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

Wednesday, 21 December 2016

BBC News

• First Greater Manchester app users to pay less as onboard ticket price risesPassengers buying tickets onboard some Greater Manchester buses are to pay more than those using a smartphone app.
• Southern train strikes: MP calls for rail ombudsmanA bill to establish a rail ombudsman
• VW strikes another US emissions scandal dealVolkswagen agrees a fresh deal with US authorities over diesel engines that cheated pollution rules.
• UK airport staff call off 48-hour strike, union saysA strike by airport baggage handlers and check-in staff planned for 23 and 24 December is called off.

Financial Times

• Flybe names chief to steer through overcapacityUK regional carrier corrects course after over-optimistic order for 24 Embraer jets
• Baggage handlers’ Christmas strike called offUnite head rejects charge swath of industrial action co-ordinated

The Guardian

• London garden bridge: accusation of conflict of interest over public fundsSenior official secured £7m funding while working for TfL, before moving to engineering firm behind the controversial projectLondon’s troubled garden bridge project has been accused of benefiting from a significant conflict of interest after it emerged that a senior official helped win millions of pounds of public money for the project after accepting a job with the engineering company behind it.Richard de Cani, at the time head of planning for Transport for London, played a key role in securing £7m in additional funding from his organisation and the Department for Transport last February. Con...
• Smog refugees flee Chinese cities as 'airpocalypse' blights half a billionThousands head to pollution-free regions as haze descends on the country’s northern industrial heartlandTens of thousands of “smog refugees” have reportedly fled China’s pollution-stricken north after the country was hit by its latest “airpocalyse” forcing almost half a billion people to live under a blanket of toxic fumes. Huge swaths of north and central China have been living under a pollution “red alert” since last Friday when a dangerous cocktail of pollutants transformed the skies into a yellow and charcoal-tinted haze. Continue reading...

The Telegraph

• 4,000 soldiers prepared to drive rail replacement buses if needed during Southern rail strikes

Times Online

• Buses to rescue strike-hit commuters [subscription]Strike-hit railway commuters will be offered replacement bus services as part of a new effort by Theresa May to get to grips with the crisis. Public buildings in commuter towns could also be opened up to frustrated passengers, giving them somewhere to work if they are unable to reach their offices.
• Rail compensation schemes should encourage better services [subscription]The Govia Thameslink franchise, which includes Southern Rail, is not working and has not been doing so for some time. Notwithstanding the current industrial action by Aslef and the RMT, incompetent management and Department of Transport failings, the system for pursuing complaints and achieving redress is simply not fit for purpose.

Daily Express

• Attacks in Germany and Turkey PROVE Southern Rail unions right, says George GallowayGEORGE GALLOWAY has linked the need for guards on Southern trains with the Berlin terror attack and the assassination of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey.
• 'Strike is a sign of FAILURE' Sadiq Khan condemns rail unions after thousands strandedSADIQ KHAN has condemned Southern Rail unions over ongoing disputes over “driver-only” trains and a ban on train drivers working overtime.

Mail Online

• Cost of Southern Rail strikes to the economy is set to hit �400MILLION A study has estimated that every day of action by the RMT and Aslef deals an �11million hit to the economy.

Conservative Party

• Keith Prince: It is time to end strike action on public transportA system that enables the RMT and ASLEF to disrupt hundreds of thousands of people’s lives for weeks and months on end through the Southern rail strike cannot, in all fairness, be said to be working. Therefore it is welcome that the Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, has made clear he will “not rule anything out” in terms of introducing new anti-strike laws. Despite the fact that Number 10 is reportedly less keen on legislation, it makes sense to think about what legislation would be sensible and make the case for it now.

Birmingham Post

• Jaguar Land Rover plans massive logistics hub in Solihull Luxury car brand continues investment plans for the West Midlands with new development to supply Solihull factory

Bolton News

• REVEALED: New planned site for controversial council cycle track A DISUSED piece of land in Kearsley is likely to be the proposed site for Bolton Council’s new cycle track, the Bolton News can reveal.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Holyhead port Christmas boom sees extra Dublin ferry drafted in The 1,458-passenger Oscar Wilde will cater for the thousands of extra passengers

Derby Telegraph

• Derby rail firms invent solution for problem of leaves on the line A group of Derby rail companies have helped come up with an invention which aims to make delays and cancellations caused by leaves on the line a thing of the past.

London Evening Standard

• RMT warns of New Year Tube strikes in row over job cutsRail union bosses have warned that strikes could hit the London Underground in the New Year in a long-running dispute over job cuts.
• Flybe announces new flights from Scotland to LondonMore than 40 new flights a week from London Heathrow to Aberdeen and Edinburgh have been announced by operator Flybe.
• Piccadilly line: All 79 trains back in action after almost a month of delays and disruptionThe Piccadilly line is back up and running a full service after almost a month of disruption and delays while faulty trains were repaired.
• Flybe planes sets flight path for London Heathrow Airport Flybe planes will use Heathrow for the first time from March, with the airline's chairman today hailing London's dominance at the "heart of the business community" and hiring a new chief executive.
• Letters to the editor: Other aspects of the rail strikeThe job of a train guard consists of much more than merely opening and closing doors — the role exists to ensure the safety, security and care of passengers, some of whom may be quite vulnerable.
• First look inside South West Trains new �230m fleetThis is the first look at South West Trains new �230million fleet.
• Baggage handlers' planned strike over Christmas cancelledA Christmas strike by baggage handlers at 18 airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton has been called-off.

Sheffield Star

• Unite call off pre-Christmas strike at Doncaster's Robin Hood airportA pre-Christmas strike by baggage handlers and check-in staff at Doncaster's Robin Hood airport has been called off, Unite the Union confirmed this evening.

The York Press

• Warning: Unlicensed taxis operating in North Yorkshire RESIDENTS of Hambleton are warned to be vigilant after reports of unlicensed taxis plying for fares in the area.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Trains lined up to be driver-only in deal across West Midlands Train drivers in the West Midlands could be made responsible for opening and closing carriage doors under the new franchise contract being signed next year.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds bus company films 'faster boarding' e-ticket experimentEver waited for a bus in Leeds and found yourself sighing in frustration while a queue builds up behind passengers fumbling with their loose change?

Other Regional Press

• 'Gloucester needs more inter-city trains,' says MP Richard Graham Gloucester MP Richard Graham has led a debate in parliament calling for train company CrossCountry to make more inter-city services available from the city's railway station.

Buying Business Travel

• East Midlands escapes �12.5m fine for parking price fixAirport is found guilty of fixing prices for its car parking services

Rail Magazine

• Rail turns around �2 billion per year losses RDG: rail has turned around �2bn a year losses
• £47 million spent on deferred sections of Great Western modernisation
• Southern strikes: Commuters “losing jobs”MP claims employers are rejecting job applications from commuters who use Southern Railway

Rail Technology Magazine

• FTA to fund Fort Worth Transportation Authority’s $1.034bn TEX Rail project The US Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has agreed a $499.4m grant to help fund Fort Worth Transportation Authority’s (FWTA) $1.034bn TEX Rail project.
• Axiomtek 18.5in Multi-touch Panel Computer Ideal for Infotainment and Light Industry Applications Axiomtek, one of the world's leading designers and manufacturers of innovative, high performance and reliable PC-based industrial computer products, is proud to introduce the GOT3187WL-834-PCT, an 18.5in fanless multi-touch panel computer for infotai…
• Tackling alcohol consumption on Britain’s railways Despite managing one of the safest railways in Europe, UK operators are still faced with the serious consequences of excessive alcohol consumption. Recent research showed that 60% of passenger deaths and assaults over the past decade were alcohol-rel…
• First trains of new £210m South West fleet arriveThe first trains of South West Trains’ new £210m fleet have arrived at Clapham ahead of final testing in the New Year. The Siemens-built Class 707 Desiro City trains will accommodate approximately 11,000 passengers every weekday morning to and from London Waterloo and Windsor

Railway Gazette

• Hitachi orders Rolls-Royce PowerPacksUK: Rolls-Royce has been awarded a contract to supply Hitachi Rail Europe with 136 Series 1600 MTU...

Aviation Industry

• Hong Kong Airlines plans to accelerate intercontinental expansion Hong Kong Airlines plans to accelerate its intercontinental expansion with the scheduled delivery of its first Airbus A350 in August 2017. read more
• UK airport strike called offThreats of a two-day strike by UK airport workers that would have potentially disrupted passengers heading off for Christmas holidays have been eased. read more
• Norwegian mulls moving in to South AmericaFast-expanding low-cost carrier (LCC) Norwegian is examining the possibility of setting up operations in Argentina. read more

Other News Sources

• Alstom to acquire Nomad Digital, world’s leading provider of connectivity solutions to the railway industry Alstom has signed a purchase agreement for the acquisition of Nomad Holdings, commercially known as Nomad Digital, from Amadeus Capital Partners, SEB Venture Capital and Deutsche Telekom Strategic Investments together with other investors.
• ‘There’s still no disabled lifts to all platforms at Luton train station!’ Luton’s train station has been criticised for its ‘dangerous lack of disabled facilities’.
• Train commuter figures show rise in usage remains on trackTHE number of people catching the train to and from south Warwickshire is rising.
• Stagecoach and police launch investigation into bus crash PART of Winchester city centre was brought to a standstill after a collision between a bus and a pedestrian.
• South West Trains welcomes first of 30 new trains following �210m investment The new trains are due to go into in April 2017 and will introduce 150 extra carriages with space for 11,000 passengers
• See full list of South West Trains' festive station names Passengers have been coming up with their own suggestions for Christmas puns, from "Jingle all the Wraysbury" to "Virginia Mary Water"
• FTA helps industry keep on delivering this winterWith tomorrow seeing the official start of winter, the Freight Transport Association is supporting Highways England’s winter road safety campaign ...