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

Tuesday, 23 November 2021

BBC News

• Bus attack at peace wall treated as a racist hate crimeA brick was thrown at the window of a bus on Saturday night at Cupar Way in north Belfast.
• Whitelee green hydrogen facility to power public transportThe UK government has pledged £9.4m to the project at Whitelee wind farm in East Renfrewshire to make clean fuel.
• New homes in England to have electric car chargers by lawCharging points will also be required in new supermarkets and workplaces in England under government plans.

The Independent

• Boris Johnson pictured without mask on crowded trainAfter being pictured earlier this month without a mask visiting a hospital and attending Cop26 climate summit, prime minister was seen riding public transit without a face covering

The Telegraph

• Tube strikes threaten ‘severe disruption’ in run-up to Christmas

Times Online

• Half a million drivers wait two months for paper licences [subscription]Backlog at DVLA as MPs call for urgent action to fix delays

This is Money

• Raising airport charges would force us to reconsider our presence at Heathrow, warns IAG bossThe chief executive of International Airlines Group (IAG) has warned that British Airways (BA) could reduce flights at Heathrow Airport should passenger charges rise next year.

Belfast Telegraph

• 8. TranslinkFinancial support from its funder the Department for Infrastructure helped Translink, the company behind Ulsterbus, Goldliner, NI Rail, Belfast Metro and the Glider, to reach a pre-tax profit of just under £49m over the year to March 2021, against a budgeted loss of £43.4m.

Birmingham Post

• Welsh Government unveil £45m funding to help SMEs revive and training for new HGV drivers to chefsThe funding has jointly been announced by Economy Minister Vaughan Gething and Education Minister Jeremy Miles

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• University of Bradford academics speak out about scrapped HS2 plansACADEMICS AT the University of Bradford have spoken out about their disappointment regarding the abandonment of the plans for a new high speed rail line between Leeds and Manchester, via Bradford.

Bristol Live

• Clean Air Zone in Bristol: Council ‘hopeful’ it will start late next summerThe go-live target is "challenging", according to the new officer in charge of the project has said

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Fury at Boris Johnson's 'embarrassing' defence of rail plan as PM visits North EastBoris Johnson has been branded “embarrassing” and “patronising” after dismissing North East leaders’ outrage over massively scaled back rail investment.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Expect HS2 traffic chaos in Staffordshire to 'get worse', warns MPTraffic chaos caused by long-running HS2 works is going to

Bucks Free Press

• Chalfont St Peter: New service station on M25 dismissedPlans for a major motorway service station have been dismissed by a government agency.

Doncaster Free Press

• Doncaster MP Ed Miliband calls on PM Boris Johnson to apologise to Mexborough residents over HS2 debacleDoncaster MP Ed Miliband has called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to apologise to the residents of Mexborough forced from their homes to make way for the now axed eastern leg of HS2.

Other Regional Press

• Chesterfield council releases statement on station plans after HS2 eastern leg scrappedCouncil chiefs have released a statement about their plans to transform Chesterfield railway station after news HS2’s eastern leg will not serve the town.

C.N.N.

• Airbus A340 plane lands on Antarctica for first timeFor the first time in history, an Airbus A340 plane has landed on Antarctica. Hi Fly, a boutique aviation company, was behind the flight.

New Civil Engineer

• How self-employment can drive efficiencies on infrastructure projects like HS2However, all these projects are far exceeding their original projected costs – with Hinkley Point expected to cost at least £23bn and HS2 at least £98bn.
• 8 other planned smart motorways that could be paused after M3 job put on iceThe future of National Highways smart motorways programme remains unclear after the country's major roads operator put one of its flagship schemes on pause following recommendations made by MPs.
• Irish Sea crossing ruled out following ex-ICE presidents’ feasibility studyProposals for a bridge or tunnel connecting Britain with Northern Ireland will be officially ruled out following the publication of Union Connectivity Review.
• HS2 | Old Oak Common’s record-breaking station box takes shapeWork to construct the 850m-long station box at HS2’s Old Oak Common station is ramping up.

Aviation Industry

• Can’t touch this: Biometric airport solutions with IDEMIABiometric solutions have played a key role when it comes to opening the aviation industry. Providing a contactless, secure, and efficient means of validating passenger identity, swift boarding, and security control – these solutions have allowed the industry to take to the skies once more.

Green Miscellany

• Coming soon: Roadside cameras to catch drivers using mobile phonesA strengthening of UK law means police will be able to more easily prosecute drivers using a hand-held mobile phone at the wheel. It’s already illegal to text or make a phone call (other than in an emergency) using a hand-held device while driving. However, next year laws will go further to ban drivers from using their phones to take… The post Coming soon: Roadside cameras to catch drivers using mobile phones appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Development of north-south Wales railway to be explored as part of Plaid-Labour cooperation agreementThe development of north-south rail links within Wales are to be explored by the Welsh Government as part of the Plaid Cymru and Labour cooperation agreement.
• Conservatives blast Transport for Wales after yet another overcrowding incidentTransport for Wales still have not learned lessons from overcrowding incidents, according to the Welsh Conservatives.
• ‘Boris Bridge’ study may not come to pass, but it placed renewed focus on NI’s links with GB, says DUPThe feasibility study into the so-called ‘Boris Bridge’ was very useful in highlighting NI’s connections to GB, despite reports that the £20bn project will not go ahead, it is claimed.
• One in every 20 miles of Blackburn with Darwen's roads in 'poor condition'AROUND one in every 20 miles of main road in Blackburn with Darwen needs repairing, figures suggest.
• UK Government unveils £4.3m subsidies for domestic flights, despite green backlash Just weeks after cutting air passenger duty for short-haul flights, in a move broadly dubbed hypocritical in light of national net-zero targets, the UK Government has announced up to £4.3m in additional funding for domestic flight routes.