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

Wednesday, 11 August 2021

BBC News

• Classic Bentleys and Rolls-Royce adapted to fully electricThe vintage petrol-powered cars are re-engineered by a company based at the home of UK motorsport.
• JetBlue to launch NY-UK flights despite pandemicThe airline says there is

Financial Times

• Etihad halves losses on buoyant cargo market and cost cuts New Covid variants have hit intercontinental journeys that form backbone of Gulf airlines’ schedules
• CP offers $31bn for Kansas City Southern as bidding war escalatesChallenge to freight rail rival Canadian National as agreed deal faces regulatory hurdles
• There’s yet another surge in shipping costs All is not well in the market for ocean freight. Again
• Ports face biggest crisis since start of container shippingPandemic highlights lack of investment as high demand and infrastructure restrictions cause delays

The Guardian

• Worst polluting countries must make drastic carbon cuts, says Cop26 chiefAlok Sharma says chance to limit worst impacts of climate breakdown ‘still achievable, but retreating fast’ The world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases must produce clear plans to cut their carbon output drastically, the president of vital UN climate talks has urged, after scientists warned there was only a small chance of escaping the worst ravages of climate breakdown.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change set out the starkest warning yet on the widespread and “unprecedented” changes to the climate that are “unequivocally” the result of human actions. Extreme weather resulting fr...
• Ministers face calls to intervene in ‘scam’ Covid travel test systemTravellers have complained of unfair prices, missed deliveries and slow processing of PCR testsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe government is coming under pressure to intervene amid concerns that its Covid testing regime for travellers is close to collapse, with thousands failing to be properly tested on their return.As photos posted online showed drop-off boxes run by Randox, the UK’s largest PCR testing provider, overflowing with unprocessed swabs, growing numbers of returning holidaymakers are reporting that their test kits are failing to arrive, or are taking...

The Telegraph

• London bus crash leaves one dead and two injured outside Victoria Station

Belfast Telegraph

• Rail workers look back on tragic Stonehaven crash one year onRailway staff will remember the victims of the Stonehaven rail crash one year on from the tragedy with “enormous sadness”.

Birmingham Mail

• E10 checker: Every BMW, VW, Ford, Nissan and Toyota car compatible with new fuelEvery single car make and model that is and isn't compatible with E10 fuel including Fiat, Jeep and Renault

Bolton News

• Darwen train station 'suspicious packages' were not viable threatTWO controlled explosions were executed at Darwen train station yesterday (August 9), though the suspicious packages were not deemed to be a 'viable threat', police have confirmed.

Northern Echo

• Durham Coast Line: MP rejects Northern Rail travel apologiesEASINGTON MP Grahame Morris has rejected a rail company's apologies for disruption on the Durham Coast Line service at the weekend, saying it had little to do with Covid.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• DfT appointment aims to turn EV chargepoints into next British emblemThe Royal College of Art and PA Consulting have been appointed to deliver an ’iconic’ British electric vehicle chargepoint design, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced.    The design will be unveiled at COP26 in Glasgow this November and could be seen on streets across the country from 2022.    This project gets underway as independently produced statistics from Zap Map reveal there are now over 25,000 public charging devices across the UK.   In the run-up to COP26, the UK government is calling on countries around the world to accelerate the trans...
• TfL awards contracts under RoadLab innovation challengeTransport for London (TfL) is set to start using new technology from two UK start-ups to reduce road danger and disruption caused by roadworks and unplanned incidents on the road network.   In 2019, TfL launched an innovation challenge called RoadLab, which called on the UK's leading innovators to develop technology that could make roadworks in the capital safer, smarter and more accessible.   Nine innovators were chosen to go through to a ten-week programme, where their proposed technology was trialled and developed with the support of London's major utility companies and London Cou...
• THE OPINION: Action needed to alleviate supply chain challengesEV Cargo, the UK’s largest privately-owned logistics provider, is urging the UK Government to do more to deliver a short-term solution to address the country’s current supply chain challenges.   The ongoing and well-documented driver shortage is being compounded by manufacturing, retail and supply chain workers having to undertake necessary COVID-19 ’pingdemic’ self-isolations.    So far, Government measures to alleviate the problem include extending drivers’ hours and increasing capacity at DVSA test sites for new recruits acquiring their HGV licen...

Construction Enquirer

• Ganymede lands £150m Network Rail labour dealLabour specialist Ganymede Solutions Limited has won a supply deal with Network Rail worth up to £150m over the next eight years.

New Civil Engineer

• Legal challenge puts Southampton Airport expansion on iceSouthampton Airport’s runway expansion plans have been put on ice after a legal challenge to the proposals has been given a hearing at the High Court.
• Tower Bridge could require costly refurb after bascules get stuck againAn expensive refurbishment of Tower Bridge’s hydraulic system is likely needed, according to a leading expert on the structure.
• Highways England locked in yet another bridge infilling rowHighways England has found itself embroiled in yet another row over a planned bridge infilling project.

Rail Advent

• Transport for Wales purchases Pullman Rail Ltd from Colas RailTransport for Wales and Colas Rail UK has agreed on a deal whereby the rail operator will become the new owner of specialist engineering company, Pullman Rail Limited.

Other News Sources

• HS2 trials vegetable oil fuel innovation in piling rigHS2 Ltd is undertaking a project to use hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) in a Liebherr LB36 piling rig on an HS2 construction site in London.
• Crossrail chief forced to admit Bond Street station opening date at risk of slipping – againMark Wild has already conceded the central section will open with or without the scheme