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

Sunday, 13 June 2021

BBC News

• West Midlands tram services suspended until at least end of MondayBirmingham's Clean Air Zone charges are due to come into force on Monday morning.
• E-scooters worth £100,000 stolen in raidThieves took up to 150 boxed electric scooters from the premises of business in Midlothian.
• Older cars face ban from Edinburgh city centreA new low emission zone would see drivers fined if they breached the scheme aimed at tackling air pollution.
• Aer Lingus stops most Belfast City Airport flights after Stobart Air collapseFlights to several UK destinations are affected but the airline is offering some customers alternatives.
• Disruption to shipping could delay Christmas ordersGlobal transport of goods has suffered blockages, delays and bottlenecks and won't be resolved quickly.

Financial Times

• India's biggest domestic airline braces for third Covid-19 waveIndiGo Airlines CEO is building $1bn war chest in case new outbreak disrupts regional travel
• Stobart Air blames Covid for collapseCharter carrier operated more than 900 flights a week across 30 routes throughout Western Europe

The Guardian

• Halfords on a roll as Britons ride out the pandemic on bikes and in carsBut faced with online rivals, the company is switching focus from sales to servicing, especially of electric carsHalfords, Britain's biggest bicycle and motoring parts retailer, has been a beneficiary of lockdown as the country got on its bike and used its car to take domestic holidays.

Times Online

• Former railway minister warns of risks in full takeover of track and trains [subscription]SNP plans to nationalise Scotland’s rail service next year come with big risks, according to Britain’s former railways minister, business and passenger groups. Tom Harris, the former Labour minister, questioned whether the Scottish government, which has struggled to operate Prestwick airport efficiently and presided over a series of ferry crises, has the expertise to run a railway body.
• Pandemic blamed for Stobart Air collapse [subscription]High Court protection last summer. Up to 1,000 staff are expected to leave DAA, the operator of Dublin and Cork airports, as it adjusts to the lower traffic due to the pandemic.
• Eco-buses turn out not to be so green [subscription]A fleet of so-called eco-buses, backed with millions of pounds of public money, could be banned from Scotland’s low-emission zones as they still breach pollution regulations, The Sunday Times has learnt.
• ‘Perhaps transport authorities are only interested in box-ticking’ [subscription]I have been a contractor involved with bus retrofits for several years and can confirm that vehicles are struggling to meet the expected emissions reductions within town centres.

Birmingham Mail

• Stunning pictures showing Spaghetti Junction being built 50 years agoThe 'Gravelly Hill Interchange', named Spaghetti junction by the Birmingham Mail .Looking at blueprints for the tangle of motorway junctions back in 1965, the newspaper's municipal editor Roy Smith said it looked like a cross between a plate of spaghetti and an unsuccessful attempt at a Staffordshire knot The legend was born.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Aer Lingus routes cancelled from Leeds Bradford as Stobart Air goes bustFLIGHTS from Leeds Bradford Airport to Belfast have all been cancelled after Stobart Air, which contracted Aer Lingus to run the route, went bust.

London Evening Standard

• Aer Lingus announces replacement flights after collapse of Stobart AirThe sudden announcement led to the cancellation of several flights on Saturday from Dublin and Belfast City airports to UK cities.

Northern Echo

• Tyne Bridge sculpture goes on display at Central StationTHE environmental benefits of travelling by train has been laid on the line for rail passengers using one of the region’s busiest stations.

Cambridge News

• Calls for consultation on new busway between Cambridge and Waterbeach New TownThe chair of Landbeach Parish Council argued against progressing the new route without further consultation

Other Regional Press

• £54 million plans to 'flip' train station, create 650 jobs and help Leicester bounce back from lockdownThese images show how the inside of Leicester railway station would be transformed if a bid for nearly £40 million of Government cash succeeds.
• The media is fuelling the fire between cyclists and driversAndy Chivers of Cyclox looks at how cycling collisions are reported in the media
• You can help choose name for HS2 tunnel boring machine in WarwickshireThe machine will spend five months boring two 10-metre wide tunnels

Other News Sources

• All change on the Highland Line?London North Eastern Railway has begun an eight-week public consultation to seek views on proposed significant timetable change and uplift from May 2022.
• Greater Anglia named most-punctual long distance rail providerThe hard work of staff to speed up services has been praised
• Stobart Air shuts down all operations, will be liquidatedStobart Air (Dublin) today suddenly announced it was ending its Aer Lingus franchise and ceasing all operations.
• Airlines accused of lobbying against stronger EU climate policy Aviation giants including British Airways' parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) and Ryanair have been accused of opposing proposals for stronger climate policy in the European Union (EU), as the bloc works towards a 2050 net-zero target.