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

Wednesday, 05 July 2017

BBC News

• Air pollution issues go back to courtAir pollution is forcing the UK government back to court for the seventh time.
• Arrests over China 'straddling bus' projectPolice in Beijing have arrested 32 people for illegal fundraising linked to a scrapped project to create a "straddling bus" to beat traffic jams.
• RMT union in bid to end Southern rail disputeThe RMT tells MPs of a deal aimed at breaking the deadlock in a dispute now in its 15th month.
• New Elizabeth Line to serve Heathrow's Terminal 5Heathrow will be served by six Elizabeth Line trains per hour from December 2019.

Department for Transport

• Government launches transport investment plan for BritainA new strategy explains how local roads will benefit from a multi-billion pound fund and the proposed creation of a major road network.

Financial Times

• Drone makers zero in on commercial opportunitiesAgriculture and other sectors are driving adaptation of consumer UAVs for work
• Volvo to use electric motors in all cars from 2019Carmaker calls time on vehicles powered solely by an internal combustion engine

The Guardian

• Britain still lagging in the use of city trams [Letter]The snail’s pace evaluation of the possibility of running trams over train tracks in the UK is inexplicable (Tram-train link three years late and five times over budget, 4 July).
• Virgin Trains and six other companies agree to sell advance tickets on the dayCut-price rail fares can now be bought as close as 10 minutes before departure rather than the day before
• England’s local roads to get boost from government cash potCouncils to be given access to multibillion-pound fund originally intended to be spent on motorways and major A-roads

Times Online

• Rail operators to sell cheap tickets on dayMillions of cheap advanced rail tickets will go on sale up to 10 minutes before departure after the abolition of rules that prevented passengers buying them on the day of travel.
• Chris Grayling to launch £1bn roads revolution [Subscription]Scores of new bypasses are to be built under a £1 billion-a-year plan to combat congestion in towns and cities, the transport secretary will say today.

City AM

• London mayor Sadiq Khan to meet transport secretary Chris Grayling this month for crunch talks over future of Crossrail 2London mayor Sadiq Khan will meet transport secretary Chris Grayling for crunch talks on the future of Crossrail 2 in the next fortnight as he looks to secure a commitment on Transport for London's (TfL) business case for the £31bn project.
• Southern rail: Transport secretary accuses Labour of stoking up unrest on the railwaysTransport secretary Chris Grayling has accused senior Labour figures of stirring up unrest at Southern rail and encouraging further industrial action on the beleaguered network.
• New Elizabeth Line services are coming to Heathrow's Terminal 5 after airport strikes deal with the government and TfLHeathrow has agreed a deal with the government over Crossrail services to bolster rail connectivity around the London airport.

Mail Online

• Chris Grayling announces £1bn fund for local roads Local councils across England are set to benefit from a multi-billion pound fund to improve local roads, transport secretary Chris Grayling said last night.

Belfast Telegraph

• ‘I know air tax is causing damage’It's time the procrastination ended so we can grab the opportunity to deliver lasting benefits for Northern Ireland
• Bombardier selling Northern Ireland production site for almost £20mThe Canadian-owned aerospace giant, which employs just over 4,000 staff here, has put one of its Newtownabbey locations on the market.
• Heathrow’s Terminal 5 to be served by Elizabeth line trainsFrom December 2019 the number of trains from central London to the airport will increase to at least 22 a day.

London Evening Standard

• Virgin Trains and other rail companies agree to sell advance tickets on day of journeysVirgin Trains and other rail companies have are to allow passengers to buy low-cost advance tickets as late as 10 minutes before the train's departure time.

Manchester Evening News

• LIVE updates: Terminal One has been evacuated at Manchester Airport after water started pouring inTerminal One at Manchester Airport has been evacuated after water started pouring through the roof.

Northern Echo

• Trainbuilder Hitachi smashes 1,000-job figure and reveals more work could come to Newton Aycliffe plant A TRAINBUILDER now employs more than 1,000 workers and could soon bring further contracts to its North-East plant, The Northern Echo can reveal.

Yorkshire Post

• ‘Rebalancing test’ for transport cash offers hope for Yorkshire TRANSPORT SECRETARY Chris Grayling will promise to give Yorkshire a better chance of securing cash for schemes.

Get West London

• Elizabeth Line Trains will stop at Terminal 5 and contactless and oyster will be introduced in MayConnectivity to Heathrow has been given a boost after a new agreement between TfL and the Department for Transport for more trains to stop at the airport's stations.

Reading Evening Post

• Controversial plans for new road to ease traffic in East Reading submitted The East Reading Mass Rapid Transport plans have been submitted amid rising opposition

Other Regional Press

• Martin Vickers to meet with transport minister over long-running A180 noise sagaCleethorpes MP Martin Vickers has arranged a meeting with government transport minister John Hayes to discuss what can be done about the A180's npisy road surface

Buying Business Travel

• Call for automatic compensation for delayed air passengersWhich? study reveals worst carriers for paying out on compensation claims

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• M3 'smart' motorway opens in Hampshire and Surrey A £174m upgrade to turn the M3 into a

Rail Technology Magazine

• ERTMS and CBTC Side By Side: A Comparison of State-of-the-art Rail Traffic Management Systems There is a well-defined separation between the systems that are being used in Mass Transit networks and the ones being used for Mainline. However, each of these systems has the necessary maturity to step forward to an integrated solution that compris…
• Less than half of services arrive on time at 19 Scottish stations Fewer than half of service arrived on time at 19 stations across Scotland between 28 May and 24 June 2017, new figures released by ScotRail have today shown. In some stations, such as Arbroath, the percentage of trains that terminated at the station on time (within 59 seconds of its scheduled...
• Two-thirds of public support rail freight investment boost, poll findsAlmost two-thirds (61%) of people would like to see more freight transported by rail, a new poll released today has found. The findings, released by YouGov, also found that only 2% of people wanted to see more freight transported by road in lorries and HGVs. And 63% of respondents in the poll...

Railway Gazette

• Network Rail orders Harsco StoneblowersUK: Harsco Rail has won a contract to supply infrastructure manager Network Rail with seven...

Transport Network

• TfN's major road network is 'very big funding ask'The size of the planned major road network (MRN) for the North poses a funding challenge for both the body that has proposed it and the Government, a key figure behind the MRN concept has told Transport Network.

Other News Sources

• 'New UK air deal needed by next year'A NEW aviation agreement with the United Kingdom is needed by next spring to avert the possibility of flights between Ireland and Britain being disrupted once Brexit is triggered in 2019, a Seanad committee has warned.
• UK Prime Minister inaugurates railway sidings to increase train frequencyUK Prime Minister Theresa May has officially opened a new £4.5m railway siding in Maidenhead that will enable Great Western Railway (GWR) to increase the frequency of train services, especially during the peak times.
• Heathrow Airport 22 train/h service agreedUK: Heathrow Airport Ltd, Transport for London and the Department for Transport have reached an agreement for Elizabeth Line services to run to Terminal 5, with the total number of rail services to the airport to increase from 18 to 22 trains/h in 2019.
• HEATHROW RECEIVES RAIL BOOSTHeathrow has agreed a new plan with TfL and DfT to boost rail services to the airport.
• Meet the man who will be responsible for YOUR Surrey train journeys over the next five years Andy Mellors will take charge of the new South Western rail franchise when it officially takes over from South West Trains on August 20
• A14 Cambridge to Huntington upgrade takes shapeThe project team delivering the biggest road upgrade under construction in the UK have been sharing an update about ongoing work on site, within the surrounding environment and with local communities.
• Einride’s T-Pod self-driving transport EV gets a full-scale prototypeSwedish tech startup Einride has built a full-scale prototype of its T-Pod, the electric autonomous transport vehicle it hopes will eventually replace smaller heavy-duty trucks, featuring remote control operation and a 200 kWh energy capacity with a maximum range of around 124 miles.