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

Thursday, 21 December 2017

BBC News

• ScotRail staff offered CCTV cameras to wear while on dutyScotRail claim a trial project found workers being seen to wear the cameras improved passenger behaviour.
• 'Please offer me a seat' badges used by 26,000 on London transport networkTransport for London offers the badges for people with hidden health problems.
• Rail strikes due in new year over RMT guards rowRMT members at six train operating companies plan a series of new year strikes.
• UK car production driven down by fall in domestic demandCar manufacturing output for the UK market drops by 28%, while production for export rises.
• US finds against Bombardier in Boeing disputeThe Commerce Department's findings on Wednesday could lead to trade duties of almost 300%.

Department for Transport

• Rail ticketing progress report: passenger experience improved but more work to be doneProgress report on long-term plan to change and improve rail ticketing.

Financial Times

• New Uber COO wants more strategy and less controversyGroup's second-ranking executive to reduce dependence on subsidies to generate growth

The Guardian

• How can Virgin Trains admit its app was faulty but deny me a refund?I paid more than I should for an Advance ticket – but it insists I had been charged the cheapest fareI have used Virgin’s West Coast service every week for the last five years, booking tickets 12 weeks in advance to get the cheapest Advance fare which currently stands at £17. Recently, Virgin brought out an app and, from the off, it caused problems. When I first used it to book two first-release Advance tickets the fare was £20 instead of £17. I queried this with Virgin on social media. Continue reading...

The Scotsman

• Revolutionary pump to cut ScotRail diesel use on trains ScotRail stands to save more than a million litres of fuel a year from a technological breakthrough that could be copied worldwide.
• Uber ruled a taxi firm by European justice courtUber is officially a transport company and not a digital service, the European Court of Justice has ruled.

The Telegraph

• US aims to keep steep duties on Bombardier jets after Boeing complaint

Times Online

• Uber must be regulated like other taxi operators, rules European Court of Justice [Subscription]Uber suffered a blow yesterday when the European Court of Justice ruled that the ride-hailing app was a transport company and not “an information society service” as it claimed.
• No bidding war on Hebrides ferry route [Subscription]The Hebridean ferry services could be awarded to the present operator CalMac without a formal tendering process. Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s transport and the islands minister, said that the plan would need to meet strict regulations including EU rules on state aid.
• Rail staff bodycams aim to curb disruptive passengers [Subscription]ScotRail is to offer cameras to all staff after a trial found they improved the way passengers behave.

Reuters News

• UK train drivers' union calls strikes on six lines next monthLONDON (Reuters) - Rail passengers in several areas of England face more disruption next month when the RMT drivers' union takes strike action on six lines in a long-running dispute over the role of guards.

City AM

• UK's infrastructure pipeline is being weakened by fixed spending cycles, says KPMGWhile the UK's infrastructure pipeline is robust, currently standing at £463bn, it is being hindered by fixed five-year spending cycles, according to new analysis by KPMG.
• Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary called to answer MPs' questions over working conditions and cabin crew payRyanair has been called to answer MPs' questions after two Select Committees wrote to the airline's boss Michael O'Leary saying they plan to investigate allegations regarding working practices at the carrier.
• Uber appoints Barney Harford as its first ever chief operating officer - a Brit and former Orbitz chief executiveUber has appointed its first ever operating chief - a British executive from the travel world who previously worked with the startup's newly installed chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi.
• US upholds 300 per cent tariff on Bombardier C Series jetAn international row between the US and Canada has kicked off again as the US Department of Commerce upheld massive tariffs on the import of Bombardier's C Series jet.
• Balfour Beatty nets mammoth profit after selling big slice of the M25 – and it could soon double its returnsConstruction giant Balfour Beatty today struck a £103m deal to sell a big stake in the company that operates the M25.

Mail Online

• Workers on six different rail lines will stage strikes Workers on Southern, South Western Railway, Greater Anglia, Merseyrail, Arriva Rail North and the Isle of Wight's Island Line are to stage a series of 24-hour strikes on January 8, 10 and 12.

Birmingham Mail

• Double-decker bus loses ROOF after ploughing into railway bridge Incident in Bournville Lane sees bus sustain heavy damage

London Evening Standard

• Fresh blow to Uber as EU court rules it should face tighter regulationUber has been dealt a fresh blow after the European Union's top court ruled it should face tighter regulation.
• Dubai flights: Emirates announces new daily service from London StanstedA new daily service from London Stansted to Dubai is to be launched by Emirates airline.

The York Press

• MP calls for reopening of York to Beverley rail lineYORK Outer MP Julian Sturdy is calling on the Government to reopen the York to Beverley railway line, which he says would ease congestion in York.

Wales Online

• Major £136m plans revealed to transform Newport's docks as part of the M4 relief roadThe work will take the total bill to £1.3bn and mean the road won't open until 2023 at the earliest

East Anglian Daily Times

• ‘Wacky’ proposal for Hadleigh Railway Walk tunnel withdrawn after petition gains 400 signatures in 24 hoursA proposal to dig a tunnel under the Railway Walk in Hadleigh has been scrapped after a petition opposing the idea gained more than 400 signatures in just 24 hours.

Other Regional Press

• MP calls for cyclists to think twice before using busy roads following fatal crash A HAMPSHIRE MP has controversially suggested cyclists should only use roads with cycle lanes on them.
• Angry bike campaigners hit back at MP's "unhelpful" comments on cycling - but MP says his views have been "misinterpreted"ANGRY cycling campaigners have hit back at claims they should think twice before riding their bikes on Southampton’s busiest roads.
• Christmas rail strikes will have ‘significant’ impact A RAIL operator which runs trains through Oxford and Banbury stations has revealed that its services will be ‘significantly affected’ by industrial action in the coming days.
• After dramatic crashes on county roads - beware 'Frantic Friday' and the great Christmas getawayRESCUERS have urged drivers to stay safe after a busy morning for emergency crews with a lorry off the road and a car overturned.

Rail Technology Magazine

• New Year to kick off with strikes across five franchisesRMT has confirmed strike action against five rail operators in the New Year. The strikes are part of ongoing separate disputes over what the union calls an “attack on the role of the guard” and the extension of Drive Only Operation (DOO). RMT members on Southern will strike for one...
• Switching from lorries to freight trains could cut air pollution by 10%Making the switch from HGVs to trains for freight travel could lead to 10% less air pollution from NOx across the country, says new research from the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT). Following an investigation into lorry travel across four of Britain’s busiest freight routes, the...

Aviation Industry

• Berlin Brandenburg Airport targets October 2020 opening The Berlin Brandenburg International Airport (BER) supervisory board has set October 2020 as the new opening date for the much-delayed airport project. read more
• Irish pilots’ union calls for written Ryanair agreementThe Irish pilots’ union that was instrumental in convincing Dublin-based Ryanair to change its long-standing policy and recognize such organizations, has called for the LCC to put its promises in writing, noting it could still strike if no agreement is reached. read more
• Eurowings inks agreements with labor unions for expansionEurowings has signed agreements with the Verdi trade union and Vereinigung Cockpit pilot union that will enable the Lufthansa LCC subsidiary to grow rapidly, especially in Germany. read more
• First seats from Boeing partner LIFT enter serviceLOT Polish Airlines has become the launch customer for aircraft seating newcomer LIFT by EnCore, with the company’s first product entering service on the Polish flag carrier’s Boeing 737 MAXs. read more

Other News Sources

• Newcastle Airport reaches new heightsThe North East's largest airport is into the swing of its festive season, as it marks it's busiest year in a decade.
• Emirates to launch London Stansted service from June 2018Emirates today announced that it is to launch a new daily route from London Stansted (STN) to Dubai (DXB) on 8 June 2018. With its strategic position close to the tech and pharma hubs of Cambridge and Peterborough, Emirates will be the first Middle Eastern airline to operate out of the popular North East London airport.