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

Saturday, 19 May 2018

BBC News

• Rhondda railway tunnel is 'stable enough to reopen'It was used to take coal to Swansea's ports but closed in 1968 after a slight weakness was found in it.
• 'No brake defects' on Rangers crash busAn MOT expert tells a court that there was nothing defective about the brakes of a bus involved in a fatal crash.
• Smart luggage firms close because of airline battery rulesTwo firms have closed this month, citing changes in airline policies on carrying batteries.

The Guardian

• UK railways prove less profitable than private operators once hopedCollapse of East Coast franchise prompts questions about position of other firms
• Open to new ideas on the railwaysJacqueline Starr on the Rail Delivery Group’s open-data initiatives, and Peter Holbrook on the benefits of the social enterprise business model
• Chris Grayling thinks nostalgia can fix the east coast mainline. He’s wrongI thrill to memories of steam trains hurtling past my home. But blaming nationalisation for ruining a golden age is misguided
• The bad bet at the heart of the East Coast rail franchise implosionAt the root of the collapse of the Virgin Trains East Coast franchise, confirmed this week, was the expectation that rail passenger numbers could go only one way: up.

The Independent

• Charging passengers to sit together on flights could hinder safe evacuations, new report findsCharging passengers to sit together could hinder safe and rapid evacuations, according to a new report produced by the Royal Aeronautical Society Flight Operations Group (FOG).

The Scotsman

• River taxi could link historic Fife villages and Inchcolm A study is to examine the feasibility of a new ferry service linking some of the historic Fife coastal villages with Inchcolm.
• Edinburgh cycle hire scheme launch delayed until autumnEdinburgh's long-awaited cycle hire scheme will not now be launched until September - missing the Edinburgh Festival - its operator revealed today.

Times Online

• Thousands ‘left stranded’ by rail timetable changes [subscription]Thousands of rail passengers risk being stranded in the biggest shake-up of train timetables in decades.
• Letters - Fresh direction needed for Britain’s railways - Roger Ford [subscription]Sir, Lord Darling of Roulanish (letter, May 18) is partly correct when he says that the last thing the railways need is an ideological battle over public and private ownership. I think ownership is irrelevant: what matters is the structure of the industry.
• Call a halt to the car hire rip-offDon’t let companies bamboozle you into a costly bundle of extras when you pick up your vehicle

City AM

• Key milestone in Crossrail timeline reached as TfL takes over Heathrow Connect services ahead of Elizabeth Line openingA key step on the way to the full opening of the Elizabeth Line will be reached this weekend when Transport for London (TfL) takes over the Heathrow Connect services between Paddington and Heathrow terminals two, three and four.
• Gatwick Airport is trialling self-boarding gates to cut airport queues and improve flight departure timesGatwick is running a new biometrics trial using self-boarding gates to help slash queues for thousands of passengers with a goal to improving flight departure times too, the London airport said today.
• EU transport official sounds warning on post-Brexit flightsA European Union official has warned that time is ticking on sorting out the arrangement for post-Brexit flights between Britain and the bloc,
• Uber chief product officer Jeff Holden becomes latest to leave the ride-hailing appThe chief product officer and front man for Uber's flying taxi plans Jeff Holden is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.

This is Money

• Volkswagen boss honoured for boosting sales to record levels in face of dieselgate scandal German car boss Dr Herbert Diess was handed am Autocar award for his impact on Volkswagen’s success over the past 12 months in delivering a record year for sales.

London Evening Standard

• Royal wedding travel: Londoners face Tube disruption as thousands set to descend on WindsorLondoners are facing major travel disruption on the day hundreds of thousands of people are to travel to the royal wedding and Wembley for the FA Cup final.

Manchester Evening News

• Andy Burnham prioritises transport in speech to region's business leaders"The economic growth of our city region is asking questions of the transport system it can’t answer."

Yorkshire Post

• £400million upgrade to A1 (M) near Catterick opened by Chris GraylingA new section of the A1 (M) near Catterick has been opened by Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, after a £400 million upgrade.

Burnley Express

• MPs join forces to save community transport from new legislation and cutsA WESTMINSTER call for increased government support for community transport has been backed by Ribble Vally Conservative MP Nigel Evans and his Burnley Labour Parliamentary colleague Julie Cooper.

Other Regional Press

• New train timetables 'disgusting insult' to disabled passengers
• Light rail or tram system could replace Met Line extension A light rail or tram system could be built as an alternative to the Metropolitan Line Extension.
• As one train line is to be brought under public control, is Weymouth-Waterloo railway next?WEYMOUTH-Waterloo operator South Western Railway could be next in the firing line after the government revealed plans to renationalise services on the east coast main line.
• Gatwick Airport station to double in size with 'attractive' new roof in Network Rail proposalsThe plans will accommodate forecast rail growth up to 2036, Network Rail says

Rail Technology Magazine

• Every single service affected by major GTR timetable shakeupGovia Thameslink Railway (GTR) will change the times of every single service as part of its Rail Plan 20/20 programme. In order to run an additional 400 trains every day, the TOC will transform its entire timetable, starting from this Sunday, 20 May. Following the shakeup, GTR will run a train...
• Welsh trains £200k makeover set to startWork begins today on an 18-month programme to modernise fleets of Welsh trains. A £200,000 investment from Arriva Trains Wales (ATW), the Welsh Government, and Transport for Wales will refurbish 120 carriages in the Class 158 and 150 fleets. Fully accessible toilets, additional wheelchair...
• TfN seeking Northern improvement plan after Burnham slams TOC performanceThe chair of Transport for the North (TfN), John Cridland, has revealed that the organisation will seek to meet with Northern Rail boss David Brown to figure out an improvement plan to help mitigate the current performance problems that blight the franchise. In a letter to Greater Manchester...

Aviation Industry

• Wizz Air adds London Luton routesFast-growing Budapest-based LCC Wizz Air is allocating two new Airbus A320s to its London Luton fleet, accompanying the launch of two routes to Larnaca, Cyprus and Lviv, Ukraine. read more
• ANALYSIS: US major airlines' fifth failureA three-year battle started by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines against the major Gulf carriers appears to have ended with little to show for the millions of dollars of campaigning by the US airlines and affiliated unions. read more
• Air Belgium secures Russian overflight rightsLong-haul start-up Air Belgium has been granted Russian overflight permission, cementing its revised June 3 launch date. read more

Other News Sources

• Musk digs deep for a solution to LA traffic jams [subscription]Elon Musk wants to solve the Los Angeles traffic nightmare by firing passengers in high-speed shuttles through tunnels under the city for a dollar a ride.

Other Subscription Services

• Operator of last resort to take over East Coast East Coast train operations are to be taken over by the state again following the failure of the third privately operated East Coast franchise in just over a decade.Transport Secretary Chris...
• London trams to be fitted with auto-braking system Transport for London is to buy an automatic braking system for installation on the south London tram network.Work to investigate the feasibility of introducing such a system began shortly after the...