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

Friday, 23 October 2015

BBC News

• VIDEO: Cardiff to have 'car free days'Cars will be banned from Cardiff city centre for a day each year after councillors vote to back the plan.
• Bats shun �350,000 'safe' road bridgesSpecial bat bridges that cost �350,000 to help bats cross a dual carriageway on the A11 are a
• DLR staff vote for strike actionWorkers on the Docklands Light Railway vote in favour of strike action in a row over working practices.
• Clutha crash report to be publishedAir accident investigators are set to publish their findings into the Clutha bar helicopter crash in Glasgow.

Financial Times

• Cheap oil delivers twin blow to UnitedFalling fuel surcharges and declining travel by energy executives weigh on results
• Northern powerhouse talk lacks hard cashPresident’s visit to Manchester likely to see just £4m of new Chinese investment

The Guardian

• What I learnt from a month cycling in the NetherlandsWith the right investment in infrastructure and improved liability laws, cycling in the UK could be this successful and our streets could be reclaimed as places for people of all ages to enjoyWho builds a bicycle road on a 32km-long sea dyke? One akin to a really, really long Severn Bridge, made of earthworks, tumbleweed and gulls, with a six-lane highway? The Dutch, that’s who, and I’m grateful for it.With no end in sight, only a straight line of smooth tarmac stretching seemingly to infinity, and bordered on both sides by sea, this bike road on the Afsluitdijk is impressive, if only for its ...

The Herald

• New �9m cycle route plan for Edinburgh city centrePeople in Edinburgh are to be given the chance to decide on a new �9m cycle route linking the east to the west of the city.

The Telegraph

• I moved out of London because TfL's poems are so howlingly awfulI would defy anyone to read the etiquette poems on the Tube and not feel an immediate urge to get as far from the capital as possible
• Vauxhall considers Zafira recall as firm investigates scores of cars bursting into flamesFirm could recall thousands of cars made between 2005 and 2014 as it seeks 'root cause' of problem that is said to have seen more than 130 explode

The Mirror

• Experts reveal one million uninsured drivers in cost UK motorists �400m a year in crash payouts The figures were uncovered in Freedom of Information requests as part of a study by Churchill Car Insurance

Birmingham Mail

• New transport plan to link up Midlands could create 300,000 jobsMidlands Connect partnership said £1 billion could be added to the regional economy

Birmingham Post

• Ryanair unveils plans to grow by 25 per cent at Birmingham Airport Growth at Birmingham includes two new twice weekly routes to the Greek island of Corfu and the Lithuanian capital Vilnius as well as additional flights to Alicante, Barcelona, Dublin, Malaga, Malta and Palma

Wales Online

• Cardiff Gate motorway services is one of the worst in the UK, according to usersThe M4 service station at junction 30 has an average score of 2 out of 5 from travellers on the website: MotorwayServices.Info, with some scornful reviews

Yorkshire Post

• Good news at last for Leeds drivers...(...but only if you drive an electric plug-in car)LEEDS could introduce free parking for electric cars as civic leaders try to forge a path to creating a clean, green and modern global gateway.

Bucks Free Press

• Commuters predict overcrowding when 'major' changes are made to train services Beaconsfield commuters and rail groups are predicting overcrowding on the trains when ‘major’ changes are made to the Chiltern Railways timetable on Monday.

Doncaster Free Press

• LOOK: Doncaster passengers escape bus inferno after vehicle ‘explosion’This charred carcass is all that remains of a First bus after a blaze ripped through the vehicle as it was travelling on a popular Doncaster bus route.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Bid for more cross-country trains stepped up by Suffolk politiciansA bid to upgrade the rail service between Ipswich and Peterborough as part of the new franchise for the region is rapidly gaining momentum.
• What does the future hold for Norfolk and Suffolk’s train services?All this week we’ve been looking at how well the region’s train services are performing. But what does the future hold? David Powles reports.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Virgin Trains creates permanently half full glass to launch new ‘Hop on Board’ aleVirgin Trains has today announced it has created a brand new ale christened ‘Hop on Board’, available to those on east coast routes.

Reading Evening Post

• Volkswagen plans electric revolution after diesel scandal Jobs will be shed as the impact of diesel-gate hits home, but electric cars are next on the agenda.
• Broad Street: To cycle or not to cycle will be the question Public consultation on whether the cycling ban in part of Broad Street should continue will be launched next month

The Shields Gazette

• EasyJet puts more than 240,000 seats on sale from Newcastle International Airport for 2016Winter may be just round the corner - but start planning your summer holiday now.

Other Regional Press

• Brush Traction wins £6.5m London Underground contractThe Brush name has been synonymous with engineering and the supply of railway and public transport equipment since 1865.
• Disruption expected for ferry passengersSOME ferry services between Portsmouth and the Channel Islands will be out of action because of work to fit pollution-reducing ‘scrubbers’.
• ‘Forget Cambridge, our county roads must be improved first’ say motorists TRANSPORT bosses should prioritise existing roads in Oxfordshire before considering a link road between Oxford and Cambridge, drivers have said.
• Gritting may be scaled back in council cuts A DECISION on whether some roads would not be gritted if Oxfordshire County Council cuts go ahead has not yet been made.
• Volkswagen plans electric revolution after diesel scandal Jobs will be shed as the impact of diesel-gate hits home, but electric cars are next on the agenda.
• A35 set to benefit from �2billion investment pot to improve South West's roads THE A35 could be set to benefit from �2 billion worth of investment aimed at improving the capacity of roads in the South-West.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• CILT’s Annual Awards for Excellence 2015 winners revealed in London Over 500 of the UK’s leading professionals in transport, logistics and transport planning gathered in London for The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport’s Annual Awards Dinner. The prestigious Awards were held at one of London’s premier venues - the Lancaster London Hotel. CILT’s Annual Awards are designed to recognise achievement and to encourage the highest standards and a professional approach to the practice of logistics and transport.   Hailed as one of the best networking events of the year, this year’s Awards were attended by finalists, spon...

Rail Magazine

• Great Western costs soar to �2.8 billion Network Rail admitsNetwork Rail Chairman Mark Carne says the costs of the Great Western Main Line (GWML) electrification could now be up to �2.8 billion.
• EXCLUSIVE Behind the scenes look at rebuilding of DRS '37/4s'Railway Vehicle Engineering Ltd is midway through major overhauls of Class 37/4s destined for a return to the main line 15 years after they were withdrawn.
• Anglia station upgrade complete Prittlewell station has been completely refurbished in a project by Abellio Greater Anglia.
• VIDEO: Stansted Express trainWalkthrough video of passenger journey from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport
• New train punctuality app launched‘It’s My Journey’ app allows passengers to find out how punctual their trains are
• Consideration for new Brighton Main Line The campaign to develop a second main line linking Brighton, the South Coast with central London, Essex and Stansted Airport, BML2, has taken a step forward.
• Transport for the North takes significant stepsTransport for the North could be a statutory body in 2017, after Government said it would propose amendments to Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill.
• RAIB probes Fletton Junction speedingThe Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) is examining why a train passed over Fletton Junction at more than twice the permitted speed of 25mph.

Railnews

• Rising cost of GWML electrication 'staggering' and 'unacceptable' The unhappy saga of Network Rail's faltering electrification programme has taken a new twist. It has emerged that the cost of electrifying the Great Western Main Line between Hayes near London and Swansea, Bristol, Oxford and Newbury could now be approaching �3 billion, having almost tripled since the first estimates put the cost of upgrading the route as far as Cardiff at �874 million, while the project timescales are also slipping. Mark Carne of Network Rail admitted to MPs that the situation was 'disappointing', while ORR chief executive Richard Price was confronted by calls for his resign...

The Business Desk

• New transport partnership set to drive Engine for GrowthImproving transport links to speed up journey times across the Midlands could boost the regional economy by more than £1bn a year, create 300,000 additional jobs and save businesses nearly £500m.

Other News Sources

• Trains with brains: how Artificial Intelligence is transforming the railway industry Artificial Intelligence technology is about to have a huge impact in the rail industry in a variety of ways, from predictive maintenance to asset intelligence -
• Dumbarton student praised by Scottish Transport Minister Derek Mackay at ScotRail Modern Apprentice graduationA Dumbarton student is amongst ScotRail’s third intake of Modern Apprentices in customer service who graduated last week under an initiative to develop young talent on Scotland’s railways.
• Dr Phillip Lee calls Parliament debate on Heathrow flight path noiseBracknell MP Dr Phillip Lee held a debate at the House of Commons yesterday about the noise from Heathrow airport
• Sadiq Khan to scrap Boris Johnson's controversial �60 million 'garden bridge' Labour's mayoral candidate says project backed by Joanna Lumley is a
• FTA calls for action as Calais chaos returnsChaos has returned to Calais, with drivers being threatened by organised gangs of migrants throwing stones and trying to get aboard trucks. ...
• Ford to boost recycling by mimicking gecko 'stickiness' American car company Ford has announced plans to mimic the sticky toe pads of geckos to help it boost the recyclability of its car parts.
• Enterprise rolls out customer service standardCar rental firm introduces Service Quality Index