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

Monday, 17 October 2016

BBC News

• Ceremony to mark start of polar ship constructionConstruction of the UK's new �200m polar research ship, the RRS Sir David Attenborough, formally begins on Monday at the Cammell Laird yard on Merseyside.
• Politicians urge May to back Heathrow third runwayThe prime minister is urged by a group of 50 politicians to give the green light to a new runway at Heathrow.
• Brexit: Nissan boss meets PM over Sunderland plant fearsPrime Minister Theresa May meets the boss of Japanese car giant Nissan amid fears over the future of its production plant in Sunderland.

Financial Times

• Didi to be hit by rules on migrant driversDraft laws propose drivers in top-tier cities must have a residency permit
• Kenya Airways’ chairman to step down this yearAnnouncement comes as crisis at lossmaking airline escalates

The Guardian

• China sends two astronauts to live onboard its Tiangong 2 space stationThe Shenzhou 11 astronauts will spend 30 days in space testing the station in preparation for the start of full operations in 2022China has sent two astronauts into space on a mission to dock with an experimental space station and remain aboard for 30 days in preparation for the start of operations in six years.The Shenzhou 11 mission took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northern China at 7:30am (2330 GMT) aboard a Long March-2F carrier rocket. Continue reading...
• Gatwick’s the best choice in many ways, but a Heathrow Hub fudge could sweeten the dealRather than giving the green light to Heathrow, as is expected next week, Theresa May should consider an idea that has a chance of actually getting off the ground reasonably soonDavid Cameron is gone, and his “no ifs, no buts” rejection of a third runway at Heathrow is not binding on his successor. Boris Johnson, no longer mayor of London and told to be on best behaviour at the Foreign Office, has gone conspicuously quiet on Heathrow, where he once he threatened to lie down in front of bulldozers. Now no one even expects him to resign from the cabinet if the airport expansion gets a green ligh...

The Herald

• Electric dreams: from driverless cars to super-batteries Why tomorrow will signal the biggest shake-up in motoring in a centuryFROM driverless cars to electric vehicles charged by household
• Blue lights installed to help prevent railway deathsBLUE lights are being installed at a rail crossing to try and tackle the rising numbers of suicides across Scotland's rail network.
• Ploughing your way to the bus stop in GlasgowEVEN in a black and white photograph, older readers will be able to tell you that this bus would have been painted orange, green and cream. It's an old Glasgow Corporation bus in 1952 when the Corpy simply fitted a snow plough on the front of old buses and sent them off first thing in the morning to clear the bus routes of snow.

The Scotsman

• Abellio could lose Scotrail contract if service worsens Transport Minister Humza Yousaf has warned Abellio to improve the Scotrail service or risk having the contract taken away from them.

The Telegraph

• Would you rather have a third runway at Heathrow, or your potholes fixed?
• Theresa May warned off Heathrow expansion by her own ministers�

Times Online

• Come fly with me: a bigger Gatwick will take Britain to new heights [subscription]Four years ago this week I announced to staff at Gatwick that we would compete to build Britain’s next runway. As we approach the time when the government will make its decision it is a good moment to reflect on how much has changed since then, not least because the changes at Gatwick and in the aviation industry have been huge.
• Gatwick put on alert for runway defeat [subscription]Gatwick airport has been offered a consolation prize by ministers in a further sign that the government is ready to approve the expansion of its rival Heathrow.
• We’ve become a nation paralysed by protest [subscription]At last, the government is about to decide on a third runway at Heathrow airport — by the end of this month, I hear. It’s only been ten years since Tony Blair’s government first proposed the plan

City AM

• Theresa May will this week chair the cabinet committee on airport expansion, with Heathrow the favourite to secure a new runwayTop Tories will meet this week to mull a final verdict on airport expansion, with Heathrow considered the favourite to get the green light.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Revealed: The homemade 'stinger' devices being left on North Wales roads Several of the crude contraptions - which have the potential to force cars off the road - have been found in recent months and taken out several vehicles' tyres

London Evening Standard

• London's cycle superhighways 'make roads more dangerous for motorbikes'London's cycle superhighways have made the capitals roads more dangerous for motorcyclists, it was claimed today.
• London traffic means buses are 'slower than a horse and cart'Londoners waste more than 100 hours sat in traffic every year, according to a new study.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• North East councils cash in with multi-million payouts from Newcastle Airport The seven local authority shareholders took home part of a £43m dividend payout after the airport agreed a refinancing package

The York Press

• Unibus withdraws the No 44 service in bus wars BUS wars which saw two companies fighting over the lucrative student market in York appear to have ended with one firm withdrawing its service.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Three quarters back drink-drive limit cut - what about you?A Public opinion poll has revealed 77 per cent of people are in favour of a lower drink-drive limit.

Yorkshire Post

• YP Letters: No alternative to HS2 regardless of driversFrom: Les Goodens, Hull.

Blackpool Gazette

• Cabbies film Prom traffic jamsBlackpool cabbies are to submit video evidence of traffic queues on the Promenade in a bid to persuade government chiefs to scrap plans to extend the tramway.
• Bus firm ready to bring back vital lost linksAn independent bus operator is preparing to re-open stops shut by April’s County Hall cuts and splash £150,000 on three new vehicles.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Greater Anglia drops “Abellio” from its title as new era starts on the region’s railwaysThe new nine-year franchise for Greater Anglia officially started yesterday – and it is being seen as a transformative landmark in the history of the region’s railways.

Other Regional Press

• Petition to save threatened ferry attracts thousands of signatures in a week A PETITION to save a historic transport service has gathered nearly 5,000 signatures in a week.
• SCOTRAIL BOSS TELLS OF BATTLE TO JUGGLE LIVE SERVICES WITH IMPROVEMENT WORKSImplementing ScotRail’s improvement programme is like performing open heart surgery while doing a marathon, the boss of the train company has said.
• ScotRail defends under-fire service and promises ‘super sexy trains’The boss of ScotRail has defended the train operator in the face of passenger anger over delays, cancellations and pricing.

Bus and Coach.com

• Arriva launches new double-decks for Southend
• North West guided busway winning over car users
• More free wi-fi on EYMS routes
• New West Croydon bus station opened
• UK Bus Awards finalists confirmed
• Volvo/ADL hybrid double-decks order from Stagecoach East Scotland
• First StreetDecks for National Express
• BYD to build €20m bus assembly plant in Hungary

Other News Sources

• ‘Failing’ rail firm Abellio could lose £7bn ScotRail contract is service does not improveRAIL operator Abellio could be stripped of its contract if it fails to improve services.
• Campaigners threaten legal action to stop new Gatwick runway OPPONENTS of proposals to build a new runway at Gatwick have warned they will take legal action if the government gives the airport permission to expand.