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

Friday, 09 September 2016

Government

• Bus Services Bill scrutinisedThe Transport Committee examines the Bus Services Bill, which is currently before Parliament and seeks to amend the regulatory framework for the delivery of bus services in England outside of London, in addition to providing for improvements in ticketing, open data and bus registration.

BBC News

• New North Yorkshire airport to offer 'VIP' flightsA former RAF base in North Yorkshire is hoping to offer "VIP" charter flights from next year.
• Monowheel rider speeds into record booksA man has made it into the record books for the fastest monowheel motorcycle ride after reaching a top speed of 68mph (98km/h).
• Railway turntable removed in steam heritage planA railway turntable is removed for refurbishment in Aberdeen to attract steam trains
• Dublin bus strike: 400,000 passengers affectedMajor traffic disruption is expected in Dublin for thousands of commuters as bus services are cancelled because of a 48-hour strike over pay.
• Heathrow customs staff rebel over 'zero tolerance' duty rulesCustoms staff at Heathrow Airport are rebelling against a

Department for Transport

• £2 million available for community minibusesResidents, school and community groups to benefit from minibus fund.

The Guardian

• Don't use Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on planes, warns air regulatorPhones are known to catch fire and should be kept switched off, Federal Aviation Administration advises, as manufacturer carries out global recallAirline passengers should not turn on or charge their Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones during flights or stow them in checked baggage due to concerns over the phone’s fire-prone batteries, the US Federal Aviation Administration has said. The FAA said it “strongly advises” passengers to follow its guidance “in light of recent incidents and concerns raised by Samsung about its Galaxy Note 7 devices”. Continue reading...
• British Airways flight diverted because of 'unruly' passengerFight makes unscheduled landing at Boston en route from London to Florida after man ‘interfered with flight crew’A British Airways flight has been forced to divert to Boston en route from London to Florida because of an “unruly” UK passenger. A 24-year-old Glaswegian was removed from the flight between the UK capital and Orlando at 4.45pm local time (9.45pm BST) on Thursday, half an hour after it made the unscheduled landing at Logan International airport. Continue reading...

The Telegraph

• Couple renovate farmhouse into dream home only to discover it could be destroyed by new HS2 route�

Times Online

• Teenagers driven off roads by high cost of motoring [Subscription]Teenagers are being priced off the road because of a rise in the costs of insurance and driving lessons, according to a government report.
• Sturgeon defends transport police merger [Subscription]http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sturgeon-defends-transport-police-merger-The first minister said that bringing the Scottish branch of British Transport Police into Police Scotland would “enhance railway policing”. She was challenged on the proposal, which was included in her programme for government, by Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader, who accused the SNP leader of “turning a deaf ear to our police” and ignoring officers’ concerns.

The York Press

• Grounded? Council bosses say they must rule on North Yorkshire airport plans A FORMER RAF base in a North Yorkshire village is set to become the county's first airport.
• New bus service launched for east York A NEW bus service has been launched to connect Derwenthorpe and Fifth Avenue with York city centre.

Other Regional Press

• Sir Alan Haselhurst calls for more track to boost railCommuters from Essex should see major improvements to their services into London over the next few years whether they travel from stations on the Great Eastern or West Anglia route.
• 'We're showing solidarity with the bus drivers' - music event supports the strikers A ‘FANTASTIC’ evening of music and merriment helped raise money for striking First bus drivers in Weymouth and Bridport.
• “So much better without the traffic lights" Readers react to new ring road junction layoutThe layout on the roundabout at junction nine has ditched the traffic lights
• M1 to close for bridge work for A5 link roadTwo bridges over the M1 will be demolished this month - and motorists have been warned to allow extra time for their journeys.

Bus and Coach.com

• Electric bus trial for Singapore
• Yorkshire Tiger fined �21,750 for punctuality failings
• Swift smartcard pilot for The Green Bus
• UK Bus Driver of the Year 2016 crowned in annual Blackpool event
• Public Inquiry call for GHA Coaches
• Steel Link service for new �29.8million BRT scheme
• Volkswagen Truck & Bus acquires stake in Navistar
• New Manchester airport service to be launched by easyBus
• �31m R&D expansion at ADL supported by Scottish government

Buying Business Travel

• British Airways launches First upgrade promoBA offers free one-way upgrade to First class passengers booking return Club World ticket
• Airline bosses call on Theresa May to abolish APDCEOs gather at London's Global Aviation Festival

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• More drivers choose ultra low emission vehiclesRecord numbers of new ultra low emissions vehicles (ULEVs) are on Britain’s roads as new figures show sales are soaring.  Department for Transport figures show 9,657 ULEVs were registered in the UK in the last quarter (April to June), an increase of 49% on the same period last year and 253% on 2 years before. The rise comes following the extension of the plug-in car and van grant scheme, allowing more than 100,000 additional drivers to benefit until at least 2018. In addition to the grant extension, the government is spending £600 million in this parliament to support the ri...

Rail Technology Magazine

• Ansaldo STS Appointed for Brussels Metro Signalling System Renewal Ansaldo STS (STS.MI), through its controlled company Ansaldo STS France S.A., has been appointed by Société des Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles (STIB) for the assignment of the framework agreement for the design, construction, supply, installa…
• Network Rail should 'behave like a business' with private funding - CarneThe rail industry cannot rely entirely on public funding to continue to drive regeneration, Network Rail boss Mark Carne has said, as he called on businesses to play a “much bigger role” in funding projects and laid down his vision for the infrastructure owner to “behave like a...
• GTR PPM recovering in period 5, but still behind other companiesEmergency measures have allowed the troubled Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) franchise to improve its performance and punctuality measure (PPM) figures, but it is still behind other TOCs, new figures show. GTR’s PPM measure for period 5, from 24 July – 30 August, was 73.1%, 11...
• GTR responsible for 80% of London and south east PPM drop in Q1Performance failures across troubled Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) services were responsible for 80% of the decline in public performance measure (PPM) figures in the first quarter of 2016-17, figures from the ORR show. The London and South East (LSE) sector recorded a PPM score of 86.8% in...

Railnews

• Southern Judicial Review fund tops �12,000 A new campaigning group set up to challenge the Department for Transport's handling of the long-running industrial dispute at Southern has raised almost half the funding it needs to launch a Judicial Review. The fund, which was launched by the Association of British Commuters only a few days ago, reached its initial target of �10,000 yesterday and has since gained another �2,000, meaning that the ABC is nearly half way towards its second target of �25,000. The news has come as RMT conductors on Southern stage another strike today.
• Think tank urges part-privatisation of Network Rail The Adam Smith Institute has renewed its campaign for more railway privatisation in a new report which suggests that almost half of Network Rail's assets should be sold to the private sector, allegedly raising �8 billion to reduce NR's public sector debt of some �41 billion. The report, published by the 'free market' Institute, has been written by investment analyst Nigel Hawkins, who advocates that Network Rail should be 'progressively sold down' and HS2 scrapped in favour of more investment in the existing West Coast line, The report, published by the 'free market' Institute, has been writt...

Railway Gazette

• Alstom to cease locomotive production at BelfortFRANCE: Citing an anticipated 30% drop in orders from the French market over the next two years,...
• Brightline Charger takes to the test trackUSA: The first Charger diesel locomotive for the Brightline inter-city service in southern Florida...
• Interface evolution at InnoTransCENTRALP: The latest evolution of the driver e-vision+ driver machine interface for train, tram and...

Aviation Industry

• SAS Scandinavian Airlines invests in cabin, Wi-Fi upgradesSAS Scandinavian Airlines will invest SEK500 million ($52.5 million) over the next three years to upgrade its short- and medium-haul Airbus A320 fleet with full cabin upgrades and onboard Wi-Fi services via a partnership with communications company ViaSat. read more

Other News Sources

• Staying on Track: Where MTR Is Finding GrowthLincoln Leong, chief executive officer at MTR Corporation, discusses company earnings, expanding his shopping center portfolio and his outlook for the company. He speaks to Bloomberg's Rishaad Salamat on "Trending Business" from the 2016 AmCham China Conference in Hong Kong. (Source: Bloomberg)
• Greater Anglia cuts carriages from three morning rush hour train services between Southend and LondonTRAIN operator Abellio Greater Anglia has axed carriages from three of its morning rush hour services today.
• Shoreham Airport restoration stalled as company goes into administration ONE of Shoreham Airport's leaseholders has gone into administration and the restoration of the terminal and hanger has stalled.

EIN News Subscription

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