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Wednesday, 14 December 2016

BBC News

• Southern rail commuters vent travel frustrationsCommuters on the Southern rail network vent frustrations as a drivers' strike leaves no trains running.
• Woman wins £75,000 over Network Rail equal payA woman from Warrington is awarded £75,000 after successfully representing herself in an equal pay dispute against Network Rail.
• Southern rail strike: 48-hour walkout causes chaos for commutersRail passengers endure travel chaos as striking train drivers bring the Southern network to a halt.
• Southern rail strike enters second day as Acas talks startSouthern rail users face another day of chaos as a strike continues while talks in the dispute begin later.

Financial Times

• Peace talks scheduled over Southern strikesCommuters left in chaos as dispute halts train services in south London and Sussex
• Grayling takes flak for Southern rail strikesTransport secretary tells critics he cannot ‘wave a wand’ to resolve labour dispute
• Radical solutions to the Southern rail disputeThe trade unions are to blame for the repeated strikes, writes Sebastian Payne
• Maersk aims to be one-stop container freight shopExpansion in transport would offset proposed spin-off of energy businesses
• MPs deride ‘disastrous’ St Helena airport‘Staggering’ decision to build £285m project despite danger posed by wind shear

The Guardian

• 'My life shouldn’t be dictated by Southern rail strikes'London commuters express their fury at rail company, unions and government as notorious train service grinds to haltIn London Bridge station at 9.30am on Tuesday, big red crosses in LED lights shone above all but three of the 15 platforms. Beneath them, a young woman darted, talking into a hands-free mobile phone headset.“I have an exam today and I don’t think I’m going to make it on time,” Benan Yolcu, 21, said. She was trying to get to Brighton, where she is studying law and criminology. Continue reading...

The Scotsman

• Unusable St Helena airport branded a �285.5m failureA troubled £285.5 million airport project financed by public money has “unquestionably failed” the British taxpayer and the residents of the remote island it was meant to serve, a damning report by MPs has said.

The Telegraph

• Southern rail strike: union claims that walkouts justified by safety concerns are undermined by experts
• Taxpayers foot �50m bill for Southern rail strike chaos as ministers prepare to tighten law

The Mirror

• Let's run our railways for the people... by the people British trains should be British owned and British run by British workers. Even my Tory railway dad never imagined that the industry could be destroyed like this

Birmingham Mail

• Why six cycle lanes have been scrapped and 'superhighways' are in Birmingham City Council replaces six cycle lane schemes with two segregated superhighways in Selly Oak and Perry Barr

Bolton News

• MP calls on Government to take emergency action to help Bolton's ‘incredibly frustrated’ rail users A BOLTON MP has written to the Transport Secretary urging him to take emergency action to help Bolton’s ‘incredibly frustrated’ railway users.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Third Menai bridge and massive A55/A494 Deeside investment on multi-billion pound hit listEconomy and Infrastructure Secretary Ken Skates will today set out his vision for a modern, integrated transport network
• Airbus cabin of the future with gyms, a spa and children's play areasThe new concept Transpose would allow airlines to customise cabins for each flight using modular technology

Derby Telegraph

• Derby's Bombardier eagerly awaits decision on £400m Merseyrail deal A decision on whether or not Derby's Bombardier has landed a contract worth hundreds of millions of pounds to supply trains to Liverpool could be made by the end of the week.

London Evening Standard

• Night Tube set to launch on Piccadilly line despite weeks of chaosThe Night Tube is set to launch on the Piccadilly line this weekend despite weeks of travel chaos sparked by repairs to damaged trains.
• 'Piccadilly line chaos could last until February', says RMT as it repeats calls for delay to Night Tube launchTube chaos on the Piccadilly line caused by an ongoing shortage of trains could last until February, rail union bosses have claimed.
• Southern Rail strike: Union boss 'backed driver-only trains' that sparked strike chaosA union boss has faced claims he backed the introduction of driver-only trains which Southern staff are now striking about on safety grounds.

Manchester Evening News

• Christmas train travel could be chaos - as the final push to complete Ordsall Chord works beginsOrdsall Chord works are set to cause disruption for passengers as Christmas engineering works take place

Northern Echo

• Newton Aycliffe trainbuilder Hitachi Rail Europe calls on South Durham UTC to supply future bossA train builder has called on a nearby college to supply its future boss.

Sheffield Star

• Flooding fears stopped Sheffield getting HS2 lineSheffield’s flooding problems prevented plans to open a new HS2 station in the city centre, high-speed rail boss Sir David Higgins has revealed.
• Head of HS2 backs South Yorkshire Parkway Station planThe head of HS2 has given his backing to plans for a new South Yorkshire parkway station between Doncaster and Rotherham.

Yorkshire Post

• YP Letters: A failure of imagination on Leeds airport linkFrom: Jeff Thomas, Strait Lane, Huby, Leeds.
• YP Comment: How not to run a train service. Shame of ‘Southern Fail’ chaos FED-UP COMMUTERS losing their jobs because of late trains; travel plans for day-trippers ruined; cancer patients missing hospital appointments. This is the human price of an unnecessary strike at crisis-hit Southern Rail – or should that be Southern Fail? – over whether the driver, or conductor, is responsible for shutting the train doors.

Get West London

• Watch miles of railway electrics switch on at Heathrow junction in major Crossrail milestoneA major milestone saw the 12 mile stretch of railway electrics switch on between Heathrow junction and Maidenhead

Other Regional Press

• New railway linesman sculptures appear on Eynsham art trail TWO near life-size carved figures of railway linesmen have been added a popular art trail in Eynsham.

Buying Business Travel

• Rail strike: Gatwick passengers face severe disruptionSeverely reduced service on December 13, 14 and 16

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• DfT works with consumer experts and the rail industry to help passengers choose the best deal on faresMeasures to improve ticketing information for passengers and make it easier for people to choose the best value fare for their journey were agreed today at a forum co-hosted by Rail Minister Paul Maynard and Which? The Department for Transport, Which?, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) and Transport Focus have come together to develop this plan. They have worked closely with the rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). Passenger groups, technology firms, ticket retailers and train operators have also provided input. As a result, a set of clearly defined steps will be carried out over t...

Rail Technology Magazine

• Penn Station: New York’s ‘ugliest’ station set for a makeover For the best part of two decades, New Yorkers have referred to Penn Station as the city’s “ugliest train station”. Now, after multiple frustrating stops and starts, Governor Andrew Cuomo has revealed updated plans to turn the station into a “world-cl…

Railnews

• Southern at a standstill The first walkout by Southern drivers has begun, and no trains are runnning on most routes. Hundreds of thousands of commuters in Sussex and surrounding counties have been left without their usual transport, while transport secretary Chris Grayling has accused the unions of having 'a political agenda' in the dispute over extensions of driver-only operation. RMT general secretary Mick Cash has called on Mr Grayling to 'get out of his bunker and start taking direct and immediate responsibility'.

Aviation Industry

• SkyWest transitions from 50-seat aircraft with Bombardier agreementUtah-based SkyWest Inc., parent of regional carriers SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines, announced Dec. 13 the company has entered into a termination agreement with Bombardier covering the Canadian manufacturer’s residual value guarantee (RVG) agreements on 76 CRJ200 aircraft owned by SkyWest Airlines and American Airlines. read more

Green Miscellany

• The Upside: Universal roof rack for bicyclesA new design of universal bike rack promises to save you time, space and fuel. The Upside Rack fits to bog standard roof bars and can accommodate almost every type of bike. It can be fitted and removed in seconds, which means it is easily shared and doesn’t�need to be left in place on the�car between rides. Weighing in at… The post The Upside: Universal roof rack for bicycles appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Huge new depot on track to transform North London rail servicesWork has finished on a new base that will help transform rail services in north London.
• 120 years of the Glasgow subway
• Property investor targets growth near railway stationsPalace Capital has revealed plans to target the acquisition of buildings near city centre train stations that offer plenty of room for capital growth.
• Southern Rail strike: Redhill and Reigate commuters resorting to car pools and hotels The ongoing disruption, which has plagued the Southern network for months, is "having an absolutely horrendous effect on people's lives"
• Heathrow Airport prepares third runway planning application but residents 'can shape proposals' The airport has said there will be 'consultations' with residents in the area to help 'shape the proposals' before 2019
• London Bridge exhibition to celebrate 180th anniversary opens for passengersThe exhibition also shows off the government-sponsored Thameslink Programme
• Rail strike talks to be heldThere’s a glimpse of relief for hundreds of thousands of commuters who’ve been facing the worst rail disruption for almost 20 years: talks will be held tomorrow aimed at resolving the strike by drivers on Southern Rail which has brought the network’s entire service to a halt.
• Busiest ever November at London Stansted AirportLondon Stansted recorded its busiest ever November as over 1.7 million passengers passed through the terminal during the month, an increase of 2.3% over the same month last year.
• Commuters resigning and businesses close as train services cancelled THE Government’s rail minister admitted £20 million pledged to sort out Sussex's ailing train network has not made things better as the service ground to a halt yesterday.