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

Monday, 06 February 2017

BBC News

• Southern rail deal a 'shocking betrayal', RMT union saysUnion general secretary Mick Cash says the bitter dispute over the role of conductors will continue.
• Unlocking car parksThe Australian app that frees up parking spaces owned by hotels and offices for the public.
• Rail franchising system 'not fit for purpose', MPs warnThe UK's rail franchising model is "no longer fit for purpose" and is failing passengers, MPs have warned.
• Volkswagen faces new front on emissions legal actionVolkswagen faces its first legal action in Germany from a big corporate client over the diesel scandal.

Financial Times

• Fredriksen vows to ‘see through’ shipping rescueWorld’s most influential shipowner to oversee restructuring of oil-drilling company

The Guardian

• Britain’s rail franchise model unfit for purpose, say MPsParliamentary committee report claims current model is failing train passengers with high fares and poor performance
• Southern rail deal with union fragile as drivers plan to vote againstAslef member says colleagues are disappointed with deal in which union concedes on driver operation of doors
• How do you attract the best talent to help improve public transport?ublic transport has not always been the most attractive sector to work in. Faced with fierce competition from more “glamorous” industries such as airlines, car manufacturers, financial services and tech startups, public transport has sometimes struggled to be seen as the place for a great career.

The Herald

• Station delays sparks fears for £400m leisure plansONGOING delays to the revamp of one of Scotland’s biggest railway stations have thrown into jeopardy latest plans for a £400m city centre retail and leisure development.

The Independent

• The Labour Party's renationalisation solution to failing rail franchises risks returning to a golden age of British Rail that never wasFar better to concentrate on creating public-private structures that vary according to the needs of each area, a boringly prosaic answer to a problem that cannot be solved by ideology

The Telegraph

• Southern rail boss says driver-operated doors rollout will continue despite union deal

Times Online

• Trains will run without guard under Southern deal [subscription]Southern Rail’s problem-hit trains will be able to run with only the driver in control, despite promises that a second staff member would be on board at all times, it emerged yesterday.
• The air that I breathe is filthy, I tested it [subscription]Is pollution killing us as Britain’s air quality gets worse? Four years ago I bought a diesel car, thinking I was doing my bit for the environment. Now it turns out that I’ve been contributing to as many as 40,000 premature deaths that happen every year in the UK as a result of air pollution.
• Inquiry into bid-rigging on Bus Eireann routes [subscription]The consumer watchdog is investigating publicly funded transport companies in Munster and Leinster over claims of bid-rigging.

Mail Online

• Break up franchises after Southern Rail farce say MPs MPs have called for Britain’s railways to be broken up into smaller franchises following the Southern Rail debacle.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Plans to transform Bradford Forster Square station remain on track WHILE efforts to bring high-speed rail to Bradford continue, plans to upgrade another city centre station are still on track.
• Underground station could bring high-speed rail to Bradford city centre A SUBTERRANEAN station beneath Bradford city centre is one of the options being looked at for bringing high-speed rail to Bradford, the Telegraph & Argus can exclusively reveal.

Liverpool Echo

• Liverpool MP brands railway management as "not fit for Purpose"Transport committee chair Louise Ellman has slammed the Government's management of rail operators

London Evening Standard

• Britain's rail franchising system 'is failing passengers'Britain's rail franchising system is failing passengers with higher fares and poor performance, MPs have warned.
• People shining lasers at planes could face jail under tough new lawPeople shining laser pens at plane pilots and train drivers could be jailed or face huge fines under a tough new law.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Virgin Trains to create 45 new jobs at Newcastle customer centreNew jobs - which are being created just four months after centre opened - are being hailed as a vote of confidence in the city
• Transport Secretary does not rule out dualling of A69 in bid to improve links between east and westDualling of the A69 is still an option, says Transport Secretary Chris Grayling as efforts underway to boost North East and North West links

The York Press

• York's free Sunday bus service extended A FREE Sunday bus service in York is to run for another two months.

Wales Online

• Cardiff's bus wars are set to get serious this year as NAT brings in new routesThe battle between Cardiff Bus and NAT (New Adventure Travel) is set to hot up even further this year. The sparring firms' rivalry is set to expand to another key route into Wales' capital and both operators are extending other routes or introducing new ones.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Whose railway is it anyway? - Lisa ForbesLisa Forbes, Labour parliamentary spokeswoman in Peterborough writes: It was, of course, encouraging reading in the Peterborough Telegraph recently that Network Rail now has plans in place to upgrade the East Coast mainline rail services, meaning Peterborough to London King’s Cross will see faster journey times and more frequent services. It does not necessarily make up for the fact that the UK has the most expensive and least reliable rail services in Western Europe, but welcome nonetheless.

Other Regional Press

• Major roadwork project timetable brought forward Major roadwork project timetable brought forward
• 'Devastating' impact of bus cuts that will see subsidised services slashed from 35 to SEVEN FEARS have been raised over the 'devastating' impact as the axe is wielded on Dorset's bus service again.

Bus and Coach.com

• Volvo reaches 3,000-milestone for electric and hybrid buses
• New ticketing offers in wake of Liverpool Bus Alliance
• Fleet of ten Enviro200 MMCs set for Cardiff
• Arriva Bus updates its m-ticket app
• Vision for Harrogate to become low emission bus town
• Stagecoach pilots new high-frequency minibus service in Kent
• Thamesdown Transport sold to Go South Coast
• Bus-rail integration report from TravelWatch NorthWest
• NCT enhances South Notts 1 route
• Arriva investigates wheelchair passenger incident in Wakefield

Rail Magazine

• Hitachi Rail Europe seeks new recruits for �80m depotHitachi Rail Europe is recruiting 150 staff from the Bristol area for its Stoke Gifford depot.

Aviation Industry

• ‘Normal’ US immigration procedures resume after judge blocks Trump travel banThe US State Department has lifted a ban on travelers from seven countries entering the US after a federal judge temporarily blocked the executive order made by President Donald Trump. read more

Other News Sources

• Remembering the humble beginnings of Gatwick Airport 80 years ago Before easyJet, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic the airport was a satellite airfield of RAF Kenley