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

Saturday, 25 February 2023

BBC News

• Cardiff train delays, cancellations after wire theft bidTrain services into Cardiff have been disrupted after a train was struck by damaged overhead wires.
• London buses: 12 million miles cut since 2016, data showsA Lib Dems report also shows that TfL's fleet has been cut by 11% since Sadiq Khan became mayor.
• TSSA rail union accepts pay offer from train companiesThe TSSA union says its 3,000 members have accepted an offer including a two-year 9% pay deal.

Financial Times

• Short cuts: Qantas unveils cabins for world’s longest flights Non-stop services from Sydney to New York and London are due to start in late 2025
• Airports: prospects look up as passengers return to the skies Air hubs are exposed to volume risk but not the cut-throat competition on fares that can hurt airlines

The Guardian

• Calls to limit boat traffic to protect wildlife on restored Welsh canalConservationists say boats with propellers could destroy floating water-plantain on Montgomery canalConservationists are calling for only horse-drawn barges to journey along a section of the Montgomery canal when it is reopened, to protect rare aquatic plants and wildlife on the rewilded waterway.The naturalist and broadcaster Iolo Williams has joined the campaign to protect floating water-plantain as well as dragonflies, grass snakes, kingfishers and otters on the canal between Arddlin and Llanymynech, which has been unnavigable to canal boats for decades but is to be restored with £14m from ...

The Herald

• Anger as island firm charters ship rebuffed by ferry chiefsA row has erupted over replacement ferries for Scotland’s struggling fleet.

The Telegraph

• Charge passengers higher fares for carrying large bags, says rail chief. [subscription]Managing director of Lumo suggests that only those travelling with a laptop or a rucksack deserve cheaper tickets

Times Online

• BA owner IAG fears Heathrow won’t cope with great summer getaway. [subscription]The airlines operator behind British Airways has said it remains concerned about whether Heathrow can cope with the strong demand expected this year.

Bristol Live

• Bristol underground would cost £18bn, secret report revealsBut city mayor Marvin Rees has rejected the findings
• Pensioner says of Bristol buses: ‘We may as well be living on a desert island’Older people who rely on buses for transport are getting isolated in their homes

London Evening Standard

• Transport union cancels strike action as members accept pay dealMembers of one of the rail unions involved in the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions have voted to accept offers from train companies.

The York Press

• How we're going to improve York's transport network - York Lib DemsYork is trying to build a transport network fit for the future while hampered by Government funding cutbacks, says Lib Dem transport spokesperson Stephen Fenton in this column for The Press.
• York pothole repairs hit by million pound cuts, warns councillorTHE battle to fill York's potholes will be made much harder by cutbacks in Government funding for road repairs, a leading LibDem councillor has warned.

Yorkshire Post

• Government urged to 'get their act together' and get HS2 trains to LeedsWest Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin is urging Ministers to “get their act together” and launch a major study that will determine whether HS2 trains will ever reach Leeds.

Other Regional Press

• Bus journeys in Oxfordshire fall by over a third in last decadeThe number of bus journeys undertaken in Oxfordshire has fallen by more than a third over the last decade, new figures show.

Train Operators

• Northern wins national business award for innovative approach to accessible rail travelNorthern has scooped a prestigious national award for its unique and innovative approach to improving accessibility on trains and at stations.

Other News Sources

• Plans to bring ferry services back to Ramsgate Port to be discussed by Thanet council Cabinet membersProposals to find an operator to bring ferry services back to Ramsgate Port will be discussed by Thanet council Cabinet members next month.
• Northern Transport Summit: 5 key takeawaysPolitical leaders gathered at Liverpool’s Maritime Museum to discuss what the North needs in order to achieve its goal of having a world-class transport system.
• Network Rail says Spalding level crossing failures have halved - but councillor says our problem won't be fixed until we have 'flying trains'Railway bosses say the number of level crossing failures in Spalding have halved but a councillor quipped the problem won’t be solved ’unless there are flying trains’.
• James Grundy MP: Plans very much on track for new railway stationAs you may already know the Government has awarded £15 million towards this popular project to restore Golborne to the National Rail Network from their Transforming Cities Fund.
• Derry to Portadown line a ’big long-term project’ that would transform rail connectivityEamon Ryan has described ’a potential new rail line’ from Portadown to Derry as a ’big long-term project’ that could resurrect the rail connectivity enjoyed in the north west in the early 20th century.