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

Saturday, 29 August 2015

BBC News

• Bus service in Stanwell Moor reinstated after petitionA bus service has been reinstated after fears a village in north Surrey would be left isolated.
• Rail boss 'disappointed' by strikeThe managing director of First Great Western says he is
• Cancellations as rail strike beginsA number of rail services are cancelled as First Great Western staff begin a three-day walkout.
• Expansion plan for troubled shipyardPlans are being developed to employ up to 1,300 workers at a Clyde shipyard Ferguson Marine which went bust a year ago.

Financial Times

• Qantas chief’s pay soars as revamp takes offSix senior executives divide A$23m pot after programme of cuts bolsters airline’s performance

The Herald

• FirstGroup appoints new finance chiefFIRSTGROUP has appointed Matthew Gregory as its new chief financial officer. Mr Gregory currently holds the same role at specialist plastic, foam and fibre product supplier Essentra.
• Ferry disruption as harbour faces five month closure WEMYSS Bay Harbour is to close for five months.

The Scotsman

• Extra trams for Edinburgh to meet demand consideredEXTRA rush-hour trams are being considered by Edinburgh transport chiefs to ease the pressure on packed carriages, The Scotsman can reveal.
• Temporary road signs to be given ‘remove by’ dateTEMPORARY road signs will be given “remove by” dates under government plans to remove “pointless” street clutter.

The Telegraph

• Find cheapest rail fares yourself, passengers toldMinisters threaten to intervene after First Great Western says it presumes customers have researched the best deals 'by the time they approach the booking office'

Mail Online

• Tory MP Sir Alan Duncan sets out plans to clean-up the nation's highways Research by the Department of Transport found that the number of traffic signs has doubled in the last 20 years, to the point that many are now confusing, distracting and dangerous.
• Drone comes as close as 50 metres to plane above London City Airport  Both the pilot, co-pilot and a passenger on board the twin-engined Dash 8 aircraft (file picture), which can carry up to 78 passengers, spotted the drone near London City Airport in April.
• Miserable start to bank holiday weekend as rail workers strike and 14 MILLION take to the roads – and it'll probably be raining when you get there Millions of motorists faced travel misery after yesterday's Bank Holiday getaway was marred by strikes on the railways and gridlock on the roads - and to make matters, the forecast is for downpours.

The Mirror

• Aviation experts call for prison sentences for people flying drones too close to manned aircraftThe call came after it was revealed a passenger plane had a near miss with a pilotless device while another drone forced a Royal Navy Lynx helicopter to swerve
• 'Find your own cheapest fares' rail giant First Great Western tells passengersFirst Great Western has claimed train companies are under "no obligation" to help people look for the best value money deals

London Evening Standard

• Bank Tube station closed after faulty sprinkler system causes floodingCommuters faced disruption this morning after Bank Underground station was flooded by a faulty sprinkler which went off in a control room.
• Top 10 Tube stops for homebuyers in Zone 4More buyers are expanding their property search to the outer areas of the city as the capital's housing prices continue to rise

The York Press

• New York bus service attracts 35,000 people within weeks A NEW bus service was launched earlier this month in York has attracted more than 35,000 customers within weeks.

Daventry Express

• Rail disruption to hit bank holiday weekend travelRevellers attending Reading Festival are set to be hit by rail strike action from Saturday to Monday by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union as First Great Western passengers travelling towards the South West will face reduced services.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Extra train carriages and staff for crowds leaving Foo Fighters gigMusic fans are being warned not to get left behind after the Foo Fighters concerts at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes next weekend.

Plymouth Herald

• Massive Plymouth bus services shake-up: Stagecoach boss on jobs, routes and future plans Massive Plymouth bus services shake-up: Stagecoach boss on jobs, routes and future plans

Sleaford Standard

• Security Scanners at Stansted Airport to strike on Bank Holiday MondayWorkers who operate the security scanners for luggage at Stansted Airport are to stage a strike on Bank Holiday Monday in a row over pay.

Other Regional Press

• Airplane noise violation limits must remain in force at Luton Airport, says St Albans MPThe airport has asked its owner, Luton borough council, to change a condition attached to the planning permission it granted in 2013, because it fears airlines will be penalised for failing to meet noise limits.
• Routemaster buses take Imber visitors on journey back in time One of the Routemaster buses heading for Imber. In 2009, a group of bus industry professionals achieved a long standing ambition to run a vintage bus service from Warminster to the abandoned village of Imber on Salisbury Plain.
• New north Hull to Old Town bus service launched by Stagecoach A NEW bus service will launch next month to provide direct connections between the Old Town and north Hull.
• New £3.3m bus fleet in Norwich park and ride shake-upA major shake-up of Norwich’s park and ride service will be launched in just over a week, with bosses having spent £3.3m on a new fleet of buses.
• Rail disruption to hit bank holiday weekend travelRevellers attending Reading Festival are set to be hit by rail strike action from Saturday to Monday by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union as First Great Western passengers travelling towards the South West will face reduced services.
• Extra train carriages and staff for crowds leaving Foo Fighters gigMusic fans are being warned not to get left behind after the Foo Fighters concerts at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes next weekend.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Firstgroup appoints Matthew Gregory as Chief Financial OfficerFirstGroup plc announces that Matthew Gregory will be appointed to the Board as Chief Financial Officer with effect from 1 December 2015.  Matthew joins from FTSE 250 constituent Essentra plc, a leading global provider of essential components and solutions. He joined Essentra in 2003 and was appointed Group Finance Director in 2012. Prior to that he performed a number of senior roles including Corporate Development Director with responsibility for group strategy, planning and business development, and Finance Director in a number of its businesses. Matthew has been a key part of the mana...
• Electric vans trialled by DB Schenker RailDB Schenker Rail is trialling a new electric van with a view to replacing part of its fleet with fully electric vehicles.  Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions, Nissan and Tevo are collaborating with DB Schenker to deliver the trial, Logistics Manager reports.  The testing is being carried out at DB Schenker's depot in Toton, where emission and fuel savings made by the vehicle are being recorded. After this, the van will be tested at various other locations where the firm operates, before the possibility of investing in a larger fleet is explored.  DB Schenker operates more than 5,...
• DPD agrees new deal on new delivery depot in LincolnDPD has signed a 20-year lease on a new delivery depot, with the parcel delivery firm taking a 42,783 sq ft unit at the Network 46 scheme overseen by Graftongate.  Planning permission was only recently granted for work to be carried out on the site - so construction is set to begin from April 2016, Logistics Manager reports.  GVA Bilfinger and Pygott & Crone are currently acting as letting agents for the depot, while DPD was advised on the new deal by sbh International.  This comes in the wake of DPD outlining plans to invest a total of £150 million in ten new depots u...
• Perfect Order initiative launched by GS1 UKGS1 UK has announced the launch of its Perfect Order initiative, which is intended to deliver substantial benefits to retail customers.  It also has the potential to save the consumer goods industry several million pounds in operating costs by driving inefficiencies from the inbound grocery chain.  This is considered a pressing matter by GS1, as it comes at a time when suppliers are seeing new complexities and costs introduced to their businesses, while they are also striving to meet requirements laid down by the major grocery retailers. Quality assurance director at GS1 Harshal Gore...
• Network Space wins planning consent for logistics schemeNetwork Space has been granted outline planning consent for a new one million sq ft logistics scheme, which is set to be built in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. The site will be situated between junction 31 of the M1 motorway and the A1/A57 junction, adjacent to existing distribution centres, which are already held by B&Q and Wilko.  Some 60 acres will be planned and developed as an industrial and logistics scheme for general industrial and storage and distribution purposes.  This represents phase one of development work on the 130-acre site - and new access from the A57 trunk road wi...
• Witron posts 30% growth in 2014Witron, the automation specialist, increased its turnover to €350 million (£256 million) last year, which represents a growth rate of 30% compared to the corresponding figure recorded in 2013.  Order books throughout all sectors the firm operates in were strong, and the firm was also achieving a high level of capacity utilisation.  More than 40% of the company's revenue came from the US and Canada, with the remainder generated in Europe. Scandinavia and France were singled out as benefitting from particularly strong growth, while Witron's sales focus will be restricted to ...
• Transport for London encourages Londoners to take part in National Cycle to Work DayTransport for London (TfL) is encouraging Londoners to consider swapping their regular commute for a journey on two wheels and cycle to work on Thursday 3rd September. To celebrate National Cycle to Work Day, TfL is giving Londoners who pledge via the Cycle to Work Day website – www.cycletoworkday.org  – free access to Santander Cycles for 24 hours. As long as they pledge before midnight on 31st August and journeys are kept to under 30 minutes, there will be no charges at all. Additional charges will be incurred for cycle journeys over 30 minutes at standard rates. Santander C...
• Abellio announce investment following contract awardInvestment will be made in 10 new ADL Enviro 200 short single deck buses to run a contract which has been secured by Abellio London. In recent TfL tender awards Abellio has won route 367 which will start in March 2016 and operate from Beddington depot using the new buses. The 367 route runs between West Croydon and Bromley. Also in the tender awards, Abellio has successfully retained route 484 for a further five year term.  Again, the new contract will start in March 2016 and continue to operate from Walworth depot using existing vehicles. The 484 runs between Lewisham and Camberwell G...
• Working together to bridge the skills gapEmployers across the North-east are coming together to help tackle a skill shortage in the region’s logistics industry. Business leaders have warned a lack of understanding of what the sector fully involves is contributing to the growing skills gap. Nationally the sector needs to recruit approximately 450,000 new workers in the next five years (with 1.2m workers needed between 2012 and 2020), yet the industry is among those to recruit the lowest number of school leavers, second only to agriculture. Now, to help combat the shortfall, Stockton Riverside College is joining forces with bu...
• Northern Powerhouse Minister visits Teesport to discuss growth & investmentThe Minister for Local Growth and the Northern Powerhouse, James Wharton, visited Teesport to view the recent investments made at the Port to support continued growth. During the Port tour, PD Ports’ CEO, David Robinson, showed the MP for Stockton South over £60M worth of investment spent in developing, upgrading and enhancing capacity to meet the demands of its customers in the past five years.    The 2nd largest container port in the north of the UK, Teesport has experienced uplift in container volumes of 13% year on year since 2007, further strengthening its position a...
• Robert Drewery appointed as Commercial Director of Optare Optare has announced the appointment of Robert Drewery as Commercial Director with effect from Monday 24 August 2015.  Robert has over 15 years of national and international sales and marketing experience gained within the bus and commercial vehicle industries at a senior level. Robert’s career in the commercial vehicle and bus industry started with Leyland Daf where he gained extensive experience in both sales and aftersales, followed by the role of business development director of the truck maintenance company, Pullman Fleet Services.   More recently Robert led the Wrightbu...
• Greenwich to get passenger cruise terminalMayor of London Boris Johnson has given the green light to a new terminal in Greenwich for London’s first passenger cruise liner service. The Royal Borough of Greenwich’s planning board granted consent in July for the revised terminal at Enderby Wharf, and deputy mayor Sir Edward Lister approved the plans on 25 August. As well as the terminal, 1,154 new homes will also be built as part of the development. Planning permission for the passenger terminal was originally granted for the Enderby Wharf site in 2012, but new European legislation came into force earlier this year that req...
• TramForward Congratulates Nottingham Tramlink on its 150% expansionWith only 15 hours notice Nottingham Express Transit (NET) opened two new lines and doubled its length of route on 25 August 2015.  This followed a 44 month £580m Private Finance Initiative build project by Vinci Construction, partners, alongside Alstom, in the Nottingham Tramlink Consortium Andrew Braddock, Chairman of the Light Rail Transit Association (LRTA), said:

Rail Magazine

• Crossrail supports sustainabilityMore than 4,000 people from London are now working on Crossrail, and the project has exceeded its target of creating 400 apprenticeships.
• Crossrail cores placed in deep storageSoil and rock cores from underneath London are being stored at DeepStore salt mine in Cheshire
• VIDEO: Crossrail completed tunnelsA 360 degree view of the completed Crossrail tunnels from Stepney Green cavern to Farringdon
• Rail Minister tours GWML improvementsClaire Perry visits Bath, Box Tunnel and Bathampton Junction

Aviation Industry

• Regional Airline Association appoints new presidentOn Aug. 28, Faye Malarkey Black was appointed president of the Washington, DC-based Regional Airline Association (RAA). read more
• Qatar Airways increases capacity to IndiaCarrier will reintroduce route to Nagpur and plans further Indian expansion
• Strikes could affect flights to SpainBaggage handlers set to walk out at major Spanish airports

Other News Sources

• Stagecoach warning over bus franchisingBus franchising in England would cost too much money and undermine the advantages of competition, the chief executive of Stagecoach said on Friday.
• London Bridge redevelopment means bank holiday rail changes Charing Cross, Waterloo East and Cannon Street stations will all be closed this over the August bank holiday weekend, while London Bridge will be partially shut