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

Friday, 15 January 2016

BBC News

• VIDEO: Could powerhouse boost north Wales?The leader of Manchester council says north Wales needs more devolution if it is to benefit from the
• 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.
• Fiat Chrysler denies fraud chargesItalian-American carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is denying claims it encouraged dealers to inflate monthly sales.
• Renault shares plunge on police raidsShares in French car manufacturer Renault fall 20% before partially recovering after the company confirms its factories have been searched by police.

Financial Times

• Renault feels the heat over emissionsFrench carmaker says defeat devices like those in the VW scandal have not been found on its vehicles
• VW brakes as rivals race ahead in EuropeBlockbuster end to year pushes EU annual car sales up almost 10%
• Shipping’s globalisation woesFor sign of how the tectonic plates of the global economy are shifting, look at the Baltic Dry Index
• Commodities slide blights US rail trafficSlowdown arrives across the western US farm belt
• Obama plans $4bn driverless cars boostNational testing scheme proposal launched at Detroit Auto Show to spur development

The Guardian

• Plane grounded on Aberdeen runway for two hours after traffic cone incidentA British Airways flight to Heathrow was forced to disembark all passengers and luggage after a traffic cone became wedged beneath the aircraftA British Airways flight from Aberdeen to London was delayed for almost two hours after a traffic cone became wedged beneath the aircraft.Engineers could remove the item to inspect the damage only by disembarking all the plane’s passengers and luggage. Claire Buckley, a passenger on the flight, said the captain “sounded genuinely stunned” that such an occurrence could have happened as he gave them updates. Continue reading...

The Herald

• British Airways flight delayed after damage caused by traffic coneA British Airways flight from Aberdeen to London was delayed for two hours after the aircraft was apparently

The Scotsman

• Alastair Dalton: Queen Street revamp will be trying for allMANAGING disruption during the partial closure of Queen Street Station will require nimble moves worthy of a Strictly Come Dancing winner if passengers aren’t going to abandon the railways for the entire four-month project.
• Dundee Airport introduces safety measures after fatal crashNEW safety measures are to be introduced at Dundee Airport after two people died in a small plane crash.

Daily Record

• British Airways flight grounded 'because of misplaced traffic cone' at Aberdeen Airport The plane was left stranded on the runway after being scheduled to fly to London Heathrow at 7.25pm after the offending cone 'became wedged under the plane'

Office of Rail and Road (ORR)

• Carillion Construction fined �200,000 for Lincolnshire railway deathCarillion Construction Ltd has today been fined �200,000 and ordered to pay costs of �36,570.39 following a prosecution brought by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) for breaching health..

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• 100 seasonal jobs up for grabs at Leeds Bradford Airport MORE than 100 temporary staff are being sought to work at Leeds Bradford Airport this summer by leisure airline Jet2.com, which is based at the Yeadon hub.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Airbus A380 factory tour used to launch exports campaign Trade and Investment Minister Lord Maude and Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb toured Airbus in Broughton as part of bid to get more Welsh firms exporting

London Evening Standard

• Southern Railways ordered by MPs to improve 'abysmal' service within three monthsSouthern Railways was today given three months to improve services or face pressure from MPs to be stripped of its franchise.
• Renault shares plunge after offices raided in emissions probeThe car maker said its own tests show no signs of cheat software
• British Airways flight grounded for two hours after traffic cone incidentA British Airways flight to London was delayed for almost two hours after a traffic cone became wedged beneath the aircraft.

Northern Echo

• Rural bus network serving visitors and residents of the Yorkshire Dales at risk of collapse amid funding shortages A NETWORK of rural bus services is at risk of collapse after a £45,000 shortfall in funding for 2016/17 was predicted.

The York Press

• Big car-park shake-up planned for York - some may close and payment system to change A MAJOR shake-up of parking in York is on the cards - as The Press reveals the huge gulf in revenue between the city's car parks.
• Tadcaster to get bridge, with or without brewery support TADCASTER will get its badly needed temporary footbridge with or without the co-operation of local landowner Humphrey Smith, its town councillors have heard.

Yorkshire Post

• HS2: The case for building a station in Sheffield City CentreThe deputy leader of Sheffield City Council, Coun Leigh Bramall believes there is a “credible and compelling” case for HS2 to scrap its Meadowhall proposal and instead build a new station in the heart of Sheffield.
• HS2: A case for building Sheffield’s station at MeadowhallThe chief executive of the Rotherham and Barnsley Chamber of Commerce has warned that the construction of a HS2 station in Sheffield city centre would limit the advantages of the link to London for the rest of South Yorkshire.

Doncaster Free Press

• Roads to close to complete M18 link roadThis is the picture which shows the Robin Hood Airport link road is finally approaching its completion.

The Shields Gazette

• Metro passengers face fourth day of service problems: Engineers will work overnight in repair bidMetro passengers are facing yet another day of misery tomorrow as transport chiefs remain unable to say when services will resume.

West Sussex Gazette

• Sussex MPs ready to quiz rail operator at meetingWest Sussex MPs have piled on the pressure ahead of a meeting on Monday (January 18) between Southern Railway and around 20 MPs representing many thousands of people who use the service.

Other Regional Press

• Building second runway at Gatwick will upset ancient GodsDEVELOPERS should not build a second runway at Gatwick because it might upset an ancient God, according to a novelist.
• Network Rail ready for cold snap in the north westAs temperature are expected to reach -8 degrees Celsius in parts of Cumbria and Lancashire this weekend, Network Rail’s orange army is read to deal with frozen points and other weather-related issues across the area.
• Schoolgirl not allowed on Arriva bus in Medway because she had wrong change A bus company has apologised to a schoolgirl after a driver refused to let her on the bus because she didn’t have the correct change.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Whitechapel train station to be modernisedWork will start this week to transform Whitechapel station in London, ahead of the Transport for London (TfL) Crossrail services that will be finished two years from now. The station will be modernised by being made step-free, making it accessible for all passengers via new street-level lifts. The ticket hall will also be expanded and the new Crossrail platforms will integrate with the station's Tube and London Overground rail services. Thanks to the changes, passengers will be able to easily access services across London and to Essex and Berkshire. Whitechapel station will receive a new tempo...
• Donington to open rail freight interchangeRoxhill Developments Ltd now has planning permission to build a six million sq ft rail freight interchange in Donington. The plans to develop the interchange near to East Midlands Airport were given the go-ahead by transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin, reports Logistics Manager. As a project, this freight interchange is of national significance because it will have a direct connection into the National Freight Network on completion. The project will feature 10 warehouses and a rail freight terminal, which will be suitable for carrying 750m freight trains. The site will also store containers,...
• Transport sector all geared up for winter weatherTransport operators have robust plans in place to keep the transport network going in the event of bad weather. The government is working closely with the transport sector to keep our national transport network moving in all weathers. If the winter develops as predicted, there is likely to be some disruption to road, rail and potentially air travel. The advice now is to think now about what that might mean for you, your travel plans, and your business. All key transport operators, including airports, local authorities, train operating companies, Highways England and Network Rail — have ...

Rail Magazine

• �1.2 million bill for franchise staffCost of staff for Northern and TPE franchise bids revealed
• pteg becomes the Urban Transport GroupThe Passenger Transport Executive Group (pteg) has taken on a wider role and renamed itself the Urban Transport Group.
• Timetable set for next Manchester Metrolink contractTransport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has shortlisted four bidders to operate and maintain the Manchester Metrolink system.
• 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.
• Direct Rail Services puts Class 37s and ‘47s’ up for saleDirect Rail Services put 12 locomotives and two carriages up for sale on January 8.
• Unions say UK commuters spend more of salary on rail faresCampaign organised by rail unions and the Trades Unions Congress claims British passengers spend up to six times as much as European counterparts on rail fares.
• Northern franchises “low risk”The new Northern and TransPennine Express franchise proposals “were subjected to a financial robustness test, and considered low-risk by the DfT”.
• CBT slams move to paperless ticketing planCampaign for Better Transport slams plans to roll out paperless ticketing in 2017, accusing the Government of delivering “very little”.
• Pressure for Manchester Airport pathsDfT has written to ORR noting how much competition there will be for free paths into Manchester Airport station, even though it now has four platforms.
• EMT seeks more Newark servicesEMT has applied to the ORR to extend its Matlock to Nottingham service through to Newark Castle on Saturdays from the May timetable change.
• Northern re-mapping under wayProcess for transfer of Manchester and Blackpool North, Barrow and Windermere services to new Northern franchise from April 1 begins.

Aviation Industry

• Fares fall as airlines vie to fill seats on overseas flights, Flight Centre saysThe lowest airfare between Sydney and Honolulu has fallen 40.3 per cent to $511 return over the last year. A review by Flight Centre of the lowest discount fares to popular destinations has revealed an average 14 per cent fall over the last 12 months amid capacity increases on many of the routes.
• Ryanair to open first base in RomaniaAirline will operate seven routes around Europe from Timisoara

Green Miscellany

• Bicycle cannibals: The fightback starts hereQuick release wheels have become standard issue on bicycles; great news when you need to change an inner tube at the roadside or if you frequently need to break your bicycle down for transportation - not so good if you become a victim of bicycle cannibals. The post Bicycle cannibals: The fightback starts here appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• TfN best placed to run Northern Powerhouse, say engineersTransport for the North (TfN) should become the central devolved decision-maker for the Northern Powerhouse, leading engineers have said, after criticising the Government’s appraisal system.
• Read our supplement: A new era for urban transportpteg has become the Urban Transport Group. To mark this evolution, we have produced a special supplement – ‘A new era for urban transport’. Contents include a foreword by Andrew Jones, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport at the Department for Transport. He writes: “I have no doubt that under its new name and with an increased membership, the Urban Transport Group will continue to help shape our transport. For everyone who travels on networks managed by Urban Transport Group members, that will come as very good news. Also included: If you want to invest ...
• Change of direction sought by MP in link road debate ONE of the county’s two MPs has said plans for a £27million road to the south of Hereford should be reconsidered in favour of an eastern route.
• FTA sponsors MT Operational & Compliance Award 2016Entries for the 30th Motor Transport Awards are now open, and this year the Freight Transport Association (FTA) is sponsoring the Operational and ...
• FTA publishes new edition of popular legal guideThe 54th edition of the Freight Transport Association’s Yearbook of Road Transport Law, sponsored by Bridgestone, has now been published. ...
• Brompton Bicycle turns over new Leaf with Nissan partnership UK-based folding bike manufacturer Brompton Bicycle has launched a new salary-sacrifice car leasing scheme for employees, with the all-electric Nissan Leaf proving the most popular choice.
• Exclusive: US giant enters HS2 raceUS engineering and construction giant Fluor is part of the latest joint venture to throw its hat into the High Speed 2 ring, Construction News has learned.
• Oil prices pose ‘threat’ to business travelSecurity specialist says global terrorism and cyber attacks are also major issues