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

Wednesday, 07 October 2015

BBC News

• Borders Railway a 'soaraway success'More than 125,000 journeys are made on the new Borders Railway during its first month in operation, according to ScotRail.
• Tram probe to see millions of documentsThe Edinburgh trams inquiry will examine six million documents as part of its investigation into what went wrong with the project.
• Heathrow releases new runway imagesWhat a third runway could look like
• VW expects recall to start in JanuaryVW expects to start a recall of cars affected by its emissions scandal in January, the car giant's new chief executive, Matthias Mueller, has said.

Financial Times

• Manchester Victoria reveals £44m faceliftRejuventated station forms hub of rail upgrade for the north

The Guardian

• The Air France protesters were desperate, frightened people, not a violent mobYet again under the Hollande presidency, workers are scared about the future of their jobs and their families. Is it any wonder they couldn’t contain their anger?On Monday, about 100 employees stormed an Air France management and union official meeting that was discussing dramatic job cuts. As the negotiations had been making no progress, the staff became angry, and tussled with some company officials. Two Air France executives had their shirts torn off. Xavier Broseta, the airline’s head of human resources, escaped the scene by climbing a chain-link fence, bare-chested, while Pierre Plissonni...
• VW's CEO: All cars affected by rigging to be fixed by end of 2016Matthias Mueller tells German newspaper recall of vehicles will begin in JanuaryVolkswagen’s chief executive Matthias Mueller said in an interview with a German newspaper that the company would launch a recall for cars affected by its diesel emissions rigging in January and complete the fix by the end of next year. “If all goes according to plan, we can start the recall in January,â€� Mueller told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “All the cars should be fixed by the end of 2016.â€� Continue reading...
• British Airways jet fire: parts from other General Electric engines examinedSafety authority and GE Aviation say Las Vegas emergency, in which plane aborted take-off, traced to compressor spool in engine used on most Boeing 777sGeneral Electric Aviation, maker of the jet engine that caught fire on a British Airways plane taking off from Las Vegas, has said it is inspecting parts from other engines of the same types as part of a US federal investigation.On 8 September BA flight 2276 was on a McCarran international airport runway bound for London when the left engine burst into flames. Takeoff was aborted and all 157 passengers and 13 crew members survived; some had min...

The Scotsman

• Cutting CalMac ferry fares ‘bad for environment’A SURGE in car commuting could follow the halving of fares this month on Scotland’s busiest ferry routes, operator CalMac fears.
• Trains chaos after thieves steal signalling cableCOMMUTERS faced delays this morning after the attempted theft of signalling cable near Falkirk caused problems with rush hour services.
• 126,000 passengers in a month for Borders RailwayNearly 126,000 journeys have been made on the Borders Railway since the line opened one month ago today.

Times Online

• City cyclists sue over tram-track injuries [subscription]Edinburgh city council is facing a legal bill of up to £1 million after more than 100 cyclists sued for tram-track injuries.
• You shame us, Hollande tells shirt-rippers {Subscription]France’s socialist government rejected union demands yesterday for state intervention to save Air France as the country reacted with anger to the assault on senior executives by protesting employees.

Mail Online

• Volkswagen CEO warns company faces changes which 'will not be painless' Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said Volkswagen will either scrap or delay any actions which are 'not urgently needed', as the consequences of the diesel emissions scandal are still not clear.
• New car sales hit record high after 460k models leave forecourts in Septemberr There were 462,517 registrations, 8.6 per cent more than the same month last year, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, as sales hit a ten-year high.

The Mirror

• New £4.5billion train service SLOWER than journey times in the 1970s Great Western Railway boasted its upgraded electric Super Express trains would cut journey times by up to 17 minutes by 2018

Bolton News

• HS2 boss Simon Kirby speaks to business leaders at University of Bolton THE man in charge of keeping HS2 — the controversial high speed train link between the North and the South — on track was in Bolton last night.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Airbus files patent for stacking passengers on top of each other during flightsDesigners for the Broughton-based wing manufacturer has filed designs for a split-level plane cabin which would ensure a "high level of comfort"

Derby Telegraph

• chrispeddy published Why I caught the number 45 bus to Derby todayBARRY Caudwell and his wife Rosalind visit Derby every week and he believes it is a great city. Our roaming reporter has been down to Derby Bus Station to speak to our devoted readers. Mr and Mrs Caudwell were on their way to visit their friend of 40 years in Borrowash today. The couple are pensioners and receive OAP concessions, so their journey is free of charge. They had caught the number 45 bus into town from Alvaston, where they live together in Hollis Street. Mr Caudwell, 80, said...

The York Press

• York bus driver saves man from burning building A BUS driver came to work in York on Monday – having just rescued his neighbour from a burning flat.

Yorkshire Post

• Questions still need answering on railway electrificationFrom: Tony Plumbe, Chair, Campaign for Better Transport North & West Yorkshire Rail Group. WE welcome the announcement by Transport Minister Patrick McLoughlin that work will re-commence on the sequential electrification to key railways in the North to boost economic activity and promote social interaction
• Questions still need answering on railway electrificationFrom: Tony Plumbe, Chair, Campaign for Better Transport North & West Yorkshire Rail Group. WE welcome the announcement by Transport Minister Patrick McLoughlin that work will re-commence on the sequential electrification to key railways in the North to boost economic activity and promote social interaction

Burnley Express

• School links up with German children as part of big railway education programme A SCHOOL railway project which resulted in 29 Padiham pupils forging friendships with children in Germany has been shortlisted for this year’s National Community Rail Awards.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Commuters faced rail delays of up to one hour because of broken down trainA broken down train between Diss and Norwich caused the disruption

Other Regional Press

• Commuters left with parking fines after pay by text service at Northampton rail station car park breaks downA pay by text service at Northampton train station car park will be back up and running within days, it has been confirmed after complaints from commuters.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• New Non-Executive Director joins Port of Tyne boardMark Preece has joined the Port of Tyne in North East England as a Non-Executive Director bringing over 30 years of experience in the maritime and subsea sector.  Previously CEO for CEONA Offshore, Mark brings extensive senior management, commercial, operations and business development experience gained both in the UK and international oil, gas and offshore renewable energy markets. Hilary Florek, Port of Tyne Chairman, said: “Mark is a highly-experienced and respected figure in the offshore sector and is a great addition to our team, I look forward to working with him in the comi...
• Jacobs Awarded Lean Contract for Network Rail Working Collaboratively to Support Continuous Improvement to Operational Efficiency  Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. announced today it was awarded a contract to provide lean consulting services to Network Rail in the United Kingdom. Jacobs’ company officials did not disclose the contract value. Working closely with the Bourton Group, Navitas Project Solutions and Rubicon Wigzell, Jacobs is providing support with lean methodologies and tools. Jacobs Group Vice President Bob Duff stated, “We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with Network Rail and our lean supp...
• Allports appoints new Executive DirectorAllport Cargo Services (ACS) has announced the appointment of Alan Kenning as Executive Director of its Supply Chain Management (SCM) Division.       Alan boasts an impressive career in logistics and supply chain management that spans over 23 years. He started out as a management trainee with Maersk in 1992, working his way up through a variety of customer and supply chain management roles within the AP Moller Group.    Alan has also worked for Deloitte Consulting as a senior consultant, in supply chain management and joins ACS directly from Damco, where he was He...
• Plans unveiled for UK’s first multimodal logistics training centrePlans for Modal Training Limited, the first organisation in the UK to offer integrated, multimodal logistics training for sea, road, rail and air, as well as a full range of support services, were unveiled today, Thursday 1 October 2015, at the Humber Royal Hotel in Grimsby. The new £7million centre of excellence for the ports, energy and logistics sectors is being jointly funded by the Grimsby Institute and the Humber LEP. It will be located in a 5,696 m2 fit for purpose designed facility on Kings Road in Immingham, in the former construction facilities owned by Fabricom ENGIE. Equipp...
• TfL launches consultation on vital new river crossing for east LondonA major public consultation opens today for the Silvertown Tunnel, a vital new river crossing for east London, that would link the Greenwich Peninsula with the Royal Docks and help deliver thousands of new homes and jobs. Silvertown Tunnel would provide much needed relief of congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel, which on an average day experiences two mile tailbacks during peak periods and regularly adds around 25 minutes to journey times. First opened in 1897, it is estimated around one million hours are wasted each year by people queuing to use the Blackwall Tunnel, costing around £10m ...
• Eddie Stobart Announces New Base at DP World London GatewayEddie Stobart has announced a new container transport base at DP World London Gateway. Eddie Stobart believes the location will allow the business to be in the best possible place to provide new and existing customers with competitive container transport solutions from the south of the UK for which they are renowned in the north. The DP World site will provide Eddie Stobart with a strategic operational base to support their growth plans in the south of the country. As well as being on the doorstep of London and the South East, DP World London Gateway will allow Eddie Stobart&n...
• Moore Stephens reports small decline in 2014 ship operating costsInternational accountant and shipping consultant Moore Stephens says total annual operating costs in the shipping industry fell by an average of 0.8% in 2014. This compares with the 0.3% average fall in costs recorded for 2013. All categories of expenditure were down on those for the previous 12-month period, confirming that ship owners and operators continued to manage costs sensibly and to watch their cash carefully in 2014. The findings are set out in OpCost 2015 (www.opcostonline.com), Moore Stephens’ unique ship operating costs benchmarking tool, which reveals that total operating ...

Rail Magazine

• Jeremy Corbyn says he’s a “lifelong reader of RAIL magazineâ€�New Labour leader tweets photograph of front cover of RAIL 784

Railnews

• £44m transformation completed at Manchester Victoria The rebuilt Manchester Victoria station has opened after a refurbishment costing £44 million. Victoria has now gained a new roof built of innovative ribs of curving steel as well as two more tram platforms to cater for the growth and expansion of the city's Metrolink network. The station is also a key component in the plans for Manchester to become a 'Northern Hub' at the heart of the region's rail network. Six years ago it came at the bottom of user satisfaction surveys, but Network Rail's Mark Carne said it must surely now be 'among the country's best'.

Aviation Industry

• Heathrow lags behind US airports in ‘Megahub’ studyOAG study ranks global airports in terms of connectivity
• Finnair offers free wifi to A350 premium passengersFinnair has announced it will offer free wifi access to premium passengers flying on its new A350 XWB.
• Lack of direct flights to ‘growth cities’ hurting British economyGTMC booking data shows cities such as Bogota and Jakarta are reached by airports outside the UK

Other News Sources

• Level crossing barrier damaged by motorist who drove off The barrier had to be replaced at the Farncombe East level crossing and Bourne Road was closed for more than two hours while the work was carried out
• Jaguar takes 'Environmental Innovation' to Kenya Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has embarked upon a new five-year CSR initiative in Africa which will see the carmaker provide 300,000 Kenyan schoolchildren with access to safe water.