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

Saturday, 11 July 2015

BBC News

• VIDEO: 'Electric plane' crosses ChannelPilot Didier Estyene's E-Fan battery-powered plane successfully completes its crossing from Kent, England to Calais.
• Airline shares lifted by Ryanair moveShares in airlines jump after Ryanair agrees to accept International Airlines Group's offer for its 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus.
• VIDEO: Simulation shows busy London skiesNATS, Britain's air navigation service provider, has released a video illustrating flights coming in and out of the airports in the South East.
• Airline shares lifted by Ryanair moveShares in airlines jump after Ryanair agrees to accept International Airlines Group's offer for its 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus.
• DVLA extends car hire planning timeTravellers needing to hire a car while abroad will now have three weeks to share extra driving licence details with hire companies instead of three days.

Financial Times

• MileHi club enters digital ageApp aims to encourage business travellers to spend their flying hours networking
• Ryanair accepts IAG offer for Aer LingusAirline still plans to appeal against UK ruling ordering it to reduce share in Irish flag carrier

The Guardian

• Hornby enthusiasts to pick up orders at real-life train stationsHornby, best known for its replica train sets, has signed a deal to let customers collect their orders from shops at stations. The shops are run by Doddle, whose 35 outlets target busy commuters who want to receive, return or send parcels from stations.

The Independent

• Cross-channel row over who can claim historic electric plane flight They are, without doubt, magnifique monsieurs in their flying machines, but fierce debate raged about who was the most magnifique – and who had become the first pilot to complete a manned flight across the Channel in an electric plane.

The Telegraph

• Want to be a Tube driver? Well, you can't. Here's whyAre thousands vying to be paid £50,000 a year to drive a train? Er, no

Bolton News

• Family welcomes call for railway wall improvement after 22-year-old son's death on train track A CORONER is calling for improvements to a railway wall following the death of a man on the tracks at Atherton.

London Evening Standard

• London Bridge crush to last another year Commuters must wait until the end of next summer before rush hour congestion at London Bridge station begins to lessen, rail chiefs admitted today.

Yorkshire Post

• Cooper attacks Government on Yorkshire rail recordYVETTE Cooper will call on the Government to honour its pledge to scrap outdated diesel trains on Yorkshire’s rail network after plans to electrify key routes were shelved.

Blackpool Gazette

• £200K car park blunderTown hall chiefs have admitted they got it wrong by spending nearly £200,000 on a staff car park which hardly anyone uses.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Rail delays worsen after unruly passengers and trespassers bring more disruptionDisruptive passengers and trespassers are causing more chaos on the railways this afternoon to add to delays caused by ongoing bridge repairs.

Other Regional Press

• Heathrow garden city 'could be built without third runway'A new 'Heathrow Garden City' in Hounslow is not dependant on a third runway being built, the Hounslow Council leader has insisted.
• Northampton’s Cycle CoNNect users clock up enough miles to go around globe in first year of schemeUsers of Northampton’s very own bike hire scheme – Cycle CoNNect – have collectively pedalled a total of 29,561 miles since the initiative began one year ago, more than a complete circumnavigation of the globe.
• Campaigners demand more action to improve transport in the north Concern as Chancellor ignores rail investment in budget

Bus and Coach.com

• New senior management team for Stagecoach SouthStagecoach South has made two senior management appointments with Gordon Frost as the new operations director and Chris Remnant becoming engineering director.
• Reading Buses summer vehicle trials include New RoutemasterReading Buses is the latest operator to test the New Routemaster. A two-week trial on the purple 17 route will take place in the second half of August, and the crew will include a conductor.
• Stagecoach bus driver marks 7/7 anniversary
• Campaigners welcome Nat Ex change on wheelchair priority
• Legislative backing needed for smart ticketing plans, says ptegA new report from pteg calls on the government to give additional powers to local authorities to make progress on smart ticketing, even in areas where services remain deregulated. The group has released a plan on how it believes smart ticketing should be rolled out so that it “looks and feels more like London’s Oyster in terms of what it offers to passengers”.
• Aberdeen consortium identifies barriers to increasing bus useA new research project to identify barriers to bus use has been carried out in Aberdeen in a partnership between First, Nestrans and Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce.
• Treasury continues to lead on transport announcementsThe chancellor’s budget speech once again confirmed the move to devolution in English city regions with confirmation that the government is working towards further devolution deals with Sheffield, Liverpool and Leeds. George Osborne says that the aim is to agree these deals in parallel with the autumn spending review with additional powers for directly-elected mayors.
• Scary numbers on extending London-style bus operation£3.2billion. It’s a pretty scary figure; and it is meant to be scary. That is the total estimated annual cost of extending London-style bus operations across the whole of England, according to the TAS Partnership. But what precisely is this measuring, and is it a credible figure?

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• New air-conditioned fleet on ThameslinkRail passengers bearing the brunt of the summer heatwave can now expect to travel on cool, modern, air conditioned trains between Brighton and Bedford as Thameslink accepts the last of its Class 387 trains into service this week. The final two Class 387/1 trains began running between Bedford and Brighton, marking the completion of the 29 new, modern trains arriving on the Thameslink route. The first trains entered service in December 2014 and replace 27-year-old Class 319 trains on the network. The majority of trains now running on Thameslink are modern, air conditioned Class 387 or Class 377 ...
• Drax orders 200th biomass rail freight wagonDrax has taken delivery of its 200th specially designed biomass rail freight wagon, which marks a major milestone in its three-year partnership with both Lloyds Register Rail and manufacturer WH Davis. The partnership has been praised for pushing the boundaries of rail engineering and has led to the creation of some of the largest rail freight wagons ever seen in the UK.  In turn, this has prompted further ongoing developments in Drax's supply chain, as the firm converts its power station for the use of sustainable biomass instead of coal.  As a result of this initiative, Drax is now heading t...
• Heathrow plans must take off soon, urges international courierGlobal courier Fastlane International warns the cost of sending international parcels and other airfreight costs could rise if a swift decision is not made following The Airport Commission’s endorsement of a third runway for Heathrow, rather than at Gatwick. Fastlane’s David Jinks MILT says: ’Sir Howard Davies' report has come down unanimously in favour of a new runway at Heathrow. With the independent verdict now in, work should commence on the new runway as soon as possible.’ Explains David: ’It might not be understood by everyone that as well as dedic...

Aviation Industry

• Ryanair agrees to sell Aer Lingus stake to IAGRyanair will formally agree to sell its 29.8% Aer Lingus stake to International Airlines Group (IAG) on July 16, marking a major milestone for IAG’s Aer Lingus takeover plans. read more
• Air Iceland buys three Bombardier Q400sIcelandair Group has purchased three used Bombardier Q400s, which will be operated by its Air Iceland regional subsidiary and used to upgrade its fleet of five Fokker 50s. read more
• United Airlines shifts widebody flightsUnited Airlines is shifting some widebody flights among its hubs, as it seeks to ensure more departures are flown by local pilots and tries to more closely align aircraft size with demand. read more
• Ryanair confirms Copenhagen pull-out Ryanair confirmed Friday it will move its single-based Boeing 737-800 from Copenhagen to Kaunas in Lithuania on July 14 as attempts to defuse the row with its Danish unions failed. read more
• Ryanair accepts IAG offer for Aer Lingus stakeIAG moves a step closer to completing deal for Irish carrier
• Spanish air traffic controllers plan two strikes for JulyAction threatened for this weekend and July 25-26
• BA opens up flight data as part of NDC pilotBritish Airways is opening up some of its flight information to IT developers in a pilot of IATA’s New Distribution Capability (

Green Miscellany

• Half car, half bicycle – let’s fill our cities with the PedalistThe Pedalist combines elements of the car and bicycle to create sustainable transport for the world’s mega cities. The effect of shutting off these urban centres during extended rush hours to all motorised vehicles other than lightweight pedal-assist designs like the Pedalist would be transformative. The post Half car, half bicycle – let’s fill our cities with the Pedalist appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Heathrow starts runway work by setting up Procurement Forum HEATHROW has already moved into the delivery phase of a third runway after last week’s backing from the influential Davies Commission.
• LETTER: Heathrow is the clear decisionGatwick may have spent millions on computerised imagery of how the new airport would look and employ award-winning architects but this does not get over the facts and the facts are clear that Sir Howard Davies has recommended Heathrow for expansion, not Gatwick.
• Electric car charging points to be upgraded ELECTRIC car drivers are set to be able to charge up their vehicles much quicker after plans were agreed to upgrade facilities in Brighton and Hove.
• Oh no what a blunder! They're the wrong colour... TRADERS and motorists face three more weeks of misery after workmen were forced to dig up and replace new paving slabs as they were the wrong colour.
• UPDATE: Southern Railway strikes suspended PLANNED strikes by engineers on Southern Railway due to start this weekend have been suspended.