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

Friday, 20 May 2016

BBC News

• 'Sticky car' could reduce crash injuryGoogle patents a sticky coating for driverless cars that could reduce damage done to pedestrians in the event of a collision.
• VIDEO: Investing in transport technologyInvestment funds hunting for the best technology trends in the transport industry, and that ranges across everything from new apps to greener, cleaner cars.
• Uber joins race for driverless carsUS car-hailing company Uber joins the race for driverless car technology, confirming it is testing a vehicle on the streets of Pittsburgh.

Financial Times

• Container shipping lines mired in crisisCompanies led by Maersk grapple with freight rates at record lows amid sluggish growth in global trade
• Uber hits the road with self-driving carTaxi-booking group races to compete with Alphabet, Tesla and GM
• Hunt for EgyptAir jet enters second dayTerrorism not ruled out as news emerges of sharp turn before crash

The Guardian

• CalMac wins £1bn contract for Clyde and Hebrides ferry servicesAfter months of fraught negotiations, publicly owned firm beats rival Serco after pledging no compulsory redundancies
• Why air pollution in schools is such a big deal – and what to do about it | Ian ColbeckAbout 3,000 British schools are in areas where air quality is poor, with those in poorer communities suffering moreFormer London mayor Boris Johnson has been accused of holding back negative findings from a 2013 report on the city’s air pollution.The report stated that 433 of London’s 1,777 primary schools were in areas where nitrogen dioxide concentrations breached EU limits. Nitrogen dioxide, or NO2, is an air pollutant that when inhaled can aggravate respiratory diseases such as asthma, emphysema and bronchitis. It has been estimated that in 2010 there were 5,900 deaths in London associated...
• Driverless cars: the slow, sad death of joyous driving, one satnav at a time | Gaby HinsliffYou don’t have to be a petrolhead to dread the moment when driving for pleasure is no moreThey found him in a sort of trance, a happy smile on his face, his eyes still fixed on the dusty wake of their destroyer … “Glorious, stirring sight!” murmured Toad, never offering to move. “The poetry of motion! The real way to travel! The only way to travel!’”And that, to quote the great motoring authority of Toad Hall, is roughly how I feel about the impending death of driving. Continue reading...

The Herald

• UK minister points to driverless car future for BritainDRIVERLESS cars will become a
• Prestwick Airport is headquarters for UK's first spaceplane design companyTHE UK's first specialist spaceplane design and operating company has been launched at Glasgow Prestwick airport.
• Trade union accuses ScotRail of SCOTRAIL bosses have been accused of an

Times Online

• Cycling boom is punctured by surge in internet traffic [subscription]A sharp rise in the number of delivery vans feeding Britain’s internet shopping habit may be forcing cyclists off the road.
• CalMac vows to do better as it retains £900m ferry deal [Subscription]Caledonian MacBrayne has promised to improve lifeline ferry services after retaining a £900 million contract.
• Ministers set course for the final frontier (in Cornwall) [Subscription]You have to admire the optimism of Patrick McLoughlin. The question of a third runway at Heathrow lurks deep in the long grass and HS2 remains a throbbing headache but still the transport secretary came to the Commons and spoke about driverless cars and space tourism as if they were just round the corner.

The Mirror

• Recap: EgyptAir flight MS804 crashes with 66 people feared dead in suspected terrorist attackSearches are continuing after the Airbus A320 disappeared in the early hours of Thursday morning while it was en route from Paris to Cairo

Belfast Telegraph

• Heathrow expansion 'could create 5,000 jobs in Northern Ireland'Heathrow could create up to 5,000 new jobs in Northern Ireland if an expansion bid gets the go-ahead, the London airport's chief executive has claimed.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Future of the A55 now in the hands of North Wales AM after cabinet reshuffle Carwyn Jones, First Minister for Wales, today named his Welsh Government cabinet

London Evening Standard

• Sadiq Khan calls for rethink over HS2 terminus at EustonSadiq Khan has called for the High Speed 2 redevelopment of Euston station to be put on hold until a less disruptive plan is found.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• A1 Western Bypass in Gateshead - how many drivers have been caught by the speed cameras there?We have obtained figures showing that thousands of drivers are being caught speeding on the A1 roadworks in Gateshead

Northern Echo

• Brexit could damage Hitachi expansion at Newton Aycliffe warns MP Phil WilsonHundreds of jobs at £82m factory could be put in jeopardy if Britain leaves the EU, company bosses have warned.

The York Press

• Save our buses! - Locals plead for cuts to be stopped BUS protesters have pleaded with councillors not to slash the subsidies for services they say are vital to fending off social isolation for many in the city.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Have your say on changing times on the buses in LeedsThe times they are a-changing on Pudsey’s buses and people in the town are being encouraged to have their say about what lies just around the corner.
• ‘Trolleybus is so last week - Leeds is driving into the future’ says council leaderLeeds must look to the future - and not to the past or over the Pennines and down the M1 - as it bids to build a modern, sustainable transport network that will make the city a national and global economic gateway.

Yorkshire Post

• Virgin set to introduce 14 daily London to Harrogate trains from 2019 Virgin Trains’ promised 14 daily trains between London and Harrogate took an important step forward on Thursday after they were granted vital track access.
• Greg Mulholland: After trolleybus fiasco, let’s get Leeds on track for futureSO the NGT trolleybus saga, the latest failed episode in Leeds public transport, has come to an end bar the recriminations.

Blackpool Gazette

• EasyJet maps out future with prototype smart shoesBudget airline easyJet has come up with a bright idea to help its customers explore the destinations they are being flown to.

Other Regional Press

• Rail campaigners set to tackle Tendring train issues - including franchise decisionTRAIN campaigners will debate the top rail issues affecting the area – including the impending franchise decision – at a meeting this weekend.
• Bus timetables in Northampton were changed ‘because free parking made town centre too busy’A bus company changed its timetables because free car parking was making Northampton town centre too busy.
• EasyJet maps out future with prototype smart shoesBudget airline easyJet has come up with a bright idea to help its customers explore the destinations they are being flown to.

Rail Magazine

• BTP acts against trespassersBritish Transport Police has taken action against eight people trespassing to see Flying Scotsman on its Edinburgh-Kirkcaldy-Edinburgh run on May 15.
• S&C travel discounted as passenger numbers decline sharplyNorthern introduces Settle-Carlisle Line Day Ranger to reduce the cost of travelling on the line, against backdrop of sharply declining passenger numbers.
• SPEECH: 'We need a sustainable railway'Rail Minister Claire Perry sets out her vision for a sustainable railway
• GTR seeks injunction against ASLEF ballotGovia Thameslink Railway issues papers at the High Court challenging a ballot of drivers on Southern and Gatwick Express over the use of 12-car DOO working.
• GWR explains blue and grey Mk 3 decisionA full rake of Mk 3s in blue and grey, to match 43002 Sir Kenneth Grange, would not comply with Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) rules.

Rail Technology Magazine

• UK’s Rail Delivery Group launches drive to highlight PlusBike portal UK-based Rail Delivery Group (RDG) has launched a new campaign to highlight the portal PlusBike, which can be used by people to obtain more information about cycle-friendly train travel.
• RMT accused of 'scaremongering' as DOO strikes threaten to expand to ScotRailThe dispute over driver-operated only (DOO) trains has worsened following another round of strikes on the Southern routes, as RMT announced it is also balloting ScotRail conductors. Southern conductors went on strike yesterday, after changing the date twice, leading to train delays all day. The...
• McLoughlin overrules planning inspector to give Birmingham tram extension go-aheadThe Birmingham tram extension from New Street to Centenary Square has gained planning permission after transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin overruled the planning inspector’s decision. McLoughlin said he disagreed with planning inspector’s ruling, which was made following a...
• GTR seeks new injunction to stop Aslef ballotA legal injunction has been sought by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) to stop Aslef balloting its drivers over the introduction of 12-car driver-operated only (DOO) trains. GTR today issued papers at the High Court to challenge the ballot of Southern and Gatwick Express drivers, which is open...
• ORR opens consultation into route-based regulationRailway regulation could change in CP6 so that Network Rail regulates each individual route, as part of proposals in a new Office of Rail and Road (ORR) consultation. Under the proposals, which featured in the ORR’s 2016-17 business plan last month and are now being include in the PR18...
• New standards developed to increase number of railway apprenticesNew apprenticeship standards have been announced today to increase recruitment into the rail industry. The National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR) employers group has developed level 2, 3 and 4 apprenticeship standards for rail engineering operative, technician and advanced technician. They are...

Railnews

• Govia returns to High Court over union's DOO ballot Govia Thameslink Railway is returning to the High Court in the continuing and increasingly bitter dispute between the company and unions over driver-only operation on Southern and Gatwick Express. GTR is seeking an injunction which would prevent ASLEF continuing with a strike ballot of its driver members on Gatwick Express, while heated exchanges are continuing in the dispute between the company and the RMT over the extension of driver-only operation on Southern. GTR said around two-thirds of its services ran yesterday, despite another walkout by conductors.

Aviation Industry

• No sightings of EgyptAir MS804 in first hours after disappearanceThe disappearance of EgyptAir flight 804 over the Mediterranean Sea early May 19 came as Egypt had begun making progress in shoring up international travel to the country in the aftermath of the suspected inflight bombing of a Russian Metrojet Airbus A321 shortly after departure from Sharm el Sheik on Oct. 31, 2015. read more