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

Wednesday, 04 October 2017

BBC News

• Ian Lucas: 'Make Wrexham a regional transport hub'MP Ian Lucas believes more students at Glyndwr University will need better transport links for Wrexham.
• Swansea Bay city deal: 'Concerns' raised over progressKey issues need resolving and there are concerns over finances, a Neath Port Talbot council report says.
• Nissan's sweat-sensing car seat signals dehydrationThe prototype design could save road accidents caused by dehydration, the firm suggests.
• Sixty years since Fermanagh's trains came to a shuddering stopThe closure of the railway in Fermanagh had such an impact, that six decades have not dimmed its impact.
• Tube strike called off after 'progress' made during talksLondon Underground drivers were due to walkout for 24 hours from midnight on Thursday.
• Qatar Airways chief's faith in Cardiff Airport serviceThe airline's chief says he resisted internal arguments not to pick Cardiff for new flight to Doha.
• Rail strikes continue to hit services across EnglandRMT strike action is hitting Southern, Merseyrail, Arriva Rail North and Greater Anglia services.
• Ryanair passenger numbers grow despite cancellationsThe airline says passenger numbers were up 10% in September despite the flight cancellation fiasco.
• Uber: We are determined to make things rightUber and Transport for London both say the meeting was

Financial Times

• Uber and Transport for London hail constructive meetingRide-hailing app's new CEO makes emergency trip to UK to try to get licence restored
• Airline stocks cruise higher after Delta trading update
• Uber board truce paves way for SoftBank dealFounding investors to sacrifice voting rights to support valuation ahead of IPO

The Guardian

• HS2 protester spends night under digger in effort to stop demolitionOccupation by Sarah Green, 62, later joined by other protesters, is intended to be part of rolling campaign along rail link’s route
• Monarch collapse was timed to keep disruption to minimum, says CEOExecutives knew airline’s fate on Saturday but waited more than 24 hours to go into administration to allow CAA to prepare
• Go with the flow: the hypnotic beauty of public transport – mappedWill Geary’s experimental TransitFlow tools help visualise the flow of buses and metros as colourful ant-like particles flowing across world cities
• Uber and TfL plan more talks after meeting fails to resolve London rowRide-hailing firm says it is determined to make things right in London as CEO Dara Khosrowshahi leads bid to regain licenceUber and Transport for London are to hold further peace talks after failing to reach an agreement at a summit where the ride-hailing app's chief executive launched an attempt to win back its licence.
• Tube strike suspended but South Western Trains disruption loomsAslef agrees to suspend Thursday’s 24 hour-strike but South Western Railway passengers face disruption after RMT members back action A planned tube strike that was expected to bring most of the London Underground network to a halt on Thursday has been suspended.Passengers had been warned to expect transport chaos from a 24-hour strike by drivers in the Aslef union. But after a second day of talks at Acas, Transport for London and Aslef appear to have moved close enough to resolving a dispute over work-life balance and rosters to suspend the action Continue reading...

The Telegraph

• Tube strike called off after breakthrough at Acas talks

Times Online

• Rail walkouts expand to a fifth network, South Western RailwayRail bosses criticised “opportunistic attempts” by unions to bring the network to a standstill as it was announced yesterday that a fifth train company is to suffer a strike.
• Uber primes the pump for more funding to keep it ahead of rivals [Subscription]Car-hailing is one of the best examples of a networked economy and it is widely agreed that it’s extremely difficult to make money from it unless one of two criteria are met: you have at least 60 per cent market share or you have double the market share of the next largest player.
• Taxpayer foots £60m bill for repatriation of Monarch customers [subscription]The taxpayer will receive nothing from the collapse of Monarch despite stumping up £60 million for the repatriation of 110,000 tourists stranded overseas.

Mail Online

• Monarch Airlines blew thousands on inflight menu Monarch recruited top food psychologist Professor Charles Spence to rustle up some complimentary treats to 'reduce the stresses' of passengers as part of its #YearofNice campaign.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Bus travellers to get cheaper tickets if they pay with app rather than cashFIRST Bus has announced changes to its ticket prices, which will make travel cheaper for people who use their smartphones to pay.

London Evening Standard

• Uber 'unlikely to get its London licence back' after crunch talks with TfLThe emergency summit between the bosses of Uber and Transport for London is unlikely to result in an immediate breakthrough leading to a restoration of the cab hailing app's licence, sources said today.
• Monarch Airlines collapse: Runway slots set for speedy sell-off as rivals tussleCollapsed Monarch's valuable take-off and landing slots at airports including Gatwick, Manchester and Luton could be sold within days, it emerged on Tuesday.
• Women only taxi firm for toddlers travelling soloA mother who is launching a taxi service with only female drivers hopes this will give vulnerable passengers "more transport options" and make them feel safer.
• South Western Railway strikes: Waterloo passengers face disruption as walkouts loomCommuters using a major rail route into London face disruption after train workers voted in favour of strike action in a fresh row over the role of guards on trains.
• Qatar Airways passenger facing jail for writing 'death to Allah' on plane armrestA Qatar Airways passenger who scrawled "death to Allah" on his armrest because he was unhappy with business class service is facing jail.
• Tube strike could still go ahead, say union chiefs after this week's strike was 'suspended'Tube union leaders warned today strike action could be back on again if key talks due to take place next week collapse.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Rail passengers can avoid journey disruption with this game-changing app The online tool, by Virgin Trains, will allow passengers to check in real-time about delays and find alternative routes

East Anglian Daily Times

• Momentum builds for Needham Market railway station campaign with more community leaders getting on boardSupport is growing for a campaign urging rail bosses to improve access at Needham Market railway station – with a string of community leaders adding their names to a petition.

North Wales Live

• MP Dan Carden says he stands with guards - and slams Merseyrail Popular politicans backs RMT union's bid to keep guards on trains
• Over 23,000 Monarch passengers have returned home since collapse of airline The remaining 87,431 Monarch Airlines customers are expected to be back in the UK by October 15, at no extra cost.

Other Regional Press

• Buses in Queen Street after Westgate - safety risk or gridlock solution? BUSES will return to Queen Street later this month after the Government intervened to settle the long-running dispute in time for the opening of the Westgate Centre.
• Stranded Monarch Airlines passengers praise 'biggest peacetime repatriation' Thousands get new flights home with very little delay

Buying Business Travel

• Rail strikes bring disruption to EnglandMore rail strikes planned for Thursday
• Silverrail connects with SNCFPartnership enables sales through Silvercore platform

Rail Magazine

• RMT strike action spreads to South WesternRMT members have voted to strike on South Western Railway.
• Plans for Wessex supervisory boardNetwork Rail’s Wessex Route Managing Director Becky Lumlock tells RAIL that preparations are being made to create a route supervisory board for Wessex.
• ScotRail punctuality at its highest for two yearsScotRail records its best performance since May 2015.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Birley wins order from Wabtec for 36 UAT Modules Sheffield-based Birley Manufacturing Limited has won a contract worth over £1m with Wabtec Rail, a railway rolling stock refurbishment company.
• Waterborne Coatings for Train Interiors HSH manufactures INTERCOACH 5600, which is a waterborne UV-resistant acrylic topcoat designed for application on a wide variety of substrates.
• Hammond announces £300m for improved northern HS2 connectionsChancellor Philip Hammond is to announce £400m for northern transport links, including £300m to improve connections to the HS2 route. Talking to delegates today at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Hammond will outline the funding and other important pieces of...
• TfL announces partner to develop Blackhorse Road housing siteBLLQ LLP has this week been named as the preferred bidder to develop a 1.8-acre site opposite Blackhorse Road Tube station by TfL. In March, the mayor of London announced that the site would be unlocked for development, and TfL offered companies in its Property Partnership Framework the chance...
• ScotRail to spend £2.6m clearing leaves off tracks in autumnScotRail is set to invest £2.6m in clearing the tracks of leaves this autumn as part of a larger programme of works to keep its passengers moving whatever the weather. Though falling leaves seem harmless, they can actually cause considerable disruption on the railway, and can put passenger...
• RMT takes aim at May for 'sabotaging' deals with TOCs The RMT has today written to the prime minister accusing the government of “sabotaging” any chance of a deal being made with TOCs in the union’s ongoing dispute. The union is currently battling with four TOCs, Merseyrail, Northern, Southern and Greater Anglia over the move to...

Railnews

• RMT urges Theresa May to intervene in disputes Strikes are under way at four train operators in England today, as RMT members walk out in the continuing disputes over on-train staffing. The union™s general secretary Mick Cash has urged the Prime Minister to intervene, pointing to agreements to keep a second member of safety-critical staff on trains in Wales and Scotland. The worst affected networks are Merseyrail and Northern, where services will be limited during the day and will cease by 19.00. Services on Southern will be near-normal, and Greater Anglia is predicting a full timetable on all routes.

Railway Gazette

• Alstom unveils Coradia Stream modular EMU designs for NS and Trenitalia EUROPE: Alstom unveiled the latest member of its Coradia electric multiple-unit family on October...

Aviation Industry

• Boeing rolls out first 787-10 for Singapore AirlinesBoeing has rolled out the first 787-10 built for Singapore Airlines at its final assembly facility in North Charleston, South Carolina. read more
• MH370 unknowns ‘unacceptable,’ ATSB says in closing reportThe Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which coordinated and led the huge underwater search for the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER that went missing in 2014, has issued its final report, saying it is “almost inconceivable and certainly societally unacceptableâ€� that what happened to the aircraft and those onboard remains unknown. read more
• Delta takes $120 million hit from Hurricane Irma; lowers 3Q marginHurricane Irma cost Delta Air Lines $120 million in lost revenue, leading the company to lower its third-quarter operating margin expectations by about one percentage point, to between 15.5% and 16.5%, the Atlanta-based carrier said Oct. 3. read more
• Cathay chooses LEAP-1A for A321neosHong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Group has chosen the CFM International LEAP-1A engine to power the fleet of 32 Airbus A321neos it has on order. read more

Other News Sources

• East coast mainline study not necessary Pressure is being put on the Scottish Transport Minister by local politicians to take a lead in moving the re-opening of Reston station forward.
• Southern Rail strike to go ahead but tube strike called off The RMT (Rail, Maritime and Transport) union will still go ahead will industrial action on Thursday (October 5)