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

Thursday, 11 August 2016

BBC News

• Delayed Wrexham to Chester rail work to begin in 2017Delayed upgrades to the railway line between Wrexham and Chester will start in spring.
• Live traffic updates to be displayed on London busesLive traffic information will be displayed on the back of buses in a six-month trial to help ease congestion on London's roads.
• Aberystwyth to Cardiff bus firm goes into administrationA bus service running from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen and on to Cardiff is to end after the company running it went into administration.
• TfL defends English test rules amid Uber complaintsLondon's transport authority defends its decision to ensure private hire drivers have at least an intermediate level in English.
• Bombardier brings forward redundanciesBombardier in Belfast is bringing forward almost 100 redundancies it had planned to make in 2017.
• New PSNI petrol 'drive-off' pilot scheme criticisedA new PSNI pilot scheme to deal with people who leave petrol stations without paying for their fuel is criticised.
• Southern rail talks resume but services still hitTalks to try to end the industrial dispute on the Southern rail network are to resume later after three days of action by members of the RMT union.
• Mick CashRMT general secretary Mick Cash has defined his approach as
• Southern rail strike suspended as talks resumeA strike on the Southern rail network is called off to allow fresh talks in the row over the role of conductors, Acas says.

Department for Transport

• £2 million to improve roads using new technology£2 million fund for councils to improve motorists' journeys using new technology.

Financial Times

• Southern rail strike off as talks resumeRMT and operator head to mediation as action spreads to Eurostar
• Fundamental union struggle in trainAll the RMT disputes in some way involve role of onboard staff
• Southern strike halted but two others go onEurostar and Virgin East Coast walkouts set to go ahead as RMT union and Southern agree to talks

Times Online

• Rail strike union spends £7 million on its own staff [Subscription]The rail union behind a wave of strikes this summer has amassed a £50 million war chest as it rakes in five times more in members’ fees than it pays them in benefits.

City AM

• Mayor calls on the Prime Minister to back Gatwick Airport as government still silent on aviationThe mayor of London has called on Prime Minister Theresa May to back Gatwick to expand aviation capacity in the south east.

Mail Online

• Firm suspends Heathrow airside security passes of 300 cleaners and caterers after two women are arrested on suspicion of fraud Three hundred employees at a company that supplies airline lounge services have had their airside security passes suspended after police arrested two women on suspicion of fraud at Heathrow airport.
• The UK airports that charge up to 30p a minute at drop-off zones Investigation revealed some quick stop-off areas outside UK terminals cost �3 for only ten minutes with some incurred penalty charges becoming more expensive than many holiday flights.
• Eurostar’s train managers sparked fury by announcing seven days of strikes The travel plans of tens of thousands of British holidaymakers were thrown into chaos last night by hard-line union barons and just 52 rail workers.

Derby Telegraph

• Derby's Bombardier lands £1 billion East Anglia trains deal - our round-up of the news It's been a great 24 hours for Derby train-maker Bombardier, following the news that it has landed a £1 billion deal with the new franchisee of the East Anglia rail franchise.

London Evening Standard

• Traffic updates are now displayed on the back of London's busesDrivers and cyclists can see live traffic updates on the back of London buses for the first time from today.
• Night Tube to run this weekend ahead of official launchLondon's 24-hour Tube service is being trialled this weekend ahead of its official launch on August 19.
• Angry Southern commuters march on Department for Transport over 'late and overcrowded' trainsScores of furious commuters have marched through the capital to protest against “consistently late, overcrowded and infrequent” services run by Southern Rail.

Manchester Evening News

• LIVE updates: Security alert at Brussels Airport after reported bomb threats to two flights It is currently unclear which air carrier firms are involved, but dozens of passengers are believed to be on the two planes

Sheffield Star

• M1 road closures near Sheffield from next week to install giant gantriesOvernight road closures are planned on the M1 near Sheffield from Monday.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Abellio beats out First Group again to run East Anglia railDutch firm Abellio beat out rival First Group to land the East Anglia rail franchise from the Department for Transport (DfT).

The York Press

• Residents have their say on Cawood Bridge plans RESIDENTS in a North Yorkshire village gathered tonight to have their say on council plans to close a bridge and road for up to 20 weeks.

Yorkshire Post

• YP Comment: Time to put rail passengers in driving seatWHEN will the railway industry recognise that it is supposed to provide a public service? A question ignored for too long, it is even more pertinent as strike action by the rail unions threatens to spread to Virgin East Coast services and Eurostar trains at the height of the holiday season.
• YP Letters: Rural buses threatened by funding cuts - Colin Speakman, Chairman CBT North & West YorkshireYOUR excellent editorial (The Yorkshire Post, August 6) about the huge economic and social value of bus pass concessions for the elderly is to be applauded
• Greg Mulholland: North left stuck in sidings as our money speeds SouthWESTMINSTER is frothing about the scandal of David Cameron’s resignation honours list but here is a much more costly one for Yorkshire: the Government is spending more just on Crossrail in London than on all projects across the whole of northern England.

The Shields Gazette

• Airline pulls plug on Newcastle to New York routeAirport bossed have labelled news an airline has pulled the plug on its Newcastle to New York service next year as

Other Regional Press

• 'It's an absolute joke': Commuters hit out at decision to award Abellio long-term Greater Anglia rail franchiseCOMMUTERS have branded the decision to award Abellio a nine year contract "a joke".
• Free Wi-Fi on offer at landmarks and venues across Middlesbrough - including the Transporter BridgeThe Transporter Bridge is just one of Middlesbrough Council's buildings and landmarks that are now Wi-Fi hotspots
• New �34.5m bypass should make it easier for Teessiders to reach Yorkshire DalesRoad minister due to open Bedale bypass on Thursday :: Work began in February 2015

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Great Western Railway increases Hitachi Intercity fleet size with new multi-million pound orderGreat Western Railway (GWR) has confirmed it will order an additional seven bi-mode Intercity Express Trains as part of a new multi-million pound deal with Hitachi Rail Europe and its finance partner Eversholt Rail Group. These trains are in addition to the 57 trains Hitachi Rail is delivering to GWR as part of the UK government's Intercity Express Programme (IEP) from next year, and the separately financed 29 trains ordered last year that will come into passenger service in 2018. The new trains will be built by Hitachi Rail Italy at its Pistoia manufacturing facility. Mark Hopwood, Managing D...
• Emirates boosts Manchester capacity with third A380Emirates will increase flight capacity into Manchester by 11 per cent when the airline deploys a third daily A380 in the new year. From January 2017, the Boeing 777-300ER will be replaced by the iconic A380 double decker aircraft, which means all Emirates flights between Dubai and Manchester will be operated entirely using A380s. This also means that Emirates can offer an extra 2,198 seats a week between the two destinations for business and leisure travellers, a move which could see the airline surpass the one million passenger mark this financial year. With enough space for 517 passengers ov...

Rail Magazine

• New trains as Abellio scoops East Anglia franchise�1.4bn of investment for 1,043 new vehicles to replace entire fleet, 600 of which will be built by Bombardier.

Rail Technology Magazine

• UPDATE: RMT cancels strike as Southern re-enters negotiationsSouthern has rejected the RMT’s offer to suspend the ongoing five-day strike, which today enters its third day, against GTR’s plans to introduce driver-operated only (DOO) trains in the capital.  The union offered to halt the industrial action if the GTR-owned operator agreed to...
• New trains as Abellio retains East Anglia franchiseAbellio East Anglia has retained the East Anglia franchise which will oversee a £1.4bn investment to local rail services, including a new fleet of Bombardier and Stadler trains. The incumbent operator beat off competition from First Group and National Express to take charge of the new...

Railnews

• Holiday season strikes called on Eurostar The RMT has called a series of strikes on Eurostar this month, in a dispute over the work-life balance of 80 train managers. The strikes will be staged between 12 and 15 August, coinciding with the Assumption Day holiday in France and Belgium on 15 August, and again between 27 and 29 August over the bank holiday weekend in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The union claims Eurostar has failed to honour a 2008 agreement about staff conditions. Eurostar said walkouts would mean only 'small changes' to timetables.
• Abellio keeps Anglia franchise until 2025 Abellio has won the next East Anglia franchise, which starts in October. The Dutch company has beaten FirstGroup and National Express by gaining the new contract, which runs until October 2025. The contract includes new trains, some of which are set to be built by Bombardier in Derby. The �1 billion fleet will be able to meet regional aspirations for London trains to arrive at Ipswich in 60 minutes and Norwich in 90. This will cut present journey times by 20 per cent, but these timings will only be achieved by a few trains each day.
• Southern strikes suspended for new DOO talks THE RMT has accepted an offer for fresh talks with Govia Thameslink Railway in the Southern DOO dispute, but services will still be seriously disrupted tomorrow. Southern said: �We are encouraged that the RMT has accepted our offer to resume talks at ACAS and has agreed to call off its strike action. For our passengers' sake we truly hope these talks will be productive and bring this long running dispute to an end.

Other News Sources

• 'Otters have been ignored' - fresh row over new Cambridge cycle bridge's impact on city wildlife Transport bosses are facing fresh accusations of ignoring the Cambridge environment amid claims a new £4.5 million cycle bridge will impact on otters.
• MP calls for Southern fare cuts over 'woeful' service Southern rail passengers should have their fares cut after almost two years of "woeful" service, an MP has claimed.
• Khan calls on PM to back Gatwick expansionThe Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has called on Theresa May to show the world that 'London is open for business' by making a swift decision on airport expansion in the South East.
• London’s Khan Urges May to Back Gatwick Expansion, Snub HeathrowLondon Mayor Sadiq Khan urged Prime Minister Theresa May to back the expansion of Gatwick Airport to show the world that the U.K. capital is “open for business” after Britain voted to leave the European Union.