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

Thursday, 23 June 2022

BBC News

• Thirty Worcestershire bus routes face axe as firm loses £1m a yearBus passengers in parts of Worcestershire could lose almost all services unless more people start using them, a travel operator has warned.
• Leicester's new St Margaret's bus station due to openLeicester's new £14.3m bus station is set to open, following 18 months of work. The city council said St Margaret's bus station, in Gravel Street, would open to passengers on 27 June.
• Rail strike: Law change would allow agency staff to cover industrial actionMinisters say the plan, which needs Parliament's approval, would limit the impact of future strikes.
• Easyjet cancels flights between Isle of Man and ManchesterThe flights, which have been scrapped for four months, are due to resume at the start of November.
• New Tesla factories losing billions of dollars, Musk saysElon Musk said the Covid-19 lockdown in Shanghai was
• Rail strike: Second day of action under way after talks collapseThursday's strike is set to have a similar impact as Tuesday's, with just 20% of services running.

Financial Times

• Heathrow airport raises outlook as travel demand surgesNearly 9mn more passengers than expected will travel through UK's biggest airport this year
• Britain's rail strike exposes reforms needed to put industry back on trackLower passenger numbers since Covid and outdated working practices have left hole in finances
• Rail chief threatens to go over union's head on UK strikesNetwork Rail boss proposes polling staff directly on modernisation as Thursday action set to cripple services

The Guardian

• UK rail strike: second day of action to go ahead after talks fail againRMT accuses government of wrecking negotiations as operators and passengers prepare to face further disruption on ThursdayTalks to avert a second national rail strike collapsed in rancour as the two sides traded insults in a bitter war of words as millions of passengers faced another day of disruption.

The Telegraph

• Train strikes latest: Commuters brace for more carnage as rail workers walk out againPassengers are facing more travel carnage this morning as workers cripple the rail network with the largest industrial action in a decade.

Times Online

• Unions pile pressure on bosses after 7% pay dealUnions hailed a “new benchmark” for pay awards last night as rail workers in Liverpool were given a 7.1 per cent rise.

Reuters News

• London's Heathrow raises passenger traffic, cost forecastsJune 23 (Reuters) - London's Heathrow said on Thursday demand for travel has been stronger than expected, prompting Britain's busiest airport to raise its passenger number forecast for the year, while costs are also on the rise.

City AM

• Brits put off buying EV due to record inflationBrits are becoming increasingly put off buying electric vehicles (EV) due to rocketing inflation rates. According to a research published today by Close Brothers Motor Finance (CBMF), 41 per cent of Britons have decided against going electric as a result of the cost-of-living crisis. Figures reported that 84 per cent of people are taking at [...] The post Brits put off buying EV due to record inflation appeared first on CityAM.

Belfast Telegraph

• Rail workers stage their second strike of the week after talks failThousands of railway workers were staging their second strike of the week on Thursday after talks failed to resolve a bitter row over pay, jobs and conditions.

Bristol Live

• Thousands apply for Clean Air Zone grants and loans Eligible applicants will be contacted from August

Nation. Cymru

• Welsh Government and Network Rail at loggerheads over ‘staff removed to England’ claimThe Welsh Government and Network Rail are at loggerheads over a claim made by the First Minister that staff were “removed” from working on railways in Wales to keep open railways in England.

Wales Online

• What people make of the new 20mph speed limits in CardiffThe speed limits have now come into force in areas of North Cardiff

Yorkshire Post

• Ghost train stations of Yorkshire could come back to life under government levelling up plansRestoring swathes of South Yorkshire’s abandoned railway network could be a prime levelling-up opportunity, according to Mayor Oliver Coppard.

Other Regional Press

• Sadiq Khan could be given new powers to raise taxes in 'radical' plans that could fund Crossrail 2 train lineSadiq Khan and other mayors across England would be handed new powers to raise taxes - and face extra scrutiny - under plans backed by a high-profile Conservative group. The Conservative-backing Onward think tank has published a new report setting out how the UK is one of the “most centralised countries” in the developed world and that - despite the promises and rhetoric of successive governments - the situation is getting worse rather than better.
• HS2 Crewe bill passes second reading: MP says line will improve young people's opportuntiiesCrewe and Nantwich MP, Dr Kieran Mullan, has spoken in Parliament about the opportunities HS2 will bring to local people - following the passing of the bill's second reading.
• New train line to link 'left-behind' South Yorkshire towns with Sheffield city centre jobsThe Barrow Hill Line could reopen with stations in Whittington, Barrow Hill/Staveley, Eckington/Renishaw and Killamarsh

British Trams Online

• Tyne and Wear Metro completes tactile paving installation at all stationsEvery platform on every Tyne and Wear Metro station now has tactile paving on the platform edge – making it the first rail network in England to have this feature, giving a major accessibility upgrade for blind and partially sighted people.

New Civil Engineer

• UK Infrastructure Bank to prioritise clean energy schemesThe UK Infrastructure Bank will prioritise investment in clean energy schemes. Launching its first Strategic Plan today, the bank’s chief executive John Flint said that improving energy security and supply is a “top priority” which will help deliver the UK’s Net Zero commitments and tackle regional economic inequality.
• How a £3.2bn Crossrail extension into Kent could be fundedTransport for the South East (TfSE) has outlined a method through which it can gather £3.2bn of funding to build an extension of the Elizabeth line that would see it extend to Ebbsfleet and beyond to Gravesend.
• How a £3.2bn Crossrail extension into Kent could be fundedTransport for the South East (TfSE) has outlined a method through which it can gather £3.2bn of funding to build an extension of the Elizabeth line that would see it extend to Ebbsfleet and beyond to Gravesend.

Railnews

• Network Rail invites RMT to fresh consultation talks Fresh talks are reported to have been arranged for today with the RMT in a fresh bid to end the dispute which is reducing rail services to a fifth of their normal level on three days this week. Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines has defended plans to reduce the number of maintenance staff, because systems of monitoring track are now much more efficient and do not need people walking along the lines. He also said it is planned to cut the number of jobs by a process of natural wastage or voluntary severance rather than compulsory redundancies.

The Business Desk

• Boost for bus services as Sprint’s first phase completesBuses using the A34 and A45 in Birmingham can bypass traffic jams to offer passengers quicker journeys and more reliable services now major upgrades have completed.

Aviation Industry

• “Strengthen UK ETS to help ensure aviation pays its climate cost” says AEFAEF has responded to Government proposals on “Developing the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. The UK was previously part of the EU's Emissions Trading System, which works by imposing an emissions

Other News Sources

• London Heathrow Lifts Passenger Forecast, Citing Bookings TrendLondon’s Heathrow airport lifted its full-year passenger forecast, citing updated information on schedules and bookings and the limited impact of capacity caps imposed to boost resilience as travel rebounds.
• UK Infrastructure Bank outlines plans to funnel £22bn into clean energy, transport and digitalisationThe UK’s Infrastructure Bank has outlined how it plans to invest £22bn to “tackle climate change and regional inequalities”, with clean energy listed as the largest area of investment across technologies like subsidy-free renewables, low-carbon hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS).