Public Transport news

• Coronavirus: Jet2 suspends all flights to Spain from Scotland

  11-07-2020 02:00
  
  BBC News - The airline halts flights for the next two weeks after the Scottish government left Spain off the quarantine exemption list.
  
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• Coach service offers journeys across the UK for knockdown price of £2 each way

  16-04-2024 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Hundreds of cut-price, sustainable intercity journeys are on special offer this week for trips across England, Scotland and WalesA transport company is offering £2 tickets for coach trips across the UK to be taken up to May 12. With a £1 service fee, that means travellers planning journeys can book long-distance tickets from £3 on the FlixBus website or app.In England there is a government-backed scheme capping local bus tickets at £2 until December 2024, but this offer o
  
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• The Guardian view on smart motorways: not so clever without a hard shoulder | Editorial

  15-04-2024 20:09 via theguardian.com
  
  The latest call by the RAC to reinstate emergency lanes should be listened to and acted uponTen years ago this week on the M25, Britain’s first stretch of all-lane running (ALR) “smart” motorway was introduced, with more to follow. Envisaged as a way to ease congestion without spending money on widening roads, ALR motorways function without a hard shoulder for drivers in difficulty. As they were rolled out, motorists were assured that the emergency lane would not be m
  
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• Seven-mile stretch of M25 in Surrey to be closed between 10 and 13 May

  15-04-2024 18:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Closure between junctions 9 and 10 will be second of five planned weekend closures on motorwayThe second weekend closure of the M25 will take place between 10 and 13 May, National Highways has confirmed, with a seven-mile stretch of the road between junctions 9 and 10 in Surrey due to be shut.In March a five-mile stretch of the motorway between junctions 10 and 11 was closed for a three-day period, the longest planned closure on the road since it was opened in 1986. Continue reading...
  
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• Department for Transport urged to put hard shoulders on smart motorways

  15-04-2024 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Plea from RAC comes a year after plans for new smart motorway projects were cancelled amid longstanding safety concernsMinisters are being urged to reinstate the hard shoulder on smart motorways.The RAC issued the plea exactly a year after Rishi Sunak cancelled plans for new smart motorway projects, citing financial pressures and a lack of public confidence in the roads. Continue reading...
  
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• Government still buying properties along HS2 route – despite scrapping scheme

  13-04-2024 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Following Rishi Sunak’s decision to cancel the leg, taxpayer has spent £1.4m on properties for a line that is no longer being builtThe government has paid more than £1m to buy properties along HS2’s northern leg since Rishi Sunak announced he was cancelling the scheme, the Observer can reveal.The prime minister used his party conference speech in Manchester last year to announce he was axing the line that would have brought it to the city. It angered some senior Tories, w
  
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• Tory candidate for London mayor has Trumpian attitude to climate, says Khan

  12-04-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  London mayor expected to criticise Susan Hall in speech launching panels on school roofsSadiq Khan will accuse his Conservative rival in the race to be London’s next mayor of being “Trumpian” over the climate crisis, as he announces plans for solar panels on schools.Khan is expected to acknowledge resistance to his expansion of the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) in a speech on Friday but insist that he still intends to “go further”. Continue reading...
  
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• UK government to relax rules to get 18-year-olds driving buses

  11-04-2024 15:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Shortage of drivers in Great Britain prompts moves to lower minimum age requirements for bus and coach driversIt’s not just policemen: bus drivers will be officially getting younger under government plans to relax laws on 18-year-olds behind the wheel.A shortage of drivers across the transport industry has prompted moves to lower minimum age requirements for bus and coach drivers in Great Britain, as well as speeding up training for bus, coach and lorry drivers. Continue reading...
  
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• Heathrow urges government to scrap £10 fee for transit passengers

  11-04-2024 09:10 via theguardian.com
  
  London hub says charge for overseas travellers using UK airports puts country at competitive disadvantageHeathrow has called on the government to scrap a new £10 charge for overseas travellers using UK airports to connect to other flights, warning that it puts UK airports at a competitive disadvantage compared with other European rivals.The government introduced the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in November for non-UK residents travelling to the UK from Qatar, with a wider rollout
  
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• UK: Siemens Mobility to Deliver Signalling and Control Systems for Network Rail

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  Other News Sources - Siemens Mobility has secured first place on Network Rails Train Control Systems Framework (TCSF), which will upgrade thousands of miles of Britains rail network.
  
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• TMA targets rail freight in Pays de la Loire

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  Railway Gazette - FRANCE: Plans have been drawn up to launch an independent rail freight operation based in Pays de la Loire, to be known as Transport Multimodal Alliances.
  
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• Swindon roads being repaired using scrapped HS2 funding

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  Other News Sources - Swindon is among the areas receiving instalments of £800 million of funding from the scrapped HS2 project.
  
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• Separate MDs appointed for Network Rail Scotland and ScotRail

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  Railway Gazette - UK: Separate Managing Directors have been appointed for infrastructure manager Network Rail in Scotland and for passenger train operator ScotRail, though the organisations have stressed their commitment to the current alliance model of close co-operation.
  
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• ScotRail passengers want an end to alcohol ban, poll shows. subscription

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  Times Online - More than half of travellers surveyed said they were in favour of the Covid-era ban being reversed
  
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• Scotlands two busiest railway stations are first in UK to install British Sign Language screens

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  Network Rail - Network Rail has installed British Sign Language (BSL) customer information screens at Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central stations.
  
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• Ryanair launches major expansion at Bristol Airport

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  Wales Online - The budget airline now has 20 times as many flights from Bristol as Cardiff
  
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• Revealed: Labours plan to fix bus crisis with public ownership of failing services

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  i News - EXCLUSIVEAreas where the plan is thought to be under consideration include Cambridgeshire, Liverpool, Peterborough and West Yorkshire - following a similar scheme in Manchester.
  
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• Rail Minister marks completion of £150m Hope Valley Railway Upgrade

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  Rail Magazine - More reliable journeys are promised on the Hope Valley line between Manchester and Sheffield after a £150 million upgrade was completed in early April.
  
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• Passenger rail usage leaps 20 in last quarter of 2023

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  Transportxtra - A total of 417 million journeys were made by rail passengers in Great Britain in the latest quarter to 31 December 2023, the Latest ORR statistics reveal.
  
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• Northern to continue classical music at stations to deter bad behaviour

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  BBC News - Rail firm Northern has said it will continue to play classical music at 35 stations to combat bad behaviour.
  Works "inspired by Handel, Beethoven and Mozart" are piped out over public address systems at certain times
  
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• NI road defects cost over £25m in compensation

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  BBC News - The Department for Infrastructure settled over 10,000 public liability claims between 2018 and 2023.
  
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• New partnership to accelerate transition of zero-emission buses with £100m investment

  11-04-2024 02:00
  Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport - Rock Rail, the UK Infrastructure bank, HSBC UK and Aviva Capital Partners, have formed a new partnership providing funding for zero emissions bus financier Rock Road.
  
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• 'Meet the Manager' event for rail passengers at Ely station

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  Other Regional Press - Train passengers can ask rail managers and transport representatives questions about services and improvements during a Meet the Manager event at Ely station.
  
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• Major HS2 factory facing closure before it can make a single HS2 train

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  i News - BIG READInside Britain's largest train factory, Alstom staff fear the Derby site will shut forever without immediate Government help
  
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• Maguire replaces Hynes as ScotRail managing director

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  Other News Sources - Scottish Rail has appointed Joanne Maguire (pictured) as interim managing director following Alex Hynes two-year secondment to the UK Government Department for Transport.
  
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• Liam Sumpter appointed as new MD for Network Rail in Scotland

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  Network Rail - Network Rail has appointed Liam Sumpter to the role of Managing Director for Network Rail in Scotland. This follows the recent announcement that Alex Hynes has been seconded to the role of Director General, Rail Services at the Department for Transport for a period of two years. Liam will officially take up his new post, on secondment for the same two-year period, from Monday 15 April 2024.
  
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• Island Line trains suffer wheelset problems

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  Rail Magazine - South Western Railways Vivarail Class 484 electric multiple units on the Isle of Wight have been suffering severe wheelset issues, allegedly caused by the track on the 8 -mile line between Ryde and Shanklin.
  
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• HS2's next steps as contractor sought for elevated transport system

  11-04-2024 02:00
  Other Regional Press - HS2 says it is assessing the capacity of global suppliers to deliver the 'Automated People Mover'
  
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• HS2 funds reallocated to repair Durham & Darlington roads

  11-04-2024 02:00
  
  Northern Echo - Funds reallocated from the HS2 rail project have been given to local authorities to improve roads - including in County Durham and Darlington.
  
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• Hedge fund takes on shipping magnates over oil tanker deal

  11-04-2024 02:00
  Financial Times - FourWorld takes legal action after egregious transaction that ended deadlock over ownership of oil shipping group Euronav
  
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