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

Wednesday, 25 October 2017

BBC News

• Cardiff uni sound wave research to help find missing planesThe team say they found
• Transport tycoons Ann Gloag and Sir Brian Souter in business splitAnn Gloag and Sir Brian Souter, who founded the Stagecoach company, will now follow
• New £10m Aberdeen Royal Infirmary car park to openThere is no charge for patients and visitors using the multi-storey facility in Aberdeen.
• 'More evidence needed' to make £477m Stockport bypass decisionCouncil leader Alex Ganotis accepted the proposed bypass would
• Rail strikes: Fresh walkouts in row over conductors' roleStaff at three rail operators are staging 48-hour strikes, with one-day walkouts in two other areas.
• London airports to reach hit full capacity by 2034The new estimate of demand for air travel is six years sooner than a previous government forecast.
• Heathrow third runway public consultation reopenedThe Department for Transport has published a series of fresh reports into Heathrow's impact.

Financial Times

• General Motors profits top estimates despite sharp production slowdown

The Guardian

• 'The car horn is uncivilised': how Kathmandu's streets went quietMany predicted the Nepali capital’s ban on vehicle horns would be ignored. But six months on, the streets are peaceful – in a city without a single traffic lightWhen the authorities in Kathmandu outlawed the use of vehicle horns in April, the start of the Nepali year, many expected the ban would go the way of most new year’s resolutions and be quickly forgotten.But six months later, the streets of the capital remain remarkably quiet. In a city where a horn was widely used as a substitute for a brake, Kathmandu’s drivers appear to have kicked their noisy habit for good. Continue reading...
• Heathrow third runway consultation reopened after new evidenceTransport department publishes new noise analysis and air quality plan, with public consultation now open until 19 DecemberThe public consultation on the planned third runway at Heathrow has been reopened due to new evidence. The Department for Transport published a series of fresh reports into the impact of expanding the west London hub, including updated noise analysis and a new air quality plan. Continue reading...
• I’ve got an old car and a wood burner – so my reputation’s going up in smoke | Tim DowlingMy Mini Mayfair is so old that it’s subject to the new emissions charge. I thought the stove was safe though. Some hopeOur old car has probably taken its last trip into central London. I haven’t driven it into the middle of town for two years, and that was before this week’s introduction of a £10 emissions charge for older vehicles, on top of the £11.50 congestion charge. Suddenly £21.50 seems a lot to pay for the privilege of driving a 1980s Mini Mayfair in Mayfair. Maybe we should get rid of the car altogether, but it’s intermittently handy and weirdly reliable. And it’s old. It was already ...

The Herald

• Edinburgh Trams director: Tackling cost problems will 'open up the whole can of worms'A TRAMS director warned against
• Bad weather stops £3bn aircraft carrier in tracksThe Royal Navy’s new £3 billion aircraft carrier has been forced to postpone its first departure from its home port because of poor weather.
• ScotRail staff lose bonuses as train giant heads for second straight year of lossesSCOTRAIL has been accused of

The Telegraph

• One in three British motorists fined every year, as experts say automation has created a 'cash cow'
• HS2 executive resigns over nearly £2m in unauthorised redundancy payments

Times Online

• Diesel owners face new charges for city driving [Subscription]Thousands of motorists who own diesel cars face having to pay a £40 surcharge to park near their homes over fears that their vehicles are responsible for causing lung cancer and heart attacks.
• Heathrow runway doubt after new data revealed [Subscription]Gatwick has overtaken Heathrow as the airport whose expansion would bring the biggest boost to the economy and least damage to the environment, according to the figures in a new official analysis.

City AM

• November rail misery on the cards as RMT announces new wave of strikes across five train companiesWorkers on Southern rail, South Western Railway, Greater Anglia, Merseyrail and Arriva Rail North will stage fresh strikes in November over the ongoing row regarding the role of the guard.

Mail Online

• Ryanair ditches soap in toilets Disgusted passengers have hit out at the budget airline, claiming they have been unable to wash their hands after using the on-board bathrooms because soap is no longer deemed an 'essential'.
• Southern, South Western Railway and Greater Anglia strike Aslef is urging its drivers to vote in favour on the proposal, against the wishes of RMT, with a decision due on November 8, the same day fresh strikes are planned.
• Government under-estimated Gatwick's growth potential Transport Secretary Chris Grayling insisted the case for expanding Heathrow was ‘as strong as ever’ despite the claims that Gatwick Airport would provide a bigger boost to the British economy.
• Oligarch pleads with road death families over daughter Ukrainian oligarch Vasily Zaitsev has pleaded the families of five people who were killed by his 20-year-old daughter Alyona in a road traffic accident in Kharkiv which injured six others.

This is Money

• Passengers will be able to fly to America from Southend London Southend Airport has launched a service that allows travellers to connect to Aer Lingus transatlantic destinations.A trip from Southend to JFK, New York will cost £199.

Birmingham Post

• Airline scraps flights to Spain from Birmingham Airport Low-cost carrier Norwegian says it has taken the decision following a review of its operations
• New fleet of £500,000 zero-emission buses coming to Birmingham City Council receives major grant funding to trial pollution busting buses 
• Motorists urged to buy self-driving cars to cut traffic accidents A revolution on the roads could 'save thousands of lives' but only if motorists make the switch to driverless cars
• New flights from Birmingham to Canada to launch next year Low-cost airline Primera Air will expand its range of transatlantic services out of Birmingham Airport
• Thousands of minicab drivers flock to 'lenient' Wolverhampton for the licences Call for common standards across West Midlands as drivers shop around for licenses

Bolton News

• More woe for rail passengers as staff prepare to strike againRAIL staff will go on strike again next month as a bitter argument over the future of train guards continues.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Train line to be closed for weeks after storm damageNetwork Rail say repair work is underway on the damaged track

London Evening Standard

• London's tech chief Theo Blackwell: Uber licence ruling is not an attack on innovationSadiq Khan's new digital officer today promised to "leave the door open" to new technologies like drones and driverless cars operating in London's sky and streets.
• Ryanair denies claims it removed soap from plane toilets to save moneyRyanair has dismissed a claim it has axed soap from its plane toilets as part of a cost-cutting measure.
• Rail unions RMT and Aslef divided over £75k-a-year pay deal which could end misery for Southern Rail commutersRMT leaders today made an unprecedented appeal to members of a rival transport union not to accept a five-year pay deal that could put them on £75,000 a year.
• Rail passengers to be hit with fresh misery as RMT union announces strikeCommuters face more travel chaos and disruption as major rail routes into London have announced a fresh strike next month.
• Boost boats on Thames to cut road congestion, business leaders urgeLondon's business leaders today demanded a River Commission be set up to increase river traffic on the Thames and help relieve the capital's chronic congestion problems.
• Heathrow third runway public consultation reopened as fresh evidence emergesA public consultation on a third runway at Heathrow has been reopened after fresh evidence was revealed.
• MH370: Underwater sound waves 'could help find missing planes like Malaysia Airlines craft'Underwater sound waves could be used to help locate aeroplanes that go missing at sea such as Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, researchers have said.
• London airports 'to hit full capacity by 2034', new official figures suggestLondon's airports will be at full capacity six years sooner than expected, new government figures suggest.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Work to multi-million pound Sunderland dual carriageway could start within six month Sunderland City Council's planning and highways committee has approved plans for stage three of the strategic transport corridor
• Why every new road could have an electric car charging point in the futureCounty Durham MP Helen Goodman has called for more charging points after buying a Nissan Leaf
• Multi-million pound technology upgrade for North East roads in bid to cut trafficThe North East Combined Authority are geared up to spend £3.64m fitting hi-tech cameras on some of the region's busiest roads

The York Press

• Road safety plea near city schoolCOUNCILLORS and families from the Groves are pushing the council for new traffic safety measures for a busy road in their area.
• Plea to support new Selby village busesBUS services between York and Selby are to start again with financial support from the county council, two months after the company running them folded.
• Fresh rail strike set to hit North Yorkshire WORKERS at five railway operators are to strike in November in bitter disputes over the role of guards and driver-only operation of trains.

Wales Online

• Plants meant to deter illegal parking in town square 'not working' say traders It's only been a week, but cars are continuing to park freely on a Carmarthen square

Bucks Free Press

• Busy roundabout set for £1.7m makeover in bid to ease congestion A key roundabout into Marlow is set for a multi-million pound makeover in a bid to ease congestion, after almost £1.2 million was awarded to the improvement scheme.

Burnley Express

• Campaigners take pothole problem into their own handsA ROAD safety campaigner wants urgent action over a town’s growing pothole problem after only a handful of craters were fixed in two months.

Daventry Express

• Council proposal could spell the end for key rural bus service in NorthamptonshireA Northamptonshire County Council proposal could see a vital bus service end in 2018, potentially leaving people in rural parts of the county with no means of getting into towns and villages.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Suffolk’s combined pothole problem is ‘deeper than the English Channel’The combined depth of potholes reported in Suffolk last year is greater than the UK’s deepest cave, new research shows.

Peterborough Telegraph

• A1 road closures in Peterborough to start next week.A series of road closures on the A1 at Peterborough will start next week.
• VIDEO: Top LA directors create new campaign to show dangers of driving with a mobile phoneThe directors behind the video for Pharrell Williams’s hit song Happy have teamed up with THINK! for its latest road safety campaign, aimed at cutting the numbers of people killed or injured by drivers using mobile phones.

Reading Evening Post

• Concerns over plans to cut commuter trains at busy Berkshire stationsSouth Western Railway is consulting on a number of changes which are due to come into effect in December 2018

Other Regional Press

• STRANDED: Villagers abandoned at bus stops after services stop running VILLAGERS have been left ‘stranded’ and shocked after a number of bus services were withdrawn without warning.
• Results of Helston traffic trial - and what happens nextThe results are back from Helston’s controversial traffic trial involving and the decision has been made: do nothing.
• PHOTOS: £20million scheme to save city's bridges from crumbling A £20MILLION scheme to save two of Hampshire’s busiest road bridges from crumbling is set to get underway next month.
• ROAD BLOCK FURY: Massive road improvement projects face months of delays THREE multi-million pound road improvement schemes in Hampshire will be severely delayed after Highways bosses admitted they cannot stick to their schedule.
• Council leaders welcome £6.9m boost for driverless car companies in OxfordshireNEWS that ground-breaking transport technology being pioneered in Oxfordshire has won a share of a £51m government prize has been welcomed by two council leaders.
• Thanet Council to make decision on Manston Airport homes planA long-running tussle about the future of a Kent airport involving its owner and developers will come to a head at a key meeting tonight.
• Cheap Toronto flights set to launch from Birmingham Airport Budget airline Primera Air is launching its service to Canada's largest city in May 2018
• The 10 driving laws we've all broken - according to the RAC Drivers forget about the rules of the road all too easily once receiving that shiny pink licence
• A45 bridge replacement work to cause delays - for more than a YEAR A structural assessment has concluded the Fillongley Road Bridge in Meriden needs replacing altogether
• VIDEO: Top LA directors create new campaign to show dangers of driving with a mobile phoneThe directors behind the video for Pharrell Williams’s hit song Happy have teamed up with THINK! for its latest road safety campaign, aimed at cutting the numbers of people killed or injured by drivers using mobile phones.

Forbes

• Is Uber Slipping In The Ride-Hailing Market?Uber's share of the business traveler ground transportation market dropped slightly, but it and Lyft are dominating taxis and rental cars.
• The Bottom Line On Electric Cars: They're Cheaper To OwnElectric vehicles are a bargain despite the up-front price tag.

Buying Business Travel

• Uber losing ground in business travelLyft overtakes rival in US
• United offers partner boarding passes through appAirline is first US carrier to offer functionality
• Government releases revised Airports NPS draftConsultation sets guidelines for planning permission

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Government announces fund to revolutionise airport screeningHolidaymakers could be spared the hassle of removing laptops and tablets from hand-luggage when passing through airport security, as government seeks to revolutionise aviation screening. The government is announcing a £3 million fund to support innovative research to develop new ways of detecting explosive devices concealed in electrical items. Companies and universities are invited to bid for money by submitting proposals for original research in the field of concealed explosives. And new methods of detecting whether electrical items have been tampered with or appear irregular are als...
• Raft of measures planned to raise motorcycle standards in LondonTransport for London (TfL) and the Mayor of London have launched a range of new measures to raise standards within the motorcycle delivery industry, while also improving the confidence and skills of the Capital’s motorcyclists.   The move is part of TfL and the Mayor’s Vision Zero approach to eliminating death and serious injury from collisions on the Capital’s roads by 2041. Figures published by TfL last month1 show that motorcycle riders and their pillions accounted for 27 per cent of serious injuries and 28 per cent of all road fatalities in the Capital during 2016, d...

Rail Technology Magazine

• Forres station to 'transform' Scottish rail travelScotland’s newest station has been officially opened as part of the Aberdeen-Inverness Improvement Project. It is hoped that the project, funded by the Scottish Government, will transform rail travel between the two cities and slash journey times. The station was completed during the...
• HS2 preparation works ran £200m under budget, says DfTSpending on preparation for HS2 went over £200m under budget, according to a report by the Department for Transport. The High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013 Expenditure Report, which details the total spending for the period from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017, states that there was a...

Aviation Industry

• IATA: Passengers expect increased personal control over travel journey Passengers are looking to take control of their air travel experience, with increased automation of airport processes, biometric identification, real-time data on personal devices, unobtrusive security and consistent border control procedures at the top of their list of expectations, according to IATA’s latest annual Global Passenger Survey (GPS), released Oct. 24. read more

Green Miscellany

• Excorcising by bicycle this Halloween 2017Should Halloween 2017 herald a full-blown zombie apocalypse, remember to avoid cars as they attract attention and rely on expensive petrol. Instead, try customising your bicycle as it doesn’t rely on oil, allows you to easily exorcise and is stealthy (it’s a well-known fact that zombies are attracted by noise). Our Halloween bicycle is equipped with a range of non-standard accessories including an electric chainsaw, flamethrower,… The post Excorcising by bicycle this Halloween 2017 appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Heathrow third runway: Consultation reopened after government publishes new evidence on noise and air quality The government still supports the construction of a new runway at the west London airport
• South Western Railway 'disappointed' as RMT announces 48-hour strike opposing 'ludicrous' extension of driver-only operation South Western Railway and Southern Rail staff will stage a 48-hour strike on Wednesday November 8 and Thursday November 9         
• Primera Air to launch new Toronto flights from London Stansted Primera Air is to launch a third transatlantic route from its new base at London Stansted with direct flights to the Canadian city of Toronto from June 2018.
• Diverted diversion caused by broken manhole coverDIVERTED buses had to be diverted again, causing mass confusion for drivers and passengers.