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

Tuesday, 15 April 2025

BBC News

• Engineering works to cause rail delays over EasterTrain passengers have been warned of disruption while a track renewal scheme takes place over Easter.
• Inside HS2: Meet London's tunnelling minersThe Northolt tunnels are part of the HS2 project which is 93% complete, the project managers say.

Financial Times

• Shipping’s imperfect new carbon scheme may yet make an impactAlso in today’s newsletter, a new strategy for activist shareholders in Japan
• Ryanair warns aircraft deliveries at risk from tariff chaosAirlines and manufacturers prepare for stand-off over cost of levies

Times Online

• FirstGroup fears Great British Railways will stifle open access [subscription]The UK's largest train operator, warns that GBR could damage competition. Its £223m open access operations generate £37m profit a year
• Bots buying up driving test slots and reselling at mark-up prices [subscription]As drivers face months-long waits, resellers are exploiting the government's creaking booking system to make a profit out of frustrated young people
• Edinburgh trams and buses to introduce tap-on, tap-off payment [subscription]Scottish capital is weeks away from launching new fares system on public transport and officials hope more drivers will leave their cars at home

Birmingham Mail

• Ryanair issues Spain travel warning to millions of UK tourists after war 'escalates'The airline's CEO, Eddie Wilson, plans to withdraw more planes and flights from small and medium-sized airports next winter

Birmingham Post

• Trials held into new future of delivery vehiclesWarwick Manufacturing Group is working with Transport for West Midlands on the project which could see EVs being used for deliveries

Bolton News

• Borough railway station to get new bicycle storage facilitiesA borough railway station is set to be kitted out with new bicycle storage facilities

London Evening Standard

• Police probe after Labour minister seen using phone while driving London busBaron Hendy of Richmond Hill was reportedly seen using his mobile phone to text a friend

Metro

• New £1,000,000,000 Welsh Tube to span 105 miles with trains every 5 minutesCosting a whopping £1,000,000,000, the project is set to span 170 kilometres (105.6 miles) worth of track, introducing 36 tram-style trains across Cardiff and the wider South Wales area.

The York Press

• First Bus announces 245 per cent rise in Tap On Tap Off paymentsFirst Bus has announced that the incidence of the Tap On Tap Off method of fare payment has increased by 245 per cent in the past year.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Birmingham Airport goes '100% solar powered' during sunny spells this monthBosses at Birmingham Airport say a £10m investment in solar panels is paying dividends - after recent sunny weather saw the site fully powered by renewable energy at times during April.

Other Regional Press

• Stansted Airport record-breaking month as winter season endsLondon Stansted Airport saw a record-breaking 2.31 million passengers in March, closing its busiest winter season ever.
• 'Revolutionary' Coventry Very Light Rail 220m track to be ready by MayRailAdventure UK has hopped on board the £189m project led by Coventry City Council
• MP calls for meeting as college faces six-figure transport shortfallIt will have to come out of funds for teaching if there is no resolution

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• CILT (UK) reveals new Chair of Board of Trustees and joint Vice ChairsThe Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT UK) is pleased to announce the appointment of Anna-Jane Hunter as the new Chair of Borad of Trustees, and Antoinette Irvine and Austin Birks as new joint Vice-Chairs - effective as of 24 May. Anna-Jane, the former Vice-Chair, qualified as a Barrister before joining the rail industry 19 years ago. A fellow of the Institute, she has extensive experience leading teams within Network Rail, Train Operating Companies, and multi-agency industry groups. For the last five years she has been an independent operations professional, specialising in...

Modern Railways

• It's now more than 2,000 days since last rail enhancements pipeline announcementIt is now more than 2,000 days since the last official announcement regarding the rail enhancements pipeline was made.

Rail Business Daily

• RailAdventure UK to drive Coventry's revolutionary Very Light Rail testRailAdventure UK, a specialist transport company in the West Midlands, will operate the Coventry Very Light Rail (CVLR) vehicle for the on-road test in the city centre in May and June this year.
• TfW announces details of Wales's first Public Transport SummitTransport for Wales (TfW) has announced that Wales' first Public Transport Summit will take place on May 22 and 23 in Wrexham, North Wales.

Rail Magazine

• Interview: Ian Yeowart of GCR fame on the future of open accessIan Yeowart was instrumental in setting up the Grand Central Railway operation, and more than 25 years later he's still submitting successful applications. He talks to Peter Plisner about open access and changes on the railways.

Railtech

• Germany's 'grand coalition' has grand rail ambitions but without the numbers to matchGermany's conservatives under Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz have secured a coalition deal with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD). So what does that mean for rail? More Deutschlandtickets, Deutsche Bahn 'reform', and digitalisation a priority. But with funding gaps running into the hundreds of billions, critics say the new CDU-SPD coalition is long on promises and short on specifics.

Trafnidiaeth Cymru [Transport for Wales]

• Wales's First Public Transport SummitTransport for Wales is pleased to announce that Wales' first Public Transport Summit will take place on May 22 and 23 in Wrexham, North Wales.

Other News Sources

• New report highlights challenges and opportunities for decarbonisation of the East Midlands Airport ecosystemA new report from the University of Nottingham's Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Social Sciences and EPRI, a non-profit energy research and development organization, has highlighted the issues and potential strategies to decarbonise transport in and around East Midlands Airport (EMA).
• East Midlands Airport study outlines blueprint for transport decarbonisationA new study led by the University of Nottingham and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) lays out a strategic roadmap for decarbonising East Midlands Airport (EMA) and its surrounding transport ecosystem. The work is positioned within the UK's broader target of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
• Ziegler launches 'fastest rail connection between China and Europe'A new rail freight service between China and Europe is born. Logistics company Ziegler is taking goods from Xi'an (China) to Duisburg (Germany) by train, and then covers the last leg by road to Welkenraedt, Belgium. The company calls it the fastest rail connection between China and Europe
• The role of DAC in optimising European rail freight: Challenges and opportunitiesHugo Tabouret, Technical Affairs Manager at UNIFE, sat down with Global Railway Review's Halimah Haque to discuss the potential of Digital Automatic Coupling and its impact on the future of European rail freight.