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

Wednesday, 02 November 2016

BBC News

• Nissan talks show 'utter shambles' on Brexit, Carwyn Jones saysFirst Minister Carwyn Jones accuses the UK government of a
• Nissan Brexit assurances clarity sought by Welsh ministerAssurances which have convinced Japanese car giant Nissan to stay in the UK after Brexit should also be given to Welsh firms, the economy secretary says.
• Nissan deal 'minor' - Japanese business strategistOne of Japan's top business strategists Kenichi Ohmae has called the recent deal at Nissan's plant in Sunderland a
• Vauxhall Corsa fires: 'Answers needed', say customersVauxhall is asked why no action has been taken over reports some Corsa models have burst into flames.
• Nissan deal 'won't persuade others to invest'One of Japan's top business strategists says investment in the UK will be smaller following Brexit.

Financial Times

• EasyJet heads off strike threat over pilot fatigueBudget airline secures backing for new proposals in fresh ballot

The Guardian

• MH370: search could move north as data suggests plane plummeted into oceanAustralia reviews search after ‘important new information’ from satellite data reveals plane was in high and increasing rate of descent in final momentsAustralia is mounting a case for a new search effort for MH370 bolstered by “important new information” about what investigators believe to have happened at the end of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight.A new report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) suggests the plane was in a “high and increasing rate of descent” at the time of its final satellite communications, and that the right outboard wing flap found on Pemba island was ...
• Admiral to price car insurance based on Facebook postsInsurer’s algorithm analyses social media usage to identify safe drivers in unprecedented use of customer dataOne of the biggest insurance companies in Britain is to use social media to analyse the personalities of car owners and set the price of their insurance.The unprecedented move highlights the start of a new era for how companies use online personal data and will start a debate about privacy. Continue reading...

The Herald

• Fastlink busway closed amid 'pedestrians using smartphones' safety fearA ONE mile stretch of Glasgow's flagship Fastlink busway has been closed indefinitely amid a safety probe into a string of pedestrian collisions.
• Transport officers 'would rather quit' than work for Police Scotland, MSPs toldSPECIALIST transport police officers would rather quit their profession than be forced to work for Scotland's under-fire national force, MSPs have been told.

The Independent

• Fury as British Airways announces seven holiday routes from HeathrowJust a week after a new runway was announced at Heathrow airport, with the Department for Transport promising “better connections to destinations including to Asia and South America,” British Airways has announced seven new destinations from the UK’s busiest airport — all of them to holiday spots in Europe.

The Telegraph

• MH370: New report suggests plane dived rapidly, rejects 'controlled descent' theory

Times Online

• A coincidence, or a conspiracy? [subscription]Today’s airports puzzler: what do you call a government that cuts Heathrow’s business rates and jacks up Gatwick’s only weeks before the great runway decision? Well, biased is maybe too strong a word.
• Heathrow legal challenges dismissed as complete nonsense [subscription]Legal challenges against the expansion of Heathrow will fail because of the sheer weight of evidence in favour of a third runway, according to the head of the airports commission.
• Heathrow’s rates are cut — as Gatwick’s bill raised [subscription]The government handed Heathrow a £10 million-a-year saving in business rates while increasing those charged at Gatwick, only weeks before giving the go-ahead for a £17.6 billion third runway at Britain’s biggest airport.

Mail Online

• Revealed: Half of Heathrow noise complaints came from just TEN people Half of the noise complaints Heathrow received this summer came from the same 10 people, new figures revealed today.

The Mirror

• Missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 'dived rapidly uncontrolled before crash' new report suggests New findings support a long-held view that an unpiloted MH370 descended at an increased rate after running out of fuel with no human intervention

This is Money

• Southern Rail owner Go-Ahead Group expects annual profits to be on track despite strikes and cancellations Go-Ahead Group said that trading remained ‘robust’ in the three months between July and September except for its Govia Thameslink Railway, which owns Southern.

Birmingham Post

• HS2 hub to connect Staffordshire with high-speed rail line Government outlines plans to connect more towns with HS2 by opening up links between high-speed line and West Coast Main Line
• Monarch to create 75 new jobs at Birmingham Airport Budget airline’s engineering arm on the hunt for more technicians to work at giant maintenance hub

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Rail bosses hit back at claims their work has led to swarm of rats RAIL bosses have hit back at claims their work on a new �10.5 million rail station has led to a plague of rats in nearby residential streets.

London Evening Standard

• Commuters must be the 'eyes and ears' in fight against terror, police warn in new 'See IT. Say It. Sorted' campaignLondon commuters were told today they are the “eyes and ears” needed to help keep the railways safe from a terrorist attack.
• Night Tube: Full map revealed as start date for 24-hour Piccadilly line confirmedLate-night revellers will be able to travel home from Christmas parties by Tube this year as the start date for the Piccadilly line Night Tube was announced for 16 December.
• Black cab drivers fume over card reader delaysBlack cab drivers today complained of a huge backlog in fitting vehicles with card machines following the start of new rules obliging drivers to accept payment by plastic.
• Heathrow Airport receives a noise complaint every five minutesHeathrow Airport is the subject of a noise complaint every five minutes, statistics show. There were 25,200 complaints made between July and September this year, coming from 2,218 people.

Daventry Express

• Another rail depot, measuring five million square feet, planned near Northampton... metres from original eight million square feet schemeA second rail depot plan that would place five million square feet of warehouses in countryside just outside Northampton has emerged - and will be ruled upon by a national planning inspector, bypassing local councils.

Other Regional Press

• What Wightlink’s new £45m flagship will look likeTHIS is what Wightlink’s new flagship will look like when it is finally unveiled.
• Another rail depot, measuring five million square feet, planned near Northampton... metres from original eight million square feet schemeA second rail depot plan that would place five million square feet of warehouses in countryside just outside Northampton has emerged - and will be ruled upon by a national planning inspector, bypassing local councils.

Buying Business Travel

• Manchester airport invests �1.2m in T3 arrivalsNorth west airport to put an additional baggage carousel within the international arrivals hall

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Port Salford initiative takes top supply chain award- Newly opened Port Salford facility has allowed General Mills to transport 80% of volume via canal – - Two Peel Ports staff also shortlisted in student of the year category- General Mills UK and Culina have scooped the Warehouse Operations Award at the CILT (Chartered Institute for Logistics and Transport) Annual Awards for Excellence. The event on Thursday 27 October was held at London’s Lancaster Hotel and featured some of the biggest names in the UK logistics and transport sector. Neil Pilkington and Andy Wells of Peel Ports were also shortlisted in the student of the year c...
• The Go-Ahead Group PLC The Go-Ahead Group plc today announces its first quarter trading update for the period from 3 July 2016 to 31 October 2016 ahead of its Annual General Meeting on 3 November 2016.   The first quarter growth rates reported in this statement are for the period from 3 July 2016 to 1 October 2016.   Our expectations for the full year remain unchanged with robust trading in the first quarter.   The Group remains in a good financial position, with strong cash generation and a robust balance sheet. Bus: Regional: Revenue and passenger journeys have continued at a similar rate of gro...

Rail Technology Magazine

• TfL board asked to approve £380m contract for credit card paymentsTransport for London (TfL) will approve the successful bidder for a £380m contract to process credit and debit card payments at a board meeting on 8 November. The contract will cover ticket sales, Oyster sales, the congestion charge, retail sales through the London Transport Museum and all...
• RATP Dev 'no longer preferred bidder' for MetrolinkRATP Dev Ltd could lose its contract to operate Manchester’s tram network from next year, according to a new report. RATP Dev was awarded the 10-year Metrolink contract in 2007. Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) announced last year that it had shortlisted RATP Dev, along with three...
• Wolverhampton to get new station as part of �120m redevelopmentWolverhampton station will be demolished and replaced with a more modern development as part of a £120m investment. Wolverhampton City Council approved the plans from the Wolverhampton Interchange Partnership for the new station, which will feature a larger passenger concourse, ticket...
• Huddersfield test site will allow technology to reach tracks fasterA one-of-a-kind test facility created to fast-track new rail technology has opened in Huddersfield. The £4.5m Centre for Innovation in Rail features a 150-ton test rig, funded by the Regional Growth Fund, which is the only one of its kind in Europe. The facility is run by the University...
• Khan promises Night Tube on Piccadilly Line in DecemberNight Tube services are due to start running on the Piccadilly Line from 16 December, fulfilling London mayor Sadiq Khan’s promise to have five lines running by the end of the year. The Night Tube opened on the Victoria and Central Lines in August, followed by the Jubilee Line in October....
• Liverpool leaders call for �15bn boost from HS2 and HS3 linksLiverpool should have connections to both HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) said today. New research commissioned by LCRCA shows that the high-speed rail links could deliver a £15bn boost to the economy, as well as 20,000 jobs, 10,000 homes...
• Liverpool leaders call for high-speed rail linkBusiness and university chiefs in Liverpool have written an open letter to the leaders of the three main political parties urging them to commit to a high-speed rail link for the city. Currently neither HS2 nor the emerging Transport for the North vision of an east-west ‘HS3’ make...
• Liverpool proposes paying for HS2 extension with local business ratesIs Liverpool prepared to pay for HS2 to come to the city? A new report from think tank ResPublica argues that the city needs to be connected to HS2 to meet its economic targets, including the creation of more than 70,000 jobs by 2030 in sectors such as the knowledge economy, advanced...
• Hull Trains completes fleet expansion deal with �60m AT300 orderHull Trains has finally completed a deal to invest £60m in a new fleet of Hitachi AT300s, which are expected to come into service on the open access operator’s route in 2019. Financed by Angel Trains, the deal will see Hitachi Rail Europe build five bi-mode AT300s, consisting of five...

The Business Desk

• Engineering group snaps up £22m-turnover businessENGINEERING services group Renew has acquired a specialist mechanical and electrical business which works with Network Rail and London Underground.

Aviation Industry

• EasyJet, pilots reach agreement on fatigue proposalUK low-cost carrier (LCC) easyJet has reached an agreement with pilots in a dispute over fatigue, averting industrial action. read more
• Air China to test GEE IFE system on commercial 777 flightsAir China will test Los Angeles-based Global Eagle Entertainment’s (GEE) inflight entertainment (IFE) and connectivity service on an Air China Boeing 777 aircraft, the two companies announced Nov. 1. read more

Other News Sources

• Southern Rail strike: Operator warns RMT union to call off latest walkout or deal is off table Govia-Thameslink Railway said the strikes have had a "material and negative impact on people's work and the regional economy"
• Farnham railway station car park gets 134 more spaces in revampThe improved car park was a "long time in the making," MP Jeremy Hunt said
• British Transport Police merger 'would create border'Deputy chief constable says 'there's a real need for policing the railway in a different way'.

News from Europe

• Public consultation opens on proposed £150m transport hub for BelfastPLANS to create a new transport hub in Belfast city centre to cater for an estimated 13 million passengers a year have been launched for public consultation.