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

Wednesday, 05 October 2016

BBC News

• Fire on Barmouth Bridge viaduct leads to rail disruptionRail services could be affected for several days following a fire at Barmouth Bridge railway viaduct in Gwynedd.
• Nottingham Eco-Expressway in UK electric firstWork on the first electric vehicle-only road lane in England has begun.
• Caerphilly train fire: Passengers evacuated at stationA rush hour train is evacuated after a fire breaks out underneath one of the carriages.
• Scrap HS2 to boost Welsh rail projects, UKIP saysUKIP calls for the HS2 high-speed rail line linking London with northern England to be scrapped, with money to be spent upgrading the network in Wales instead.
• Severn Tunnel upgrade costing �10m, Network Rail saysThe six-week Severn Tunnel electrification upgrade is costing �10m, Network Rail says.
• RMT members accept Scotrail deal over guardsWorkers at ScotRail vote to accept a deal to settle a dispute over the role of guards on trains.
• Belfast International Airport runway plane towed after delaysA damaged plane that caused major delays after it became stuck across Belfast International Airport's runways is towed away.
• Crossrail's tunnels have tracksThe rails are laid where we flew a drone through Europe's biggest engineering project.
• RMT makes official complaint over Southern rail tweetThe RMT union, which is embroiled in a bitter dispute with Southern Railway, says it is to make an official complaint about a tweet made by the company.
• Mayor accused of 'betrayal' over Silvertown river tunnelLondon mayor Sadiq Khan has outlined plans for greener and more public transport-focused Thames river crossings in East London.
• Ex-Tesla rival Fisker rejoins electric car raceTesla's former rival in pioneering electric cars, Henrik Fisker, has re-entered the electric car market with two new models.

Financial Times

• JFK, Heathrow and moving people by trainManhattan traffic jams offer lessons for business-travel planning

The Guardian

• Southern rail commuters to launch legal action against DfTPressure group formed after months of strikes and delays crowdsource £24,000 to challenge government handling of crisisA group of commuters who have faced strikes, cancellations and delays on Southern rail have raised more than £24,000 to launch legal action against the Department for Transport.The Association of British Commuters, a pressure group formed in the wake of months of disruption on the service, set up a website to crowdfund a challenge of the government’s handling of the crisis. Continue reading...

The Huffington Post

• Paris, Gatwick, Heathrow, And Montreal - Why No New Runway Is The Right Option For BritainTheresa May has announced that Britain will ratify the Paris Agreement before the end of this year. A welcome and necessary step in averting a local, national, and global climate crisis. However, with no indication the government intends to reject airport expansion proposals at Gatwick and Heathrow, ratification begins to look like empty symbolism. Either that or the Prime Minister simply doesn’t understand the agreement on which she is about to put pen to paper.

Times Online

• Soames proves to be a real-life wheeler dealer [subscription]It’s no secret that Rupert Soames, Serco’s chief executive, has a mountain to climb to turn around the outsourcing company. Less well known is his claim that his preferred method of travel is the bicycle.
• Big families bumped off flights as Heathrow picks out slow coaches [subscription]Large families could have their bookings on connecting flights switched to a later departure if their first plane is even slightly late, under plans to cut delays at Britain’s busiest airport.

Mail Online

• Rail replacement bus loses roof after driver tries to go under low bridge in Hounslow A South West Trains rail replacement bus crashed into a bridge in Isleworth, Hounslow, ripping the roof off and injuring three people, although no one was seriously hurt.

Birmingham Mail

• HS2 prompts Carter Jonas to launch first Birmingham baseProperty consultancy says its growing work in the infrastructure sector has underpinned its decision to open first ever office in the city
• Tap into 'brand Birmingham' says new chamber chief Birmingham Airport chief executive Paul Kehoe takes thinly veiled swipe at new combined authority name as he starts two-year tenure as president of Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce

Birmingham Post

• Tories launch crackdown on illegal taxi drivers to cut immigration Home Secretary Amber Rudd tells Birmingham conference she wants to get tough on immigration

Liverpool Echo

• New images show how council's �45m roads revamp would look Plans include halving traffic lanes on The Strand and extending St George's plateau

London Evening Standard

• Sadiq Khan gives go-ahead to three new Thames river crossings in east LondonSadiq Khan gave the green light to three new river crossings across the Thames in East London today.
• Southern Rail strike: Train firm plans legal action in bid to stop new actionSouthern rail chiefs are considering legal action to stop a series of 24-hour strikes from going ahead next week if the RMT rejects its latest pay and conditions offer.
• Stansted airport border delay chaos sees thousands of people stuck for hoursFurious holidaymakers were left queuing late into the night at Stansted airport in chaotic scenes at border gates.
• Cycle Superhighways make traffic worse in the City, report revealsTraffic jams in the Square Mile are being made worse because road space has been lost to make way for Cycle Superhighway routes, according to a report by the City of London Corporation.
• Virgin Trains challenges Aston Villa after Twitter battle over delays and Roberto Di Matteo sackingFootball fans have grown accustomed to their favourite clubs getting involved in social media 'banter' with other teams, but sometimes it all takes a bit of a surreal turn.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Work starts on England's first electric vehicle-only lane in Nottingham Nottingham has become the first place in the country to begin work on an electric vehicle-only lane.
• ​Traffic delays expected as work to bring electric bus route to Nottingham starts Work on a multi-million-pound project to bring an electric bus route to Nottingham will start today.

Sheffield Star

• Bus company alters routes after vandalism attacks in SheffieldA bus company has altered the routes of some of its services after vandalism attacks in a Sheffield suburb.

Wales Online

• A new plan for the future of Wales' 22 local authorities will be revealed todayFinance and Local Government Secretary Mark Drakeford is today expected to set out plans to replace an aborted scheme that would have seen the number of Welsh councils reduced from 22 to just eight or nine.
• These shocking pictures show the moment a fire caused a train to fill with smoke while passengers were on board People were evacuated from the train at Caerphilly station as the carriage filled with smoke

East Anglian Daily Times

• Ipswich Buses strike action could affect school servicesSchool bus services in the Ipswich area could be cancelled during a 24-hour strike next week.
• EADT joins campaign to have the A120 dualled between Colchester and BraintreeToday the East Anglian Daily Times is launching a campaign backing calls for the A120 to be made a dual carriageway between Braintree and Colchester.

Get West London

• Hayes MP hits back at pro-Heathrow expansion campaign for trying to 'fix a local Parliamentary election'Labour MP John McDonnell has condemned a pro-Heathrow expansion group for its calls to change the Heathrow constituency boundary

Other Regional Press

• NOT ACCEPTABLE: Campaign for footpath on road branded an "accident waiting to happen"

Buying Business Travel

• Qantas and Airbnb partner to reward frequent flyersMembers can earn one point for every dollar they spend on sharing economy site
• Belfast International airport: flights resume after ‘significant disruption’Travellers told to expect knock-on delays after freight airline gets stuck on runway
• Ryanair to cut winter fares by 12%Airline carries 10.8 million passengers in September
• Lufthansa: no negative effects from GDS feeBookings hit on the low-revenue European market

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• First Bus relaunches Journey Cards to help customers use the bus with confidenceThe UK's leading bus operator, First Bus, is helping celebrate National Customer Service Week (3-7 October) by relaunching its industry leading ‘Safe Journey Cards’ and ‘Better Journey Cards’, which are designed to help customers use the bus. Their introduction has helped many people use public transport where previously they have faced difficulties.  The cards allow the passenger to discreetly communicate a specific message to the driver.  This can include: 'Please scan my pass for me' 'Please count out my change with me' 'Please speak slowly, I ...

Rail Magazine

• Devon debut for IEPThe first Intercity Express Programme Class 800 reached Plymouth last night on a test run.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Suspension Systems and Mounts from ContiTech Reduce Noise in Railway Transportation Whether goods or passenger transportation, route operators, rail vehicle manufacturers, and politicians all want one thing: low-noise railway transportation. ContiTech has been addressing this matter for some time now and is involved in research proj…
• TransCityRail SpeakersTransCityRail Northern Powerhouse Rail; Day-Time Conference and Evening Dinner
• Government revs Midlands Engine with �12m transport funding promiseTransport in the Midlands will receive a £12m funding boost from the government, it was announced today. Transport secretary Chris Grayling announced the three-year grant for Midlands Connect, the partnership delivering the transport component of the Midlands Engine vision, at the...
• GTR sets RMT deadline to end Southern conductor disputeGovia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has tried to stamp out its industrial dispute with RMT, which has contributed to widespread delays on the Southern network, by making a final offer to the union. The operator repeated its eight point offer (listed below) to RMT, and said that if the union accepts...
• Campaigners to 'press for answers' about new powers to claim refundsPassengers will receive better compensation when train journeys are delayed after new measures came into force on 1 October, but campaigners have The Consumer Rights Act now applies to rail after the government cancelled plans to postpone its introduction in the sector. Under the terms of the...
• UKRIA deadline extended due to popular demand The deadline is fast approaching to enter the 2017 edition of the prestigious UK Rail Industry Awards. Your entries across the 23 categories have been flooding in, and due to popular demand we have extended the closing date until 3 October 2016, when our independent cross-industry panel of...
• WMCA seeks DfT approval for �137m HS2 station tram extension Proposals for an extension that will incorporate Birmingham’s HS2 station at Curzon Street into its tram network are due to be submitted to the DfT for approval. At a meeting yesterday, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Transport Delivery Committee was asked to approve the...
• Chambers urge chancellor to commit to HS2 Eastern LegBusinesses have urged the chancellor to confirm the government’s commitments to the HS2 Eastern Leg, as he outlined plans to ensure Britain has world class infrastructure to maintain the country’s competitiveness at the Conservative Party Conference. The chief executives of the...
• Cable fire causes major disruption at London MaryleboneServices in and out of London Marylebone will be disrupted until the end of the day after a fire damaged cable responsible for signalling in the area. Network Rail is currently working to fix the issue, but Chiltern trains are unable to run from Marylebone to Wembley Stadium and...

Green Miscellany

• 5 outrageous hacks to protect your bicycleHow far would you go to protect your bicycle? Most of us make do with a good cycle insurance policy, but there are those who turn to guerrilla tactics to turn the tables on thieves. Pranksters in America equipped a bicycle seat with an airbag salvaged from a scrap car. Left unlocked against a tree in their local park, the… The post 5 outrageous hacks to protect your bicycle appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• FTA says Silvertown Tunnel commitment is excellent news for east LondonThe announcement today of the go-ahead for the Silvertown Tunnel has been described as excellent news for east London by the Freight Transport ...