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

Sunday, 20 May 2018

BBC News

• Tech Tent: Europe's driving ambitionsIn the race to build autonomous vehicles, what is the right balance between encouraging innovation and making sure our cities are safe?
• Northern rail services: Passengers advised of major changesTrain timetables across parts of the north of England are set to undergo an
• New MOT tests come into forceRules will introduce new categories for defects and tougher tests on diesel emissions.
• Rail timetables overhaul aims to boost frequency and reliabilityA rail timetable overhaul being billed as the biggest in the UK has begun to be rolled out.

ITV News

• Regular journeys affected as major rail timetable change introduced across BritainMore than four million trains across Britain will be rescheduled from Sunday in the largest timetable change for decades.

The Guardian

• 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. Struggling to supply a lick of bright paint to his plans for the east coast mainline, Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, settled on the word “iconic”.
• Off the rails: Train timetable shake-up sparks anger among passengersSunday sees the biggest ever change to UK train times – many users claim there will be fewer stops and much longer journeys

The Independent

• Cuba plane crash: 110 dead as investigators recover flight's black box voice recorderEyewitness says the pilot turned the stricken jet away from a residential area shortly before it came down

The Scotsman

• ScotRail passengers say no to smartcards They have been a prerequisite of train travel for nearly 180 years – and despite ScotRail’s best efforts, passengers are proving very reluctant to give them up.

Times Online

• Pay cut for new Network Rail boss Andrew Haines [Subscription]Network Rail, the state-owned operator of Britain’s train tracks, is this week set to name its new chief executive — with a slimmed-down salary attached to the role.
• BMW didn’t recall its cars sooner because our watchdog is faulty [Subscription]Narayan Gurung served 20 years in the British Army, but it wasn’t a bullet that killed him on Christmas Day 2016. He lost control of his car and hit a tree after swerving to avoid a BMW that had stopped in the middle of an unlit road at night in Surrey.
• Now we’re free of Branson’s £2bn pickle, let’s shunt rail privatisation off the tracks [Subscription]I am not often ahead of the curve, but I would like to take a little bit of public credit for loathing Richard Branson well before everybody else did.

Reuters News

• Ryanair's Irish union threatens possible strikeDUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair’s Irish union has given the company until May 24 to agree to new working practices, or it will ballot pilots for possible industrial action, including strikes.

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.

The Sun

• ROCKET PLAN Elon Musk wants to use SpaceX and Hyperloop to transport you round the Earth in just ONE hourELON Musk wants to use the biggest rocket SpaceX has ever built to ferry humans around the globe, promising passengers the ability to get anywhere on Earth in under an hour.

Bristol Live

• Plans for a train line to Bristol Airport launched Holiday makers could be able to catch a train to Bristol Airport if plans for a new railway line take off. Airport bosses are keen to stress there are no definite proposals yet for the multi-million pound scheme.

Manchester Evening News

• Andy Burnham prioritises transport in speech to region's business leadersMayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has called for further improvement in transport links to unlock the potential for businesses in the region.

Other Regional Press

• Heathrow reveals its dirtiest and noisiest airlinesHeathrow Airport has published a league table identifying the airlines that are causing the most pollution affecting its neighbours in west London.
• TfL given new powers to crack down on dodgy driversPowers have been passed onto the transport network by the Metropolitan Police which will allow TfL to check that taxi drivers are carrying out their service legally and according to licensing conditions.