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

Thursday, 14 September 2017

BBC News

• Cardiff bus station student flats plan unchangedThe city's transport hub plans will not be changed despite concerns about a lack of office space.
• Schoolboy, 11, 'left on Usk bus stop' for not having passThe boy's mother says she is
• Bike frame made from Glenmorangie whisky casksThe bike's frame has been manufactured using casks from a distillery in the Highlands.
• Bombardier row: Politicians warn of 'alarming' trade disputeDUP and Sinn Féin leaders write to US Vice President warning of 'serious implications' for NI.
• Using your car inside your homeWill we want to use cars inside our homes in future? Engineers at the French manufacturer Renault think we may.
• How London's taxis could go electricTheo Leggett takes a look at an electric taxi that its makers say could play a big role in cleaning up public transport.
• EasyJet lets passengers book partner flightsThe UK airline is to let customers use its website to book long-haul flights with other carriers.
• Tesla plans to reveal electric lorry in OctoberElon Musk's electric automaker is expanding beyond cars to commercial vehicles.

ITV News

• Rail whistleblower taken to court over video releaseA whistleblower who raised serious concerns about passenger safety on the rail network in Kent has been taken to court by his former bosses at Southeastern Railways, for releasing a video of a traveller who fell between a train and the platform.

Financial Times

• Driven to despair — the hidden costs of the gig economySigning up with the likes of Uber or Deliveroo offers flexibility, but the isolation and stress can take their toll
• EasyJet launches long-haul plan to connect airlinesLow-cost carrier teams up with Norwegian and WestJet to combine passenger tickets
• India train derailments highlight dire state of networkCountry looks to shunt colonial-era rail system into the 21st century
• Transport policy will give cities power over automakersLocal authorities will have a big say over who will produce tomorrow’s cars

The Guardian

• New 'real world' diesel tests fail to prevent rush hour pollution peakExclusive: new tests are intended to close loopholes but cars can still emit excess fumes in slow traffic, data showsNew “real worldâ€� emissions tests fail to prevent high levels of pollution from diesel cars during rush hour, according to new data.Diesel vehicles are the main cause of the UK’s widespread levels of illegal air pollution, with the VW cheating scandal exposing the fact that virtually all diesel cars emitted far more toxic fumes than in official laboratory based tests. Since 1 September, new models must now be tested on real roads, but the new data shows even this does not prevent...

The Scotsman

• No ‘due diligence’ done on BTP-Police Scotland integration planNo due diligence has been carried out on controversial plans to integrate British Transport Police into Police Scotland, it has emerged.
• Edinburgh trams inquiry: ‘Awkward’ questions blocked by firmA council official who asked “difficult or awkward” questions of senior staff running the city’s trams project was asked not to attend future meetings, the inquiry heard yesterday.

The Telegraph

• Train catches fire causing 'significant disruption' to commuters

Times Online

• Green zones reveal secrets of seasoned London Underground travellers [Subscription]It is one of the tricks of the London Underground: knowing where to stand on the platform to be first on the train.

City AM

• Ford has been carrying out important driverless trials with a person actually disguised as a car seatFord has found a rather unusual way to test out how driverless cars communicate with people, and how the average passerby reacts to a vehicle with nobody at the wheel.
• Crossrail 2 delays could cost £18bn if Crossrail mistakes are repeated, warn London business leadersLondon business leaders will warn today about the risk of losing a "decade to indecision and delay" that could cost up to £18bn if a firm commitment is not made to Crossrail 2.
• Network Rail passengers keep retailers on track in LondonRetailers in Network Rail stations cashed in on a substantial sales rise this spring as 64m passengers visited shopping outlets over the period.

Mail Online

• Hardened London commuters upset over green Tube markings Commuters on the London Underground say green markings at Kings Cross station show 'the best places to stand to board trains' meaning their years of experience count for nothing.

Birmingham Mail

• Drivers hit with largest weekly fuel price increase since January This has left pump prices at a four-month high
• Why Commonwealth Games could get trains and tram lines open earlyIf bid is successful West Midlands Mayor Andy Street says Camp Hill Chords and other projects need to be finished by start of 2022 Commonwealth Games

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Drivers fined nearly £10m for not having a valid MOT DRIVERS in West Yorkshire have paid out almost £10 million in fines since 2012 for not having a valid MOT certificate, new figures have revealed.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• North Wales MP could have flown to Brazil in time it took to travel to London by road Delyn MP David Hanson says journey to Westminster was worst he has experienced in 25 years after 'everything that could go wrong did'

Derby Telegraph

• Life-size mock-up carriage is helping Bombardier get up to speedThe Derby train maker is to build 111 new trains for Greater Anglia in a contract worth £900m

London Evening Standard

• Court battle 'inevitable' over TfL decision on Uber licenceA battle between Uber and black taxis over the app-based giant's licence to operate in London is heading for the courts, it emerged today.
• Plane catches fire as man's journey from London to Athens turns into 33-hour odysseyA tourist whose flight from London to Athens turned into a 33-hour odyssey involving four British Airways planes, one of which caught fire, says he will never fly with the airline again.

The York Press

• RAIL HERITAGE: the unique buildings at York Central that define city's railway past Consultation over access to the huge York Central site behind York Railway Station ends today. Once a decision is made over the route of any access road, attention will turn to drawing up a masterplan for the site. But conservationists are keen that in the rush to develop York Central, the important railway heritage to be found there should not be forgotten. STEPHEN LEWIS reports

Wales Online

• Committee says council should "get on" with building new bus station A meeting of Cardiff council's joint scrutiny committee said there was no need to send the decision back to cabinet for review
• Parliamentary enquiries to be held over Swansea Bay lagoon and rail electrification decisionsThe Welsh Affairs Select Committee will also examine Brexit's impact on jobs in Wales

Peterborough Telegraph

• On our bikes - on Cycle to Work DayToday, Wednesday September 13, is Cycle to Work Day, which encourages adults across the UK to get on their bike and give cycle commuting a go for one day.

Plymouth Herald

• Did Plymouth have a Pyramidical railway?This little bundle of papers looks pretty insignificant, but tucked in its pages there is some information about an unusual railway system – the Pyramidical or Serpentine railway, writes Debbie Watson

Other Regional Press

• Petition launched by woman saved from 'creep' by Merseyrail guard soars towards target in just one weekEllie Ward, from Ellesmere Port, started a campaign to fight plans to 'get rid of the train guards'
• County will bid for £280m of major transport improvementsTHE county will bid for more than £280m of transport improvements to the north and west of the city, including the long-awaited dualling of the A40, to deal with proposed housing growth.
• Norwich South MP Clive Lewis hits out at Greater Anglia over rail strikeMP Clive Lewis has launched a savage attack on train bosses claiming any changes to staff roles would be about “extracting yet more shareholder profit at our expense”.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Second anniversary of Borders Railway marked (Image Source: BBC) The Borders Railway has reached the second anniversary of its official opening by the Queen. More than 2.6 million people have travelled on the 31-mile route between Tweedbank and Edinburgh. VisitScotland said it had had a
• Pilot shows how WiFi data can improve Tube journeys (Image Source: Rail Business Daily) Tube journeys could be improved through TfL harnessing WiFi data to make more information available to customers as they move around London, new research has shown. The four-week TfL pilot, which ran between November and December last year, studied how depersonalised WiFi connection data from customers' mobile devices could be used to better understand how people navigate the London Underground network, allowing TfL to improve the experience for customers. The pilot focused on 54 stations within Zones 1-4 and saw more than 509 million depersonalised 'pro...
• Record breaking summer figures for Eurotunnel (Image Source: Travel Weekly) In August 2017, Le Shuttle Freight transported 127,729 trucks, an increase of 1% compared to the month of August 2016, setting a new historic record for a month of August. Since 1 January 2017, Le Shuttle Freight has transported more than 1,080,000 trucks. Passenger vehicle traffic increased by 3% compared to the month of August 2016, with 361,902 vehicles transported, closing a Summer 2017 during which Eurotunnel set new traffic records for Le Shuttle Passenger service with almost 564,000 vehicles carried over the period from 17 July to 3 September. Since 1 ...

Rail Magazine

• Peak-time use for Crossrail's new trainsAventras in peak-time use for TfL Rail as Class 315 withdrawal plan revealed

Rail Technology Magazine

• Tram-train: where did we go wrong?Andrew Braddock, chairman of the Light Rail Transit Association (LRTA), argues against the ‘not invented here’ syndrome that has kept the UK from implementing a tram-train scheme quickly and successfully.
• Thameslink completes significant signal testingMartin Chatfield, project director for high capacity infrastructure on Thameslink, gives RTM an update on the project's signalling works and testing.
• Digital railway: new supply chain relationshipsStuart Calvert, head of the Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) initiative at the Digital Railway Programme, outlines the companys latest developments and explains the importance of creating a new relationship with the supply chain.
• Lack of communication main reason key Leeds transport projects failedA lack of communication with vital partners and the public was a key reason for the failure of Leeds’ New Generation Transport and Supertram projects, a report has this week revealed.

Railnews

• Windsor project could create ‘M25 rail route’PLANS have been published for a new railway connecting the Great Western Main Line with Heathrow Airport and London Waterloo via Windsor, which could be a link creating a future ‘M25 rail route’ encircling Greater London.

Aviation Industry

• Airberlin, Eurowings cancel more flights as pilots continue sickoutAirberlin canceled another 32 flights Wednesday, Sept. 13, after pilots continued to call in sick for the second day in unusually high numbers as the Sept. 15 deadline nears for potential buyers of the bankrupt German carrier. read more
• American Airlines revises 3Q revenue guidance post-IrmaAmerican Airlines has revised its third-quarter revenue guidance downward 1.5 percentage points in the wake of Hurricane Irma. read more
• EasyJet launches new booking platform for connecting flightsUK-based LCC easyJet will enable passengers to connect with partner airlines through a new booking platform. read more

Green Miscellany

• Emissions stickers for driving in FranceAll cars travelling in the cities of Paris, Lyon or Grenobles are now required to carry anti-pollution stickers which indicate the age and ‘environmental classification’ of the vehicle. The round stickers correspond to six different vehicle classes defined according to air pollutant emissions. In certain French cities the correct sticker must be displayed by every  road vehicle, including all cars, motorcycles, commercial… The post Emissions stickers for driving in France appeared first on ETA.
• Winter is coming – the solar-powered cycling jacket that glows in the darkAt £270, the Solar-Charged Jacket by Vollebak is expensive, but what it claims to be able to do is amazing; the jacket stores sunlight to glow in the dark. With just two hours charge it can still be glowing up to 12 hours later. And even on cloudy days, daylight is bright enough to charge it up 
• The bicycle umbrella – it actually existsLike a bicycle, the umbrella is a design of such beautiful simplicity that it no longer needs to evolve, but that doesn’t stop people trying to make improvements. For more than three millennia people have protected themselves against rain with umbrellas, but it’s only recently that some have suggested they should be adapted for use by cyclists. Following the launch a… The post The bicycle umbrella – it actually exists appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• CHAMBER SUPPORTS A 'CROSSRAIL FOR THE NORTH'The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called on the government to seriously explore the construction of the so-called 'Crossrail for the North' rail line.
• Watford Junction redevelopment high on the agenda at Network Rail meetingWatford MP Richard Harrington met with the chairman of Network Rail this week to discuss the redevelopment of Watford Junction station.