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

Wednesday, 16 August 2017

BBC News

• Breathtaking footage of 'near misses' at railway crossings and on tracksTranslink has released CCTV footage of true-life breathtaking "lucky escapes" and "near misses" at railway crossings and on train tracks across Northern Ireland.
• Strip Ken Skates of transport role - Plaid's Adam PriceA senior Plaid AM says Ken Skates cannot handle his wide brief and should lose his transport role.
• Ely train derailment chaos continuesServices are affected between Peterborough, Ely, Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds, Stansted Airport and London.
• 'A myriad' of Irish border roadsAn ex-customs enforcer explains the complexities of controlling the Irish border post-Brexit.
• The '£5k commuter club': Who pays that sum to get to work?With rail fares rising again, we speak to those paying £5,000 a year - or more - in travel costs.
• Air Berlin files for insolvency but flights continueFlights at Germany's second-largest airline will continue thanks to a loan from the government.
• Rail fares face biggest rise for five yearsMillions of rail users will see the price of regulated rail fares rise by up to 3.6% in January.

Financial Times

• UK rail fares set to rise by 3.6% from JanuaryTicket price increase is biggest in five years and is based on RPI inflation figure
• Air Berlin turns to Lufthansa and German govt after filing for insolvency
• Air Berlin bonds tumble to just cents on the euro
• Commuters told to avoid Waterloo for second day after derailmentIncident comes as many of the station’s platforms are closed for upgrades
• Air Berlin keeps flying after filing for insolvencyInvestor Etihad criticised after Germany forced to provide €150m in temporary credit
• Failed Ryanair Ukraine deal is a blow to pro-western leadershipKiev officials desperately need to attract foreign investment to boost growth

The Guardian

• Rail fare increase signals light at the end of the tunnel for UK inflationThe 3.6% hike is steep and prices are still rising faster than wages, but the prospect of inflation going well over 3% looks remote
• The hijab is not for children. It was right to drop these distasteful imagesTransport for London's traffic safety campaign showed a four-year-old girl in a headscarf. A Muslim mother complained, and she was right. Road accidents are the biggest cause of death among young people so when any child road safety project is thrown off course, it's hugely frustrating.

The Herald

• Average speed cameras on A90 will reduce casualties, insists Transport MinisterThe installation of average speed cameras on the A90 will reduce crashes and improve driver behaviour, the Transport Minister has said.

Times Online

• Uber founder ‘sabotaging’ attempts to replace him [Subscription]Travis Kalanick, the Uber founder, appears to have sabotaged the app’s search for a new chief executive by creating a “power vacuum” into which he could return, one of the company’s earliest investors has claimed.
• Ryanair attacks German ‘plot’ as Air Berlin crashesAirline complains that emergency aid will ease Lufthansa takeover
• Rail passengers hit by huge increase in fares [Subscription]Anger over ‘unfair’ system as commuters pay thousands more since 2010
• It must be time to say RIP RPI [Subscription]Rail passengers are always whingeing. Anyone would think they expect to board a train for their annual season ticket. And, even if one actually turns up, sardining them in with the exploding loos, all they do is moan about the excuses for not going anywhere: a kaput leaf-clearing engine (Southern), “slippery rain” (Thameslink) or a swan “refusing to move” (South West Trains). Plus, of course, the wrong kind of snow.
• Rail passengers face huge rise in fares under discredited inflation measure [Subscription]Rail passengers face the biggest rise in fares for five years and some will suffer a £2,500 increase in the cost of a season ticket since 2010. Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, was urged to change the way that fares are calculated after commuters were told that they would rise by 3.6 per cent from January because of higher than expected inflation. Wages are growing at 2 per cent.
• Three rail accidents in 48 hours [Subscription]Two trains derailed and another hit the buffers during a chaotic 48-hour period on the railways that will affect some travellers into next week.

Mail Online

• Bank of England in new alert over car finance dangers It is the latest warning that the finance bubble that has spurred the sale of new cars to record levels in the UK, may be about to burst.
• Heathrow Airport meet-and-greet parking revealed in photos Pictures taken today show the cars are actually dumped in the corner of a Berkshire field which is open to the public with broken fences on three sides.

The Mirror

• Rail passengers battle to freeze fare rises - saying many will struggle to afford the cost of their commute Labour pointed out that in the PM’s own constituency, an annual season ticket from Maidenhead to London’s Paddington has risen by £736 since 2010

Birmingham Post

• This is how rail fares are set to rise across the UK in 2018 While the outcome was below economists' predictions of 2.7 per cent, CPI remained above the Bank of England's inflation target of two per cent

Derby Telegraph

• Rail fare price increase angers unions and will hit commutersThe rail industry says that extra revenues will fund more seats and improvements to services

London Evening Standard

• Holborn station fire alert: Panic on London Underground as 'smoke fills carriage after loud bang'Commuters were plunged into a state of panic as a busy Tube station was evacuated after a loud bang and smoke filling a carriage was reported.
• King's Cross station incident: Two injured after train hits buffers at platformTwo people were injured after a train hit the buffers at London's King's Cross station.
• Londoners hit by triple whammy of travel chaos on day huge fare hikes announcedCommuters suffered a day of travel mayhem on London's railways on the day it was revealed passengers are to be hit by the biggest fare hike in five years.
• Fears of transport chaos as bus staff go on strike during Notting Hill CarnivalA 48-hour walk-out by bus staff over Bank Holiday weekend could spark traffic chaos for revellers at Notting Hill Carnival, union bosses have warned.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Rush hour rail chaos for Greater Anglia passengers on day service announces ticket price hikeCommuters are facing an evening of rail chaos – several Greater Anglia trains have been delayed on the main line between London and Norwich due to a track defect.

Reading Evening Post

• How to get cheaper train tickets Anthony Smith from Transport Focus provides some top tips for travellers

Other Regional Press

• Rail fares to rise by 3.6% in new year RAIL passengers will see fares rise by 3.6% when price changes come into force in the new year, according to official figures.
• Oxford rail commuters to pay more than £5,000 to London for the first timeCOMMUTERS from Oxford to London will soon be paying more than £5,000 a year for the first time after the biggest fare hike in five years was revealed.
• Councillor hopes Ferry can take advantage of tourism boomCouncillor Craig Duncan feels increasing the level and frequency of services calling at Broughty Ferry Station can lead to increased tourism for the town.

Rail Magazine

• Freight train derails at ElyCrossCountry and East Midlands Trains services affected
• GB Railfreight wants new vehicles for HS2 contractsGB Railfreight is on the lookout for new locomotives and wagons, as it prepares to bid for HS2 haulage contracts. GBRf Managing Director John Smith said it made sense that the operator owns its assets outright where possible, rather than leasing them.

Rail Technology Magazine

• AECOM and Network Rail to conduct independent review of Penn station Amtrak has selected AECOM and Network Rail to carry out an independent review of the interaction, coordination and collaboration between multiple passenger concourses within Penn Station, New York.
• Elmo Leather-Eco-Friendly, Fire-Resistant Leather for Rail Interiors Elmo's semi-aniline leather is dirt-resistant, easy to clean, and specially adapted to meet the durability and fire safety standards for rail vehicle interiors.The soft feel of Elmo's technical leath...
• Ordsall Chord close to completion as steel bands installedThe Ordsall Chord is now moving into the final stages of construction as two steel bands have been moved into place on the structure. On 14 August, the final cascade weighing 40 tonnes was installed by Network Rail engineers, marking the completion of the UK’s first network arch...
• Passengers facing 3.6% rail fare hike from next yearPassengers are set to see an unprecedented rise of 3.6% on regulated rail fares from January 2018, government statistics have today revealed – the largest hike since 2011 and significantly over this year’s 2.3% figure. The Office for National Statistics today released its updated...
• SWT warns passengers to avoid Waterloo after derailment A train has derailed at Waterloo station today, causing chaos for passengers travelling into the capital. The British Transport Police (BTP) confirmed that officers were sent to the station at 6.04am after a train derailed at small speed pulling out of the station before hitting a stationary...
• UKRIA: Time to shine with your mobile tech innovationsUsing innovative mobile technology to improve the passenger experience on trains and make the railway run more efficiently is increasingly important for companies across the industry. This month, the Rail Delivery Group announced the schedule for the start of its roll-out of digital railcards on...
• TfL on new Elizabeth Line train delay: roll-out 'all about confidence' The roll-out of Crossrail’s new trains was delayed earlier this year to ensure they would not experience any problems when they entered service in order to maintain the confidence of the public, staff and TOCs, RTM was told today.   The new trains were due to begin running on tracks...

Railnews

• July RPI was 3.6 per cent The Retail Price Index was 3.6 per cent in July, the Office of National Statistics has announced. The RPI in July usually decides changes to regulated rail fares in the following January. Protests by the RMT have been taking place at more than 30 stations in England, Scotland and Wales.

Railway Gazette

• NSK receives first bearing order from SNCFFRANCE: NSK has received its first order for wheelset bearings as a qualified supplier to SNCF,...

Transport Network

• Call for 'fairer deal' as inflation triggers 3.6% rail fare increaseThe transport watchdog has called for ‘a fairer deal’ for rail passengers after rising inflation is set to trigger a 3.6% increase in fares in England and Wales from January.
• Exploring the smarter network at the end of the tunnelEarlier this month the announcement that Highways England is considering building large tunnels over the most polluted sections of UK motorways prompted a mixed reception from the public and infrastructure officials alike.

Aviation Industry

• Airberlin files for bankruptcy as Etihad stops fundsGerman carrier airberlin, in which Etihad Airways has a 29.2% stake, filed for insolvency Aug. 15 after Etihad withdrew financial support. read more
• Four Dutch airports to go wind-poweredFour Dutch airports overseen by Royal Schiphol Group are to go wind-powered from 2018 under a 15-year agreement with sustainable energy supplier Eneco.

Other News Sources

• London Waterloo derailment delays expected to last until THURSDAY as South West Trains and Network Rail warn passengers to avoid network Platforms 1 to 13 are out of action at London Waterloo, with severe disruption now forecast until the early hours of Thursday morning (August 17)
• Uber ratings: What are they, why do they matter and how can you be the perfect 'rider'? Tip: Don't eat pizza in the car
• Imperative that logistics must be at the Brexit table, says FTAThe government's paper on trade and customs arrangements post-Brexit, published today (15 August 2017) is a step in the right direction
• 'Great progress' in first days of Bolton railway station closureENGINEERING teams working through night to transform Bolton railway station have completed the first stages of their project.