Category Archives: Transport

Driver charged after cyclist killed in alleged hit-and-run in Melbourne

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Southbank man, understood to be a food delivery rider, died at scene of crash on Plummer Street in Port Melbourne

A driver has been charged after a cyclist, understood to be a delivery rider, died in an alleged hit-and-run in Port Melbourne.

A car struck the cyclist on Plummer Street just after 8pm on Tuesday night, Victoria police said in a statement.

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London City airport expansion given green light by ministers

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Climate campaigners criticise decision to allow capacity to increase from 6.5m to 9m passengers a year

Ministers have approved London City airport’s application to expand, in a decision that has disappointed climate campaigners.

The airport submitted a proposal to increase capacity from 6.5 million to 9 million passengers a year by putting on more weekend and early morning flights. Local campaigners and Newham council opposed the move, arguing the air and noise pollution would affect people living nearby and that it could potentially increase carbon emissions.

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Sydney Metro welcomes commuters aboard new underground city section

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The highly anticipated Chatswood to Sydenham extension will drastically cut travel times in Sydney

Tens of thousands of commuters have begun riding on the Sydney Metro’s city section on Monday morning as the first new train line running underneath the city centre in more than four decades opened to the public.

The first metro train service on the new section left Sydenham at 4.54am, travelling the newly opened stretch of the extension under Sydney harbour to reach Chatswood station by 5.16am, where it continued on to Tallawong on the original north-west line that opened in 2019.

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London City airport: 54% of journeys take under six hours by train, data shows

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Exclusive: Most popular routes can be reached quickly by train, as government mulls expansion proposal

More than half of the journeys taken from London City airport last year can be reached in six hours or less by train, data reveals.

The Labour government is preparing to make the final call on the airport’s application to significantly increase its passenger numbers. The airport wants to increase capacity from 6.5 million to 9 million passengers a year by putting on more weekend and early morning flights.

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Border Force staff at Heathrow to take strike action for most of September

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Union says forced changes to working hours and practices have most harmed those with caring responsibilities

Hundreds of Border Force officers at Heathrow will take industrial action for 23 days from the end of the month over a long-running dispute about changes to their terms of employment.

About 650 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union will go on strike from 31 August to 3 September at which point a period of work to rule – where no overtime is undertaken and no extra work is done beyond what is contractually required – will begin and continue until 22 September.

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Tens of thousands of train fare fines to be quashed in England and Wales

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Four firms including Northern and Greater Anglia unlawfully prosecuted more than 74,000 alleged fare dodgers

Tens of thousands of prosecutions for alleged fare dodging brought by train companies are to be quashed after a court ruling.

Four companies including Northern Trains and Greater Anglia unlawfully prosecuted more than 74,000 passengers in England and Wales using the single justice procedure (SJP), which allowed fast-track magistrates hearings on fare evasion cases to be held behind closed doors.

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Riding the rails: a visual guide to the latest stretch of the Sydney Metro

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The $21.6bn extension from Chatswood to Sydenham, crossing under Sydney harbour, is finally on the brink of opening. Join us on a tour

The next stretch of the Sydney Metro, set to open imminently, has been billed as a game-changer for city commuters.

Not only will the Chatswood to Sydenham section of the $21.6bn line drastically cut travel times and introduce a new crossing under Sydney harbour, it’s also set to dictate settlement patterns, with the New South Wales government basing much of its flagship housing policy along the corridor.

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Large number of buyers interested in Rex despite $500m debt

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As private investors circle, Transport Workers Union urges federal government to take equity stake in airline to secure at-risk jobs and shore up routes

A large number of potential buyers have expressed an interest in regional airline Rex as administrators work to keep the embattled carrier flying while weighed down with $500m in debt.

EY Australia has been appointed to chart a path forward for the five companies in the Rex Group since the airline called in the administrators and grounded its Boeing 737 fleet on major metropolitan routes.

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NSW closes loophole to stamp out fires caused by substandard lithium-ion batteries in ebikes and scooters

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New rules declaring the popular devices a form of transport mean the batteries must meet strict international product standards

New South Wales is cracking down on the sale of some ebikes and e-scooters in a nationwide first aimed at reducing the scourge of battery-related fires, while pushing for a nationally coordinated approach to the growing problem.

Low quality ebikes and e-scooters have contributed to a spate of fires across the country, with lithium-ion batteries now the fastest growing cause of fires in the state.

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‘Too high for comfort’: transport costs rising at almost three times rate of inflation, data reveals

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Households ‘hurting’ as people forced to spend more of their income on driving, petrol, tolls and public transport fares

Australians are being forced to spend more of their income on transport, with spending on driving, petrol, tolls and public transport fares growing at almost three times the rate of inflation, new data reveals.

In the 12 months to 30 June, transport costs rose by 10.5% across the board, well above the CPI increase of 3.8% over the same period, the latest Australian Automobile Association’s (AAA) transport affordability index showed.

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Australians shunning petrol-powered cars for hybrid vehicles as bowser prices rise

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Trend also reflects concerns over range and a lack of charging infrastructure affecting purely electric vehicles, experts say

Australians are buying more cars than ever but are increasingly choosing hybrid vehicles over petrol-powered cars due to rising costs at the bowser, new data by the Australian Automobiles Association shows.

Quarterly vehicle sales data released on Monday revealed a further uptick in demand for hybrid vehicles, a trend the industry believes reflects both the rising cost of living, as well as range anxiety and concerns over a lack of charging infrastructure affecting purely electric vehicles.

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One of Australia’s most expensive commutes becomes the cheapest, as Queensland’s 50c public transport trial begins

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Operators not predicting a large influx of new customers right away, with patronage still well below pre-Covid levels

In an Australian-first trial of super-cheap public transport, Queensland bus, train and ferry fares are set to drop to just 50 cents this week.

Train tickets in the sunshine state had been among the country’s most expensive – up to $31.10 for a single adult paper train ticket.

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Australia news live: Coalition claims Labor education reforms a ‘school funding war’; NZ bushwalker’s body recovered from Tasmania hiking trail

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Murray Watt says advice needed from administrators to determine government support amid administration

Murray Watt, the newly-appointed minister for workplace relations, also weighed in on the Rex Airlines administration on ABC RN just earlier.

In terms of equity stakes or other financial government support, we’ll make those decisions once the situation becomes clearer through the administrator.

This would only be activated if the company is unable to repay entitlements to any workers who are retrenched, and let’s hope it may not get to that.

But also, our department would be providing employment support to workers who do lose their job to ensure that they can get back into work as quickly as possible.

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As many as 360 workers sacked at Rex with hundreds more jobs to go

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Employees reportedly told the airline will no longer operate flights between capital cities

As many as 360 staff at Rex Airlines have been sacked already and hundreds more are on the chopping block after administrators were called in to run the embattled carrier, with remaining staff told they may not get paid until a new buyer is found.

It comes amid speculation that Asia-based private equity firm PAG, which funded Rex’s $150m expansion to jet operations, was considering becoming the airline’s new owner out of administration.

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Rex has entered voluntary administration. What happens next to the embattled regional airline?

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Virgin Australia has offered to rebook Rex passengers due to travel on now-grounded capital city flights on an equivalent Virgin service free of charge

There is uncertainty about the future of Rex – Australia’s third-largest airline – after it entered voluntary administration and grounded all of its flights between capital cities.

The Albanese government held crisis talks with Rex on Tuesday and appeared willing to step in to save parts of the airline’s operations.

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Rex airlines enters voluntary administration with all flights between capital cities grounded

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Federal government says Rex ‘will have a future’ with minister suggesting Labor will step in to save troubled company

All Rex flights between capital cities have been grounded and the airline has entered voluntary administration just hours after the Albanese government suggested it would intervene to ensure the nation’s third-largest carrier didn’t collapse.

Late on Tuesday, EY – formerly known as Ernst & Young – announced it had been appointed as administrators of the company, and that the airline’s Boeing 737 operations between capital cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane had been grounded, with Virgin Australia stepping in to offer impacted passengers rebooking “free of charge”.

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‘Plan ahead’: thousands of Sydney commuters to face travel chaos as opening of new metro line delayed

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Revised launch date yet to be announced as NSW government awaits go ahead from Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator for new $21.6bn subway line

Thousands of Sydney commuters will have their travel plans thrown into disarray from next week due to a delay to the planned opening of the $21.6bn Metro project.

The transport minister, Jo Haylen, on Tuesday apologised to passengers as she confirmed the government was yet to secure approval from the national rail safety regulator and had not determined a new start date for the metro service.

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Rex forced into trading halt amid questions about the airline’s future

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The carrier promises to respond to reports that it has called in turnaround experts as Anthony Albanese says the airline is ‘important’

Turbulence at Rex Airlines appears to be deepening after the carrier requested a trading halt following speculation it would appoint consultants to turnaround its financial woes.

On Monday, the ASX announced it had suspended trade in the airline’s shares after it had requested the move pending an announcement related to a news article published on Saturday, understood to be a report in the Australian that the airline had appointed turnaround experts from Deloitte.

Rex’s request suggested an imminent related announcement, with the halt in place until the commencement of trade on Wednesday.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said an airline running into trouble was a weekly occurrence in the tough, global industry.

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Further Eurostar cancellations hold up Paris 2024 passengers

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The rail operator has pulled four of 15 trains from its Saturday schedule, affecting more than 3,000 people

Eurostar passengers hoping to catch the start of the Paris Olympics have continued to face difficulties after an arson attack in France caused train cancellations.

People travelling by Eurostar from London to Paris on Friday were asked to postpone trips if possible after the rail operator cancelled one in four trains over the weekend as a result of arson attacks that lead to widespread disruption to France’s high-speed rail network hours before the start of the Olympics.

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London Eurostar passengers asked to postpone journeys after arson attack

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High-speed rail services have been disrupted, hours before Olympics opening ceremony, by ‘acts of malice’

Eurostar passengers travelling from London to Paris on Friday were asked to postpone trips if possible, with trains delayed and cancelled after arson attacks took place on high-speed rail lines hours before the start of the Olympics.

Most services were leaving St Pancras International station on time but journeys were expected to be prolonged by at least an hour in France. Two afternoon departures have been cancelled.

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