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

Tuesday, 02 March 2021

BBC News

• Vauxhall: Business Secretary 'hopeful' over car plant futureThe owner of the Ellesmere Port factory, which employs about 1,000 workers, is in talks with the government.
• Heathrow Airport seven-hour queues 'inhumane', say passengersTravellers complain of having to queue for up to seven hours because of new Covid measures at border control.
• Volvo Cars bets on electric vehiclesVolvo is only going to sell electric cars by 2030, the Swedish firm says.

Financial Times

• Cruise liners: fear and floatingVessels offer a leveraged bet on travel recovery but it is better to stay on the dock and wave them off

The Guardian

• Plug-in hybrid cars burn more fuel than tests record, says Which?Research suggests pollution from the vehicles could be worse than advertised. Plug-in hybrid cars burn significantly more fuel than official tests record, according to research that suggests pollution from the vehicles could be much worse than advertised.Tests of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) by Which?, the UK consumer group, found that some popular cars achieved as little as a third of the fuel economy advertised in official tests.

The Telegraph

• Lime electric bicycle batteries to become Bluetooth speakers in deal with British startup [subscription]The partnership is an industry first for the lithium-ion batteries, which are not normally reused in consumer products

Times Online

• Turn off engines at traffic lights to cut emissionsMotorists have been told to turn off engines at traffic lights to cut emissions even if they only stop for seconds.
• Plug-in hybrid cars can use four times more fuel than makers claim [subscription]Plug-in hybrid cars consume up to four times more fuel than advertised, dealing a fresh blow to the vehicles’ green credentials, according to research.

Belfast Telegraph

• Bomb disposal diver says Boris Johnson's Irish Sea bridge is 'impractical but not impossible' A bridge or tunnel connecting Northern Ireland to Scotland is

Birmingham Mail

• Cabbie denied Covid grant by city council is making just £20 a dayWaqar Khan, 48, has lost over 80 percent of his custom during the pandemic - but was denied a £1,000 Covid support grant as he lives just a mile over the city border in Smethwick
• Birmingham bus lane fines net staggering £4.7m for city council in two yearsDrivers were issued with almost 200,000 fines in 2018 and 2019 as motorists strayed into public transport zones

Birmingham Post

• World’s fastest all-electric plane weeks from flying300mph, battery-powered ‘Spirit of Innovation’ carries out successful runway test ahead of first flight
• Airbus-owned missile manufacturer to create 500 UK jobs in 2021Defence company MBDA has sites in Bristol, Bolton and Stevenage
• Government 'absolutely committed' to protecting future of Vauxhall plantMeetings to continue with Vauxhall's owners over the future of the plant, where 1,000 people are employed

Bolton News

• Go North West bus drivers start strike but operator promises 'comprehensive' service GO North West say a

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Inflation busting fare rise 'will not help commuters' TODAY'S inflation busting rise in rail fares
• Traffic calming on Bradford street to stop motorists acting like 'F1 drivers' is approved A ROAD that some drivers use as an

Bristol Live

• Fears 'dirty' cars will drive up pollution around Bristol CAZCity leaders signed off the CAZ plans last week

Daily Post (North Wales)

• North Wales heritage railway company to enter receivership as debts mountThey said that 'significant engineering contract disputes' have led to liabilities they can't meet

London Evening Standard

• ‘Scrap zones and give London flat rate for Tube and train trips’, says mayoral candidate Sian BerryLondon’s fare zones system should be replaced with a flat-rate for Tube and train journeys, a mayoral candidate said on Monday as the cost of travel increased by 2.6 per cent.

Bucks Free Press

• Rail passengers face another price hike on train tickets Bruce Williamson, of pressure group Railfuture, described the increase as “the usual annual punishment for rail passengers, just slightly delayedâ€�.

Cambridge News

• Major airlines share Covid travel promises for summer 2021Some are hoping for an overseas holiday in 2021

Other Regional Press

• When and where you can fly from Bournemouth Airport again Bournemouth Airport have revealed the dates for when we can expect to start flying to every destination again.
• Vauxhall owner says factory's future depends on 'government support'Discussions with the Government are ongoing

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Road deaths to be cut as TfL’s pioneering Direct Vision Standard comes into forceTransport for London (TfL), working with the London boroughs, has delivered a radical improvement to road safety in the capital that will save lives and serious injuries, with the introduction of the pioneering Direct Vision Standard (DVS). The vital lorry safety scheme is now operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is enforced on all roads in London, with standards set to tighten further in 2024.   More than 30,000* Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) have been made safer thanks to TfL’s Direct Vision Standard scheme, which reduces lethal blind spots by introducing a free per...

New Civil Engineer

• Judge to set terms for £27bn road investment challengeA High Court judge will today (2 March) set the terms for the legal challenge mounted against the government’s £27bn road investment strategy (RIS2).
• Land needed for Bakerloo line extension safeguardedThe Department for Transport (DfT) has carried out the formal process of safeguarding land needed for the proposed Bakerloo line extension.
• Bristol Airport still set on expansion despite pulling application to run night flightsBristol Airport bosses are still fully committed to expansion plans despite withdrawing the application to join the UK's list of "coordinated airports".
• Final Northern Powerhouse Rail route agreed including links with HS2Transport for the North (TfN) bosses have agreed a final preferred route for the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) network.
• High Speed 2 | Leaving a legacy of innovationCapacity, connectivity and carbon reduction are three of High Speed 2’s (HS2’s) well publicised benefits.

Rail Business Daily

• Network Rail launches Rail Investment Centre of Excellence to bring focus on efficient delivery of major projects and investment• The Rail Investment Centre of Excellence will act as a hub for its devolved regional businesses and its wider network functions, bringing an increased focus on efficient delivery of major projects and investment
• Leaders agree final Northern Powerhouse Rail plan to create jobs and define the North’s futureThe North’s leaders have agreed a final preferred route for Northern Powerhouse Rail and called on the Government to be ambitious when publishing its rail investment plan for the region.

Other News Sources

• ‘Heart of Wessex’ line undergoes vital maintenanceOver a five-day line closure last month, Network Rail engineers completed a series of improvements including rescaling of a cutting on a stretch of the railway line between Bristol and Weymouth.