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

Saturday, 27 February 2021

BBC News

• New West Midlands rail stations get £60m boostFinal sign-off would be in March over plans to build stations, West Midlands mayor Andy Street says.
• HS2 protest: Final activist removed from Euston tunnelThe activist is the ninth person to be removed from the tunnel near Euston station.
• Freeports: What are they and will they make the UK money?Rishi Sunak thinks the low-tax zones will boost struggling parts of the UK - but not everyone agrees.
• British Airways owner IAG calls for digital health passesIAG, which owns British Airways and Iberia, makes a record loss after the pandemic grounds flights.

Department for Transport

• Launch of Project SPEED challenges rail industry to cut time and costs of rail upgradesIn a keynote speech at Project SPEED conference, Rail Minister invites rail industry to pioneer faster, smarter and more efficient infrastructure projects.

Financial Times

• Cruise operators see brighter horizon as vaccines spur bookingsStricken industry has been ravaged by pandemic with losses soaring in third quarter

The Guardian

• Driverless electric bus hits the road in Spanish city of MálagaSelf-driving vehicle can interact with traffic lights and is the first project of its kind in Europe
• Sustainable aviation fuel is the only way forward if we want to keep flying | Paul Callister and Robert McLachlanThe targets envisioned by the Paris Agreement leave no room for fossil fuelled commercial aviation by 2050Aviation is an important part of the global economy; until Covid-19, it was responsible for 2.8% of global CO2 emissions. In New Zealand, aviation is responsible for an even higher percentage of CO2 emissions, the figure having doubled since 1990 to 13% in 2018. The country’s geographic isolation, transport system, international tourist industry, and globally dispersed families have all contributed to the jump in growth and will make reducing emissions a challenge.But New Zealand has signe...

The Telegraph

• I rode the world's first human-powered monorail – here's what it was like [subscription]Picture a reclining bike in a pod, dangling from a rail, and you've got New Zealand's Schweeb Racer

City AM

• Rise in SUVs and car usage hinders net zero targets, spending watchdog saysAn aversion to public transport, made worse due to the pandemic means the UK will have even further to go to reach its net zero emission targets, data from the National Audit Office (NAO) today has shown.

Mail Online

• British Airways owner calls for digital health passes to be introducedIAG's revenues collapsed by 69 per cent from £22.2billion to £6.8billion over the period as the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic hit the company hard.
• E-scooters are banned at night during year-long trial in NewcastleNewcastle council said the new fleet of 250 electric vehicles faces a curfew from 11pm to 5am following complaints people were driving them while drunk.

Birmingham Post

• M6 Toll to introduce ANPR tech to speed up paymentCompany running the motorway north of Birmingham has also outlined a raft of new measures aimed at improving the customer experience

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Northern's new trains reach 10 million-mile landmarkNORTHERN'S new trains have reached a new milestone, having travelled 10 million miles across the network.

The York Press

• Rail compound plan 'wipes £55,000 off house value in days' A COUPLE say £55,000 has been knocked off the value of their house and the buyers of the property pulled out of the sale, after Network Rail unveiled plans for a temporary works compound near the home.
• Yorkshire EV Centre is first all electric vehicle centre, claimAN East Yorkshire man claims to have opened the first electric only car centre in the whole of Yorkshire.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• £30 million plan to boost bus services through Dudley, Sandwell and Birmingham revealedMeasures to improve bus reliability and journey times in parts of the Black Country are underway as part of a £30 million scheme.
• Rail minister announces plan to accelerate major projectsRail Project Speed aims to halve the duration, and significantly reduce the costs, of rail infrastructure work.

Other Regional Press

• Lack of bus services in Havercroft and Netherton costing local economy, Wakefield Rural Conservative councillor claimsPoor quality bus services in Wakefield's rural parts are holding back the local economy, one councillor has claimed.
• For Jaguar Land Rover the future’s electric - or so it seemsHydrogen fuel cell technology offers a different path to electrification

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Fund extended to help level-up every corner of United KingdomA multibillion-pound fund to level-up opportunities is being extended so that people in every region and nation of the UK can benefit. Taking this UK-wide approach makes sure that the UK Government can target funding more efficiently and responsibly between different parts of the country.    Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Barclay, said that communities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will now all benefit from at least £800 million of investment by the UK Government for town centre and high street regeneration, local transport, cultural and heritage projects. ...

New Civil Engineer

• Future of Rail | Completing the UK’s first curved box jackDriving the UK’s first curved box jack for a new rail dive under has just been completed on the East Coast Main Line.

Railnews

• More trains for leisure and a new name for Network Rail? The chairman of Network Rail Sir Peter Hendy has predicted that leisure and holiday travel by train is set to increase, while commuter traffic is likely to continue to fall, confirming a trend which had started before the pandemic. Sir Peter suggested that demand in the rush hours could fall by perhaps 20 per cent, at least for the next three years One consequence could be a rethink of maintenance timetables, with more engineering work taking place on ˜quieter weekdays™. The Network Rail chairman was addressing the National Rail Recovery Conference, which also heard from Keith Williams, whos...
• Rail minister challenges industry to cut costs The government has challenged the rail industry to pioneer new ways of working to halve the time and reduce the cost of completing infrastructure projects, with the launch of the next stage of Rail Project SPEED. In a conference speech today rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris invited the 1,800-strong virtual audience adopt the new approach.

Other News Sources

• UK government launches next stage of Rail Project SPEEDThe next stage of Project SPEED will see the industry pioneer new ways of working to halve the time and reduce the cost of delivering critical infrastructure projects.
• LETTERS: Concerns increase on senseless smart motorway plans for M3SIR: The more I read about the forthcoming smart motorway on the M3 between junctions 9 and 12, the more concerned I become.