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

Sunday, 18 December 2016

BBC News

• Southern trains 'cancelled despite drivers being free'Southern has been accused of cancelling trains and blaming industrial action even though drivers were available.
• Talks planned to avert pre-Christmas airports staff strikeUnite union officials and Swissport will hold talks aimed at preventing strikes by staff at UK airports.

The Guardian

• Baggage handlers down suitcases as Britons get ready for wave of strikesAirport staff join BA crew, Virgin pilots, Post Office workers plus train drivers and conductors in announcing industrial action
• Southern rail dispute reflects workers’ growing fears about rise of automationLast week’s strikes over the removal of guards highlighted concern about the way technology is making real workers obsolete, hitting lower-paid roles hardest

The Herald

• Transport minister urged to set a date for Scottish rail renationalisationSNP ministers are under pressure to set a deadline for renationalising rail in Scotland with a transport union claiming it would be possible to deliver a publicly-owned service by 2022.
• ScotRail slammed as commuters faced travel chaos on busiest day of the yearANGRY commuters were left stranded on platforms and passengers packed into trains as Scotland's rail network buckled under the strain of the busiest day of the year.

The Scotsman

• Union talks offer hope of avoiding Christmas airport strikesTalks aimed at averting strikes by baggage handlers and other staff at 18 airports will be held at Acas this week.

Times Online

• Rail union boss vows to topple Tories [subscription]Tapes reveal aim of Christmas strike chaos
• How the Unions are out to cancel Christmas [subscription]With rail, air and postal staff planning to strike over the next two weeks, the festive season could turn bleak for many Britons
• Network Rail offers inflation-busting pay deal to avert strikes [subscription]Network Rail is locked in discussions with unions on a pay deal to avert a crippling national strike.

Daily Record

• ScotRail slammed after late night train skips two stations and leaves teenage girl stranded five miles from her destinationThe 17-year-old boarded a train at Charing Cross to visit her grandparents in Cardross but the train didn't stop until Helensburgh Central.

Liverpool Echo

• Revealed: Merseyside's quietest - and busiest - train stationsUpton station has 87 passengers every day

London Evening Standard

• London weather: Thick fog sparks chaos at Heathrow, Gatwick and London City AirportFlights in and out of London's airports have been hit by major delays and cancellations as a blanket of thick fog descended on the capital.
• Southern Rail strike: Train company accused again of cancelling trains when staff were availableSouthern Railway has been accused for the second weekend in a row of cancelling trains even though drivers were available.

Manchester Evening News

• Five things you learn living under the Manchester Airport flight pathWe speak to four of the hub's closest neighbours
• The operator behind the beleaguered Southern Rail network could soon be running Manchester's tramsKeolis’ two southern joint ventures Southern Rail and Southeastern are, according to the independent watchdog Transport Focus, Britain’s two most disliked transport companies
• Cargo company trying to 'resolve' issues as staff threaten strike action at Manchester Airport Almost 400 workers could strike over pay on December 23 and Christmas Eve

Sheffield Star

• Staff to go on strike at Doncaster Sheffield Airport over pay dispute just before ChristmasA number of check-in staff, baggage handlers and cargo crew at Doncaster Sheffield Airport are set to walk out on strike due to a pay dispute.

Yorkshire Post

• YP Letters: Flaws in Leeds Bradford Airpiort transport plan FULL marks to Tom Richmond for his perceptive views (The Yorkshire Post, December 10) about the Yeadon airport access plans. One can only speculate about such half-baked park and ride plan having been seemingly endorsed by the so-called panel of experts employed to advise Leeds transport planners.

Other Regional Press

• Bring HS2 steel to Scunthorpe: hundreds sign Telegraph petition THE MINISTER for the Northern Powerhouse has insisted that the government has made a level playing field for UK steel to compete for infrastructure contracts.
• New technology could block mobiles while drivers at the wheel MOBILE phone signals could be blocked while cars are being driven in a bid to prevent motorists using them at the wheel.

Railnews

• Stadler wins contract to build new Merseyrail trains New trains are to be built for the Merseyrail network by Stadler of Switzerland, as part of a programme costing �460 million. This headline figure also covers upgrades to the power supply, platforms and track, as well as refurbishment of the depots at Kirkdale and Birkenhead North and future maintenance of the new trains. Stadler had been shortlisted in January, along with Bombardier, CAF, Mitsui and Siemens, after the tender process was launched in October 2015. The trains, designed specifically for the network, will have no conductors or guards and drivers will control the doors, a feature ...

Other News Sources

• HS2 'hotline' set up for MPsMPs are getting an HS2 hotline, thanks to one Bucks MP. Cheryl Gillan called for the phone line, so MPs can directly talk to the company behind the plans about constituents' worries.
• Shropshire MP sees future of travel by hyperloop Could this be the future of rail travel? Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski thinks so.
• Christmas travel chaos for Britain as 2016 draws to a closeThe curse of 2016 looks set to spill over into Christmas, as industrial action planned by a number of organisations could cause disruption across the UK. Festivities are threatened by pilots, postal workers and airport staff as well as wide-scale disruption to the rail service caused by planned engineering works.
• New Gatwick Airport chairman: Case for future runway expansion remains strong GATWICK Airport's new chairman has told how the case for future expansion still remains strong.

EIN News Subscription

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