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

Friday, 02 September 2016

BBC News

• Southern railway: £20m fund unveiled to 'improve' servicesA £20m fund and a new review board is unveiled aiming to improve Southern rail services and
• Uber wins right to challenge driver English testsUber wins right to take Transport for London (TfL) to court over new rules that would force its drivers to pass English tests.

Financial Times

• Extra �20m to improve Southern rail servicePublic anger mounts over disruption
• Setback for Musk as SpaceX rocket explodesBusiness loses second rocket in just over a year
• Is urban cycling worth the risk?How do the benefits of exercise compare to the harm from pollution?

The Guardian

• Southern rail owner reports £99m profitsResults showing 21% rise in profits come a day after the government unveiled a £20m fund and a new review board to improve Southern rail services
• Sadiq Khan and megacity mayors urge G20 climate change action30 mayors from cities including London, Paris, Tokyo, Sydney, New York, Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro call for rapid ratification of Paris climate dealLondon Mayor Sadiq Khan has joined forces with city leaders from around the world to call on governments to take urgent action on climate change.Ahead of a meeting of the G20 group of leading nations in Hangzhou, China, 30 mayors from cities including London, Paris, Tokyo, Sydney, New York, Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro called on national leaders to work with them to “build a low carbon, climate safe world”. Continue reading...
• SpaceX rocket explodes on launch site in Florida during testingBuildings shook and multiple explosions continued for several minutes at site where SpaceX was scheduled to carry Facebook’s first satellite launch into orbit A SpaceX rocket exploded on the launch pad at the air force station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Thursday morning, as it prepared to carry a communications satellite into space this weekend. The satellite was intended to be used by Facebook, as part of its effort to extend internet access in Africa. Related: Zuckerberg laments loss of Internet.org satellite in SpaceX rocket explosion Continue reading...
• Commuters react as Southern rail announces 21% profit hike - liveAs co-owner of the Southern rail franchise the Go-Ahead Group announces a sharp rise in profits, Martin Belam joins commuters to find out what they think about some of the busiest rail journeys in the UK 7.24am BST Here’s the view from someone who wanted to remain anonymous, but had plenty to say:Dissatisfied doesn’t really begin to describe it. The service is completely useless. Trains are late, crowded, short (of carriages) and random. Even first class (often declassified) is unpleasant on many trips.I have little to no sympathy for the strikers who are making the situation worse, for little...
• Who’ll be the judge of the best rail network? [letter]

The Herald

• Scotland needs a commitment to more infrastructure projects, says CBI chiefSCOTLAND requires�a commitment to more infrastructure improvements�to boost the economy, according to the director general of Britain's premier business organisation.
• Edinburgh airport considers fast-track charge lane at passport controlPassengers arriving at Edinburgh Airport could soon skip queues at passport control by paying a �5 charge.
• 'Hot weather' and faulty train radiators blamed for spate of Borders Railway breakdownsA SPATE of breakdowns on Scotland's new flagship railway has been blamed on a fleet-wide fault affecting the route's newly-refurbished Class 158 trains which causes them to overheat in hot weather.

The Scotsman

• Alastair Dalton: Reclaiming roads for cyclists is a necessityRoads will be closed across Glasgow city centre on Sunday when they are taken over by thousands of cyclists, many of whom will have never pedalled over such normally busy streets.

The Telegraph

• Southern rail owners report �99m profits

Times Online

• Edinburgh airport plans £5 queue-jumping scheme [subscription]Scotland’ s busiest airport is to become the first in the country to charge arriving passengers to jump passport queues. Travellers at Edinburgh airport will be able to take advantage of a new fasttrack service if they are willling to pay an additional charge of about £5.

Birmingham Post

• With no new trains is Birmingham being short-changed in new rail deal?Hundreds of new trains ordered across UK, but none in new West Midlands Rail franchise deal

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman tells of mum's 'needless' death as he backs bike campaignCarol Boardman died after being struck by a pick-up truck while riding her bike in Connah's Quay

London Evening Standard

• Honour our success by building more cycle lanes, say Team GB Olympic heroesGreat Britain's Olympic champion cyclists have urged Theresa May to commit five per cent of the Government's transport budget for cycle lanes on Britain's roads.
• BA resumes direct flights from London to IranBritish Airways has resumed direct flights to Iran for the first time in four years, after sanctions were lifted.
• Government 'hit squad' given �20m to tackle Southern Rail chaosA government 'hit squad' was sent in to struggling Southern Rail today to tackle the chaos suffered by passengers.
• Green light for north-south cycle superhighway linking King's Cross and Elephant and CastleA new cycle superhighway linking King's Cross with Elephant and Castle has been given the go-ahead by Sadiq Khan.
• Charing Cross ticket hall to shut for months in major upgrade projectTicket halls at one of London's busiest Tube stations will close for more than a year for a major upgrade, it has been announced.
• Southern Railway workers suspend 24-strike over ticket office closures but guards will 'still stage walkout'A 24-hour strike by Southern Railway workers planned for next week has been suspended but guards are still set to walkout, a transport union has warned.
• Uber wins right to legal challenge over TfL English test for driversUber has won the right to take Transport for London to court over "stifling" rules which would see private hire drivers forced to take a �200 English exam.
• One in four Londoners fear they won't get home safely in minicab in early hours, research findsOne in four Londoners fear they will not make it home safely in a minicab in the early hours of the morning, new research suggests.
• Stretch of M20 to close all weekend after bridge collapseA section of the M20 will be closed in both directions all weekend to enable a damaged footbridge to be removed.
• Two passenger planes involved in near miss at Gatwick following air traffic controller errorA passenger jet taking off from Gatwick airport was involved in a near miss with a preceding aircraft, an official investigation has reported.

Wales Online

• Campaigners argue for a national 20mph speed limit on Wales' built up roads A campaign group says it is cheaper to have a national 20mph than to have the speed limit in specific zones

Bucks Free Press

• Rail firm blasted for cancelling trains due to lack of drivers A furious traveller has blasted a train company for cancelling services on the busy bank holiday weekend due to a “shortage of drivers”. 

Buying Business Travel

• BBC World News service launches on Heathrow ExpressService available in First and Express class carriages
• British Airways halves London-New York all-business serviceWeekday flights cut to once daily
• London airports named as top networking spot for travellersLondon airports have been named as Europe’s number one most popular spot for business travellers to network.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• How Uber turns around its $1.2bn loss – by delivering thingsUber must get serious about delivering packages as well as people if it wants to make money, says global courier ParcelHero. The news that taxi App Uber has run up losses of over $1bn in the first half of 2016 comes as no surprise; says the international courier ParcelHero.com. The global taxi industry is scarcely large enough to warrant the investment in technology Uber has made developing its crowdsourcing App, says ParcelHero: and it must make good on its plans to extend its UberRUSH courier services to new markets urgently. ParcelHero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks MILT, s...
• Southern rail network gets £20m injection for rapid improvementThe Department for Transport (DfT) will invest £20 million in a bid to rapidly improve running of the southern rail network. Chris Gibb, non-executive director at Network Rail, has also been appointed to head up a new project board which will explore how the money should be spent, with plans due to be presented in the autumn. So far, �2 million will be spent on more rapid response teams to fix faults quicker, with �2.5 million going on speeding up train maintenance. A further �800,000 will be poured into extra signal supervisors while �900,000 will pay for measures to limit the impact of bridg...

Rail Technology Magazine

• On-Board Service for Railway Maintenance Machines Over the years, m2 railgroup has developed an evolutionary process of growth focusing on the guiding principles established since the foundation of the company, which are: impartiality, equality, efficiency and effectiveness.
• Powernet to Present New Rail Battery Management Systems at Innotrans 2016 At Innotrans 2016 Powernet will show the new BCS Battery Management System (up to 12.8kW) for rolling stock applications as well as exhibit the whole ADC9000-series modules for auxiliary power need in the 500W-3,200W range.
• State of the Art in Axle Counting Axle counting systems are used in many countries around the world as a replacement for track vacancy detection systems. They are also used in signalling equipment systems to build a more complete picture of what is happening on a particular stretch o…
• Deals this week: China Railway Construction, Alstom, Huber+Suhner Nigeria's Kano State Ministry of Works, Housing & Transport has awarded a $1.85bn contract to a China Railway Construction consortium.
• IRIS Evolving an ISO Standard: the World's First Training Courses In our last press release, we announced that in course with the next fundamental IRIS revision UNIFE will transform requirements (IRIS Chapter 3) into an ISO standard until the beginning of 2018. CC-Rail belonged to the core team that had submitted t…
• Ansaldo STS Awarded Modernisation Contract for Glasgow Subway The Ansaldo STS - Stadler consortium has won contracts to modernise the subway of Glasgow with state-of-the-art technology. The contracts include the supply of 17 new trains, communication-based train control (CBTC) driverless signalling technology, …

Railnews

• DfT announces �20m improvement fund for Southern The government has announced the appointment of a senior industry figure who will lead a recovery programme for Southern, as its parent Govia Thameslink Railway faces more strikes next week. There will be new public funding for Southern worth �20 million, which will mainly pay for better train maintenance, more staff at key stations and additional rapid response teams to deal with breakdowns. Almost a million pounds will also be spent on reducing the effect of bridge strikes. The government said GTR and Network Rail must 'work together to resolve issues earlier and ensure a better service for...

National Express

• Strike update – National Express vow to add extra seats as neededFollowing the announcement of further planned strike action by Southern Rail staff National Express today vows it will continue to add extra seats to cater to people in Brighton as necessary.

Aviation Industry

• Doha’s Hamad airport introduces passenger chargesDoha’s Hamad International Airport (HIA) is to introduce a Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) of QAR35 ($10) for all departing passengers, together with transferring passengers who make a connection within 24 hours. read more

Other News Sources

• Blackberry and Bombardier may be booted out of Canada’s largest ETF due to new index rulesCanada’s biggest exchange-traded fund will be shaken up should a new industry classification result in companies such as Bombardier Inc. and BlackBerry Ltd. being booted out of an index tracking the country’s 60 biggest stocks.
• Southern Rail handed �20m government pot to fix embattled train service The announcement comes just days before the RMT union prepares to hold fresh industrial action over the role of train guards and conductors
• Disruptions expected at Camberley railway station as �1.4 million upgrade begins The project by Network Rail will extend platforms to accommodate longer trains and upgrade the station