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

Tuesday, 07 June 2016

BBC News

• VIDEO: Swansea road pollution scheme to startA project to cut pollution on a road in Swansea is set to go live later this year, after being delayed.
• 'Hold-up' over Severn bridges handoverThe handover of the Severn crossings to public ownership is being held up, the House of Commons is told.
• EU 'won't stop Labour's rail plans'Hilary Benn rejects suggestions that remaining in the EU would prevent a future Labour government from nationalising Britain's railways.
• Bombardier posts �194m lossBombardier in Belfast reports an operating loss of $280m (�194m) in 2015.
• Bid for 1m more bus and train journeysPublic transport provider Translink is to publish a plan about how it aims to grow bus and train passenger journeys by one million a year.
• Acas intervenes in Southern rail disputeAcas hold talks in an attempt to resolve a dispute over plans to change the role of conductors on Southern trains.
• Mitsubishi car alarm system 'hacked'The alarm on Mitsubishi's Outlander hybrid can be turned off via security bugs in its on-board wi-fi, researchers have found.

The Guardian

• Underground art: Stockholm's colourful metro stations – in picturesBeneath the Swedish capital lies an intricate web of underground train lines. More than 90 of the 100 stations in the 110km tunnel system, sometimes referred to as “the world’s longest art gallery”, have been decorated with paintings, installations, mosaics and sculptures by 150 artists since the 1950s. After spending a couple of weeks exploring arctic Norway and Sweden, London-based travel photographer Conor MacNeill headed underground to capture images of the metro stations. “They’d been famous among the world of photographers for a long time,” he says. “I wanted to see them for myself and t...
• In praise of the tram: how a love of cars killed the workers' transport systemAt their peak in the late 19th century, trams provided working people with a fast, efficient means of getting around. Now, argues Christian Wolmar, it is time to follow the Swiss model and put them back at the heart of urban transport policiesAt their peak there were well over 100 tram systems in Britain. Every major city and many small towns had a network carrying millions of people each week. They were cheap and popular with workers – often bringing them right to the door of their factories. But they had few defenders among the middle classes, who thought they got in the way of cars, which w...
• Gatwick lobbies David Cameron with open letter on third runwayWest Sussex airport makes eight pledges to bolster its case over Heathrow’s as pressure mounts on PM to make a decision Gatwick has mounted a fresh lobbying drive to secure a third runway instead of Heathrow, sending an open letter David Cameron in which it promises to speed up its timetable and cap passenger charges.The airport set out eight pledges designed to sway the prime minister as he faces a tricky political decision soon after the EU referendum.
• HS2: the zombie train that refuses to die | Simon JenkinsIt is the most extravagant infrastructure project in British history – but nobody can say why we need it. How did HS2 ever get so far?Some time this summer, a piledriver should break ground outside Euston station in London. It will mark the start of the most extravagant infrastructure project in Britain’s history: High Speed 2, a railway line running 335 miles from London to Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds. The line is budgeted at £55bn, although late last year its cost was widely reported to be closer to £70bn.The bill that will enable construction to begin passed through the Hous...

The Herald

• Edinburgh Airport reveals plans for new flight pathsSCOTLAND’S busiest airport has been accused of putting up a ‘smokescreen’ over plans for three new flight paths that could see people living in thousands more homes affected by noise from planes flying overhead.

The Telegraph

• Cost of family holidays 'could fall by �100' for family of four if David Cameron builds new runway at Gatwick rather than Heathrow

Birmingham Mail

• Why National Express has donated a coach to South & City CollegeCoach company has key to a problem at South & City
• Does this �2m proposed sculpture outside a Birmingham railway station look like a train crash? Pick your favourite from the shortlisted Birmingham Big Art Project sculptures

London Evening Standard

• Mind the gap: New Tube trains blamed for huge rise in passenger accidentsNew Tube trains were today blamed for a dramatic increase in the number of passengers falling into the platform gap at stations.
• EasyJet cancellations rise as French controllers strikeEasyJet had to cancel 173 flights last month, many because of French air traffic control strikes.
• South London Tramlink strike: Two-day walk-out threatens to cripple services next weekWorkers on London Tramlink will walk out for 48 hours this month in a row over pay.
• New Routemasters are being upgraded to have windows that open, TfL confirmsEngineers are upgrading Boris Johnson's new Routemaster buses so they finally have windows that open.
• Pushchair tossed on to high-speed rail line spells delays for hundreds of passengersVandals sparked chaos for hundreds of rail passengers by throwing a pushchair and a bicycle on to train tracks in Kent.

Wales Online

• Time running out for agreement on future of Severn bridges Arrangements for a return to public ownership may need to be in place as soon as October

Yorkshire Post

• YP Letters: Rail routes need investment to realise potentialFrom: A Oldfield, Secretary, Huddersfield, Penistone & Sheffield Rail Users Association.

Blackpool Gazette

• Highway Code for cyclists published by AAThe AA has published a version of the Highway Code dedicated to cyclists.

Bucks Free Press

• Repairs to ‘deteriorating’ road brought forward Work to resurface a Gerrards Cross road has been brought forward by around two months due to “further deterioration”.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Passengers travelling between Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds facing long delays as freight train blocks lineTrains running between Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds this afternoon are being cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or diverted via Ely.

Other Regional Press

• Bus diversions in place as five-month Queen Street closure begins in Oxford city centre Queen Street has closed to buses and taxis this morning as part of the �440m Westgate redevelopment.�

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Vandals will be punished, promises Blackpool bus operatorThe head of a Blackpool public transport operator has promised a zero-tolerance approach to vandalism after a teenager was prosecuted for starting a fire on the upper level of a double decker bus. The 15-year-old male, who can’t be named due to their age, caused thousands of pounds of damage to the bus interior, with seats and surfaces left charred following the attack in January, the Blackpool Gazette reported.  In a satisfyingly suitable twist, the boy could end up cleaning the seaside resort’s buses and trams as part of the 18-month community order handed to him at Blackpool Youth Court thi...

Rail Magazine

• Edinburgh Tram passenger numbers soarGrowth approaches 10% in second year
• Glasgow Queen Street rebuilding reaches halfway markThe rebuilding of Glasgow Queen Street has reached the halfway stage with the first line relaid inside the tunnel immediately north of the station.
• Freightliner reuses redundant coal hopper parts in new box wagons Bogies and brake equipment used in new vehicles
• Stations celebrate Queen’s birthdayEast Midlands Trains is holding events at some of its stations to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday
• Campaigners welcomes freight ‘virtual route’Freight Transport Association welcomes Network Rail plans for single freight and Cross-Country route.
• Construction underway for Eurostar's next e320sEurostar has confirmed that construction of the next batch of seven Class 374 e320 Velaros is under way, and that all seven will be in traffic by 2018.

Rail Technology Magazine

• WaveTrain Systems-Railway Safety Systems for Level Crossings and Maintenance Activities WaveTrain Systems develops state-of-the-art products dedicated to safety in railway environments, particularly at level crossings.
• Roxtec-Flexible and Innovative Cable and Pipe Seals for the Rail Industry Roxtec develops standardised and customised cables and pipe seals for the railway industry. The sealing solutions are used on all kinds of locomotives, trains and light rail vehicles to ensure passen...
• Three-hour Scotland connection 'realistically achievable by 2027'A goal of facilitating three-hour journeys from London to Edinburgh and Glasgow by 2027 is ‘realistically achievable’, high speed rail consultancy Greengauge 21 has recommended in a new report.
• TfL seeks new partner for Tunnelling and Underground Construction AcademyAn academy initially opened to meet Crossrail’s skills training needs is now seeking a new partner to carry out its legacy. The new provider at the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy (TUCA) will continue to provide tunnelling and underground construction training, but is also...
• Glasgow Queen Street programme reaches halfway pointThe first line of track in the Glasgow Queen Street tunnel has now been completed, marking the halfway point of the ambitious project. Since Glasgow Queen Street closed on 20 March, over 2,100 Network Rail engineers have spent more than 150,000 hours removing over 5,000 tonnes of concrete and...

Railway Gazette

• Stagecoach deploys SilverRail planning tool UK: Stagecoach Group has deployed SilverRail’s SilverSearch SaaS technology platform to provide ‘a...

Aviation Industry

• Norwegian passenger numbers rise in MayStrong business traveller numbers help boost airline's figures
• Easyjet: French air traffic strikes cause rise in cancellationsAirline was forced to cancel 173 flights last month

Other News Sources

• Silverrail strikes Stagecoach Group partnershipRail technology firm Silverrail has announced a new partnership with Stagecoach Group.
• Virgin Trains launches Netflix-style entertainment appBEAM gives free access to over 200 hours of films, TV shows, magazines and games