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

Wednesday, 13 March 2024

BBC News

• Passengers welcome almost 60 new electric busesPassengers have welcomed the introduction of 59 electric double-decker buses.
• Northamptonshire: New images of HS2's biggest 'green bridge' revealedNew images of the HS2 line's largest "green bridge" have been revealed. The 99m-wide (325ft) bridge will take a road over the new railway line near Turweston in south Northamptonshire.
• China tech giant Xiaomi starts electric car salesThe launch comes as a cut-throat price war intensifies in the world's biggest car market.
• Sail-powered cargo ship 'shows potential of wind'Using sails reduced ship's fuel use and carbon dioxide emissions, company data indicates.
• Bus and train workers reject Translink pay offerMembers from Unite, GMB and Siptu vote against the offer which included a 5% pay uplift.
• Bus passengers feel 'let down' in parts of EnglandBus services vary widely on punctuality and value for money, a major passenger survey suggests.
• Boeing whistleblower remembered as 'brave man'Lawyers for John Barnett tell the BBC they

Financial Times

• Cathay reports highest annual profit since 2010 on strong flights demandChair declares Hong Kong's flag airline has left pandemic behind after three years of losses

The Guardian

• How did Norway become the electric car superpower? Oil money, civil disobedience – and Morten from a-haMore than 90% of new cars sold in Norway are electric. And it all started with some pop stars driving around in a jerry-built Fiat Panda
• UK plans to adapt to climate crisis fall far short of what is requiredGovernment has no credible plan for effects of extreme weather, says Committee on Climate Change
• Space One rocket explodes soon after launch in JapanFirst attempt with private Kairos rocket was intended to test viability of homegrown commercial launch business

The Independent

• England’s worst bus operator named by travel watchdogEngland’s worst bus operator has been revealed by a transport watchdog. The Transport Focus research showed that passengers travelling in urban metropolitan areas across England are less satisfied (78%) on average compared with those making journeys elsewhere. Arriva in West Yorkshire has been ranked England’s worst bus operator.

The Scotsman

• Will scrapping ScotRail’s diesel trains by 2035 be the SNP’s latest failed transport target? – Alastair Dalton“Refresh” of Transport Scotland’s “decarbonisation action plan” not due until “later this year”

The Telegraph

• How Southend Airport wants to bring back the glory days. [subscription]Passenger numbers at London’s smallest airport have fallen almost 90 per cent in five years, but things are finally looking up again

Times Online

• Boeing 737 Max: which airlines use the planes and how dangerous are they? [subscription]Certain models of Boeing 737 Max 9s were grounded after an Alaska Airlines aircraft suffered a blowout shortly after take-off. Here’s what you need to know

The Mirror

• United Boeing 777 makes emergency landing after mid-air fuel leak in fifth safety incident in a weekThe latest incident from the beleaguered aircraft manufacturer saw fuel spill from the plane's landing equipment forcing an emergency landing on the San Francisco-bound 777-300 that had earlier departed from Sydney

Local Government

• Better connected: more than £2m cash supports the improvements to bus services across North Lincolnshire Significant improvements have been made to bus services across North Lincolnshire to ensure residents are better connected.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Long-term vision for rail in West Yorkshire to be set outLEADERS are calling on the Government for more investment in the region’s transport network as they set out their long-term vision for rail.
• Long-term vision for rail in West Yorkshire to be set outLeaders are calling on the Government for more investment in the region's transport network as they set out their long-term vision for rail.

Wales Online

• Cardiff bus to reintroduce cut services after backlashFare prices have also been revised for the end of this month

Other Regional Press

• Bus Travel: Stagecoach in Portsmouth ranked the best bus service in England for customer satisfactionA bus operator in Portsmouth has been named as the best in England for customer satisfaction.
• Greater Anglia Trains representative spoke at March Society.Alan Neville from Greater Anglia Trains gave an 'enthusiastic' talk to The March Society.
• Pontefract Monkhill: Plans passed for rail station lifts, footbridge and wider platform for disabled accessPlans have been approved for a new bridge, lifts and platform widening to improve disabled access at a West Yorkshire railway station.
• Reopening Ripon to Harrogate railway line unlikelyA transport official has poured cold water on hopes that the Harrogate – Ripon – Northallerton train line will reopen any time soon, saying to do so could cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds.
• More rail replacement buses pledged after stranded passengers 'unable to board full coach'Residents are being assured more rail replacement buses have been provided after a landslip cancelled all trains between Shropshire and Wolverhampton.
• Coventry's futuristic Very Light Rail will not be open to the public for several yearsIt is due to be built into two parts across the city with the first half ending at the old IKEA building

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• DLR's new trains and potential extensionsTransport for London (TfL) has said they are determined to provide more Londoners with access to greener journeys by improving the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) network. As the busiest light railway in the UK, the DLR operates across six opportunity areas that have the potential to provide over 124,000 homes and 200,000 jobs.

Rail Magazine

• Suppliers’ uncertain wait for new trainsGiving evidence to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee on December 6 2023, Alstom UK and Ireland Managing Director Nick Crossfield raised a few eyebrows when he commented that the UK rolling stock market looks “quite attractive” in the medium to long term

Railway Gazette

• ScotRail trials Smart Kiosk ticket machineTICKETING: ScotRail is trialling a Smart Kiosk ticket vending machine supplied by Cammax which is designed to provide passengers in Scotland with a wider range of ticket options and information.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• West Yorkshire bus franchising looks inevitable ahead of decisionAdoption of bus franchising in West Yorkshire looks inevitable ahead of a decision on the avenue for reform, to be made by Mayor Tracy Brabin on 14 March.

Aviation Industry

• Heathrow leaps into record FebruaryHeathrow served a record number of passengers in February as 5.8 million people flew through the UK’s hub airport last month.

Other News Sources

• TfL propose cutting Heathrow Airport black cab passenger surcharge from £3.60 to £2Transport for London (TfL) has proposed cutting the Heathrow Airport black cab passenger surcharge from £3.60 to £2.
• 'Fly up': Heathrow to turn Heston Blumenthal breakfast into biofuelNew project to turn cooking oil into biofuels designed to raise public awareness of sustainable aviation fuels Early morning travellers at London's Heathrow will be able to make a tiny contribution to the aviation industry's efforts to curb its carbon emissions through their choice of breakfast.

News from Europe

• Train fares don’t have to be expensive: Rail Europe’s CEO reveals the secrets to cheap ticketsBjorn Bender, CEO of Rail Europe, is a man who knows trains. In the last year alone he travelled roughly 75,000 kilometres across Europe.