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

Thursday, 14 January 2016

BBC News

• East Midlands rail freight hub approvedA rail freight hub and warehouse complex has been approved which developers say will create 7,000 jobs.
• Drivers stopped Google cars crashingGoogle drivers had to intervene to stop its self-driving cars from crashing on California's roads 13 times between September 2014 and November 2015.
• Airport safety move over fatal air crashNew safety measures are to be introduced at Dundee Airport after two people died in a small plane crash.
• VIDEO: Robotic bike parks 'future for cycling'Robotic bike parks are being heralded as the answer to London's shortage of secure bicycle parking. Ecocycle CEO Nick Knight shows the BBC's Michael Hirst how they work.
• Takeover call for south London railRail services in south London are
• VW fix 'won't affect fuel consumption'The UK boss of VW says that the

Financial Times

• Chinese airlines: caveat traderCarriers are not benefiting from cheap oil

The Herald

• Falling oil prices 'may make fuel costs cheaper than bottled water'FUEL could become cheaper than bottled water if the price of oil continues to plummet, motoring experts have said.

The Scotsman

• Glasgow at forefront of adding green buses to fleetsGLASGOW is leading the UK in putting new buses and coaches with the greenest diesel engines on the streets to cut air pollution.

Mail Online

• Eurotunnel officials flood French entrance near Calais to halt migrants Eurotunnel officials said the flooding near the tunnel entrance in northern France has been a conscious decision in order to create ' a network of barriers', to stop desperate people.

The Mirror

• PMQs Recap - Furious Tory tells Cameron not to expand HeathrowSouth west London Tory MP Dr Tania Mathias says by January 8 parts of London including Putney had already broken annual pollution limits.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Nine electric cars and vans helping Bradford Council go green A FLEET of nine new electric cars and vans are helping Bradford Council go green.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Anglesey left off the map in Heathrow Airport video campaign The island was missing but comedian Stephen Fry who starred in advert did try to pronounce Llanfairpwll

Liverpool Echo

• Liverpool2 more important to Northern Powerhouse than HS2, says report Law firm Brabners celebrates 200th anniversary with special focus on building region's economy

London Evening Standard

• Lumiere London Festival 2016: Road closures and public transport warningsRoads are set to close and Tubes and buses will be busier than usual after the capital's first-ever large-scale festival of light kicks off on Thursday.
• Revealed: How Whitechapel station will look after �110m transformationDesigns for the new-look Whitechapel station have been unveiled as �110 million of work starts on its rebuilding to make way for Crossrail.
• 'Give south London rail services to TfL to help meet soaring demand'Transport for London should be given control of suburban railways across south London to boost capacity and improve the service to commuters, a report said today.
• King's Cross St Pancras Tube station evacuated due to fire alert amid major signal failure at the stationKing's Cross St Pancras Tube station was evacuated in rush hour this morning.
• Cab drivers launch court challenge to cycle superhighwayCab drivers have launched a High Court challenge to Boris Johnson's flagship east-west cycle superhighway across London.
• Southeastern delays: Train services cancelled by SECOND landslide in three daysTrain commuters in south-east London face another day of major disruption after a rail line was hit by a second landslide in just three days.
• Driver fined for using bus lane on Christmas Day... when there are no busesRed-faced council officials were forced to back down after trying to fine a City worker for driving in a bus lane on Christmas Day, when no buses run in London.

Sheffield Star

• OPINION: Join us in backing the only HS2 option - CabornToday’s opinion piece is written by Business Ambassador for Sheffield City Council, Richard Caborn:
• BUS CHAOS: Complaints soared by almost four times after Sheffield cutsAngry bus passengers flooded transport chiefs with almost FOUR times as many complaints about services in the weeks after controversial Sheffield cuts came in, The Star can reveal today.

Wales Online

• Petrol and diesel could end up cheaper than bottled water thanks to falling oil price, says RAC The plummeting price of Brent crude could spur really low fuel prices in 2016

East Anglian Daily Times

• New name for Four Villages A12 Bypass project to show wider Suffolk benefitA bypass project to divert traffic away from four Suffolk villages has been renamed to demonstrate the wider importance it could have to the economy, energy and tourism industries.
• New £100m crossing would boost town’s economyA new £100m Wet Dock crossing would give Ipswich town centre a boost worth many times that sum according to an official feasibility report published today.

The Shields Gazette

• Metro passengers third morning of misery as rail services remain offNo Metro trains are running between Pelaw and Brockley Whins stations for the third day in a row.

Other Regional Press

• A19 Norton improvements 'on schedule', Department of Transport says - but they may still be years away DfT responds after Stockton MP Alex Cunningham's claims work isn't due to start until March 2020
• The price of skipping a train fare: Man who didn't pay for �2.50 ticket fined �880 A MAN who failed to pay a �2.50 rail fare has been slapped with costs and fines totalling �886.50 after the case was taken to court.
• Sofia set to join Birmingham Airport route network A service to Sofia is being launched by budget airline Wizz Air

Bus and Coach.com

• Bus groups deliver on smart ticketing pledge
• Grant funding for cleaner buses in England town and city centres
• Thamesdown reveals results of customer satisfaction survey
• Measuring down to the finest detail at Wrightbus EN-Drive factory
• First and Unite mark success of workplace learning centres

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• P&O Ferries posts Dover-Calais freight recordP&O Ferries says it carried more freight between Dover and Calais in 2015 than in any previous year in its modern history and expects demand for cross-Channel transport to continue to increase. The ferry company’s six ships on the English Channel transported 1,340,317 units of freight during the 12-month period − a 22% year-on-year increase. Both the third and fourth quarters set new records for quarterly freight volumes as P&O Ferries provided an additional vessel and additional sailings on the Dover to Calais route. Freight comprises around two thirds of the company's b...
• Unipart Rail buys Park SignallingUnipart Group’s rail division has added to its range of services by acquiring Stockport-based Park Signalling for an undisclosed sum. The deal sees Park Signalling, which has 20 staff, become part of Unipart Rail but it will continue to trade under its existing name. Unipart Rail supplies products and services to the UK and international rail industry, including infrastructure maintenance, technical support, equipment repairs, research and development, technology and manufacturing. It has operations in Crewe, Southport, Doncaster and York. Park Signalling, which is based at Houldswor...
• First and Unite mark success of workplace learning centresFirst Bus and Unite the Union hosted a learning conference last month to mark the value and success of First’s workplace learning centres.  First Bus, in partnership with Unite, has established more than 50 workplace learning centres at depots across the UK. The centres, which are manned by Trade Union Learning Representatives (TULRs), help employees develop and learn new skills, including how to use a computer, the internet and email or improve numeracy and literacy skills. The centres also offer courses in conversational Spanish, scuba diving and a host of other areas.  At ...
• Port of Liverpool owner Peel Ports enjoys tenfold rise in pre-tax profitsThe owner of the Port of Liverpool and the Manchester Ship Canal has recorded a tenfold increase in pre-tax profits. Peel Ports’ latest accounts filed at Companies House show that profit before tax in the 12 months to March 2015 was £40.6m, up from £3.9m notched up in the previous year. The profit improvement came despite a small fall in turnover, which was £616.1m, down from £623.7m a year earlier. In addition to the Port of Liverpool and the Manchester Ship Canal, Peel also owns or operates ports in Heysham, the River Clyde, Kent, Great Yarmouth and Dublin an...
• Pay as you go to get to GatwickThe pay as you go payment system has been introduced on Southern, Gatwick Express and Thameslink services for passengers travelling to and from the airport and on Great Western trains between Gatwick and Redhill. Ticket facilities at five other stations along the route - Horley, Salfords, Earlswood, Redhill and Merstham - have also been upgraded to support pay as you go. Using Oyster and contactless makes travelling quicker and more convenient for passengers and helps reduce crowding at stations. It also means switching between services on London's transport network and National Rail is much ...
• 40 cycling schemes underway on England’s biggest roadsWork has started on more than 40 schemes as part of a £100 million package to make it easier for cyclists to cross motorway junctions and use major A roads. Highways England is delivering 200 projects across the country over the next 5 years after the government set up the £100 million dedicated fund for cycling in its Road Investment Strategy. More than 40 schemes have now begun and are set to be completed by this spring. Work will continue on other projects between now and 2021. The schemes will provide new cycling facilities which are safe, separate from traffic and can be us...
• First Launches Virtual Electrics in BristolTwo revolutionary virtual electric buses have been launched in Bristol.  First West of England are introducing the state-of-the-art low emission buses in partnership with Department for Transport, Bristol City Council and University of the West of England (UWE).  The buses use Geo-Fencing GPS technology to run on pure electric mode in areas of low air quality, producing zero emissions. The small diesel engine only runs in areas of better air quality and simply charges the electric engine. This technology is revolutionary, there are only five in the UK, two in Bristol and three in Lo...
• Transport Secretary sees thriving UK marine sector at London Boat ShowPatrick McLoughlin meets next generation of boat designers keeping Britain ahead of the worldwide competition. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin today (13 January 2016) saw the cream of Britain’s world-class marine sector as he visited the London Boat Show at ExCeL. He met exhibitors showcasing the latest state-of-the-art, British-built boats and also heard first-hand about skilled job opportunities from university design students currently taking part in a Superyacht UK design competition. The UK’s maritime industry, including commercial shipping and sea ports, currently co...

Rail Magazine

• Unions strike over Night Tube againUnions are set to strike on London Underground over the proposed introduction of the Night Tube, pay and job cuts.
• RDG urges ORR to collaborate on access chargesRDG calls on ORR to work with the industry on track access charges, ahead of the ORR’s Periodic Review of Network Rail’s charges that begins later this year.
• Rail fares “divorced from reality”, claims RailfutureRail campaign group Railfuture has attacked January’s rise in rail fares, blaming the Government for above-inflation rises.

Rail Technology Magazine

• World Class Casting and Machining for Railway William Cook Rail manufactures highly engineered solutions, including bogies, couplers, drawgear assemblies and brake discs, for rail vehicles.
• JENSEN HUGHES Engineering and Consulting Services for Rail Applications JENSEN HUGHES provides fire safety engineering for railway and public transit systems.
• Infrastructure Measurement Solutions-Vibration Monitoring Systems for Railway Applications Infrastructure Measurement Solutions (IMS) designs vibration monitoring systems that locate and record common faults on railway tracks.Defect sensors for rail tracksThe BumpBox is a ruggedised comput...
• Northern Rail to install customer information screens across Cheshire, UK UK rail operator Northern Rail is installing new customer information screens (CIS) at stations across Cheshire in the north-west of England.

Aviation Industry

• Qatar Air threatens to split Oneworld amid row with American AirlinesAmerican Air, Delta Air Lines and United Continental Holdings all say Qatar, Etihad Airways and Emirates of Dubai have benefited from $US42 billion in illegal aid. Qatar Airways said it may seek to form a breakaway group within the Oneworld alliance should fellow member American Airlines Group continue to lend its weight to a US push to curb the growth of Gulf rivals.
• Aeromexico boosts Heathrow frequencyAirline to fly six-times weekly from Mexico City
• Gatwick keeps pushing for second runway after record resultsAirport records 34th consecutive month of growth

Other News Sources

• PMQs: It seems that David Cameron has no desire to expand HeathrowPerhaps, the most revealing exchange, though, came when Twickenham MP Tania Mathias asked Cameron to pledge never to expand Heathrow until the air pollution problems are addresse
• South West Trains driver 'made an error' and failed to stop at scheduled station Passengers on the 7.30am service to Portsmouth Harbour were unable to get off at Godalming after the train driver 'made an error' and failed to stop as planned
• Crossrail 2 should extend to Dorking and Working to cut journey times and overcrowding, says county councilThe service will extend to Shepperton, Hampton Court, Chessington and Epsom - but Surrey County Council wants to take the project further
• Leadership in Carbon Reduction Award launched by FTAThe LCRS Leadership in Carbon Reduction Award sponsored by Bridgestone has been launched by the Freight Transport Association (FTA) today. ...
• FTA calls for action on migrant camp after new rail freight service is shelvedThe Freight Transport Association (FTA) says news that a planned rail freight service between the Pyrenees and the Port of Calais has been ...