Transport Support Unit established to help with coronavirus response

The Department for Transport (DfT) has established a Transport Support Unit (TSU) which sees the transport community come together  to assist frontline responders during the coronavirus crisis.

Vehicles made available in the unit include four fixed-wing aircraft owned by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, one of them a Boeing 737. They can be made available for tasks including moving emergency patients and medical supplies.

Highways England can also release control vehicles for potential use as mobile COVID-19 testing centres.

Network Rail, with the eighth largest commercial vehicle fleet in the country, has 8,500 vans and lorries which can be used to transport essential items during the crisis. It is making available its seven regional distribution centres which can be used for COVID-19 related supplies.

The DfT, its agencies or the wider transport sector have made more than 8,500 staff available to volunteer to help in the crisis.

The DfT has set up a dedicated email inbox so that organisations requiring this type of assistance can contact the TSU directly.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, said: "Now more than ever we need to work closely together, and the new Transport Support Unit stands ready to help our frontline staff and deliver crucial supplies."