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

Thursday, 28 April 2016

BBC News

• VIDEO: '70% drop in trade due to roadworks'Traders in Flintshire have said they are being kept in the dark about a delay to roadworks which are affecting their businesses.
• Toll bridge fees decision to be madeA decision on whether to keep road tolls on the Cleddau Bridge in Pembrokeshire is set to be made next month.
• Job losses due at Boaty McBoatface yardA shipyard - where the vessel at the centre of the Boaty McBoatface vote will be built - has said 98 jobs are at risk.
• 'Crucial' rail line upgrade worksNetwork Rail awards contracts worth �90m to complete re-signalling and upgrade works on Great Western Main Line between London and Reading.
• Kintyre ferry launches after pilot runA seasonal ferry service linking Ayrshire and Kintyre resumes after a Scottish government decision to make it permanent.
• Mitsubishi sees domestic orders halveMitsubishi Motors says domestic orders for its vehicles have halved since it revealed last week that it had been rigging fuel efficiency tests.

Financial Times

• Brussels probes diesel car softwareScrutiny of VW, Mercedes and Opel devices that switch off control systems at low temperatures
• Unexpected consequences of oil slumpAircraft ‘bubble’ may take toll on leasing companies
• Mitsubishi sales hit by fuel data scandalCarmaker refuses to issue financial guidance while full scope of the affair is unknown

The Guardian

• Network Rail on the wrong tracks [letter]Last weekend we had no trains between Carlisle and Preston; this weekend the whole of the west coast mainline from Stafford to Glasgow and Edinburgh is closed. The train service is being replaced by a series of bus services. If you want to go from Glasgow Central to Crewe, the National Rail journey planner advises that it will take six hours and 10 minutes involving three bus journeys, and the fare will be £92 (the normal journey time by train is just under three hours). This sort of situation continues every weekend until the end of May. Isn’t it time that Network Rail and the train companies found a way of providing a more consistent train service at weekends? I understand why they have to do engineering work, but why for six weekends on the trot?
• Stagecoach slides 3% as it warnings of "challenging" rail outlookA disappointing trading update has put the brakes on rail and bus group Stagecoach.
• Lord Adonis: HS3 could be the rail revolution of the 21st centuryDuring the 1800s, Manchester and Sheffield quadrupled while Bradford grew eightfold. High-speed rail could bring similar results for the north
• How Uber conquered London | Sam KnightTo understand how the $60bn company is taking over the world, you need to stop thinking about carsEvery week in London, 30,000 people download Uber to their phones and order a car for the first time. The technology company, which is worth $60bn, calls this moment “conversion”. Uber has deployed its ride-hailing platform in 400 cities around the world since its launch in San Francisco on 31 May 2010, which means that it enters a new market every five days and eight hours. It sets great store on the first time you use its service, in the same way that Apple pays attention to your first encounter...
• Commuting is now a fact of life. We just need to make it less awfulBetter transport links would mean easier commutes and less overcrowding in cities, as workers opt for cheaper housing further from their workplaces

The Independent

• May Day bank holiday 2016 set to be the busiest yet for travellersAirport passenger numbers and train journeys expected to hit record levels, while the road network is predicted to be busier than ever

The Scotsman

• Rail freight must step up its developmentNew markets must be found for rail freight to continue its valuable contribution

London Evening Standard

• Whitehall logjam over EU vote ‘could push Heathrow ruling back to September’The Government decision on Heathrow’s third runway faces yet another delay because of a Whitehall “logjam” caused by the EU referendum. Insiders say it is among a raft of major decisions competing for time in a one-month window between the referendum and the summer parliamentary recess.
• Pollution protesters stage central London 'die-in'Campaigners have staged a dramatic "die-in" as part of an air pollution protest involving up to 250 people outside the Department for Transport this evening.
• 'Thousands of driverless cars set to arrive on London's streets'Thousands of driverless cars could soon be motoring around London, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said today.
• 'Extend London vehicle pollution charge across England,' MPs sayPlans to give London authorities enhanced powers to charge high-polluting vehicles to enter the capital should be extended across England, MPs have urged.
• MPs back action to prevent Thames cruise ship fumesA powerful committee of MPs today stepped into a row over plans to let cruise ships spew diesel fumes day and night in the heart of London.
• This is how each London bus route got its numberThe transport numbering system is more methodical than it might seem...
• Moment lightning strikes plane on way to HeathrowPassenger planes flying into Heathrow were struck by lightning during a thunderstorm, according to shocked passengers.

Manchester Evening News

• Jet2 offer chance to live the high life... as cabin crew Recruiting event tomorrow will help staff find hopefuls who are the best of the best to fly the airline's routes around Europe

The York Press

• Parents fight to save York school bus ANGRY parents are calling on city leaders to postpone a decision on axing their children's school bus.

Yorkshire Post

• The view from Steel City: Devolution has united Sheffield City Region but HS2 is a problemNorthern Powerhouse Rail is an ambition for half-hour journeys between the centres of Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester. HS2 could form the eastern leg of HS3 between Leeds and Sheffield – but only if the stations are in both city centres. If the Sheffield station is four miles away at Meadowhall, then what? The thorny issue of where to put the station has exposed deep divisions. South Yorkshire writer David Walsh reports.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Steam engine Tornado, which featured on Top Gear, will bring special train to Harwich for Kindertransport and Sir Nicholas Winton commemorationsA special steam train will visit Essex and Suffolk this summer in connection with the part Harwich played in saving thousands of children at the start of the Second World War.

Reading Evening Post

• Final stages of Reading Crossrail upgrade to start after Network Rail awards �90million contractsPower supplies will be upgraded and new signal systems will continue to be installed ready for Crossrail

Other Regional Press

• ‘We want improvements to West Norfolk’s rail link too’, government officials insist Government officials have defended their handling of West Norfolk’s rail links following criticism from two senior business leaders.
• Jason Heppenstall creates giant bird out of recycled shipping material for Hull's ferry portThe sculpture was commissioned by Associated British Ports
• Jason Heppenstall creates giant bird out of recycled shipping material for Hull's ferry portThe sculpture was commissioned by Associated British Ports
• Speed bumps most hated road feature for Huddersfield driversSpeed bumps celebrate 30 years of frustrating Yorkshire drivers
• Bank holiday traffic chaos predicted as 20 million cars hit the road MOTORISTS have been warned to expect heavy traffic over the bank holiday with around 20 million leisure trips expected to be made on Britain’s road.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Network Rail awards �90m worth of contracts to improve London and Reading lineA contract has been awarded by Network Rail for work to begin on the final stage of the signalling system that will control trains between Reading and Paddington to Alstom. There is another document that has been awarded to be able to build resilient power supplies to Amey and the contracts are collectively worth �90 million. Such upgrades are crucial to the successful operation of Elizabeth line services and the modernisation of the Great Western Main Line. The contracts cover the design, manufacture, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of a state-of-the-art train control system. ...
• TfL uses Bakerloo line to celebrate National Walking MonthTransport for London (TfL) is running Spring into Summer free guided walks on 21st and 22nd May to celebrate National Walking Month. In all, there are 45 of these walks that will take place over the city that are organised by Walk London and TfL to explore London's sights, including landmarks, parks and canals. Many of the walks are family friendly and are inspired by literature like Goodnight Mister Tom and mythology. There is another new themed walk that follows the Bakerloo line above ground and it's particularly special as it celebrates TfL's Transported by Design programme Most of these w...

Rail Magazine

• Halton curve gets the green lightThe Liverpool City Combined Authority has approved a range of projects aimed at improving travel across Merseyside, including reinstatement of the Halton Curve.

Aviation Industry

• Virgin Atlantic CEO cites innovation as key to turning around resultsUK-based Virgin Atlantic is seeking to become a more efficient airline as it moves steadily toward sustained profitability, CEO Craig Kreeger said. read more
• Etihad profits jump 41%Abu Dhabi airline reports net profit of $103 million for 2015
• British Airways rolls out extras through NDCAirline updates options available for agents to book through NDC systems

Other News Sources

• Alstom and Amey share £90m signalling contractsNetwork Rail has awarded a £79m contract for the final stage of the signalling system that will control trains between Reading and Paddington to Alstom and a separate £11m contract for resilient power supplies to Amey.
• Most West Sussex residents back Gatwick expansion, says new poll Most West Sussex residents back Gatwick expansion, according to a new YouGov poll.
• The Heathrow problem – and how London mayoral candidates can handle itWith Heathrow already operating at 98% capacity, airport expansion will be one of the biggest issues facing the next mayor of London. Whoever is elected to the position won’t have the final say – that power lies with the UK government – but their opinion carries the weight of the largest electoral mandate of any UK politician.
• Vast rail depot plan on the outskirts of Northampton ‘to gift open space’ Developers behind the eight million square foot rail depot in rural Northamptonshire have said the scheme could ‘create new open space’.
• FTA supports report that claims Clean Air Zones aren’t a perfect solutionThe Freight Transport Association (FTA) has spoken in support of today’s report into air quality and transport that claims Government’s plans for ...