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

Friday, 13 May 2016

BBC News

• Blogger reveals parking ticket errorsA blogger in New York uses public data to prove that the New York Police Department ticketed thousands of cars that were actually parked legally.
• Car falls down huge hole in streetA car falls down a huge hole in a residential street in south-east London.
• Edinburgh to London budget rail serviceA new budget rail service between Edinburgh and London is given the green light by the Rail Regulator.
• Apple invests in Chinese Uber rivalApple invests $1bn (�693m) in Didi Chuxing, the car-hailing app that has a bigger market share than Uber in China.

Financial Times

• FirstGroup pledges �25 East Coast rail faresOffice of Rail and Road sanctions competition on London to Edinburgh route in 10-year deal

The Guardian

• First Group to launch budget London to Edinburgh rail serviceTrain operator aims to compete with low-cost airlines after regulator grants it open-access rights on east coast mainline
• Is the new non-sweat cycle shirt for commuters worth it?A shirt that promises to stop you sweating – or stinking – has gone on sale for £139. We asked an editor to try it out for sizeMany offices now have shower facilities for cyclists, and those that don’t at least have toilet cubicles for commuters to change out of their kit. But if you’ve not got the time, or can’t be bothered carrying a spare set of clothes, or use your bike to get between meetings during the day, then a shirt that stops you sweating – and stinking out the joint – could be a thing of joy and wonder. Continue reading...

The Scotsman

• Alastair Dalton: Ministers face questions over transport spendingTransport wasn’t an issue during the election campaign, but without a majority, it could well become one for the SNP now that the party is back in power.

The Telegraph

• Rail Network punctuality drops to worst level in almost a decade, figures show
• Sadiq Khan's bus 'Hopper' tickets have made people plan to race across London for �1.50
• Polish train driver runs down carriages to warn of impending crash with lorry

Times Online

• Rail price war from Scotland to London [Subscription]FirstGroup challenges Virgin Trains East Coast

Mail Online

• FirstGroup to run five London to Scotland trains a day at �25 from 2021 FirstGroup will run a new standard-class-only service from London to Edinburgh from 2021, under a ten-year deal, with tickets costing less than �25 each way for the 400-mile trip.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• A55 'performing efficiently' says special transport report Moving Wales Forward says average journey speeds were 60-70mph and money should be invested in public transport

London Evening Standard

• Revealed: 500 Southern rail trains cancelled in just a week due to 'unprecedented' staff sickness levelsAlmost 500 Southern rail trains were cancelled in just a week due to "unprecedented" staff sickness as a row over working conditions continues, the Standard can reveal.
• People want to race across London to see how far they can get on Sadiq Khan's one-hour bus ticketA Labour councillor's light-hearted idea of holding a race to see who can get the furthest using Sadiq Khan's new bus-hopper ticket has been praised as "brilliant".
• Letters to the editor: New Heathrow vow is unconvincingHeathrow's latest announcement and its commitments to the communities around the airport aren't worth the paper they're written on. Broken promises are the norm in our experience.

Wales Online

• We need to make better decisions on transport projects as traffic forecasts for roads are shown to be incorrectA new report by a transport expert argues that official projections have consistently over-estimated the growth in road traffic

Yorkshire Evening Post

• How Leeds transport schemes were stopped in their tracks Margaret Thatcher was in 10 Downing Street, Bros were riding high at the top of the charts and Howard Wilkinson’s reign as Leeds United manager was just beginning.
• ‘Not suitable for development’: Leeds trolleybus scheme is thrown outTHE SCRAPPING of the £250m Leeds trolleybus scheme triggered warnings the city had lost a decade on its rivals today.
• Gearing up for work at Leeds stationTHE wheels of Leeds’s buses have trundled across it more than seven million times in the last 20 years.

Yorkshire Post

• City could turn to tram-train after trolleybus blockedLEEDS could look to tram-train technology as a solution to its transport problems after its trolleybus plans were left in tatters tdoay.
• Opponents welcome demise of Leeds trolleybus projectTHE decision not to go ahead with the Leeds trolleybus was welcomed by critics of the scheme who had mounted a vocal campaign against the project.
• YP Comment: Stuck in slow lane – 30 years of transport failure in Leeds.THE Government’s decision to pull the plug on the controversial Leeds trolleybus scheme – Ministers had little choice after a planning inspector ruled there was “little evidence” that it would enhance public transport in the West Yorkshire city’s most deprived areas – is the culmination of three decades of political failure.
• Holiday prices now DOUBLE as soon as schools break up - and Leeds is most expensive regional airportFamilies face paying up to double the price for a package holiday to popular destinations as soon as the school holidays begin, a survey has found.

Crewe Chronicle

• Labour's deputy leader visits Bombardier in CreweMr Watson praised the ‘first-class company with its highly trained, highly-focused workforce’,

East Anglian Daily Times

• Bus journey from Ransomes Europark to Ipswich town centre takes 75-minutes as roads are gridlockedRoad problems in east Ipswich have got so bad that it can now take longer to travel from Ransomes Europark to the town centre than a rail trip to the capital.

Other Regional Press

• Virgin Trains warns promised two-hourly Harrogate-London service is in doubt Revolutionary promises to introduce 14 trains a day between London and Harrogate from 2019 could be at risk with four competing companies battling for use of the line.
• Transport minister says Cambridge deserves 'world class transport infrastructure' on visit to city The transport minister insists he wants Cambridge to have "world class transport infrastructure" as the city's transport revolution starts to take shape.
• MP shows her support for new transport planA PLAN to improve transport infrastructure in the Solent area has been backed by the MP for Gosport.
• Ryanair announces new routes from Bournemouth airport BRAND new routes and services are set to bring more jobs to Bournemouth airport.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Secretary of State for Transport gets to grips with driverless technologySecretary of state for Transport, The Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP has today visited Milton Keynes based Innovation Centre Transport Systems Catapult to learn about the latest transport innovations being developed by the organisation. Patrick met with TSC CEO Steve Yianni and was introduced to technologies including social media sentiment mapping, virtual city planning and the LUTZ Pathfinder driverless vehicle.  The LUTZ Pathfinder autonomous vehicles trial is currently underway in the city. The trial involves up to three electric-powered “pods” operating on pedestrianised a...
• Dodington Road bridge closed to allow for railway electrification work​The bridge at Dodington Road in Gloucestershire is going to be closed temporarily to allow for essential railway electrification work to prepare for the arrival of a new fleet of trains. It will be closed from Monday 23rd May and is expected to be finished on Sunday 5th June, as part of Network Rail's Railway Upgrade Plan. For this particular project, the company's team will be raising the sides of the bridge and installing anti-climb coping stones. This work will be improving the area to provide a barrier between the bridge's users and overhead electric lines, which are an essential part of ...
• Tube Metropolitan line to receive upgradeThe London Underground - otherwise known as the Tube - has reminded its customers that it's set to receive major work from Monday 16th May. It will aim to make the service more reliable and make overall journeys much quicker for passengers, according to Transport for London. Currently, the condition and the drainage of the track between Baker Street and Finchley Road has become increasingly poor. This area is known for flooding after periods of heavy rain, which is a regular cause of signal failures and therefore delays customers on a regular basis. In order to fix the problem, engineers are g...

Rail Technology Magazine

• Tackling Big Data in a Railway Context The railway sector produces a torrent of data each day, and there is an enormous potential waiting to be harnessed through automated data collection and analysis.
• Special Windings A white paper showcasing F.E.EM's key products, as well as the benefits of flat winding techniques for applications in the rail industry.
• Service Solutions for the Rail Industry Sulzer is recognised worldwide for its experience servicing AC and DC traction motors, braking systems, bogies, gearboxes, generators, and other transportation equipment and parts.
• Overcoming the Challenges of 4G LTE and MIMO for In-Tunnel Wireless Connectivity As mobile wireless continues to make the transition to data and video-dominated broadband, unprecedented demands are being placed on operator networks.
• State of the Art in Axle Counting Axle counting systems are used in many countries around the world as a replacement for track vacancy detection systems. They are also used in signalling equipment systems to build a more complete picture of what is happening on a particular stretch o…
• ORR approves future VTEC and FirstGroup services on ECMLVirgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) and FirstGroup have been approved to run new train services on the East Coast Main Line (ECML), but Great North Eastern Railway Company Limited’s (GNER’s) applications have been rejected. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said it had made its decision...
• Class 144e: A case of evolution and collaborationHelen Simpson and Chandra Morbey, engineering and supplier development managers at Porterbrook, explain how close collaboration with the supply chain can help deliver prototypes impressively fast and with greater freedom for all parties involved.
• Delivering a world-class service for LondonMark Bullock, managing director for Balfour Beatty Rail, discusses the past and ongoing track works happening across the capital's rail network as part of their extended Track Partnership with London Underground (LU).
• ORR celebrates first year ever without railway worker fatalitiesFor the first time, a year has passed on Britain’s railways without a railway worker losing his or her life. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR), announcing the achievement, said that Britain’s railway network is “safer than it has ever been”, with no passengers or staff...
• Customer service innovation at LOROLMatt Bromley, customer service project manager at London Overground Rail Operations Limited (LOROL), explains how two new innovations are improving customer service for the operator.
• Infrastructure planning: Moving away from stop-start investmentDevolution of Network Rail's routes should not be seen as the panacea for solving every problem the industry comes up against, according to Jo Kaye, director of network strategy and capacity planning at Network Rail.
• Changing the conservative approach to rail innovationAs the UK rail industry starts its journey towards enabling the Digital Railway, supply chain leaders discuss the need for a change of approach to unlocking innovation. David Stevenson reports.
• Additional ECML services will have 'significant impact' on Grand CentralGrand Central’s managing director has cautioned that the ORR’s decision to approve new Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) and First Group services on the East Coast Main Line is likely to have a “significant impact” on its work. Following today’s announcement by the...
• Track access extension opens up growth opportunities for Hull TrainsWill Dunnett, managing director at Hull Trains, talks to RTM's David Stevenson about the recent extension to its track access, the need for a modernised fleet and how open access operators can generate competition in the market.

Railnews

• Revenue threat on East Coast Main Line New open access services on the East Coast Main Line have been approved by the Office of Rail and Road, but a warning has been sounded that Virgin Trains East Coast's revenue could come under pressure as a result. FirstGroup has succeeded in its bid to run trains between London and Edinburgh, with firm rights from May 2021. Virgin Trains East Coast has also gained permission from the ORR to run additional services, but an application from GNER, part of Alliance Rail Holdings, was refused.

Railway Gazette

• VTEC and FirstGroup granted East Coast Main Line accessUK: The Office of Rail & Road announced on May 12 that it had approved applications from Virgin...
• Railway supply industry news in briefDeutsche Bahn CEO R�diger Grube has told Wirtschafts Woche that DB is planning to set up a fund to...

Aviation Industry

• Birmingham enjoys 14th consecutive month of passenger growthNumbers up 13.2% year-on-year

Green Miscellany

• A cycling revolution for every townHow times have changed. In the late 1890s few people had any inkling that cars would take over the world. It was the age of trams, trains and bicycles. Parliamentarians of the time were fiercely opposed to motor cars. Cathcart Wason MP, spoke in the debate for the Motor Car Act of 1903, famously describing motor cars as “those stinking… The post A cycling revolution for every town appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Zaha Hadid and Benoy on Heathrow expansion shortlistZaha Hadid, Grimshaw, HOK and Benoy have been shortlisted by Heathrow airport in a competition for proposals for the airport’s expansion.
• Heathrow Airport's route to digital transformationHow do you digitally transform an airport?
• FirstGroup to rival Virgin on East Coast routeBudget one class travel offered for �25 on London-Edinburgh service