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

Sunday, 11 February 2018

BBC News

• Bunch of balloons in Billericay halts trains in their tracksRush-hour trains were disrupted for more than two hours by a bunch of balloons tangled on overhead lines.
• Bunch of balloons in Billericay halts trains in their tracksRush-hour trains were disrupted for more than two hours by a bunch of balloons tangled on overhead lines.
• North-south travel links in Wales a 'barrier to tourism'The drive time between north and south Wales is a "barrier" to increasing international tourism, according to a UK travel trade body.
• John McDonnell: Labour public ownership plan will cost nothingIt wants services such as water put in the hands of workers - which the Tories say would cost billions.

The Guardian

• Virgin Trains and Stagecoach must be punished harder for their own goodThe very existence of rail franchising is threatened by the cycle of overbidding and collapse. Firms should welcome disciplineThe railways and profit do not sit easily together, largely because a carriage load of other considerations need to be weighed first: safety, punctuality, affordability. The presence of private rail operators on our infrastructure is therefore contingent on the public accepting this added, complicating consideration.One way of keeping that delicate compact in place is to make clear to private rail companies, as would be the case in a purely commercial endeavour, that th...

The Scotsman

• Drivers of new ScotRail trains ’can’t see signals’Introduction of new class 385 electric trains for the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line could be further put back because drivers say they can’t see signals properly from their cabs.

The Telegraph

• Could East Coast hitting the buffer signal the end for privatisation?Stagecoach’s East Coast debacle won’t be helping the investment portfolio of its multimillionaire founder Sir Brian Souter.

Times Online

• Move to curb ’rip-off’ parking fine firms [Subscription]Rogue companies charging “rip-off” parking fines are facing a crackdown under ministerial moves to ensure a fairer deal for motorists.
• Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary to jettison UK investors if there is a hard Brexit [Subscription]Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has warned that he will force British shareholders to sell their stock in the budget airline if there is a hard Brexit.

City AM

• Troubled outsourcer Capita drafts in Carillion adviser Lazard to advise on financing optionsOutsourcing giant Capita, collector of TV licence fees and a major government contractor, has drafted in the adviser which served construction company Carillion in the months before its collapse.
• Labour's John McDonnell says public ownership plan for services such as water and rail will "cost nothing", while Corbyn adds it is necessary to prevent a "climate catastrophe"Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has said the Labour party's plan to bring services such as water, energy and rail under public ownership would be "cost free".

London Evening Standard

• Virgin Trains scrap quiet coaches in first classVirgin Trains East Coast has announced plans to scrap the quiet section from May. The move to withdraw the areas comes after the company reported that its customers didn't want them.

Northern Echo

• Virgin Trains East Coast to withdraw quiet coaches in First ClassThe train operator, which runs services between London's Kings Cross to York, Newcastle and Scotland, said fewer than one in 10 people appreciated the quiet coach.

Other Regional Press

• Stone MP votes against HS2 BillSir Bill Cash has said Phase 2 of HS2 "will have an immensely destructive effect on the environment"
• MP wants to re-open Fenton and Meir railway stationsStoke-on-Trent South MP, Jack Brereton, says he wants to re-open railway stations at Fenton and Meir.

Rail Advent

• Meet train operating company Greater Anglia’s new Integrated Transport ManagerGreater Anglia has announced that they have appointed a new integrated transport manager to help make passengers journeys to and from their stations easier.

Aviation Industry

• Airbus stops accepting PW1100G engines for A320neo aircraftAirbus decided to stop accepting additional Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines equipping its A320neo family aircraft, after a higher than normal number of inflight shutdowns and aborted takeoffs were reported on aircraft using the latest build-standard engines. read more

Other News Sources

• Network Rail apologise for South Cumbria rail upgrade shamblesA "TOMBOLA of misery" was what greeted stakeholders in the Cumbria Better Connected Campaign as they met on Friday (9) for its latest meeting.