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

Tuesday, 16 November 2021

BBC News

• East Midlands Railway: Strikes to continue after negotiations stallTrain managers and senior conductors are to strike again in separate disputes about safety, pay and conditions, a union has said.
• Scrapping HS2 Leeds extension 'undermines' levelling upYorkshire leaders hit out at suggestions government is dropping HS2 Leeds extension.
• HS2 rail extension to Leeds set to be scrappedPlans to extend the eastern leg of the high speed network will be ditched in favour of new shorter links.

ITV News

• MPs hit out at reports Northern Powerhouse Rail plans to be scaled backMPs have expressed frustration over reports that rail upgrade plans for the North of England are to be watered down.

Financial Times

• Johnson faces backlash for watering down HS2 rail promisesTory MPs furious over plans to scrap most of north-eastern leg and scale back high speed Leeds-Manchester link
• Private jet rush prompts plane shortage as rich dodge airline woesRecord flight numbers stoke industry scramble to secure planes old or new

The Guardian

• Even if part of HS2 is cancelled, UK transport policy is a high-speed route to chaos | Simon JenkinsI’m glad the folly that is HS2 is being scaled back, but the schemes replacing it are not much betterThis week, a rare outbreak of sanity is predicted in British government rail policy. The eastern branch of David Cameron’s HS2 vanity railway is likely to be cancelled in favour of a flurry of other improvements to rail services. Rather than whingeing, red-wall Tories should be cheering. Their constituents should be getting about sooner and faster, rather than merely getting more swiftly to London some day.This leaves in place the southern leg of what now appears to be principally a London-to-B...

The Independent

• Boris Johnson accused of diluting Northern Powerhouse Rail plans at centre of ‘levelling up’ agendaBoris Johnson's government has been accused of watering down proposals to upgrade train services in the North of England and the Midlands viewed as key to "levelling up" the country outside London.
• What exactly are the plans for HS2 and HS3?The government has leaked details of its ‘Integrated Rail Plan’. What does it mean for the future of train travel?
• Northern Powerhouse Rail isn’t being cut back – it’s being cancelledNorthern Powerhouse Rail isn’t being cut back – it’s being cancelled Train managers and senior conductors are to strike again in separate disputes about safety, pay and conditions, a union has said.

Times Online

• Blow for festive flights with no trains to Heathrow on Boxing Day [subscription]Anyone hoping to travel abroad on Boxing Day should expect serious disruption with both train and Tube connections suspended to Heathrow.

City AM

• Shell moves to UK and ditches ‘Royal Dutch’ name amid lengthy tax dispute and activist pressureRoyal Dutch Shell is moving its headquarters, top executives, and crucially, its tax residence from The Hague to the UK. The move prompted the Dutch government to overhaul a controversial dividend tax which the energy giant had cited as a reason to unify its share structure and shift bases, according to the Financial Times. Shell [...] The post Shell moves to UK and ditches ‘Royal Dutch’ name amid lengthy tax dispute and activist pressure appeared first on CityAM.

i News

• Tory MPs ‘disappointed’ over watering down of Northern Powerhouse RailNorthern Tories say the plan to focus on upgrading existing routes rather than building a new line via Bradford is ‘disappointing’ and risks being a ‘missed opportunity’.

The Mirror

• Christmas travel chaos looms as trains or tubes won't run to or from HeathrowNetwork Rail will not run trains to Heathrow on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, leaving travellers facing costly alternative routes out of the capital

Birmingham Mail

• Transport Secretary Grant Shapps 'putting thousands of jobs at risk' by opposing vital Midlands factoryWhy is the Transport Secretary opposing a planned factory which industry experts say its vital for the future of the West Midlands car industry?
• Fury as Broad Street trams 'not running until 2022' after service suspendedWestside BID manager Mike Olley slams the entire Metro operation and says cost of tram tracks should include lost business revenue

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• PM urged to 'course correct' to save Bradford's Northern Powerhouse Rail plansBORIS Johnson has been urged to “correct the course his Government is onâ€� after it was claimed two rail projects seen as being key to levelling up the North and Yorkshire could be scrapped later this week.

Bristol Live

• Bristol Clean Air Zone: When will the charges operateThe scheme is due to start next summer

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Choose the North: The Government must deliver on rail promisesWe have joined forces with five other major Northern newspaper titles to publish co-ordinated front pages as we demand that the Government Choose the North

Other Regional Press

• Are there enough electric vehicle charging points in Oxford? Readers have their sayOxford Mail readers have been discussing the prospect of switching from cars which run on petrol to electric vehicles.
• MPs 'deeply concerned' government is watering down promises on Northern rail upgradesA long-delayed announcement on planned rail upgrades is due later this week
• Choose the North: The Government must deliver on its rail promisesIt's time to replace rhetoric with reality when it comes to transport across the North
• 'It's a no-brainer': Why Boris Johnson can't afford not to build a high speed Northern Powerhouse Rail station in BradfordLeaders say city's young people are cut off from the rest of the North
• Major disruption to Dorset railway services starts ThursdayA Dorset rail line is to close for 16 days - while another route will also be subject to work for part of the same period.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• DHL announces sustainable aviation fuel partnershipAs part of the COP26 climate conference, Deutsche Post DHL Group announced a step towards introducing climate-friendly aviation logistics.    The Group has agreed a new partnership with Neste to supply the DHL Express division with Sustainable Aviation Fuel at the UK’s East Midlands Airport.    In total, DHL will purchase SAF for more than EUR 60 million by mid-2022, reducing around 70,000 tons of CO2.    This is a first step for the Group to reach its ambitious 2030 target of meeting at least 30 per cent of its fuel needs in aviation through sustainable fue...
• Extra HGV driver training places in boost for veteransThe number of places for veterans to train as HGV drivers will increase under new plans to better prepare service leavers for employment following their military careers.   Under the Career Transition Partnership – the MOD’s official scheme for those transitioning from the military into civilian life - the current provision of 100 training places will increase to nearly 350 places over the next 12 months.   Minister for Defence People and Veterans Leo Docherty said: “This fantastic initiative will provide service leavers and veterans with valuable skills and opportu...
• DB Cargo UK appoints new Chief Operating OfficerDB Cargo UK has appointed a new Chief Operating Officer to drive further improvements in its operational performance and customer service.   Neil Ethell, who was formerly the company’s Head of Operations and Service Delivery, will take over the new role with immediate effect.   Neil has more than two decades of experience in logistics having joined the company in 2002.    Since then he has held a number of senior roles at DB, developing an in-depth knowledge of rail freight operations, service delivery, asset and resource management.   Commenting on his appointme...

New Civil Engineer

• Underground freight system tabled as alternative to controversial Port of Liverpool access roadPioneering underground freight transport technology could provide a zero emissions alternative to the controversial Port of Liverpool access road, according to backers of the system.
• Integrated Rail Plan | Two shorter high-speed sections tipped to replace HS2 eastern legTwo shorter sections of high-speed railway will reportedly be announced as a replacement for High Speed 2’s (HS2) eastern leg connecting the Midlands and Leeds, when the long-awaited Integrated Rail Plan is finally published this week.

Railnews

• Delayed rail plan set to axe HS2 eastern leg MONDAY BRIEFING: Delayed rail plan set to axe HS2 eastern leg ++ Tram cracks halt services ++ West Coast Main Line services disrupted ++ Salisbury trains restored

Other News Sources

• Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands: Arup responseA modern, levelled up UK economy across the North and the Midlands requires enhanced transport connectivity to reach markets and support innovation. The resilience, efficiency and effectiveness of the transport system will therefore be central to future employment and productivity in the UK. 
• Northern Powerhouse Rail plan set to be scrappedHS2’s eastern leg to Leeds also expected to be binned as government gears up to publish long-awaited plan for rail upgrades this week
• New terms agreed for the £200 million Maritime Gateway schemeAs part of Packaged Living’s green rejuvenation of the former Toys R Us site, arrival to the city from Southampton Central train station will be transformed with an attractive new pedestrian route linking the train station and Harbour Parade, aptly named ‘Maritime Promenade’.
• 'Common sense prevailed over Hove cycle lane removal'I'VE A great deal of respect for the environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth.
• Furious residents protest as A27 Arundel Bypass starts to 'scar historic landscape'DIGGERS have