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

Thursday, 02 March 2017

BBC News

• Ken Skates: What is good for Nissan is good for Ford [video clip]The UK government should engage more meaningfully with Ford, Economy Secretary Ken Skates has said.
• Labour admit Southern rail compensation blunderLabour made the claim based on pay as you go journeys in south London in one week in December.
• Flybe chief executive says safety 'is top priority'The new chief executive of Flybe has disputed that anything is
• Ford Bridgend: Welsh secretary 'optimistic' over futureFord's engine plant in Bridgend will have opportunities to bid for new work to secure threatened jobs, the Welsh secretary says.
• Bus lane cameras make £31m in a year for councilsSome bus lanes are making between £1,000 and £6,000 a day each as drivers are caught on camera.

Financial Times

• Eurotunnel doubles profits as more trucks use shuttleOperator of Channel tunnel overcomes falls in pasenger traffic and rail freight

The Guardian

• This bus bill is just the ticket to create access to education and jobsLondoners already have a great bus service. Parliament now needs to extend that option to the rest of the country
• Taxi drivers and business leaders call for diesel scrappage schemeBroad coalition writes to chancellor, urging him to tackle air pollution with compensation scheme for motoristsTaxi drivers and business leaders have added their voices to the growing campaign calling on ministers to introduce a diesel scrappage scheme to tackle dangerous levels of air pollution.A broad alliance of business organisations and environmental charities has written to the chancellor, Philip Hammond, urging him to introduce a system in next week’s budget to compensate motorists switching from diesel to more environmentally friendly vehicles. Continue reading...
• Konnichiwa London: Nissan Leaf drives itself on city roadsJapanese firm tests its auto pilot car on London roads as radars, lasers and cameras help navigate roundabouts and zebra crossings A self-driving car has had its first trials on major London roads, proving the technology works – or it does with an attentive driver behind the wheel to slam on the brakes.Guided by five radars, four lasers and 12 cameras, a converted electric Nissan Leaf has been following a carefully mapped route around Beckton, in east London, driving itself along the A13 dual carriageway, around urban streets and navigating roundabouts – a particular challenge for the Japanese...

The Herald

• Dutch-style cycle route linking canal with Glasgow city centre plannedA DUTCH-INSPIRED cycle route linking regeneration work along the Forth and Clyde Canal with one of the country's most famous thoroughfares has been shortlisted for an award of millions of pounds.

The Scotsman

• Bike lift planned to haul Edinburgh cyclists up The MoundA bike lift pioneered in Norway would pull struggling cyclists up the steep incline of The Mound in Edinburgh under plans for new cycleways unveiled today.

Times Online

• Liverpool Lime Street station shut ‘for days’ after wall collapse [subscription]One of the busiest railway stations in the North is expected to be shut for days after a wall collapsed and blocked all four of its lines.
• Stagecoach has a fight on its hands [Subscription]Stagecoach, the operator of East Midlands Trains on the Midland mainline in and out of London St Pancras, above, is to come under attack from an axis of German and Italian raiders.
• Cabbies want cash to scrap diesels [Subscription]The chancellor is under mounting pressure to introduce a diesel scrappage scheme to tackle dangerous levels of pollution in big cities.
• Car market slumps as buyers plug in [Subscription]The number of new electric and hybrid cars sold in the first two months of the year has already exceeded the total number sold last year.
• Ministers refuse to intervene in bus dispute [Subscription]Enda Kenny has said ministerial intervention in the Bus Éireann row is not what is required to resolve the crisis.

Belfast Telegraph

• Transport Minister rules out last minute intervention to halt Bus Eireann strikeTransport Minister Shane Ross has insisted he will not make an 11th hour intervention to resolve a looming Bus Eireann strike which will cripple the country-wide bus network.

Birmingham Mail

• Birmingham train passengers heading to Liverpool face rail chaos after wall collapseBirmingham train passengers heading to Liverpool face rail chaos after wall collapse
• Revealed: This is what Birmingham's A34 cycle lane will look like Consultation launches into plans to create safe haven for cyclists between Perry Barr and city centre

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Cyclists like their homes the coldest, says new survey A NEW survey has shown that cyclists are top of the list of homeowners who make their families suffer by keeping their central heating at a low temperature.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Date for public inquiry into 'much-needed' £65m Caernarfon bypass setThe long-awaited 9.8km road aims to relieve congestion in the area and is expected to be completed by late 2019

Liverpool Echo

• Collapsed Lime Street wall 'could take weeks to fix', engineer warnsEngineer warns over Victorian walls on way in to station

London Evening Standard

• Nissan's new self-driving car gets test drive on London's public roadsMotorists witnessed the first trial of a self-driving car on the capital's roads this week when Nissan brought its multi-million-pound prototype to London.
• Half a million rail passengers 'could miss Southern payout'More than half a million Southern Railway passengers could miss out on compensation for poor service, Transport for London figures reveal.
• Northern line delays: Commuters marched off train in middle of tunnel amid Tube chaosTube commuters were marched off a train during rush hour after becoming stranded inside a tunnel as a signal failure crippled the Northern line.
• Southeastern delays: Commuters face travel chaos for second day in rowAngry commuters faced rush hours chaos for a second day in a row on Wednesday as Southeastern trains between two major London transport hubs were delayed due to signal failure.

Sheffield Star

• Sheffield commuters facing days of travel chaos after major train station cancels all servicesSheffield commuters travelling to Liverpool Lime Street are facing a travel nightmare with no trains running in or out of the station "for several days".

Other Regional Press

• Security appeal following vandalism at Llandelio station

Buying Business Travel

• No Liverpool Lime Street services for ‘several days’ after wall collapseNetwork Rail advises against travelling by train to Merseyside

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• East Midlands rail franchise: three firms make the shortlistThe names of the three train operating companies in the running for the next East Midlands franchise competition have been announced by the Department for Transport. After submitting an expression of interest, the following have been successfully shortlisted: • Arriva Rail East Midlands Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains Limited • First Trenitalia East Midlands Rail Limited, a joint venture company wholly owned by First Rail Holdings Limited and Trenitalia UK Limited • Stagecoach East Midlands Trains Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stagecoach Transpo...

Rail Magazine

• Three in the frame for East Midlands franchisesArriva, Stagecoach and a joint venture between First and Trenitalia UK Ltd have been shortlisted for the East Midlands franchise.
• Wall collapse blocks lines to Liverpool Lime StreetNo services are currently running into or out of Liverpool Lime Street, following the collapse of a retaining wall between the city’s main station and Edge Hill

Rail Technology Magazine

• Three bidders shortlisted for 2019 East Midlands franchiseThe DfT has today announced a shortlist of three operators who will compete for the East Midlands franchise. The companies who are in the running for the franchise’s contract are Arriva Rail East Midlands, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains; First Trenitalia East Midlands Rail...
• Liverpool Lime Street shut for five days after collapsed wall causes commuter chaosLiverpool Lime Street station has been forced to completely shut down after a section of trackside wall collapsed, blocking all four lines into the station and damaging overhead wiring equipment. According to Network Rail the wall crumbled due to it being loaded with concrete and cabins by a...
• Blackpool tram passenger numbers back on the rise after 2014 dip Blackpool’s revamped tram network has seen record numbers of passengers travel on the services, as ticket sales show that five million journeys have been registered since April 2016 – the highest number since the tram re-opened in 2012. This figure was also the highest number of...

Railnews

• Three shortlisted for East Midlands franchise A joint venture between FirstGroup and the Italian state railway operator Trenitalia is one of three bidders shortlisted for the next East Midlands franchise. The others are Arriva and the incumbent Stagecoach, which has run the franchise since November 2007. The Department for Transport said ministers 'want to improve the quality, frequency and timings of journeys on the east of the franchise network and to seek to develop new services and connections'.

Railway Gazette

• Verster goes south, Hynes moves northUK: Abellio and Network Rail announced on January 20 that Phil Verster would be stepping down as...
• Three prequalify for next East Midlands franchiseUK: Three bidders have prequalified to bid for the next East Midlands passenger franchise, the...

Transport Network

• Key rail franchises take steps forwardThree companies have been shortlisted for the next East Midlands rail franchise – the minimum the Government considers necessary to provide competition.

Aviation Industry

• Air France-KLM, Lufthansa CEOs call for action on Gulf carriersThe CEOs of Air France-KLM and German flag carrier Lufthansa have written to EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, calling for new measures to counter what they say are unfair practices by Gulf carriers. read more

Other News Sources

• Lilian Greenwood: If the Midlands is to succeed it needs 21st century transport infrastructureThe Midlands risks being squeezed out by ministers who talk as if there were only two possibilities for investment: London or 'the north'
• China orders Bombardier high-speed trainsCHINA Railway Corporation (CRC) has awarded a contract for the supply of 18 eight-car CRH1 A-A new generation high-speed trains to Bombardier’s Chinese joint venture, Bombardier Sifang Transportation (BST).
• Southern Rail crisis: Nearly 60,000 trains cancelled in just a YEAR as shocking extent of disruption revealed The shocking extent of the ongoing Southern Rail crisis has been laid bare after it was revealed the operator cancelled 58,983 services in 2016    
• MP joins forces with City Council chief to campaign to connect new railway station Daniel Zeichner MP has joined forces with Cllr Lewis Herbert, Labour Leader of Cambridge City Council, to campaign for the Cross Country service between Peterborough and Stansted to stop at the new Cambridge North railway station.