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

Friday, 18 December 2015

BBC News

• APT tilting train: The laughing stock that changed the worldIt's 30 years since the Advanced Passenger Train carried its last passengers. In its short life it attracted scorn and mockery, but did the APT actually revolutionise the world of travel?
• Smoking in cars with children bannedScotland is to ban smoking in cars that are carrying children after MSPs voted unanimously in favour of a change in the law.

Financial Times

• Sir Nigel Rudd relinquishes Heathrow roleChairman of UK’s largest airport to step down next year, as ministers decide whether to expand hub

The Guardian

• Self-driving cars are coming, and the technology promises to save livesCar crashes could be a thing of the past if car makers deliver on their promise to roll out autonomous cars over the next five years. But researchers are still questioning what this accident-free future might look likeCompanies like Google and Tesla have held up autonomous vehicles as a panacea for road accidents, which claim over 32,000 American lives each year. This month, Obama put stock in that idea, signing a $305bn transportation bill that includes grants for self driving vehicles. That backs up 10 years of US Department of Transportation work on technical studies and policies surroundin...

The Herald

• Prestwick Airport search-and-rescue helicopter base openedUK transport minister Robert Goodwill has officially opened the new coastguard search and rescue (SAR) helicopter base at Prestwick Airport.

The Scotsman

• Alastair Dalton: Time for leadership from SNP over HeathrowFor the many Scots flying through Heathrow over the festive season, the latest delay to deciding on its expansion will simply make the agonising wait for improvements longer.

The Telegraph

• Around 500 people a day take London's shortest tube journeyIt takes 45 seconds on the tube to get from Covent Garden to Leicester Square and costs �4.80 to travel a quarter of a kilometre

Reuters News

• Britain unveils final plan to improve air qualityLONDON (Reuters) - Britain will submit its final plan for improving air quality to the European Commission on Thursday after levels of the pollutant nitrogen dioxide, mostly from diesel vehicles, were found to have breached EU limits.

The Mirror

• Roofs slashed and locks broken as migrants launch 'unprecedented' attack on lorry drivers in Calais Trouble broke out on what was one of the busiest days of the year for cross-Channel freight traffic

Birmingham Mail

• Plans for rail lines, cycleways and Metro extensions agreed by chiefsMovement for Growth sets out plans to extending the Metro, a wider Sprint bus network and train lines in Castle Bromwich, Moseley and Kings Heath

Birmingham Post

• Plans for rail lines, cycleways and Metro extensions agreed by chiefsMovement for Growth sets out plans to extending the Metro, a wider Sprint bus network and train lines in Castle Bromwich, Moseley and Kings Heath

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Pupil battling to reduce speed limit outside primary school backs Telegraph & Argus Stop The Danger Drivers campaign A PUPIL battling to reduce the speed limit outside his primary school has backed the Telegraph & Argus Stop The Danger Drivers campaign.
• Bus boss condemns delays in dealing with Keighley's traffic-choked streets THE boss of a Keighley bus company has criticised Bradford Council for stalling traffic improvement measures in the the town, claiming it could lead to businesses and shoppers abandoning the town.

London Evening Standard

• Garden Bridge: Boris slams GLA criticism as 'load of cobblers'The Mayor of London slammed opposition to London's garden bridge project as "a load of cobblers" during a public meeting at City Hall.
• 20m people to pack trains and roads for early start to Christmas getawayMore than 20 million people will pack trains and roads tomorrow as the great Christmas getaway begins.

Manchester Evening News

• Car driven onto tram tracks in Chorlton causes delays on Metrolink's Manchester Airport lineA black Volkswagen Golf appears to have driven onto the network and made its way down the tracks at Barlow Moor Road
• Buses in Manchester are now late so often that one firm has paid to make a public apologyThe boss of Stagecoach has warned he's not ruling out redrawing the map for buses to ease congestion across the city

Wales Online

• Two railway contractors who stole �4,500 of cable are told to pay compensation Chad Morgan and Jonathan Brogden travelled from their Merthyr Tydfil homes to Wiltshire to steal cable

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Bus fare rises just around the corner in LeedsThe biggest bus firm in Leeds has announced plans for a round of New Year fare rises.

Yorkshire Post

• Chris Moncrieff: Will Minister take flight and resign over Heathrow? IS the Government “frit” – as Margaret Thatcher would say – about reaching a decision on a third runway for Heathrow Airport?

Blackpool Gazette

• Travel chaos predicted on road and rail as festive frenzy begins‘MAD Friday’ was set to bring mayhem and misery to travellers in Lancashire this afternoon as the great Christmas getaway began early.

Other Regional Press

• New transport hub needs a better design for the futureTHE selection of ideas for a new rail station and transport interchange is disappointing.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• New plug-in grant will treble number of greener cars on Britain’s roadsMore than 100,000 motorists to benefit from £400 million fund focused on greenest vehicles. The government has today (17 December 2015) announced a long-term extension to the plug-in car grant, backed by a £400 million package to treble the number of ultra low emission vehicles on Britain’s roads. The grant will continue well beyond the latest guarantee of February 2016 until at least the end of March 2018 and will mean more than 100,000 people will benefit over the coming years — double the number who have already claimed the grant since 2011. It means from next Marc...
• Transport Secretary appoints interim Chair of Office of Rail and RoadTransport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has today, Thursday 17 December 2015, announced the appointment of Professor Stephen Glaister CBE FICE FTRF FCGI as the Chair of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) for a 12-month term. Professor Glaister will replace the current chair, Anna Walker, when she steps down as planned at the end of this month after more than 6 years in the role. He will be responsible for leading the independent regulator as it continues its vital role in holding Network Rail and Highways England to account, and ensuring safety and efficiency. The Transport Secretary has chose...
• Peel Ports Group buys port of Great YarmouthPeel Ports Group has expanded its empire by buying Great Yarmouth Port Company Limited. The Group has purchased Great Yarmouth from International Port Holdings for an undisclosed amount, but it is estimated to be around �50 million, as reported by The Telegraph. Peel is privately owned and it currently also owns Liverpool and Glasgow docks, making it the second-largest operator of ports in the UK. Great Yarmouth port services the UK sector of the southern North Sea offshore oil and gas industry, reports Logistics Manager. Last year alone, Great Yarmouth port's annual accounts reflected a �10.9...

Rail Technology Magazine

• Consulting engineers appointed for HS2 Birmingham-Crewe route Ove Arup & Partners International, Mouchel and WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff have been appointed as consulting engineers for phase two of the High Speed 2 (HS2) project between Birmingham and Crewe.
• Operations begin on Leipzig-Erfurt route in Germany with digital signals Passenger operations have begun on the first stage of the new Sprint line from Erfurt to Leipzig/Halle in Germany without fixed signals.
• CIS Improve GTR Passengers’ Experience Infotec is providing customer information screens for 12 stations on Govia Thameslink Railway's (GTR's) Great Northern Route.
• Humidity Effects in Substations Roxtec Ltd requested EA Technology Ltd to produce a report on the causes and effects of humidity within indoor substation environments and methods of mitigating these factors.
• KEYMILE's LineRunner-IS-3400 Family Receives New Functions KEYMILE's LineRunner-IS-3400, as well as its identical HYTEC-HY104 family, have been upgraded with new functions, including the configuration of a new packet-filter firewall.
• CBTC Connectivity Solutions The overall performance of a rail rapid transit system depends largely on the performance of the automatic train control (ATC) system employed. A communication-based train control (CBTC) system is devised by adding modern communication technologies t…

Railway Gazette

• NTV unveils ‘futuristic’ Pendolino stylingITALY: Open access operator NTV has revealed the appearance of the eight 250 km/h Pendolino...
• Kampala light rail agreement signedUGANDA: The government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese government for the...

Aviation Industry

• Kuwait Airways drops Heathrow-JFK route after Israeli rowUS threatened legal action over airline’s refusal to sell tickets to Israeli citizens

Green Miscellany

• Ecocapsule: Twenty-first century AirstreamThe beautifully elegant Ecocapsule is the spiritual successor of the Airstream trailer – a streamlined pod that takes off-grid living to a new height of luxury. The post Ecocapsule: Twenty-first century Airstream appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• McLoughlin appoints interim chair of ORRProfessor Stephen Glaister, a former director of the RAC Foundation for motorists, has been appointed the interim chair of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) for a 12-month period.
• HRG appoints Nigel Northridge as chairmanCurrent Debenhams chair to take up post in April 2016