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

Saturday, 24 June 2017

BBC News

• Darlington Brick Train celebrates 20th anniversaryA sculpture which divided opinion when it was installed is now 20 years old.
• Plans to re-introduce trams to Bath investigated by councilPlans to bring back trams to the city of Bath are to be investigated by the local council. Bath and North East Somerset Council (Banes) has announced it is funding a short study into the feasibility of a light rail tram system in the city.
• The electric car driven to work by a Victorian inventorThomas Parker is credited with inventing the first truly practical version of the electric car.
• Edinburgh Airport 'most likely' for delaysMore than 27% of flights to and from the capital faced delays of at least 15 minutes in the past year.

The Guardian

• Latest diesel car models remain highly polluting, tests showSix new vehicles including Land Rover and Suzuki are adding to air pollution crisis, despite stricter rules coming in months
• London Underground steps up cleaning regime to tackle superbugsTube network to fight grime with industrial vacuum cleaners and magnetic wands after discovery of threatening bacteria
• Southern tried to run too many trains on poor infrastructure: reportStrikes were ‘primary cause’ of failings but says all elements of system were under strain, report rail network says
• Risk of air accidents up after CAA cost-cutting, leaked report warnsDraft Civil Aviation Authority report criticised failings, including in monitoring of flight training and licensing of pilots

Times Online

• High street hits back with birdsong, fresh air and ethical shops in London West End trial [Subscription]Shopping may never be the same again. The next time you visit the high street you could be walking on pavements that emit birdsong, resting on benches that pump out filtered air, and browsing pop-up stalls covered in paint that purifies the air.
• Drivers ‘should pay bigger fines’for refusing to park within rules [Subscription]Six motorists in Dublin have had their vehicles clamped in excess of 50 times over the past four years, costing them at least €4,000 each in parking fees.
• Crowded skies lead to delays affecting one in four flights [Subscription]Delays at Scotland’s busiest airports are getting worse, with new research showing that a quarter of all flights fail to arrive or depart on time.
• Drone came within metre of hitting passenger plane [Subscription]Ministers are preparing to crack down on drones in British airspace after it emerged that a device came within a metre of a potentially catastrophic collision with a passenger jet.

Reuters News

• British Airways applies to use Qatar planes, staff during cabin crew strikeLONDON (Reuters) - British Airways has applied to use Qatar Airways planes and crew to help the airline to fly all passengers to their destinations during planned strikes by some of its cabin staff next month.

Daily Record

• Quarter of Scottish flights hit by delays with Edinburgh airport the country's worst offender A Which? study reveals passengers were kept waiting at least 15 minutes on 27 per cent of flights in 2016-17.

Birmingham Post

• This is where the next 20mph roads are coming in Birmingham More areas to be covered later this year before transport bosses take stock of impact on road safety

London Evening Standard

• Magnets and high-powered vacuum cleaners deployed to clean up air on TubeMayor launches new review into quality of air commuters breathe on the Tube

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Car and taxi chaos at Wolverhampton train station after multi-million revampDrivers, commuters and neighbours are facing daily chaos at a railway station, it has been claimed.

Crewe Chronicle

• Council welcome Birmingham-Crewe phase of HS2 plan Phase 2a announced in Queen's Speech

Other Regional Press

• Network Rail engineers are joining the call to get more girls to pursue STEM careersFEMALE engineers the top of the rail industry are encouraging more firls to follow in their footsteps.
• Chris Gibb's report on Southern Railway: 163 pages with 38 recommendations but states Southern should not be stripped of its franchiseFRUSTRATED commuters will have to put up with Southern for years to come after a much anticipated report revealed the damaging implications of stripping the firm of its franchise.

Buying Business Travel

• Luton airport: �200m rail link gets council approvalNew rail service will replace the current shuttle bus

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Mayor launches new plan to improve air quality on the Tube The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has instigated a new review of air pollution levels on the Tube, introducing a series of measures to minimize dust levels on the Underground to ensure staff and passengers breathe the cleanest air possible. The work is part of a wide-ranging review the Mayor is undertaking across planning, housing, construction, transport and river services to tackle London’s filthy air and to protect Londoners from the damaging health impacts of air pollution. The Mayor and TfL have more than doubled investment in tackling air quality to £875 million over the n...
• Queen’s Speech reaction: CILT “concerned” by Crossrail 2 exclusion The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) welcomes the commitment in the Queen’s Speech that the Government will bring forward further legislation on HS2, which will create much needed additional capacity for passengers and freight on Britain’s busiest rail route, introduce new rolling stock and provide station upgrades. We are, however, concerned that there was no mention of Crossrail 2 in the Speech. This scheme is vital not only to keep London moving and to support its further economic and social development, but also as a key element of the national transport ...

Rail Technology Magazine

• Southern, Northern and Merseyrail set for major RMT strike action in JulyYet more strikes have been announced by the RMT across Merseyrail, Northern and Southern services to take place on different days in July. Members of the union will strike for 24 hours on Saturday 8 July, Monday 10 July and Sunday 23 July on Merseyrail, and on Northern they will strike on...
• First Elizabeth Line train enters service in east London and EssexPassengers in east-London and Essex were yesterday able to travel on the new state-of-the-art Elizabeth Line rolling stock for the first time. After extensive testing and preparation, and the launch of the trains being pushed back by TfL, the train, part of TfL’s 66-strong Crossrail fleet...
• Gibb criticises unions as primary cause for Southern woesUnions RMT and Aslef have been described as the “primary cause” for Southern’s problems over the past year, as the much-anticipated Gibb report was finally published by the DfT. Last year, Network Rail non-executive director Chris Gibb was asked to draw up an independent review...

Railnews

• Southern warns of service cuts when ASLEF ban starts Southern has warned that its train services will be reduced from 29 June until further notice, as ASLEF prepares to start an indefinite overtime ban. Talks between the unions and Govia Thameslink Railway over driver-controlled operation appear to be stalled once again, following a 14-day truce earlier this month between GTR and ASLEF which was intended to allow negotiations to restart. The RMT has also announced new strike dates on Southern, Merseyrail and Northern, while a report commissioned by the DfT has concluded that various reforms are overdue.

Railway Gazette

• Gibb report into improving Southern performance publishedUK: A report providing recommendations for improving the performance of train services across the...

Aviation Industry

• Alitalia short-listed bidders given deadlineA short list of interested parties will get access to Alitalia’s data room and have until July 21 to submit non-binding proposals for the carrier’s future to its special administrators, Alitalia said in a statement. read more
• Air France-KLM MRO arm to push digital and partnershipsAir France-KLM Group chairman and CEO Jean Marc Janaillac is eyeing digital innovations and partnerships as the future for Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M). read more

Other News Sources

• FTA calls on Government to keep Severn toll promiseThe Freight Transport Association (FTA) is calling on the Government to guarantee its pre-election promise to remove all charges on the Severn ...
• It would be 'disastrous' to remove Southern, claims rail ministerFRUSTRATED commuters will have to put up with Southern for years to come after a much anticipated report revealed the damaging implications of stripping the firm of its franchise.
• Find out which services won't operate during train drivers overtime banRAIL passengers are being warned that an overtime ban by train drivers on Southern will hit up to a quarter of services.
• London MP slams “inflexible” Southeastern train bosses over “negligent and unsafe” refusal to fit air conditioningSoutheastern train bosses have been criticised after insisting any work to install air conditioning on their fleet must wait until the franchise is re-tendered.