Category Archives: Transport

Fund England’s bus network now or lose vital routes, campaigners warn

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Charities and transport groups say hundreds more routes face axe without targeted help and long-term funding

Bus services will not survive without sustained Treasury funding, campaigners and industry groups have warned the chancellor after the cutting of hundreds of routes in recent months.

Transport charities and trade bodies have written to Jeremy Hunt asking for support before this week’s autumn statement urging him to guarantee short-term funding, give targeted help to local authorities, and bring in better long-term financial settlements.

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Heathrow ‘ready for Christmas rush’ after making plans to avoid disruption

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Airport vows passengers will not face daily cap during biggest festive getaway in three years

Heathrow airport has said it is prepared for the biggest Christmas getaway in three years and promised that passengers will not have to face a return of the daily cap that was introduced as summer holiday travel descended into chaos.

Europe’s busiest airport, which said last month that on the busiest travel days over the festive period travellers may have to fly outside peak times to manage the festive rush, said it was working on contingency plans for potential strike action over the period.

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UK train drivers to stage fresh 24-hour strike on 26 November

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Aslef union says drivers at 12 companies will take action over pay

Train drivers are to stage another 24-hour strike later this month, disrupting rail services across Britain and dampening hopes of an imminent end to the dispute.

Aslef said drivers at 12 companies would take action on Saturday 26 November, as the union presses for a pay offer.

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London Underground strike will halt nearly all tube services on Thursday

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RMT’s 24-hour walkout will slow capital to a crawl, with buses expected to be extremely busy and roads congested

A strike on London Underground will halt virtually all tube services and slow much of the capital to a crawl on Thursday, in the ongoing dispute over jobs and pensions.

Some London Overground and Docklands Light Railway services may also be affected by the 24-hour walkout by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union, while buses are expected to be extremely busy and roads congested. Elizabeth Line trains will run as normal.

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Rail passengers in Britain face disruption despite strike cancellation

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Move came too late to reinstate services on Saturday, and they will remain ‘extremely limited’

Rail passengers in Britain are being warned they could still face disruption on Saturday despite a series of planned strikes being called off.

The RMT union said on Friday afternoon that three days of industrial action by thousands of its members at Network Rail, due to take place on Saturday, Monday and Wednesday on lines across the country, would no longer go ahead.

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Spirit of Tasmania operator found guilty of animal welfare breaches over deaths of 16 polo ponies

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Magistrate rules TT-Line made no inquiries to ensure the horses were individually stalled and there was adequate ventilation

Spirit of Tasmania ferry operator TT-Line has been found guilty of breaching animal welfare laws over the deaths of 16 polo ponies on a summer Bass Strait voyage.

The horses had competed in a tournament in Tasmania and were travelling from Devonport to Melbourne in a converted refrigeration trailer on the night of 28 January 2018.

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Heathrow passengers may have to fly outside peak times in run-up to Christmas

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Airport still has shortage of 25,000 staff and is keen to avoid disruption of summer

Heathrow has said passengers may have to fly outside peak times on some days in the run-up to Christmas to avoid further travel chaos, as Europe’s busiest airport admitted it is still short of 25,000 staff to meet high demand.

The airport, which this Sunday is due to lift the current cap of 100,000 passengers a day that was introduced in July as summer holiday travel descended into chaos, said it was in talks with airlines over the selective cap.

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E-scooter safety: Australian states and territories under pressure after spate of fatal crashes

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After three riders died in September and injuries rise, doctors are pushing for better helmet compliance and a rethink on regulations

State and territory governments have largely resisted calls from doctors for tighter regulation of e-scooters, despite a recent spate of accidents that caused serious injuries and deaths.

Last month three Australians died while riding e-scooters, doubling the number of fatalities since 2018, when the first rental scheme was rolled out in Queensland.

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Unions allege safety concerns after worker on Sydney Metro tunnel died of heart attack

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Exclusive: Whistleblowers say they felt under pressure to downgrade seriousness of safety issues but Sydney Metro disputes union claims

A worker died of a heart attack during construction of the Sydney Metro tunnel near Barangaroo station amid allegations from the unions that a defibrillator was not readily available in the construction zone.

Sydney Metro strongly disputes the union claim. However, it acknowledged additional defibrillators were deployed in the tunnels after the incident, which occurred on 6 July.

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Out-of-control train carriage ran 1.5km through Sydney Metro tunnel in one of several safety incidents

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Exclusive: Whistleblower says pressure to meet deadlines has led to a culture of trying to avoid delay at all costs, including those caused by safety concerns

A 30-tonne railway trailer transporting equipment on the Sydney Metro project ran uncontrolled for more than 1.5km through the half-built tunnel between Marrickville and Waterloo in July, Guardian Australia can reveal.

The only reason workers weren’t killed, according to those on site, was because it happened on a Saturday at noon, when they were on their break.

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Network Rail workers to strike again in November

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Action is planned for 3, 5 and 7 November; London Overground and tube staff will strike on 3 November

Network Rail workers are to stage fresh strikes in the bitter row over pay, jobs and conditions, threatening fresh disruption to services.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will strike on 3, 5 and 7 November.

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Ministers back free train travel for military to remembrance services after outcry

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Exclusive: former veterans minister Johnny Mercer and others had condemned plans to scrap free travel

The government has vowed to guarantee free rail travel for military personnel to attend remembrance services this year after facing criticism over moves to scrap the offer.

Proposed plans to stop the free train travel after the government decided the cost would be “too great” had sparked an outcry and calls for a U-turn from the former veterans minister Johnny Mercer and others.

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‘Second-class citizen’: man lifted on to plane as Darwin airport had no ramp for wheelchair users

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Being carried across the gap between the air bridge and the plane risked his, his wife’s and airline staffs’ safety, says passenger

An Australian man has said he was made to feel like a “second-class citizen” by being lifted on to a Jetstar flight in Darwin, as disability advocates call for a complete overhaul of the way airlines treat passengers.

Brad Wszola, 50, suffered a spinal cord injury in 2016. He uses a wheelchair, but was not able to navigate the gap between the air bridge and the plane when boarding a Jetstar flight from Darwin to Cairns on 12 August.

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NSW redevelopment plan poses ‘very real threat’ to Sydney’s Central station, National Trust says

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The Trust’s state conservation director wrote letters to the public and organisations citing concerns over the plan’s scale and impact

The National Trust has criticised the New South Wales government’s plan to revamp and reimagine Sydney’s Central station, claiming that the scheme “presents a genuine and very real threat to Australia’s greatest station”.

The trust’s NSW conservation director, David Burdon, wrote to members of the public and organisations for “help in saving the iconic Sydney Central station”, citing concerns over the scale and impact of the plan that would build over a portion of the heritage-listed site.

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Two aircraft involved in ‘minor collision’ on runway at Heathrow

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No injuries have been reported and there is no significant impact on departures or arrivals

Two aircraft have been involved in a “minor collision” on the runway at Heathrow, the airport has said.

Emergency services are at the scene but no injuries have been reported. An Icelandair plane and Korean Air aircraft are understood to have had a collision on the airfield at about 8pm on Wednesday, which is being investigated.

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EU biometric entry system could multiply delays at Dover

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Additional requirements would be time-consuming and threaten capacity, Dover port boss says

Post-Brexit Channel border delays could multiply from next May, with a five-person vehicle being held for up to 10 minutes if the EU goes ahead with a planned biometric entry system, the Port of Dover has said.

The entry-exit system (EES), which is due to start in May 2023, will require all non-EU nationals to register their fingerprints and be photographed before entering the bloc.

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Three Sydney ferries taken out of service after steering problems

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Fleet review ordered after two Emerald-class vessels developed steering issues in as many days

Three second-generation Emerald-class Sydney ferries have been pulled from service on the harbour and a review of the fleet ordered, after two vessels developed steering issues in recent days.

The immediate review of the second generation Emerald-class fleet has been ordered by the New South Wales transport minister, David Elliott, who said Transport For NSW would provide him with a report within two weeks.

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Buzz stops: bus shelter roofs turned into gardens for bees and butterflies

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Bee bus stops first appeared in the Dutch city of Utrecht. Now the UK is planning for more than 1,000 and there is growing interest across Europe and in Canada and Australia

Butterflies and bees are getting their own transport network as “bee bus stops” start to pop up around UK cities and across Europe. Humble bus shelter roofs are being turned into riots of colour, with the number of miniature gardens – full of pollinator-friendly flora such as wild strawberries, poppies and pansies – set to increase by 50% in the UK by the end of this year.

Leicester is leading the charge with 30 bee bus stops installed since 2021. Derby has 18, and there are others in Southhampton, Newcastle, Sunderland, Derby, Oxford, Cardiff and Glasgow. Brighton council installed one last year after a petition was signed by almost 50,000 people.

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Rail strikes: 40,000 RMT members to stage further action on 8 October

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Strike will affect Network Rail and 15 train operators and comes on top those planned for 1 and 5 October

Another rail strike has been announced for next month, continuing the wave of industrial action sweeping the country.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) announced that 40,000 of its members at Network Rail and 15 train operators will strike on 8 October.

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NSW levy on ride-hailing and taxi passengers extended until 2029

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Levy to compensate taxi licence holders for disruption of the industry by Uber forms part of $645m in payments as industry faces complete deregulation

NSW ride-hailing and taxi passengers will pay levies for another two years – until June 2029 – as taxi licence owners move a step closer to securing further compensation.

The government has outlined its plan to deliver a further $500m to licence holders, on top of $145m already doled out, as part of plans for the complete deregulation of the industry.

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