lynn and Norwich to be reinstated.
• Oooo, look: A new Island Line train on the back of a lorry, making its way down hereImagine driving along on the motorway and suddenly spotting one of the new Island Line Class 484 trains in front of you.
• 'Let's work together to make city's road and pavements safe'I WAS so encouraged to read about the plan to make Madeira Drive a