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

Thursday, 15 October 2026

BBC News

• Great British Railways HQ location confirmedThe headquarters of the new state-owned body for the country's railways has been announced.
• 'Dockless bike crisis' sparks parking zones planThe proposals come after a petition was submitted to the council raising concerns about the bikes.
• Drop-off charges at UK airports to be reviewed after sharp increaseConfirming the review, the government said it was "vital to ensure travel remains accessible and that passengers are treated fairly".

Department for Transport

• Great British Railways takes shape as HQ and apprenticeship scheme confirmedNew headquarters in Derby will employ up to 450 staff and open up apprenticeships for up to 600 young people.

The Guardian

• 'A big responsibility': Clifton Suspension Bridge master hails £7.6m renovationEngineer Tristan Ralph describes task of maintaining and running Bristol structure without public money
• Uber begins self-driving robotaxi trial in ManchesterCompany hails first step in rolling out technology across UK as first autonomous vehicles take to city's streets

The Independent

• Heidi Alexander says third Heathrow runway could grow 'every corner' of UKThe Transport Secretary has insisted 'Britain loses by standing still' as she said Heathrow expansion could help grow the economy, after the airport's boss hit out at the uncertainty over plans for a third runway.

The Scotsman

• Tree sculpture tribute to navvies who built Fort William-Mallaig rail line 125 years agoA wooden sculpture to commemorate the thousands of navvies who built the Fort William-Mallaig line since beloved by Harry Potter fans has been carved from a tree stump to mark its 125th anniversary.

The Telegraph

• Airport drop-off charges to be reviewed after Labour 'about-turn' [subscription]Aviation minister launches investigation into how £300m annual revenue from 'kiss and fly' fees is spent
• Minister's Heathrow climate claim 'implies cull of every cow in Britain' [subscription]Claims that emissions from Heathrow's third runway could be offset by cutting greenhouse gases elsewhere would only be true if Britain culled all its cows and livestock, MPs have been told.

Times Online

• 'Rip-off' fees for airport drop-offs set to be reviewed [subscription]The government will examine the affordability of the charges and what airports do with the estimated £300m-a-year revenue
• Heathrow's dreams are pie in the skyWith such obvious questions over affordability, it's no wonder the prime minister has not rushed to embrace the airport's expansion plan

Transport Committee

• Minister agrees to Committee?s call on rail passenger watchdogThe government has agreed to a key recommendation made by the Transport Committee and revised its plans for setting up the new rail passengers' council.

City AM

• Heathrow rejects calls to put affordability at heart of third runway debateAffordability should not be included in the scorecard that the government sets third runway developers, Heathrow's operations chief has told MPs, rejecting industry concerns that costs could spiral after ministers rubber stamp a design.

Mail Online

• Labour at war over Heathrow's £33billion third runway as Transport Secretary warns 'Britain loses by standing still' - as Burnham is accused of dithering over backingOne of Andy Burnham's top ministers warned 'Britain loses by standing still' as she backed plans for a third runway at Heathrow, amid deepening questions over the Prime Minister's support for the scheme.

Local Government

• Becketwell is the new home of Great British RailwaysBecketwell has been announced as the home of the new Great British Railways headquarters A landmark decision set to brings hundreds of high-quality jobs and a key government operation to the heart of the city.

Network Rail

• Passengers advised to plan ahead as £27.8m Dolphin Junction upgrade takes place to improve journeys on route to London PaddingtonNetwork Rail is upgrading Dolphin Junction in Slough, replacing ageing points, improving the track layout and upgrading overhead line equipment to deliver more reliable journeys for the millions of people who travel through the area each year. New track will also be installed, alongside a deep clean of Paddington station.
• Wales and Borders first to use railway communication masts for new weather monitoring technologyNetwork Rail's Wales and Borders route has become the first in the organisation to install local weather stations on existing GSM-R railway communication masts, providing more accurate, real-time information to help teams respond to severe weather.

Derby Telegraph

• Huge 600 jobs boost as Derby's Great British Railways HQ decidedDerby's newly regenerated Becketwell zone will be the home of Great British Railways (GBR) - it has today (Thursday, October 15) been announced.

Edinburgh Evening News

• 'Enough is enough': Business leaders brand Edinburgh Airport arrivals 'woefully inadequate'Edinburgh business leaders have branded the standard of arrivals at Edinburgh Airport as 'woefully inadequate', urging the country's busiest airport to urgently prioritise customer experience amid expansion plans.

LBC

• 'Britain loses by standing still!' Transport Secretary ramps up pressure on PM to back Heathrow's third runwayHeidi Alexander told a conference that the Government still needed to make a final decision about the expansion

London Evening Standard

• Richard Branson's Virgin orders 12 international trains which could stop at two major London stationsThe Virgin Group aims to introduce 20 daily return services between the capital, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam from 2030, adding nearly 7.5 million seats to the cross-Channel route a year.

Nation. Cymru

• Opposition grows towards demolition of town's historic Victorian railway ticket officePlans for a new £33 million transport interchange which involves demolishing a town's historic 111-year-old Victorian railway ticket office, has sparked local debate and growing opposition.
• Cardiff Airport refuses to explain big pay rise for directorsCardiff Airport has come in for severe criticism after refusing to explain a sharp rise in its directors' remuneration.

Wales Online

• Cardiff Bus workers to vote on strike action over working conditionsCardiff faces potential transport disruption this autumn following a planned strike ballot by bus workers
• Cost of first phase of Cardiff Crossrail tram-train line soarsThe first phase of the Cardiff Crossrail long-term vision from Cardiff Council will require additional government funding

Yorkshire Post

• Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Mayor defiant after return dates for flights pushed back againThe Mayor of Doncaster has attacked suggestions that the recent projection that passenger flights will return to Doncaster Sheffield Airport in 'Spring 2028' are another 'pushback'.
• 'It's in black and white': Labour accused of betrayal over electric trains to HullHull's newest peer has accused the Government of dodging its promise to electrify rail links to the city through Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Cambridge News

• Money 'better spent on improving A10' than building new buswayCambridgeshireLive readers believe money would be better spent on improving the A10 and the Milton Park and Ride than a new busway

Doncaster Free Press

• Mayor Ros Jones' big hint that Doncaster Sheffield Airport lease renegotiation has succeededMayor Ros Jones and her team have offered their strongest hint yet that the renegotiation of the Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) lease has been successful.

South Wales Argus

• M4 junction closures around Newport among proposalsContained within the detail, which included a new emphasis on improving public transport as well as new investment in infrastructure, was the possibility of M4 junction closures around Newport.

Other Regional Press

• Inverness named one of Scotland's festive getaways in new ScotRail campaignThe selection forms part of ScotRail's new dating app-inspired campaign, putting a different kind of single on the market and encouraging passengers to find their perfect Scottish destination.
• New busway approved between Waterbeach and CambridgeA new busway has been approved despite fears that issues with current routes are 'damaging public trust'.
• Brighton among hardest-hit areas as road quality declinesBrighton and Hove has been named as having the most main roads in a poor condition in the country.
• Cambrian Line 'needs improvement' after summer of disruptionPassengers on the Cambrian Line deserve modern, reliable trains and a service they can depend on
• Cheaper A303 measures identified after tunnel scheme axedA range of cheaper measures to tackle congestion and safety problems on the A303 has been identified after the Government scrapped the controversial Stonehenge tunnel scheme.
• Putney warns MPs a Heathrow third runway would halve its quietPutney's civic society told MPs yesterday that a third runway at Heathrow would cut north Putney's daily break from planes from nine hours to about four and a half.
• 'Ghost town' threat to Heathrow Airport if third runway proves too costly, MPs warnedHeathrow Airport risks becoming a 'ghost town' if the Government presses ahead with a third runway scheme which is unaffordable, MPs have been warned.
• Heidi Alexander says third Heathrow runway could grow 'every corner' of UKThe Transport Secretary has insisted 'Britain loses by standing still' as she said Heathrow expansion could help grow the economy, after the airport's boss hit out at the uncertainty over plans for a third runway.
• Lib Dem Peer keeps up pressure on rail electrificationLord Dave McCobb, Hull's Liberal Democrat Peer, has accused the Government of dodging its promise to electrify the city's railway.

Train Operators

• LNER Announced as Official Travel Partner of Light Night Leeds 2026LNER has been announced as the Official Travel Partner of Light Night Leeds 2026, helping connect visitors from across the UK to one of the country's largest and most celebrated annual arts and light festivals.

Business Live

• Heathrow in new agreement with Welsh green steelmaker 7 SteelHeathrow Airport has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 7 Steel UK aimed at sourcing significant volumes of green steel from its electric arc furnace plant in Cardiff.

Construction Enquirer

• East West Rail alliance lined up for £650m extensionNetwork Rail is lining up £650m of extra work for its East West Rail alliance to boost capacity and help handle demand from the planned Universal theme park near Bedford.
• Roads axe hits 24 projects across EnglandTwo dozen road projects across England have been dropped from the government's funding programme.

Highways News

• Burnham-on-Sea M5 roundabout upgrade included in Somerset's £283m transport planSomerset Council's Executive has approved a Local Transport Delivery Plan setting out how more than
• Minister warns funding cannot cover every road scheme as Government moves into delivery phaseRoads Minister Justin Madders has warned that the Government cannot afford all proposed local road schemes, while promising to move into delivery on major investment programmes and hold councils accountable for maintenance funding.

Modern Railways

• Welsh Government says TfW will build stations on Network Rail infrastructureThe Welsh Government says Transport for Wales will build new stations on the South Wales main line, which is not devolved. It urges its UK counterpart to bring forward funding, already allocated so TfW retains skills from the Core Valley Lines modernisation, now nearing completion.

New Civil Engineer

• Welsh Senedd moves motion to review operation of Barnett Formula in light of 'unfair rail funding'Members of the Senedd have backed calls for the UK Government to accelerate its commitment to investment in rail infrastructure in Wales and allow Welsh ministers to have more flexibility over funding from Westminster.

Rail Business Daily

• Great British Railways HQ and apprenticeship scheme confirmedThe site of Great British Railways' (GBR) headquarters has been unveiled in Derby, with up to 600 young residents also set to benefit from new apprenticeship places opening over the next four years.
• £27.8m Dolphin Junction to begin in NovemberNetwork Rail is set to upgrade Dolphin Junction in Slough, replacing ageing points, improving the track layout and upgrading overhead line equipment.

Rail Magazine

• GBR apprenticeship scheme launched as HQ location chosenDerby had been chosen to house GBR's HQ in 2023 and a central brownfield site, Becketwell, has now been selected as the preferred location in the city.
• Guest comment: I'm leaving, but the best is yet to come for railWhen I joined the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) 11 years ago, rail was not an industry I had ever imagined for myself. I arrived from banking and quickly discovered a new language of acronyms, systems and terminology. It took me several years to get to grips with it, and I've continued learning right until the end.

Rail UK

• Rail Minister agrees to Transport Committee's call on rail passenger watchdogThe government has agreed to a key recommendation made by the Transport Committee and revised its plans for setting up the new rail passengers' council.

Railway Gazette

• EVB retains operating contract but warns of hydrogen train availability problemsGERMANY: Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG has awarded Eisenbahnen & Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser the next contract to operate regional passenger train service RB33 between Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven and Buxtehude.

TaxiPoint

• Government says no TfL guidance is required for driverless 'robo-cab' permits Perry RichardsonGovernment says no TfL guidance is required for driverless 'robo-cab' permits Perry Richardson

Aviation Industry

• UK Transport Secretary confirms government's commitment to aviation growthTransport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, today provided some insights into the government's thinking on the future development and growth of the UK aviation industry.

Other News Sources

• Welsh Senedd Barnett Formula review: rail funding implications for engineersWelsh Senedd members have passed a motion calling for a review of the Barnett Formula and for rail to be formally devolved, arguing that UK Government classification of HS2 as an 'England and Wales' project has denied Wales billions in consequential funding.
• Amey's Northern Powerhouse Rail Phase One role: integration lessons for engineersAmey has been appointed by Network Rail as system integrator for six projects forming Phase One of Northern Powerhouse Rail, covering early-stage integration of track, signalling, power and digital control systems across multiple routes.
• News: £27.8 billion fund to support next wave of South Yorkshire growth projectsThe £27.8 billion fund was created by the Government to back regional growth and clean energy.
• Network Rail engages market on £15M high-output surveys frameworkThe preliminary market engagement notice was published at the start of October, inviting suppliers to contribute to the development of a proposed high-output surveys framework. Network Rail said the new framework would support the development, maintenance, renewal and enhancement of the railway network.