Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Tuesday, 23 June 2015

BBC News

• Rail freight company to axe 234 jobsRail freight company DB Schenker Rail UK announces plans to cut 234 jobs, mainly across the north of England, amid a drop in coal transport.
• Bus improvement plan hit by delaysA major bus improvement plan to link Leigh and Manchester is hit by delays, say transport bosses.
• Rail crash staged for trainingA train and car crash are staged in south London as part of a training exercise involving more than 250 emergency service personnel.
• Cyclist killed in lorry collisionA female cyclist, 26, dies in a collision with a tipper truck in the City of London.

Financial Times

• Safran questions jet makers’ output boostEngine maker declines to commit to participating in high levels of narrow-body jet production
• Uber’s total funding nears $10bnUS car-hailing app taps huge investor appetite to accelerate drive into 300 cities

The Guardian

• Royal Bank of Scotland gives no date for new chairman to join boardBank insists Sir Howard Davies will still become chairman on 1 September and cites commitments to Airports Commission for his delay in taking up seat
• Airbnb and Uber’s sharing economy is one route to dotcommunismPeer-to-peer platforms have changed the game. Make them cheap or free, and it would be way of reinventing the economy to deliver participation and choice alongside social justiceThe key will be under a milk bottle, said the email, and it had better be. I had flown to Sydney for a month-long stay in an apartment, booked via Airbnb, and I would have been in disarray if there had been something wrong. But the key was there, and, eventually, so was a line in my credit-card bill commensurate with staying for four weeks on the seafront at Bondi beach. The elderly couple who owned the apartment block...

The Herald

• Talks fail to avert CalMac strike The RMT union has confirmed its members working for ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne will go ahead with industrial action this week after talks failed today.
• 'Car-free' tourist guide shows visitors how to see Scotland without drivingVISITORS to Scotland are being urged to get to and from the country's main attractions by foot and public transport in a new

The Independent

• London Mayor elections: Tessa Jowell's support for Heathrow expansion 'means she can't win' The gloves came off in the fight to be Labour’s candidate in next year’s election to be London Mayor as opponents of Dame Tessa Jowell claimed  she could not win the contest because she supports the expansion of Heathrow Airport.

The Telegraph

• Night Tube: Where will the all-night London Underground trains stop?Transport for London reveals the stations 24-hour trains will stop at - as striking Tube drivers set to bring capital to halt in pay row over new service
• Dementia drivers 'as dangerous as gunmen'Tighter licence checks needed to avoid sufferers taking to the roads when they have become a danger to the public, doctors will be told
• Female cyclist crushed to death by lorry outside Bank of EnglandCycling group calls for 'horrendous' junction to be pedestrianised as 26-year-old woman becomes eighth fatality in London this year
• Transatlantic flight diverted 'after passenger kept demanding nuts'Travellers were delayed nearly 24 hours and had to sleep in the terminal of Belfast airport after their flight was diverted because of an allegedly threatening passenger

Daily Express

• Rail union blasts plans for more driver-only trainsRAIL bosses have been accused of preparing to “bulldoze” through the wholesale use of driver-only trains.

Birmingham Post

• Special two millionth Land Rover Defender rolls off Lode Lane production line Defender 2,000,000 celebrates 67 years of continuous production at the Lode Lane factory for the vehicle that changed the face of motoring forever
• HS2 wish list drawn up for new rail route Rail customer watchdog Transport Focus reveals key items which future users of high-speed rail line between Birmingham and London want to see

London Evening Standard

• Night Tube service will open on time despite walkout threats, promise Underground bosses Tube bosses today defied union strike threats and pledged the new night service will open on time in September.
• Night Tube map, start date and lines: What you need to know about London's new 24-hour Underground service The stations served by new 24-hour Underground trains were revealed today as Transport for London unveiled the Night Tube map.
• London Bridge delays: Commuters face fresh 'chaos' after rush hour signalling problem Commuters were this evening facing fresh chaos at London Bridge station.

Manchester Evening News

• Virgin West Coast mainline passengers complain the most - but rail campaigners say company is not always to blameComplaints are also up for Northern Rail  but TransPennine Express sees a fall
• Metrolink 'circular' line: Call for Greater Manchester to have a M60-style tram route Town hall bosses working on plans to put before transport bosses

Sheffield Telegraph

• Tram-trains to run between Sheffield and Rotherham being built in SpainA £60 million project to run tram-trains between Sheffield and Rotherham is moving into its next phase as the vehicles that will be used are built in Spain.

Wales Online

• No trains will run between Cardiff and Newport this weekendBuses will replace trains between Newport and Cardiff Central stations extending journey times all day

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Rail freight firm axing 234 jobsRail freight company DB Schenker is planning to cut more than 230 jobs amid a continued decline in demand for coal.

Bucks Free Press

• HS2 committee hears of impact project will have on Bucks Schoolchildren, farmers and homeowners all met with a group of influential MPs as they toured south Bucks today to see what impact HS2 would have on the county.
• Narrow lane stops HS2 MPs from reaching residents Residents were left unable to put their views to the HS2 Select Committee today – because the road taking the MPs to see them wasn’t wide enough.

Doncaster Free Press

• Fears for rail jobs at major Doncaster firmHundreds of jobs are under threat at a major Doncaster employer.
• Police in week of action at level crossings in South YorkshireExtra police patrols will be carried out at level crossings in South Yorkshire this week in a bid to reduce the number of motorists who fail to stop at signals.

Other Regional Press

• Heathrow Airport: MPs claim map shows true noise impact of third runwayMPs fighting plans for Heathrow Airport expansion have produced a new map which they claim shows how many more homes would be affected by aircraft noise with a third runway.

Bus and Coach.com

• Shhh, Volvo electric bus calls in at Gothenburg library

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• New £100m Port of Liverpool biomass facility to support EU’s largest decarbonisation project at Drax power stationA new £100m biomass terminal planned for the Port of Liverpool will see it handle up to three million tonnes of wood pellets a year as part of the decarbonisation of Drax power station. The wood pellets – to be shipped to Liverpool from North America – are a by-product of the commercial forestry and saw-milling industry and will provide the Selby-based power station with a new, sustainable low carbon fuel source. In transitioning from coal to sustainable biomass Drax will reduce its CO2 footprint by some 12m tonnes per annum, the equivalent to removing 10% of the cars on th...
• Finalised London night-time Tube map revealedThe finalised map for London's night-time Tube service has been revealed. All-night weekend services are set to begin on 12 September on sections of the Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines. However, the union Aslef has already announced its members will strike for 24 hours on 8 July from 21:30 BST over pay and conditions for the service. District organiser Finn Brennan said drivers would have to work unlimited night shifts for no extra pay. 'It's easy enough to produce a map, but if London Underground management want to have an all-night service in September, then the...
• First Glasgow celebrates Public Transport Operator of Year AwardScotland’s largest bus operator, First Glasgow, is today (Friday) celebrating after being named as Public Transport Operator of the Year at last night’s Scottish Transport Awards, one of the transport industry’s most respected award ceremonies. In awarding the much-coveted prize, the judges highlighted the significant role First Glasgow played in the success of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last summer, when it carried a quarter of a million spectators while the eyes of the world were on the city. Also recognised was the company’s significant investment in new veh...
• Wincanton announces contract win with ViridorLeading supply chain solutions provider Wincanton today announces that its records management business (WRM) will be partnering with leading UK recycling and renewable energy company Viridor, having won a contract to update its information management system. This marks the first time that Viridor has outsourced archiving and management of its documents, including thousands of the business’ operating manuals. Having ready access to these documents is vital for Viridor to meet its regulatory requirements and, by partnering with WRM, the business will be able to securely manage its files a...
• Three new partners added to Jigsaw haulage networkLarge-scale managed transport specialist Jigsaw has announced the addition of three new partners to its haulage network.  PC Howard, Nolan Transport and Montgomery Transport were selected by the organisation for the expertise, principal locations, and high service levels they offer, in addition to their ability to integrate with the ten hauliers that have already partnered with Jigsaw.  Peterborough-based PC Howard boasts a transport heritage dating back to the 1930s and currently has a fleet of more than 100 vehicles, operating from Swindon and in the east of England.  Nolan Transport owns an...
• New logistics partner iForce signed by MaplinLogistics specialist iForce has been appointed as multichannel partner to Maplin, which will see the firm take on management of warehouse operations for the electronics retailer. Customer and store availability will be improved for Maplin as a result of the move, as warehouse management systems will be upgraded, enabling an increased focus on product and service proposition.  Maplin's Rotherham site has been adopted by iForce - and this is likely to facilitate the introduction of a click and collect service.  John Cleland, Maplin's chief executive, said iForce has already helped his company to...
• Network Rail bridge construction prompts earth-moving transport workNetwork Rail has completed construction work on a new road bridge which spans the existing Stafford to Crewe railway line at Norton Bridge.  In the wake of this development, workers are now tasked with moving 230,000 cubic metres of earth - enough material to fill almost 100 Olympic sized swimming pools.  This will be transported across the bridge, and 30 tons of earth will be moved at a time by articulated haulers crossing over existing railway lines within the development site. Staffordshire Alliance - a partnership of Atkins, Laing O'Rourke, Network Rail and VolkerRail - is delivering the w...

Aviation Industry

• New Heathrow flight paths website launched by London MPsA group of prominent London MPs have launched a new website and campaign about possible new flight paths over London at an event in Parliament. At the centre of the campaign is a map produced using Heathrow Airport’s figures showing …
• LOT cyberattack grounds 1,400 passengers at Warsaw airportStar Alliance carrier LOT Polish Airlines was forced to cancel 11 out of 200 scheduled flights Sunday at Warsaw’s Frederic Chopin Airport after its computers were hacked, grounding 1,400 passengers. read more
• Lufthansa flight attendants give June 30 deadline to avoid strikes Lufthansa flight attendant union said it would announce several strike actions July 1 if an agreement has not been reached by June 30 over pay and pension benefits. read more
• EasyJet to introduce A320 aircraft with new configurationLow-cost carrier (LCC) easyJet is to become the latest airline to use advances in cabin technology to slot more seats into its aircraft. read more
• Etihad calls for more open European marketGulf carrier Etihad Airways has welcomed the European Commission (EC) review of aviation policy as a chance to embrace “bold reformsâ€� that put competition and passengers’ interests in the spotlight. read more
• Airservices expands ADS-C oceanic trials for flight trackingAustralia’s air navigation services provider (ANSP) Airservices has implemented satellite-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Contract (ADS-C) trials in its oceanic airspace, making the country one of the first to comply with international requirements for tracking suitably equipped flights. read more
• Fastjet exits western African airline marketSale of Ghana business will allow no-frills carrier in other parts of Africa
• Group formed to fight Lufthansa GDS chargeIndustry urged to join new global coalition to “promote choiceâ€� in booking channels

Other News Sources

• Owl-inspired coating could lead to more efficient wind turbinesCambridge University researchers have taken their inspiration from owls in the development of a coating they claim could help make wind turbines, computer fans and even planes much quieter.
• FTA denies HGVs bring ‘bedlam’ to villagesFreight Transport Association (FTA) has denied claims by the Local Government Association (LGA) that lorries are bringing ‘bedlam’ to Britain’s ...
• TfL boss orders Garden Bridge reviewThe boss of Transport for London has ordered a review of the procurement of the Garden Bridge designer.
• London's night Tube map unveiledTransport for London releases a map showing which lines and stations will be part of its new 24 hour service, amid threats of further strike action from unions.
• We’ve got pedal power! Thousands take part in London to Brighton bike ride THOUSANDS of cyclists pedalled 54 miles to Brighton to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.
• Harvey to join BCD Travel as regional presidentFormer HRG commercial director to take up role as EMEA boss