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

Wednesday, 01 April 2020

BBC News

• Job losses feared as Wabtec rail yard in Kilmarnock 'faces closure'A union claims 100 jobs are under threat at the Wabtec factory in Kilmarnock
• Coronavirus: British Airways suspends all Gatwick flightsThe airline says it is facing a challenging environment in
• Coronavirus: 'I don't want a flight voucher, where's my refund?'The airlines' trade body wants to give vouchers for cancelled flights but passengers are unhappy.

ITV News

• Appeal for retired rail workers to come back to help keep trains runningNetwork Rail is appealing for former professional signallers across the region to help make sure the railway can continue running during the coronavirus crisis.

Financial Times

• Shipping groups make plea to help fatigued crews go homeTens of thousands of mariners are stranded because of coronavirus restrictions
• Dubai vows to support Emirates as global airlines race for cashGovernment to inject equity into state-owned carrier in latest intervention in aviation sector
• Uber Eats accelerates push into grocery deliveriesFood delivery platform has struck deals with major global retailers including French supermarket Carrefour

The Guardian

• Captain of coronavirus-hit US aircraft carrier warns sailors will die if not let off shipCarrier with thousands onboard is docked in Guam, which is struggling to handle local caseload of Covid-19 infectionsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe captain of a US aircraft carrier, with 5,000 people onboard, including an unconfirmed number who have tested positive for Covid-19, has called for help to save the lives of his sailors.The US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt was in the Pacific when the navy reported its first coronavirus case a week ago. It has since pulled into port in Guam, a US island territory in the western Pacific. Continue reading...

Times Online

• London drivers still clogging the streets [subscription]Traffic levels in London are higher than in other big European capitals, suggesting that large numbers of unnecessary journeys are still being made.
• Funding for bus firms to help key staff reach work [subscription]Bus operators will be given a multimillion-pound funding deal after passenger numbers fell by more than 80 per cent in less than a month.

Daily Express

• Furious Britons slam travel firms for 'dragging heels' on COVID-19 holiday repaymentsFURIOUS holidaymakers have hit out at travel firms online as they battle to get refunds for Easter breaks that were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mail Online

• Airline staff at Bali airport give British tourists a musical send-offUpbeat employees were seen playing tambourines and singing 'Stand by Me' by John Lennon as tourists boarded a rescue flight home. It was taken by couple Joel Nantel and Millie Sandy, 24.

Birmingham Mail

• Petrol stations 'will be forced to close amid coronavirus crisis'The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) stated that sites in rural areas where fuel use has collapsed the most are particularly vulnerable
• Free shuttle buses to transport NHS staff and social care workers in BirminghamEach minibus will carry a maximum of two passengers to ensure social distancing is maintained
• What Birmingham's Spaghetti Junction looks like amid coronavirus crisisSpaghetti Junction serves 18 routes and normally carries over 200,000 vehicles a day

Liverpool Echo

• Trains to stop at 7pm as coronavirus lockdown continuesMore changes to Merseyrail services could cause havoc for key workers still travelling around Merseyside

Manchester Evening News

• What 'rush hour' looked like on Manchester's motorways tonightOur region's motorways have looked dramatically different since lockdown measures were introduced

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• It's full steam ahead for tank engine left to rust outside for 30 yearsFive years of work by volunteers will come to fruition when 'Horden' gets back on track at Tanfield Railway
• Coronavirus could delay arrival of new £362m Metro fleetThe long-awaited replacements for the Tyne and Wear rail network's ageing carriages should start arriving in the region in late 2022 and be in use from summer 2023

Kent Online

• Coronavirus Kent: Eurostar ceases travel from Ashford International and Ebbsfleet International StationsEurostar has stopped operating to and from stations in Kent amid the coronavirus crisis. The international train company has cancelled any services stopping or leaving both Ashford International and Ebbsfleet International Stations for the foreseeable future.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Coronavirus: temporary changes to driver CPC requirementsThe government has released guidance confirming temporary changes to allow bus and lorry drivers who cannot complete compulsory CPC training to continue to drive. Most professional lorry and bus drivers must complete 35 hours periodic training every 5 years to maintain a driver qualification card (DQC). During the coronavirus outbreak it may be difficult for drivers to complete the required training. The Department for Transport has therefore put in place temporary changes in professional driver qualification requirements This means that drivers whose DQC expires in the period from 1 March 2...

Construction Enquirer

• Network Rail calls for fresh engineering ideas for tunnel upgradesNetwork Rail has challenged the industry’s engineers to come up with less disruptive solutions for renewing the country’s ageing tunnel network.

Railnews

• 31 March: news in brief ++ LNER restores trains to Hull ++ West Country main line reopens

Green Miscellany

• Grow a bamboo bicycleMichael Gove said last week that visiting an allotment seemed a perfectly sensible thing to do given the current restrictions. He won’t have had in mind, but people have taken to growing their own bicycles. Bicycles built from bamboo are nothing new. However,  despite the fact they offer a sustainable and practical alternative to steel it’s a method of construction… The post Grow a bamboo bicycle appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• TSSA calls on Transport Minister Matheson to send non-essential transport staff homeTSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes today (Wednesday) called on Scottish Transport Minister Michael Matheson to send all non-essential transport workers home to fight the spread of Coronavirus. Workers who aren't essential for the running of trains, buses or ferries must not be put in harms way.
• Grand Central will continue operationsGrand Central is an open access train firm operating over the ECML (East Coast Mainline). It competes with rival LNER over part of its network.
• BNEF: Green hydrogen could slash energy, transport and industry emissions by one-third Large-scale, global deployment of renewable hydrogen across the energy, transport and industrial sectors could reduce their annual emissions by up to 34% by 2050 - at a "manageable cost".