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

Saturday, 10 September 2016

BBC News

• American Airlines to stop Birmingham Airport flightsAmerican Airlines is to stop its daily flights to New York from Birmingham Airport.
• Bus crisis?Bus services can be taken for granted - but firms need to make a profit and that is proving harder for some, according to transport industry-watchers.
• What does a train line closed 50 years ago look like now?Fifty years since the closure of the Great Central Railway line, the BBC travels the length of the route through Nottinghamshire.
• Borders Railway breaks million passenger markMore than one million passengers have used the Borders Railway since it was officially opened by the Queen exactly one year ago.
• Former Lord Provost Eric Milligan in Edinburgh trams regretOne of Edinburgh's best known councillors says he wishes the controversial trams project had never happened.
• Scottish Borders sees 'significant' rise in road crash deathsThe number of people killed in crashes on roads in the Borders over a three-month period more than doubles compared with the same period last year.
• Dublin bus strike: Thousands of passengers affectedThousands of commuters have to make alternative arrangements as a 48-hour strike over pay cancels Dublin bus services for a second day.
• Fault grounds Jet2 aircraft at Manchester Airport for second timeA fault grounds a Jet2 airliner for the second time in three days, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24.
• Searching for a stranded Hanjin shipThe BBC’s Sharanjit Leyl goes in search of one of Hanjin Shipping's vessels, which has been stranded since the firm filed for bankruptcy protection last week.
• Warning over Note 7 phone use on planesUS authorities have advised airline passengers not to switch on or charge Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones while travelling, after reports of the device exploding.
• General Motors: 4m vehicles recalled over safety bugThe US car company General Motors is recalling more than four million vehicles worldwide due to a software defect linked to at least one death.
• Volkswagen engineer charged in emissions probeA Volkswagen engineer has pleaded guilty for his involvement in the German carmaker's diesel emissions scandal.

The Guardian

• Volkswagen engineer pleads guilty to conspiracy in emissions scandalJames Liang’s faces up to five years in prison but sentence could be reduced for his cooperation in the justice department investigation Volkswagen engineer James Liang pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of conspiracy in the company’s emissions cheating scandal and has agreed to cooperate in the widening criminal investigation. This is the first criminal charge in the justice department’s year-long investigation into the company’s rigging of federal air pollution tests. Related: US finds evidence Volkswagen acted criminally in emissions scandal – report Continue reading...
• Four dead after passenger train derails in SpainUS tourist, train’s Portuguese engineer and Spanish ticket collector among victims after crash in GaliciaAt least four people have died and 48 were injured after a passenger train derailed in north-west Spain.The three-car train was travelling between Spain and Portugal when it crashed in O Porriño, in the Galicia region, at 9.30am on Friday. Continue reading...
• Urgent review ordered on Borders railwayScottish line opened last year and has been hit by breakdowns and delaysAn urgent review has been ordered into dire performance figures on the UK’s newest train line, the Borders railway, a year after it was officially opened by the Queen.Built at a cost of £10m a mile, the 35-mile line from Edinburgh Waverley to Tweedbank near Galashiels has one of the worst performance records of any on the Scottish network after a spate of breakdowns and delays. Continue reading...
• Heathrow airport expansion plan may be put to free cabinet voteCabinet Office paper, revealed accidentally, suggests collective responsibility may be waived by Theresa MayA leaked Whitehall document suggests Theresa May could hold a free vote on expanding airport capacity, potentially allowing some cabinet ministers to oppose a third runway at Heathrow.The Cabinet Office paper, photographed on the tube and passed to Channel 4 News, examines the possibility of waiving collective responsibility for any vote on the highly controversial issue of expanding an airport in south-east England. Continue reading...

The Herald

• Passenger train derails in Spain, killing four and injuring 47The accident occurred at 9.30am local time (07.30 GMT) in Porrino, about 280 miles north-west of Madrid, the Galician regional government said.
• Borders Railway exceeds one million passenger mark in inaugural yearFriday marks the 12-month anniversary since the Queen officially opened the railway line - which runs from Edinburgh to Tweedbank - on the day she became Britain's longest-serving monarch last September.
• Drunk faces big bill as plane is forced to landAN AIRLINE passenger whose drunken antics forced a British Airways flight to make an unplanned landing will make an expensive return trip to the US to face charges.

The Scotsman

• Aberdeen steam train railway turntable being refurbishedA RAILWAY turntable in Aberdeen which is more than 100 years old has been removed for refurbishment in the hope of attracting more steam trains to the line.

The Telegraph

• Theresa May considering giving ministers free vote on airport expansion, leaked document shows
• At least four dead as train derails in Spain

Times Online

• Heathrow offers £3bn cost cut in bid to secure third runway [Subscription]Heathrow is planning to cut up to £3 billion from its plans for a third runway as part of a last-minute attempt to win Theresa May’s backing for airport expansion, The Times has learnt.
• Hospitals rake in millions more from parking [Subscription]Hospital parking revenue has risen by millions despite demands from the government that health trusts stop making money out of patients and their relatives.

Mail Online

• PM could give MPs a free vote on Heathrow's third runway in a bid to stave off Cabinet resignations   A senior Cabinet Office official was photographed with a document that discussed the plan, which suggests expansion is the Government’s preferred choice. Boris Johnson is opposed to expansion.

The Mirror

• Teenager gunned down by Paris police was planning terrorist attack on railway station Woman was one of three suspected of setting up an ISIS cell in town south of French capital
• Terrifying moment man narrowly avoids deadly fall after car dangles off nine-storey building The 24-year-old overshot his car parking space on the rooftop
• Passenger hauled from easyJet plane after 'disruptive behaviour' before take-off on flight from Belfast to Manchester A spokesman confirmed that police had boarded flight EZY134 and said it does not tolerate "abusive or threatening behaviour"

This is Money

• 80% of UK's car insurance claims are for whiplash compared to 3% in France Britain's 'merry-go-round' compensation culture for whiplash claims is adding around �93 a year to people's motoring insurance premiums, research from Aviva shows.
• Motorists worry if driverless cars will understand good driving etiquette Three quarters of motorists polled believe future vehicles will misinterpret good driving etiquette and potentially make our roads more dangerous.
• Ghost fleet with �10.5bn cargo stuck at sea after the collpase of South Korean giant Hanjin Shipping The huge vessels, which are being turned away from ports, hold millions of pounds of goods for some of the globe's biggest firms, including an estimated �28.5m Samsung shipment.

Network Rail

• First anniversary is one in a million for Borders RailwayOver a million passenger journeys have been made on the Borders Railway since it officially opened 12 months ago today (September 9).

Birmingham Post

• Speed camera switch-on: One motorist gets caught SEVEN times in days Fears motorists don't realise cameras which were unused are now active
• Flights from Birmingham to New York are scrapped American Airlines has revealed the disappointing news its New York JFK service from Birmingham Airport will cease
• Why Birmingham will be the 'rail city' of the futureOnce branded as UK's motor city, Birmingham leader John Clancy says that city economy is swinging back towards railways

Bolton News

• Decision to raise rail fares ‘is unacceptable’ A CAMPAIGNING MP has slammed a decision to raise rail fares for Bolton commuters.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Parking charge plan is branded 'disgusting' A PLAN to introduce car parking charges at Ilkley Lido have been labelled

London Evening Standard

• 11 incredible facts you may not know about Crossrail aka the Elizabeth LineDid you know that workers digging the tunnels for Crossrail uncovered 13 skeletons under a road near Charterhouse Square in Farringdon?
• Utility company handed down largest ever fine for mismanaging roadworks in LondonAn energy company has been handed down the largest ever fine on record for for carrying out roadworks in the capital without a permit.

Northern Echo

• Additional bus service helps allay isolation fears in Upper Weardale FEARS that a sudden bus timetable change could increase isolation in Upper Weardale have been allayed after an additional service was agreed today.

The York Press

• New bus service launched for east York A NEW bus service has been launched to connect Derwenthorpe and Fifth Avenue with York city centre.

Wales Online

• The roadworks you'll have to deal with in Cardiff in the next few weeks (and months) Here are road closures, temporary traffic light locations in Cardiff and other possible disruptions on the roads
• How electrification work is progressing at Cardiff's Beresford Road Bridge The bridge has been closed to traffic to get it ready for electrification

North Wales Live

• Flybe launches cheap flights sale - but you don't have long to book Autumn offers only open until September 13 on airline which flies from JLA

Other Regional Press

• Steam locomotive Princess Elizabeth to pass through Gwent tomorrow A STEAM locomotive named after the Queen is expected to bring in large crowds as it chugs its way through Newport on Saturday
• Oxfordshire Stagecoach named best in UK for eco and safe driving Stagecoach in Oxfordshire has been ranked top division for eco and safe driving in the UK.
• Driverless cars and intelligent buildings planned for science city of the future - in Culham A FUTURISTIC ‘science city’ of at least 3,000 homes has been proposed for Oxfordshire.
• Shopping centre where drivers fined for misuse of parent-and-child bays wins awardThe Parkway Centre has been awarded Park Mark status :: It introduced fines for misuse of the busy child bays last month
• Rail fans get chance to get a glimpse of rare diesel locomotives never before seen in publicThe engines were once used by ICI to pull coals from the Tees to Wilton for use in the former Wilton power station
• Are you using the right child car seat? You could be fined in a crackdown if notThose using unsafe child safety restraints could face fine of £100 :: Police will be targeting parents in targeted action next week
• VIDEO: Teaser of London Luton Airport ahead of expansionLondon Luton Airport has given passengers their first glimpse of how things will look when its ambitious transformation is complete using the latest CGI technology.
• Full steam ahead as traction engines make their way to railway festival DRIVERS and pedestrians were met with an unusual sight as they made their way across Swindon on Friday afternoon in the form of a procession of steam traction engines.
• Oxfordshire Stagecoach named best in UK for eco and safe driving Stagecoach in Oxfordshire has been ranked top division for eco and safe driving in the UK.

Buying Business Travel

• Airline bosses call on Theresa May to abolish APDCEOs gather at London's Global Aviation Festival

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Foreign freighters ignoring Dartford Crossing chargeLorry drivers from overseas who don’t pay the charge to cross the Dartford Crossing should be pursued as fervently as UK drivers, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) reckons. Almost a quarter of foreign-registered vehicles dodge the fee, which can be up to £6 a time, according to a freedom of information request by BBC Radio Kent. Only 77.1 per cent of foreign drivers pay first time too, the request revealed. The charge, which connects Dartford in Kent to Thurrock in Essex over the River Thames, varies from £2.50 for a one-off car crossing to £6 for a multi-axle goods vehicle with discount...

Rail Technology Magazine

• Severn Tunnel gears up for 'iconic' six-week electrification workNetwork Rail engineers are gearing up for a six-week closure of the 130-year-old Severn Tunnel from Monday (12 September) in order to prepare it for electrification. During the closure, 200 engineers will work “day and night” in the tunnel to install over eight miles of electrical...
• Mainline upgrades needed to allow longer and extra freight trains, says TfNThe rail network in the north must be upgraded to allow 20% longer freight trains to operate on a six-day week basis, as well as connect to newly-developed multimodal distribution parks (MDPs) that limit freight activity by road, Transport for the North (TfN) has said. In its new Northern...
• Passenger compensation reforms to come into force on 1 OctoberRail passengers will be entitled to seek statutory redress from 1 October this year after the government announced it will no longer delay implementing the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for rail. Under the Act, rail passengers will be able to seek statutory redress if TOCs “fail to provide a...
• Khan commissions London TravelWatch to review Tube ticket office closuresPlans to close ticket offices on the London Underground network are to undergo an independent review by watchdog London TravelWatch. The review, beginning on 12 September, will last for six weeks and consider whether the office closures will allow passengers to travel safely, purchase the right...

Other News Sources

• Southern Rail crisis: One in 10 services run by Govia-Thameslink disrupted between April and June The rate is the highest since current records began in 2004 and came amid widespread staff sickness and industrial action       
• Pilot injured after buzzard smashed through glass and into cockpit of plane The bird struck the aircraft at around 1,400 feet, leaving one pilot with a bleeding mouth
• Foreign drivers must be pursued for unpaid toll charges, says FTAForeign drivers who don't pay the Dart Charge should be pursued as actively as those in the UK, says the Freight Transport Association (FTA). ...
• New Port Talbot Transport Hub gets green lightEconomy and Infrastructure Secretary, Ken Skates has today given the green light for a new �5.3m integrated transport hub in Port Talbot.

EIN News Subscription

• Europe Follows FAA Lead on Samsung Galaxy Flight Risk … . The Cologne, Germany-based European Aviation Safety Agency said passengers should not pack … Safety Information Bulletin about the restrictions was being sent to European national … of the a potential airborne fire hazard. Air safety regulators have long …
• Heathrow airport expansion plan may be put to free cabinet vote … ” as they did in the EU referendum campaign. It is the … ’s role as an international air transport hub can be maintained without … , plus enhanced transport links between the airports and better transport links to London will create a ‘virtual’ hub airport …