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

Friday, 31 July 2015

BBC News

• Rise in illegal immigrants at portsThe number of illegal immigrants intercepted at ports in Northern Ireland trying to reach other parts of the UK has risen significantly in the last three years measured.
• Paddington revamp set to startPaddington Station undergoes a revamp to provide better waiting facilities, more seating areas and food outlets, says Network Rail.
• VIDEO: Flight MH370: The search so farA large part of an aeroplane wing has washed up on a beach on the French island of Reunion. Experts think it belongs to a Boeing 777, raising hopes that it could help in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Department for Transport

• New Director General of Rail Executive announcedBernadette Kelly has been appointed as DfT’s new Director General for the Rail Executive.
• New fleet of trains to bring better journeys to the south westGovernment gives go ahead to £360 million state of the art train fleet running between London and Cornwall

Financial Times

• Lufthansa battles budget rivals on home turfAirline prepares to launch low-cost airline on non-hub routes

The Guardian

• Uber denies misleading passengers with 'phantom cars' on appResearchers say the app shows cars present in the user’s vicinity even when there are noneUber has denied claims its application misleads users by displaying “phantom carsâ€� which don’t actually exist.The claim was made by Alex Rosenblat and Luke Stark, a pair of researchers from the Data & Society thinktank. In an article for Vice’s Motherboard, Rosenblat wrote that the phantom cars are just one way that Uber’s passenger app can be “deceptiveâ€�. Continue reading...

Daily Express

• Malaysia Airlines MH370: Relatives 'torn' over discovery of plane wreckageFAMILY members of those who were onboard the Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight have been left torn after claims that wreckage found is

Mail Online

• Ladies-only parking spaces introduced at Frankfurt airport The pink-coloured parking spots have wider bays making easier for women to park at Frankfurt Airport. The lady-only zone is also nearer the terminal buildings so they don't have as far to carry their bags.

Birmingham Post

• Six of the world's best amphibious cars If you live somewhere that has the tendency to become flooded, why not try a car that is at home on land and on water?

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• DEVOLUTION DEBATE: Will devolution make the Northern Powerhouse a reality? BIG city regions in the north are being tooled up with new devolved powers to help drive George Osborne's vision of a Northern Powerhouse.

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph commented Turning on bus lane is fraught with problems - reader's letterI HAVE great concerns about the Uttoxeter New Road bus lane. It is very dangerous for cars turning left at both Albany Road and Trowels Lane. There are no markings on the road, buses are travelling at 40mph, and the hold-ups are unbelievable. To get out without using the bus lane is impossible. Even trying to turn right is very difficult due to uncaring motorists who never give way any more. A friend has been fined £60 for going to care for someone on Trowels Lane. Her only fault was...

London Evening Standard

• New First Great Western trains to ease 'cattle-truck' trips for commuters into Paddington Overcrowding faced by commuters into Paddington will be eased with a new fleet of trains on services from the South-West to London.
• Paddington station to undergo £20m revamp which is set to take 18 months to complete Work has begun on a revamp costing up to £20 million at one of London's busiest and most iconic transport hubs.
• Evening Standard Comment: New trains bring relief for crowded commutes There is relief ahead for commuters into Paddington: First Great Western has announced its purchase of new trains running between Cornwall and London, which stop at commuter centres in Reading and Newbury.This will increase by about 1,000 the number of peak-time seats on trains into the station: the new fleet will cost some £360 million.
• MH370: Aircraft debris 'very likely' to be from same aircraft as missing Malaysia plane Aircraft debris found on the French island of Reunion is "very likely" from a Boeing 777 like the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, aviation experts have said.
• Plane passenger suing airline after sustaining injury caused by 'being sat next to obese man' A man who sat next to an overweight passenger on a 13 hour flight is suing an airline after claiming the experience left him with a back injury.

Manchester Evening News

• Bricks and stones thrown at moving Metrolink tram, smashing windows and causing delaysThe incident happened around 8pm and hit two trams, delaying the East Didsbury and Airport lines

The York Press

• York MP calls on Government to live up to 'electric rail' election pledges YORK Central MP Rachael Maskell has backed the Don’t Pull the Plug Campaign calling on the Government to reinstate plans to electrify the TransPennine rail line.

This Is Local London Network

• Mugged off: Heathrow sends mugs and biscuits to anti-expansion MPsSome of the highest profile and most vocal anti Heathrow-expansion campaigners have been sent goody boxs by the airport containing teaware and shortbread biscuits. Whether the mugs were better suited as ear muffs to block out noise or to drink out of was never made clear but the unsolicited gifts certainly angered the borough's MPs. The boxes sent to MPs Zac Goldsmith and Tania Mathias also contained Louis Barnett chocolate and information about the airport's role in exporting British goods, according to a Heathrow spokesman. Mr Goldsmith, who had promised to trigger a byelection for his Ri...

Daventry Express

• Motorists warned of a further 20 months of roadworks on the M1 between junctions 16 and 19Drivers have been warned to brace themselves for a further 18 months of delays on the M1 after more information was released about the new Smart motorway scheme.

Other Regional Press

• Holme Valley to Leeds commuters promised refund after First accidentally DOUBLES ticket price'Admin error' lead to 99% rise in combined rail and bus ticket

Bus and Coach.com

• £6million interchange offers new gateway to Wythenshawe
• BCA to battle on as state aid case rejected by European Commission
• BYD and ADL to build 51 electric buses for Go Ahead London

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Lufthansa significantly improves results for first half-yearThe Lufthansa Group reports solid business development for the first half of 2015 and improved results in all of its operating segments.  The Adjusted EBIT rose by €290m year-on-year to €468m. For the six months ended 30 June, sales increased by 8.5% to €15.4bn, with traffic revenue accounting for €12.1bn of that figure.  Yields for the Lufthansa Group’s passenger airlines rose by 2.4% in the first half of 2015, which was mainly exchange rate related. Had it not been for the tailwind from a weaker euro, however, yields would have been appreciably lower, in l...
• New Director General of Rail Executive announcedBernadette Kelly has been appointed as DfT’s new Director General for the Rail Executive. Bernadette is currently Director General for Business and Local Growth at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), where she is responsible for government’s policy towards business sectors including advanced manufacturing and services as well as local and regional growth. Bernadette’s career includes many years working with business and a strong focus on the economy, including the interests of consumers. Bernadette will join DfT in late September and will start with a ...
• Eurowings open up new flight destinations in Europe and Southeast AsiaNew Eurowings continue to expand their short-haul and medium-haul flight plan by adding new attractive destinations.  The new Eurowings will offer point-to-point connections to popular travel destinations within Europe from Vienna International Airport.  During the winter months between the 9th November 2015 and the 26th March 2016, passengers can book flights from Vienna to Barcelona or Palma de Mallorca.  From the 9th November 2015, six times a week, Eurowings will also fly from Vienna to London Stansted; and in addition, three times a week from Vienna to Rome.    Vi...
• London celebrates five successful years of the Mayor’s flagship cycle hire schemeThe Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) are marking five successful years of London’s iconic cycle hire scheme by announcing a free access weekend on August 22-23 to encourage people to try the cycles as part of Santander Cycles’ Summer of Cycling.  The free access weekend will allow people to try the scheme for the first time and give regular users the chance to travel around London for free.  The cycle hire scheme has grown from strength-to-strength since launching in July 2010, with now almost double the number of bikes (6,000 to 11,500) and docking station...

Rail Magazine

• New Hitachi trains for West CountryTwenty-nine AT300 trains built by Hitachi in Japan will enter traffic in the UK from May 2018.

Railnews

• Go-ahead for new hybrid trains to far south west The Government has given its approval for a new fleet of hybrid trains which are being bought by First Great Western in an unusual privately-funded deal worth £360 million. The fleet of 29 Hitachi AT300 units will be used on routes to the far south west, beyond the presently-planned limits of Great Western electrification, and will replace the current fleet of HSTs, which are now in their fourth decade and were unlikely to be worth upgrading for service beyond 2020, according to operator First Great Western. The AT300s are being described as similar in design to the Intercity Expresses but wi...

Aviation Industry

• Virgin America posts 2Q net income of $65 million Virgin America posted second-quarter net income of $65 million, up 75.7% from a net income of $37 million in the year-ago period. read more
• Bombardier 2Q net profit down 19%; CSeries ‘on track’Bombardier earned second-quarter net income of $125 million, down 19.4% from a net profit of $155 million in the prior-year period, on a 5.5% year-over-year drop in revenue to $4.62 billion. read more
• NY JFK Airport redevelopment plan due July 2016New York JFK International Airport may also get an overhaul, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced simultaneously with plans to transform LaGuardia Airport on July 27. read more
• United CEO pledges no backing down on fight against Gulf carrier expansion The US majors will not give up on their campaign against the Gulf carriers, which present the biggest-ever threat to the future of US airlines, the CEO of United Airlines said in a speech in New York Thursday. read more
• Lufthansa profits from lower fuel price despite strike costsGerman group doubles operating profit for the first half of the year

Green Miscellany

• Peddling battery bikes: The Bolt electric mopedElectric cars remain an exclusive & expensive club. Not so a new breed of electric vehicle that looks good and won’t break the bank; enter the Bolt electric moped The post Peddling battery bikes: The Bolt electric moped appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• BRIDGE TO NOWHERE: Line of long-delayed £7m Blackburn link road now visible to motorists THIS is what the road which links Blackburn’s £12 million “bridge to nowhereâ€� to somewhere will look like.
• M23 to become 'smart motorway' in scheme to ease congestionWork will start within three years to create an extra lane and install interactive signs to increase capacity and improve traffic flow
• Motorists may 'lose out' on benefits from new roads fundThe government is being urged to amend the formula to include council-managed roads and recognise road usage rather than how many miles of a road a council manages
• UPS triples delivery miles on 'green' fuels US delivery giant UPS has tripled the number of miles it drove on sustainable fuels in the last year, according to the firm's 2014 sustainability report.
• Business leaders call for early vote on HeathrowChief executives from Carillion and Mace are among a group of business leaders that have urged the government to call an early parliamentary vote to expand Heathrow.
• Expanded Security Checks at Airports starting in the Fall 2015Security is a top priority in air traffic: On September 1, 2015, expanded security regulations come into effect with respect to checking for explosives at European and thus also Austrian...