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

Thursday, 03 May 2018

BBC News

• £3.5m for real-time information on 'vital' bus servicesTransport Secretary Ken Skates will announce £3.5m to improve stops and have real-time information on buses.
• £2.3m Ebbw Vale cable car shut 252 times at cost to councilThe cable car to the former steelworks has been targeted by vandals since it was installed in 2015.
• Facial recognition to be used at Singapore airportSingapore airport is testing facial recognition systems to help speed passengers on their journey
• Ford car window helps blind passengers 'feel' the viewThe company claims that vibrating windows and an AI assistant let blind passengers experience the passing landscape.
• BMW under fire over electrical faultThe UK's vehicle safety agency says the German luxury car maker failed to tell it about the fault.
• Tesla remains optimistic despite another record lossElon Musk's electric car maker lost more than $700m in the first three months of 2018.
• Heathrow airport: Rival expansion scheme revealedGroup led by hotel owner wants to build a new terminal on the airport's western edge near the M25.

ITV News

• Rail passengers can now use Amazon Alexa to buy ticketsRail passengers can now buy train tickets by talking to a voice-activated virtual assistant.

The Guardian

• Tesla posts record $710m net loss as it struggles to produce Model 3 carsElon Musk got testy with analysts amid concerns over company’s future, after it burned through $745.3m in cash during important quarter

Times Online

• BMW ‘gave wrong facts’ on fatal fault [Subscription]BMW broke the law by not telling the government safety agency about a fault in thousands of its cars that led to the death of a former Gurkha, the head of vehicle standards claimed last night.
• Rail fares rise where there is no competitor [Subscription]Passengers are being exploited by Britain’s rail system, with a lack of competition on intercity lines driving up fares by as much as a third, a study claims.
• Why Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary deserves to be Ireland’s greatest [Subscription]Who is Ireland’s greatest person, living or dead? In 2010, when RTÉ broadcast the TV series Ireland’s Greatest, it nominated John Hume, Michael Collins, Mary Robinson, James Connolly and Bono. Hume was the winner.
• The Times transport manifesto for Britain [Subscription]Sir, Your transport manifesto (May 2) rightly calls for passengers to be automatically refunded for rail delays and guaranteed the cheapest ticket. This should apply to buses too and be integrated with “contactless” card payment nationwide, as now on London’s tube and buses. London is far ahead of the rest of the country – indeed the world – in transport payment technology, which is a key reason why it has experienced so massive an increase in public transport usage over the past decade.

City AM

• Aston Martin has launched its own luxury submarine - and it screams 007Aston Martin has unveiled its own exclusive luxury submarine - and it looks fit for whoever takes up the 007 mantle.
• Wizz Air's Brexit contingency plans take off as it secures UK licenceWizz Air today confirmed it has been granted a UK air operator's certificate and operating licence to safeguard its flights post-Brexit.
• Heathrow expansion rival demands competitive tender as it unveils £14bn projectA rival bidder for Heathrow’s expansion is calling for an end to the “monopoly” the airport’s operator has over the project, saying its £14bn proposal offers greater value for money and would keep Heathrow competitive.

London Evening Standard

• South Western Railway strikes suspended after firm agrees to crunch talksA series of planned strikes on South Western Railway has been suspended to allow talks to be held in the bitter dispute over the role of guards on trains.
• Piers Morgan wades into fierce row over whether TfL 'Thought for the Day' sign encouraged sexual harassmentA fierce debate has erupted over whether a Transport for London Tube station board urging passengers to give compliments amounted to encouraging sexual harassment.
• Southwest Airlines jet makes emergency landing after passenger window cracks mid-flightA Southwest Airlines passenger jet was forced to make an emergency landing in the US after a window cracked mid-flight.

Northern Echo

• Congestion-busting move at Northallerton railway stationNEW secure cycle parking facilities have been installed at Northallerton railway station in an effort to encourage more people to travel there by bike.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Bemused Aberdeen residents receive letters about rail works 500 miles awayBemused Aberdeen residents have been sent “utterly bizarre” letters informing them of major archaeological works – taking place in an English town nearly 500 miles from the Granite City.

Yorkshire Post

• High speed rail route across North won’t be as fast as HS2, says Chris Grayling The proposed high speed rail line across the North is likely to be have trains running at 125mph, around half the speed of the HS2 route, according to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.

Kent Online

• Impact of controversial train timetable changes to be assessed after MPs meet rail ministerKent MPs have pressed rail minister to intervene on controversial changes to some Southeastern services that have prompted a backlash from commuters.

Other Regional Press

• Airport expansion leads to massive jobs boost A massive recruitment drive has been launched to fill 1,200 jobs at Gatwick following the airport’s continued expansion.
• Work continues on £50m Market Harborough rail overhaul to improve train speeds through Leicestershire600 yards of track was dug up and re-laid at the weekend, which saw services between Leicester and London cancelled
• Guest Column: New rail services are a real positive for the town For what feels like centuries I have had the dubious honour of being the MP with the least-used railway station in Britain in his constituency – Gainsborough Central.

New Civil Engineer

• Rail spend in north to 'overtake the south'Spending on rail infrastructure in the north is set to overtake the south in the next three years according to rail minister Jo Johnson.
• £400M electric car infrastructure scheme stallsA proposed £400M government investment in electric car infrastructure has failed to get started after it emerged that no funds have been raised so far.
• Design innovation sought for £286M Birmingham station jobDesign innovations are now being sought to bring plans for a £286M transformation of Birmingham International Station to reality.
• Network Rail eyes Victoria over site developmentNetwork Rail is currently looking at options to build a massive over site development on top of Victoria station in London.

Aviation Industry

• China Southern plans new Heathrow routesChina Southern Airlines is ultimately hoping to secure rights to fly between the new Beijing Airport and London Heathrow, but in the interim the Guangzhou-based carrier plans to announce a new Heathrow link from Sanya, an island off China’s south coast. read more
• Smart luggage manufacturer Bluesmart folds, cites airline restrictionsThree months after several airlines banned “smartâ€� luggage with non-removeable lithium ion batteries, one of the technology’s leading manufacturers, New York-based Bluesmart, has called it quits. read more
• Cracked window causes Southwest pilots to divert 737-700 The pilots of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 diverted to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and landed safely on May 2 after a window cracked in flight. read more

Other News Sources

• Work underway on Cardiff Transport InterchangeLeading figures of the new Metro Delivery Partnership have visited the site of Cardiff’s new Integrated Transport Hub, where work is underway to prepare for construction of the new bus station and interchange.
• Inverness bus firm in £1m fleet expansionRAPID expansion by a major transport operator has continued after it spent £1 million investment on new state-of-the-art vehicles to serve passengers across the Highlands.
• Trains for Greater Anglia take shape at BombardierWork is under way on the first of over 100 brand-new Greater Anglia trains being built at the Bombardier factory in Derby (www.bombardier.com).
• Make way for the rail: The UK wants to create a “more joined-up railway”The future of the UK’s railway network has been laid out at the UK railway infrastructure exhibition Infrarail.