For the people of the Blyth Valley, it’s payback time. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced a £34million fund to start to reinstate the passenger rail line between Newcastle and Ashington. This is seen by many as a reward for being the first constituency to breach the ‘red wall’ of seats extending across the Midlands … Read more
Road chiefs have pledged to accelerate the rollout of potentially lifesaving safety measures on smart motorways following crisis talks with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. The minister ordered Highways England to bring forward the deadline for installing vital technology which can detect when vehicles are marooned and prevent collisions. More CCTV is to be rolled out to … Read more
Smart motorways are ‘inherently unsafe’ and ‘should be abandoned’, a police and crime commissioner says. Dr Alan Billings, PCC for South Yorkshire, has written to the Government saying the abolition of the hard shoulder should be ‘abandoned’ before more people die. In a letter to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, Dr Billings accused Highways England of … Read more
Britons could be the first drivers allowed to take their hands off the wheel on motorways to watch films, send texts or check emails as Grant Shapps pushes plan for driverless cars New lanekeeping technology introduced was introduced to Britain on Friday Introduction is stage three of five needed to see self-driving cars on the road Grant … Read more
Two rail lines shut in 1960s will reopen as transport officials put £800million towards Bicester-Bletchley and Newcastle-Ashington projects Department for Transport said £760m will support next phase of East West Rail Reinstates services between Bicester, Oxfordshire and Bletchley shut in 1968 £34m boost is also going to old line between Newcastle and Ashington By Daily Mail … Read more
High street retailers and luxury brands are burning or dumping products returned by EU customers due to the cost and trouble of bringing them back into the country – as online shoppers in Britain see prices rise by a third for items from Europe. The Brexit trade deal has seen many customers rejecting goods that … Read more
Post-Brexit shoppers are paying a third more for EU goods as red tape is confusing Continental retailers amid chaos at the ports. Tens of thousands of internet buyers are checking out without realising they will be asked to stump up extra VAT and customs duties when their parcel arrives. Delivery company DPD asked one shopper … Read more
The EU has demanded Boris Johnson drop plans to turn the City into a ‘Singapore on Thames’ global economic powerhouse before it will consider helping unclog the huge backlog of goods at UK ports. The EU is said to be open to discussing how to reduce friction, with shopper complaining of shortages at UK supermarkets … Read more
Ministers have put troops on standby to help clear the backlog of goods at British ports amid warnings border disruption could get even worse. Shoppers have complained of shortages at UK supermarkets of staples like broccoli, tomatoes and cheese as post-Brexit red tape has hit supply coming into the country. Meanwhile, shortages have also been … Read more
Safety measures on smart motorways will be fast-tracked after road bosses were ordered to ramp up the rollout Road bosses ordered to draw up plans to ramp up rollout of smart motorway safety measures It comes after a coroner rules this week that smart motorways present an ‘ongoing risk of future deaths’ after the deaths … Read more