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

Thursday, 02 November 2017

BBC News

• Passengers 'missing out' on chance to voice rail viewsThree firms want to run the Welsh rail network - but the bid process is not being made public.
• I'd scrap long-haul flight tax, says Carwyn JonesCarwyn Jones says he aims to end air passenger duty on long-haul flights, if the tax is devolved.
• Great Escape motorbike goes on showSteve McQueen's bike goes on display along with others from Jurassic World and Mission Impossible II.
• First road to be built on tiny island of SandayOnce built, the road will replace a rough track that is covered by water at high tide.
• Royal Navy ships 'cannibalised for parts', report findsThe practice of swapping components is costing millions of pounds, the National Audit Office says.
• Croydon Tram drivers to strike over 'sleep detectors'The row centres on a device to detect if a driver is asleep and follows a fatal crash last year.
• Jobs lost as heavy haulage company goes into administrationCumbernauld-based West of Scotland Heavy Haulage operated a fleet of specialist haulage vehicles.
• Call for council rethink on Glasgow 'shared space' plansSafety concerns have been raised over similar schemes where crossings, kerbs and road markings are removed.
• How did it get here?How the UK's newest port DP World London Gateway is trying to lure the world's biggest container ships.
• Why Finnair wants to put passengers on the weighing scalesThe airline says it is asking travellers to step on to the scales to gather better data.

Financial Times

• SoftBank’s $10bn Uber deal held up by last-minute disputeTension between former chief Kalanick and venture capital firm Benchmark is final hurdle

The Guardian

• Scottish Highlands feel the strain as tourism surge causes disruptionScotland welcomes £6m funding boost as Highland council reports strain on parking, toilets, phone reception and public transport“You’d struggle to find anyone in the Highlands who is anti-tourist,â€� says the SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Kate Forbes, “but some people have been pushed to the brink.â€� Forbes adds succinctly: “There is perfectly legitimate nimbyism going on when someone is doing the toilet in your garden!â€�Locals and politicians agree that the summer of 2017 saw the exponential growth in tourist numbers reach a tipping point. Across the Highlands, this year’s peak season ...

The Herald

• Security enhanced after girl, seven, gets on plane without boarding passA runaway seven-year-old girl slipped through security checks at Geneva's airport and onto a plane without a ticket before being spotted by a crew member and handed over to police, officials said on Wednesday.

The Scotsman

• Britain’s nuclear submarines ‘reliant on spare parts’The Royal Navy is increasingly forced to strip parts from its vessels in order to maintain other ships and submarines in the fleet, an investigation has found.

The Telegraph

• Shoppers flee as black taxicab mounts pavement in London's Covent Garden
• Royal Navy being eaten away by 'cannibalisation' of ships for spare parts, spending watchdog warns 

Times Online

• Culture of carelessness behind fake breath tests [Subscription]Widespread falsification of figures and a culture of inaccurate recording of data have been identified as the fundamental flaws at the heart of the fake breath test and wrongful conviction scandals.
• Rail workers want ‘credible pay proposal’ [Subscription]Unions have called on Irish Rail to make a “credible” pay offer to workers to cut short the third major transport strike in a year.
• ‘Anti-car’ Edinburgh plans to increase penalties [Subscription]Edinburgh city council has been accused of unfairly targeting motorists after it unveiled measures to raise funds by penalising drivers.
• Councils are out of their depth, Edinburgh tram inquiry is told [Subscription]One of the councillors most closely associated with the Edinburgh tram fiasco has told an inquiry that local authorities should not be allowed to lead complex construction projects.
• Green is the new black for London taxi cabs [Subscription]A legal ruling raised the prospect yesterday of London’s streets being flooded with new black cabs after judges decided that the shape of the traditional taxi was not distinctive enough to be protected.
• HS2 train companies must give jobs to British workers [Subscription]New 225mph trains for Britain’s high-speed railway will be built in the UK under government plans to generate hundreds of jobs, it will be announced today.

City AM

• Tesla delays production of is mass-market Model 3 carTesla has pushed back its target for its new Model 3 vehicle by around three months, saying it did not correctly predict how long it would take to fix bottlenecks in its production line.

Mail Online

• North Korean hackers steal warship blueprints from South The despotic regime is thought to have taken the documents after hacking into South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd's database in April last year.
• Lorry trailer packed full of aerosols explodes on the M1 Leicestershire Fire and Rescue rushed to scene and managed to put the fire out, but the road remained closed in both directions between junctions 20 and 21 for several hours.
• Bus company chief even fired his own daughter Sydney Hardy, 57, of Nippy Bus in Martock, Somerset sacked all of the staff at his company by email including his 21-year-old daughter Nadine, pictured, who worked in the company's office.
• Britain's £5.7bn new trains that went wrong pictured Do the super-duper latest trains really have any of the comfort and glamour our glorious railways once offered? Here, the Daily Mail looks at the way we travelled before things were ‘improved’.

The Mirror

• Bus firm boss who sacked entire workforce via sweary email 'didn't even spare his own daughter' Sydney Hardy said he had realised "I cannot work with you a moment longer"

London Evening Standard

• Activists spark rush hour chaos with anti-pollution demo on major London roadActivists sparked chaos on a major London road as they staged a protest against air pollution for the second time in two days.
• Croydon tram bosses install infra-red beams to shine on drivers' faces to check they are awake - drivers to strike in protestCroydon Tramlink drivers are to walk out in two 24-hour strikes in protest over a safety device which monitors to see if they are fully awake and paying attention.
• Willesden crash: commuter flees for his life as car mounts pavement, flattening bus stopPassers-by today told of their shock after a motorist mounted the pavement and flattened a bus stop in north London.
• Nippy Bus firm boss fires EVERY employee and shuts company down so he can pursue dream of 'not having to work' there any moreA manager at a bus company in Somerset left employees stunned when he sent a memo firing all of them at once.
• Covent Garden crash: Four injured after taxi mounts pavement and hits pedestrians at tourist hotspotFour people have been injured after a black cab mounted the pavement and hit pedestrians at a busy tourist hotspot in central London.
• New York truck attack suspect Sayfullo Saipov charged with terrorismAn immigrant from Uzbekistan has been charged with terrorism after a truck mowed down crowds on a New York cycle path, killing eight.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Hitachi to learn whether it's shortlisted for £2.75bn HS2 train contractTrains for the HS2 high speed rail line could be manufactured at Hitachi's plant in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham

Northern Echo

• North-East trainbuilder Hitachi shortlisted for HS2 contractA NORTH-EAST trainbuilder has been shortlisted for multi-million pound contract to build HS2 trains, it has been announced.

Bucks Free Press

• Work to repair huge water leak on busy road to continue into tomorrow Engineers have been working throughout the night to repair a leak that forced a huge jet of water to shoot metres into the air. 

Crewe Chronicle

• Council to vote on subsidised bus cuts 4,000 residents took part in consultation with £1m council savings earmarked

East Anglian Daily Times

• Rail companies promise jam tomorrow – but will tomorrow ever arrive?Over the last week there’s been a great deal of navel-gazing and mutual self-congratulation in the rail industry – especially in East Anglia.

North Wales Live

• Are Arriva bus drivers on strike again today? Here's what you need to know Bus drivers are locked in a row with the company

Peterborough Telegraph

• Holidays are coming! Coca Cola Truck to visit Peterborough this yearThe holidays are coming to Peterborough as the famous Coca Cola lorry will return to the city this year.

Reading Evening Post

• Controversial Minster Street bus lane will not be changed for private hire cars Minster Street traffic ban looks set to stay despite protests from Reading private hire drivers

Other Regional Press

• CYCLISTS BEWARE: Big rise in bike theftsCYCLISTS have been warned to take extra precautions to secure their bikes amid a sharp rise in thefts in Oxford.

Buying Business Travel

• British Airways cabin crew vote to end long-running disputeBritish Airways mixed fleet cabin crew have voted to accept a pay deal, ending a long-running dispute with the airline that has seen 85 days of industrial action this year.
• Ryanair posts strong performance despite cancellationsO'Leary expects growth to continue
• Monarch pilots demand backpayBALPA asks if sudden shut-down was necessary

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• The Thames can be a freight highway (Image source: Visit London) The Thames could be a “highway” easing road congestion says London Chamber.  The Mayor should establish a temporary River Commission to explore how to make better use of the River Thames a leading business group said today. London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said such a body could have a brief to look at greater moving of freight and construction material by river thereby helping to ease congestion on the capital’s roads. The call was made as part of LCCI’s response to the Mayor’s Transport Strategy which proposes t...
• London City Airport celebrates 30th anniversary On 26 October 1987, a flight carrying around 40 passengers touched down from Plymouth in East London, on the peninsula between Royal Albert Dock and King George V Dock. It was the first commercial flight to land at London City Airport. The first arrival, operated by Brymon Airways, was followed by a Eurocity Express service from Brussels, both using De Havilland Dash 7 aircraft. At the time, London City Airport was the first completely new airport to be built in the UK for 40 years, taking just 18 months to construct at a cost of £34 million. It has subsequently increased its route ma...

Rail Technology Magazine

• Major milestone as first Class 385 makes Edinburgh-Linlithgow tripThe first of the new Class 385 electric trains, which still has interiors to be fitted, made its inaugural mainline trip between Edinburgh and Linlithgow last night. This journey represents a major step forward for Scotland’s Edinburgh-Glasgow electrification project, which forms a key...
• NR stabilises Chiltern main line with innovative Japanese piling method Network Rail has stabilised a railway using an innovative piling method from Japan. The technique has been used to stabilise half a mile of subsiding embankment beneath the Chiltern main line. Prior to this, Network Rail engineers had been making ongoing repairs to dips in the tracks that, if...
• HS2 hires new finance director amid redundancy payment controversyHS2 has brought in a new financial director as the organisation attempts to tackle questions over unauthorised redundancy payments. Elizabeth Gillbe – currently finance and analysis director at Crossrail – will join the company in January next year. The decision comes in the wake of...
• Government launches £3.5m competition to drive innovations in railThe Department for Transport has launched a competition to inject £3.5m into innovative ideas to transform rail. The First of a Kind (FOAK) competition is searching for existing innovations which may be in use outside of the rail industry, but could benefit rail passengers. The...
• Historic Scottish line could be reopenedThe Formartine and Buchan railway line could be revived by the Scottish government after it was discussed by MSPs. Economy secretary Keith Brown said his department was looking into options for connecting Peterhead and Aberdeen through rail. After being quizzed on the subject by Aberdeenshire...

Railnews

• HS2 rolling stock bidders named Five companies have been shortlisted to build the first generation of trains for HS2. The fleet of at least 54 trains, capable of travelling at 360km/h, will be built early in the next decade to enter service in 2026. This initial fleet is expected to be ˜classic compatible™ and built to the British structure gauge, meaning that its size will allow the new trains to continue beyond Phase 1 of HS2 between London and Birmingham to serve destinations on existing lines in the north west and Scotland.

Railway Gazette

• UK railway news round-upIncumbent Arriva has withdrawn from the competition for the next Wales & Borders franchise....

Aviation Industry

• British Airways, cabin crew settle disputeOne of the longest-running industrial disputes in UK aviation history has been resolved, after British Airways (BA) cabin crew voted to accept a pay increase. read more
• Monarch administrators seek slots clarityThe administrators of UK leisure carrier Monarch Airlines—which entered into administration Oct. 2—are scheduled in court next week to determine whether the carrier still has allocation powers over its airport slots. read more

Other News Sources

• Heathrow Southern Railway: Controversial plans for direct Surrey rail link with Britain's busiest airport set for public debateA protest group has argued Egham residents need "more details" about the noise and visual impact of the proposed route
• Heathrow Southern Railway: Everything you need to know about plans for direct Surrey rail link with Britain's busiest airport The project aims to create a new route into central London from Heathrow Airport with stops at Guildford, Woking, Basingstoke and Farnborough
• Hampshire's motorway services ranked among the worst in the countryA SURVEY has named the worst motorway service areas in the country – and three are in Hampshire.
• Council silent on use of controversial taxi app Uber in Brighton TENS of thousands of taxi users will have to wait to learn whether a popular business will be allowed to trade in the city after Saturday.
• South Western Railway proposes to slash services from Woking to London in new timetable Commuters may have to get up earlier and go home later
• Why has Surrey's iconic Supercar Event moved? Dunsfold Park will no longer host the popular showIt hosts more than 150 supercars worth more than £60 million