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

Wednesday, 26 August 2015

BBC News

• Packed meeting hears concerns after cuts to bus servicesCuts to bus services are "causing serious social problems for people", campaigners said.
• Worcestershire Parkway rail station given go aheadWork can begin on a £22m rail station in Worcestershire after planning permission was granted.
• France Thalys train attack provokes rail security rowAn argument over spot checks at French railway stations is one sign of how complicated it will be to increase security on trains following last Friday's foiled attack on the Amsterdam-Paris Thalys.
• Bus staff to take industrial actionWorkers at Cardiff Bus are to take industrial action in a disagreement over pay.
• Rail link campaigners take offA group seeking to reopen a rail link between Aberystwyth and Carmarthen takes its campaign to the skies.
• Corbyn would consider women's carriagesLabour leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn says he would consider women-only rail carriages to help solve a rise in assaults on public transport.
• A1 safety plans in pipeline after crashPlans to improve safety along the A1 dual carriageway between Lisburn and the Irish border will be confirmed over the coming weeks.

Financial Times

• Lion Air tycoon Kirana has the last laughThe billionaire has gone from selling typewriters to build one of fastest-growing airlines
• Terror suspect played jihad tape on trainMovement of Moroccan-born man throughout Europe renews questions over open borders

The Guardian

• Rail network to be disrupted over bank holiday weekendImprovement works and strike action will affect services from Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and GlasgowThe bank holiday weekend getaway is set to be hit by serious disruption to the rail network due to planned engineering work and strike action. Improvement work is taking place on the west coast mainline, which will affect services from a number of key locations, including Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. Many passengers will be forced to make multiple changes, use replacement buses and suffer extended journey times. Continue reading...
• Coventry Arena train station to open – but football fans warned not to use itStation beside the Ricoh arena, home to Coventry City and Wasps, will be kept closed for an hour after matches while train can take just 75 of up to 32,600 fansA new railway station serving Coventry City football club’s stadium is to finally open – with just one tiny flaw: trains will not be able to carry fans to and from matches.The delayed Coventry Arena station, built beside the Ricoh arena, which is shared by City and rugby union premiership club Wasps, will remain closed for an hour after the final whistle. The train operator has advised the travelling public to stick to the roads on matc...

The Herald

• Rail disruption to hit bank holiday weekend travelThe bank holiday weekend getaway is set to be hit by serious disruption to the rail network due to planned engineering work and strike action.

The Independent

• Uber testing 'smart routes', its own bus serviceThe new feature shows green lines on busy streets, indicating the common routes that Ubers are taking. Users can then tell the app that they want to be picked up on that main street, and soon after an UberPool car will pull up, with other customers already inside.
• 'Women only' train carriages: Jeremy Corbyn unveils radical move to tackle public harassment “Women onlyâ€� carriages should be introduced on trains at night, Jeremy Corbyn will say today, to tackle the growing problem of sexist harassment in public places.
• Jeremy Corbyn proposes 'women only' train carriages: Segregation will make things worse Jeremy Corbyn has made some sensible and laudable suggestions on tackling the scourge of sexual harassment. The extension of a scheme tested in Bradford to register the number plates of men who shout at women in the street, and the creation of a police hotline for reporting harassment and assault staffed exclusively by women, are especially encouraging. But a women-only train carriages after 10pm? Not so much.

The Scotsman

• Ruth Davidson attacks Edinburgh airport delaysSCOTTISH Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has become the latest high-profile passenger to criticise Edinburgh Airport’s chronic security check delays.

The Telegraph

• Jeremy Corbyn to consult on 'women-only' train carriages at nightLabour leadership front-runner suggests women-only train carriages could be introduced to try and reduce sex attacks

Times Online

• It’s the Uber effect as thousands more of us jump in a cabRecord numbers of taxis and minicabs have taken to the roads as the demand for apps such as Uber continues to soar.

Daily Record

• Calmac are first transport operator in Scotland to pay staff living wage.. now it's time to play fair by them CAMPAIGNERS hope this shift in paying its workers will urge MSPs to reconsider replacing Calmac with a private contractor.
• Delta Airlines will start a new service between Edinburgh and New York from May THE new service linking Scotland and the USA means travellers can now choose between Edinburgh and Glasgow airports for transatlantic travel.

Mail Online

• British train users may face airport-style security The plans are being discussed by officials in Brussels as they look at the possibility of drawing up EU-wide rules on railway security for the first time after an attack on a Paris-bound train.

Birmingham Post

• Former Rolls Royce executive to head Midland-based Energy Research Accelerator Gordon Waddington’s appointment follows the announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of an initial £60 million funding for the Midland-based energy research and development hub
• Vow over Sparkbrook tram depot renovation despite council rejection Made Architecture plans to push ahead with major regeneration project after city planners knock it back due to issues over parking and the loss of industrial buildings

Liverpool Echo

• Transport improvements worth £6.7m planned for Knowsley Business Park Scheme will focus on clear routes and gateways for vehicles, increase public transport and improve walking and cycling access

London Evening Standard

• Tube strike: Londoners want curb on public sector walkouts, exclusive poll revealsYouGov ballot for the Standard: People from range of backgrounds back tougher laws
• Hawk recruited in bid to keep King's Cross pigeon-freeBosses at King’s Cross have recruited a hawk to scare off pigeons. Aria, a one-year-old Harris hawk, patrols the station for a contractor employed by Network Rail. 
• Evening Standard Comment: No surprise that we now back strike curbsThere shouldn’t be much surprise that a poll published today suggests that more than half of Londoners now support legislation making it more difficult for workers in crucial sectors to go on
• Number of minicabs operating in London surges 26% in two yearsThe number of minicabs plying their trade on the capital’s streets has increased by 26 per cent in just two years, figures showed today. 
• New junction will protect cyclists on deadliest roadThe UK’s first junction designed to protect cyclists from being hit by left-turning vehicles was unveiled today on London’s deadliest road for bike  casualties.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Morning news headlines: Jeremy Corbyn to consult on 'women-only' train carriages at night, Pair sought after car crash leaves two dead near Doncaster Latest news headlines from around the world

Wales Online

• Cardiff Bus drivers' union says striking staff had no option but to take actionDiscussions over a salary increase have led to 83% of union members voting in favour of a strike

Blackpool Gazette

• Call to save rural bus routesLancashire’s transport chief is calling on the government to establish a special fund to protect rural buses.
• Calls for answers after rail setbackRail bosses are coming under pressure to ensure upgrades to the line between Blackpool and Preston are not affected after the contractor working on the project pulled out.
• Petrol ‘could fall to £1 per litre’ in supermarkets’ price warThe price of fuel could drop to £1 per litre amid falling oil prices, as supermarkets head towards a potential petrol price war following Asda’s recent move to cut the price of unleaded by 2p per litre.
• Ryanair passengers could win payouts after delayed claim court victoryMillions of Ryanair passengers could be in line for a payout after a landmark court judgment ruled the airline cannot limit the time allowed to claim compensation for flight delays.

Bucks Free Press

• How would you spend the county's transport budget? How would you spend the county council’s multi-million pound transport budget? Now is your chance to have your say with a new online tool as county hall plans its new long term policy. to keep Bucks on the move
• Gareth Ainsworth picked among five High Wycombe 'legends' to have buses named after them The manager of Wycombe Wanderers has been named among five legends of the town to be honoured by having a new fleet of buses named after them.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Rail campaigners putting their case to potential rail franchisesMembers of the taskforce hoping to improve rail services between London and East Anglia are to meet bidders for the new franchise in Ipswich today.

Other Regional Press

• Network Rail criticised for cutting down tree NETWORK Rail has been criticised by Newport residents for cutting down an apple tree as part of the electrification of the railway lines.
• Northampton railway station evacuated after people spotted near tracks with ‘air weapons’An evacuation of Northampton train station was triggered this afternoon after a group of people were spotted firing air weapons in a nearby park.
• Morning news headlines: Jeremy Corbyn to consult on 'women-only' train carriages at night, Pair sought after car crash leaves two dead near Doncaster Latest news headlines from around the world
• Call to save rural bus routesLancashire’s transport chief is calling on the government to establish a special fund to protect rural buses.
• Bus station design winner criticised for being ‘safe’An architect behind one of the unsuccessful designs to revive Preston’s bus station has labelled the winning entry “safe”.
• Colne Valley roads may not be resurfaced for '20 years' councillor warnsKirklees cabinet branded 'out of control' after changing road resurfacing priorities
• Disruption to the rail network to affect bank holiday weekend travel Improvement work is taking place on the West Coast Main Line which will affect services from a number of key locations, including Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Innovative Cycle Superhighway junction in UK safety firstBritain’s first junction designed to avoid cyclists being hit by left-turning traffic is unveiled today, the beginning of a new wave of such junctions on London’s busiest main roads.  Cyclists and turning motor traffic will move in separate phases, with left-turning vehicles held back to allow cyclists to move without risk, and cyclists held when vehicles are turning left. There will also be a new ‘two-stage right turn’ to let cyclists make right turns in safety. For straight-ahead traffic, early-release traffic lights will give cyclists a head start.  These...
• Transport for the North paves the way for transformed northern freight and logistics sectorTransport for the North (TfN) is set to break new ground with the creation of the UK’s first pan-regional freight and logistics strategy, designed to create the integrated transport network that the logistics sector in the north needs to drive growth and create jobs.  Specialists Mott MacDonald and MDS Transmodal have now been appointed to help drive forward the development of the strategy, supporting TfN in determining the size, role and likely growth potential of the freight and logistics industry in the north.  Once the baseline studies have been conducted, the partner con...

Rail Magazine

• Borders Railway from start to finishVideo shows the history of the Borders Railway.
• Nottingham's new tram lines openedNew lines to Chilwell and Clifton open
• Likely removal of North West ‘323s’ angers user groupSeventeen three-car Class 323 electric multiple units that currently operate on Northern Rail services could be moving to the Midlands
• DLR adds more Stratford-Lewisham trainsExtra trains added to a number of Docklands Light Railway routes.
• Bank Holiday London station closuresSeveral London stations will close for work over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
• South West Trains gets green light for more servicesAdditional West of England services approved for SWT

Aviation Industry

• Berlin Brandenburg opening “still on trackâ€� despite bankruptcy setbackPlans to open the much-delayed and controversial Berlin Brandenburg International Airport (BER) in Germany remain on schedule for the second half of 2017 despite the bankruptcy of its construction company, Imtech Deutschland, officials said. read more
• Vienna Airport bids to increase stake in Malta AirportVienna Flughafen Wien Airport has made an offer to acquire SNC Lavalin’s stake in Malta International Airport and increase its holding by a further 15.5%, which would increase its stake from 33% to 48%. read more

Other News Sources

• Council launches petition against moving Heathrow Express train depot to LangleyA petition against government plans to build a depot for Heathrow Express trains in Langley has been submitted by Slough Borough Council.
• Reckless Blackburn thieves cause major delays after risking their lives by targeting railway cables RECKLESS cable thieves targeted Blackburn’s railway network twice in 24 hours causing massive disruption and putting their own lives at risk.
• Rail disruption to hit bank holiday weekend travel THE bank holiday weekend getaway is set to be hit by serious disruption to the rail network due to planned engineering work and strike action.