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

Tuesday, 29 August 2017

BBC News

• Waterloo station reopens with delays and cancellationsThe UK's busiest railway station has re-opened but with disruption due to a problem with the signalling system.
• £500k for Denbighshire electric busesThe move is part of an extra £11m in extra funding for low-emission buses in England and Wales.
• Historic steamer TS Queen Mary finds permanent home in GlasgowThe ship returned to Glasgow last year and is undergoing a multi-million pound refurbishment.

ITV News

• Train journey from Cardiff to Bristol among the slowest in the UKThe train journey from Cardiff Central to Bristol Temple Meads is among on one of the slowest in the UK - taking 55 minutes at 30mph.

Financial Times

• Uber has yet to deal with uncertainty over Kalanick role, says WhitmanHPE head told board that former chief should be kept at arm’s length from operations

The Guardian

• Jet and lorry fuels made from rubbish to receive UK fundingDepartment for Transport offers £22m to projects developing waste-based fuels for vehicles too heavy to use electric powerAirline passengers could fly to their destinations on jets fuelled by industrial waste or the contents of people's dustbins if a government scheme succeeds in creating a new green energy source.
• British trains 'up to four times slower outside the south-east'Call for rebalancing of transport investment as research finds services from London to be much quicker than those in the northTrains connecting Britain's major towns and cities are up to four times slower outside the south-east, according to research. Press Association analysis of the quickest possible trains on 19 routes found that services from London travel at average speeds of 65-93mph, compared with 20-60mph elsewhere.

The Herald

• Speed not the be-all and end-all in train journeysUSING the yardstick “as the crow flies” to assess average speeds of particular ScotRail train services Britain (“Scots trains slower than in south east, The Herald, August 28) is not exactly an enlightened method. Railway routes wherever do not run in straight lines as corvids are presumed to do. Any speeding up can only be progressed, marginally in some cases, by track geometry improvements allied to enhanced signalling. Trains themselves are now, in the main, faster at acceleration and maintaining overall speeds.
• Loganair check-ins to open earlier on flights at Highlands and Island airportsSCOTS airline Loganair has shaken up its check-in requirements as it prepares to fly solo from this weekend to make it easier and speedier for passengers in the Highlands and Islands.

The Independent

• Britain's trains four times slower outside South East, study findsRail journeys from London travel at average speeds of between 65-93mph while those elsewhere typically go at just 20-60mph, according to new research

Times Online

• Delayed flights double amid EU airport border check chaos [subscription]Stricter border controls at airports across Europe have almost doubled the number of delayed flights, according to airlines and airport operators.
• Drones banned from opening of Forth bridge [subscription]Drones have been banned from the opening of the UK’s tallest bridge as experts warned that the security services faced the real threat of a terrorist attack using remote-controlled aircraft.

City AM

• London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross closed: What you need to know and travel advice for the end of AugustLondon Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross will be closed for the four day working week after the bank holiday, leaving many commuters to the City and central London unable to travel or facing longer commutes as they take alternative routes.
• Nissan to bump up Sunderland production by a fifthNissan is set to bump up production at its UK factory by 20 per cent and source more car parts from within the country as it prepares for Brexit.

Network Rail

• Network Rail thanks passengers as it completes Waterloo UpgradeNetwork Rail has now fully reopened Waterloo station after completing one of the largest and most complex upgrades in the station’s history.

Birmingham Mail

• Route map confirmed for Vélo Birmingham Updated details of 100-mile cycling sportive has been revealed by organisers with new 20-mile section in Staffordshire

Bolton News

• Bolton News reader's letter: Andy Burnham has a poor track record on railwaysYOUR item on this week's Northern Transport Summit held in Leeds was interesting in the way it contrasted Bolton West MP Chris Green's realistic assessment of how the Northern Powerhouse and its associated rail network is developing with the political grandstanding of Mayor Andy Burnham.

London Evening Standard

• Waterloo station set to fully reopen after month of disruption and major upgrade workWaterloo station will fully reopen on Tuesday morning after nearly a month of rail disruption while engineers work on a £800 million revamp project.

Sheffield Star

• Wrong side of the tracks: The businesses facing ruin because of HS2 Riding school owners and a couple who renovated a 16th-century farmhouse are among those in limbo over the HS2 line due to demolish their properties. Chris Burn reports.

The York Press

• £3.3m for 24 new electric buses in York A FLEET of new electric buses will take to the streets of York, as part of a new £3.3m investment in the city.

Wales Online

• Freight will clog up M4 after Severn Tolls are scrapped, experts warn A rail freight terminal built at taxpayer's expense could be left idle
• Man who took on Network Rail in Japanese Knotweed battle says he will keep fighting despite court setback The legal case has been running for more than four years

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• 60,000 Black Country people 'miss out' on free bus travelNearly 60,000 people aged over 60 in the Black Country are missing out of free bus travel compared to other parts of the country.

Yorkshire Post

• The Yorkshire Post Says: Yorkshire rail journey times would not be tolerated down southThe Yorkshire Post makes no apology for returning to the theme of transport – and the need to invest in the region’s rail network so the wider economy can prosper.

Doncaster Free Press

• Anger over South Yorkshire bus service changes Widespread timetable changes to key bus services will leave many passengers struggling to get to work, shops and medical appointments.

Other Regional Press

• Bus investment is just the ticket for Deeside passengersThousands of pounds is to be pumped into public transport infrastructure on Deeside. As part of the £2.8 million investment as part of the Welsh Government local transport network fund, £100,000 will be dedicated to developments for passenger growth on the B5129 strategic bus corridor.
• East Midlands firms urge train upgrade re-thinkBusiness chamber demands meeting with transport minister
• Borders Railway shows economic promise for business Local businesses are being invited to a breakfast seminar to find out how the Borders Railway can make your business ‘More Connected’.
• Hopes for Platform 9 saga to end at upcoming meetingANY hopes of resolving the ongoing disabled access issue at Stirling Train Station could rest on an upcoming meeting with MSPs.
• Aberystwyth-Carmarthen railway feasibility study to begin next monthA £300,000 feasibility study into the Aberystwyth to Carmarthen railway line will begin in September.
• Campus travel plan 'not working' says student village architectThe company behind plans for a new student village near Penryn has said the university travel plan is 'not working' and asked the public's support for more on site parking.
• Is it a bollard? No, it's a bike pump!ON FIRST glance it may look like an ordinary bollard, but this pillar is actually a cleverly disguised bicycle pump.

Buying Business Travel

• Technology improves productivity for business travellersThe vast majority of road warriors now rely on their smartphones during trips

Railway Gazette

• World rail freight news round-upNordic Investment Bank and Latvian Railways have agreed a €22·8m 12-year loan to finance an ongoing...
• Tank wagon telematics contractEUROPE: Asto Telematics has been awarded a contract to equip Sasol Germany’s fleet of ethylene...

Aviation Industry

• Monarch owner Greybull mulls Alitalia bidGreybull Capital, the owner of Monarch Airlines, is the latest company to emerge as interested in Alitalia, highlighting the possibility that the Italian flag carrier’s operations could be sold off separately—even though Italy’s government has stated a preference for a sale of the company as a whole. read more
• Lower Schiphol charges lead to 2.9% interim net profit hitDutch airports operator Royal Schiphol Group’s interim net profit has fallen 2.9% to €117 million ($140 million), driven by a 7.1% reduction in airport charges at Amsterdam Schiphol which took effect April 1. read more
• BAA wins approval for pilot training in RussiaLithuania’s BAA Training has received approval by the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, to provide Boeing 737CL initial, recurrent and renewal training to Russian pilots. read more
• Russian airlines’ passenger traffic up 21% from January-JulyRussian airlines carried 58.3 million passengers from January-July 2017, up 21% year-over-year (YOY). read more
• In post-9/11 first in US, Pittsburgh Airport to give non-passengers airside access Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) will become the first airport in the US since 9/11 to allow non-ticketed members of the public access to the secure, airside area of the airport on a regular basis starting next week. read more

Other News Sources

• Busworld 2017: Eberspaecher Suetrak employing CO2-refrigerant for bus air-conditioning systemsAt the 2017 Busworld show in Kortrijk, Belgium from 20 to 25 October, bus thermal management specialist Eberspaecher Suetrak will be presenting its new sustainable cooling, heating and ventilation products
• Guildford park and ride services to benefit from nine new low emission electric buses following £1.5m government boostNine new electric buses will be rolled out in Guildford following government funding to support the town's park and ride infrastructure
• South Western Railway: Ticket machines not working as 'outage' affects entire network on Bank Holiday South Western Railway says it is working to rectify the issue and apologises for any inconvenience
• ‘Malicious hacker could disrupt self-driving lorries’Rod McKenzie, from the Road Haulage Association, and the director of the Transport Research Laboratory, Richard Cuerden, discuss ‘self-driving’ lorries.