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

Tuesday, 12 June 2018

BBC News

• Car insurers warn on 'autonomous' vehiclesThe motor insurance industry is warning carmakers against the use of the word "autonomous" in their marketing.
• South Wales Metro: New £100m train depot for Taff's WellThe construction project presents opportunities for Welsh suppliers, says the economy secretary.
• Almost three-quarters of women 'never cycle'Seventy-three percent of UK women never ride a bike for local journeys, a survey suggests.
• Shake-up of Scots bus services proposedMinisters propose new powers for councils to run bus services in a bid to halt a decline in passenger numbers.
• Anti-social behaviour rises on 'hotspot' tram lineNew data reveals a 570% rise in anti-social behaviour on a section of Metrolink tram line over six years.
• Royal wedding drives Heathrow Airport to 'busiest ever' MayJust under 6.7m passengers travelled through Heathrow in May, a 3.1% increase compared with 2017.
• Land Rover Discovery model moved to Slovakia from the UKThe car firm said its Solihull factory would now be used to build new Range Rovers and Range Rover Sports.
• Daimler forced to recall Mercedes with defeat devicesThe German government says 774,000 Mercedes were fitted with illegal software that masks diesel emissions.

ITV News

• EasyJet claims its fares would drop by nearly third with new Heathrow runwayThe budget airline says passengers would benefit from cheaper flights on existing UK and European routes due to competition.

The Guardian

• North of England leaders demand more control over rail networkLocal politicians and business chiefs warn train ‘fiasco’ of recent weeks could be repeated
• Let’s replace the HS2 project with local transport investmentScrapping HS2 could mean £500m each for 112 towns and cities, writes Bill Dodds, while David Biggs explains why Network Rail is selling off its commercial property arm

The Independent

• Rail delay compensation - What are your rights and how can you make a claim?The botched introduction of new railway timetables in northwest and southeast England from 20 May 2018 means hundreds of thousands of travellers have been enduring delayed and cancelled trains. Meanwhile the usual litany of signal failures, points problems and staff shortages continues to afflict some rail journeys.

The Scotsman

• Leader comment: Bus pledge needs to be backed with cash A major shake-up of the way buses operate in Scotland has been unveiled to address the fall in passenger numbers and “revitalise services”.
• Scottish councils to get new powers to run lifeline bus services A major shake-up of the way buses operate in Scotland has been unveiled to address the fall in passenger numbers and “revitalise services”.

Times Online

• Mercedes faces mass recall for cheating diesel software [Subscription]The motor industry was embroiled in a new diesel emissions scandal last night after 774,000 Mercedes-Benz vehicles were found to contain cheating software.
• Name Metro stations after women to fix gender gap, Paris told [Subscription]The Paris Metro bears testimony to the great men of history, with stations named after Voltaire, Victor Hugo and Franklin D Roosevelt.
• Breakthrough flight brings drone deliveries into view [Subscription]The commercial use of drones took a leap forwards yesterday when a device was flown for more than seven miles over East Sussex.
• Ban on pavement parking in city driving clampdown [SubscriptionMotorists will be banned from parking on pavements and face a clampdown on driving gas-guzzling vehicles under proposed transport laws.
• Bus service shake‑up to fill empty seats [Subscription]A drop in the number of people using buses has led to plans for councils across Scotland to be given more flexibility in running services.

City AM

• Here's how the opening of the Elizabeth Line is expected to affect other travel in the capitalExcitement has been building over the completion of Europe's biggest infrastructure project, with the Elizabeth Line's big launch scheduled for December.
• Jaguar Land Rover is moving all Discovery production to Slovakia, in favour of making the UK its next hybrid vehicle hubJaguar Land Rover will be moving all production of its Discovery SUV to Slovakia in 2019, making way for the redevelopment of its Solihull plant to create electric, petrol and diesel versions of its Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models.
• Ryanair signs deal with UK’s Unite to recognise cabin crew unionRyanair has signed a landmark agreement to recognise its UK cabin crew’s union, Unite, which will negotiate pay, hours and holidays, the union announced today.

Network Rail

• Investment in West Calder gives station accessibility a liftWest Calder station’s new, fully-accessible footbridge and lifts have opened to passengers, as part of a multi-million-pound transformation of the West Lothian station.

London Evening Standard

• TfL Tube strike 2018: Jubilee line walkout set to go ahead this weekLast-ditch talks are set to be held this week to avert a Tube strike which would cause chaos for tens of thousands of commuters.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Northern boss says sorry to passengers and blames short-notice over rail chaos The boss of Northern Rail has issued an apology to passengers, admitting services in the past few weeks have not been good enough and blamed the chaos on the North of England’s railways on the short notice the firm was given to implement new timetables.

Yorkshire Post

• Questions remain over rail fiasco despite chief’s apologyTHE chief executive of Northern Rail, David Brown, deserves credit for providing some answers about the crisis that has engulfed passengers and his company, but many questions remain outstanding.

Other Regional Press

• Mark Reckless, South Wales EastWITH the announcement of the new rail franchise the Welsh Government finally seems to be living up to the promises it made to our region.
• Sign your name to give rail operator Northern the bootFor too long the rail links in Cumbria have been starved of investment and regarded with disinterest at best, and contempt at worst by franchise holder Northern.

New Civil Engineer

• Luton Airport boss: Heathrow expansion won’t solve capacity woesThe chief executive of London Luton Airport (LLA) has called on the government to do more to tackle the capital’s airport capacity problems.

Rail Magazine

• First Hitachi-built train for TransPennine Express arrives in UKFive-car 802201 was unloaded at Southampton Docks on June 11, the first of 19 Hitachi Rail bi-modes destined for TransPennine Express.
• New £100 million depot for Welsh Metro plannedA new depot costing almost £100 million will be built at Taff’s Well, near Cardiff.
• CAF confirmed for new Welsh franchise - all 77 trains to be assembled at NewportSpanish firm CAF has been confirmed as the preferred bidder to supply 77 new diesel multiple units for the KeolisAmey Welsh franchise that starts in October.

Aviation Industry

• Rolls-Royce discovers problems with other Trent enginesRolls-Royce is widening the scope of checks on the Trent 1000 family of engines after issues were found in other derivatives of the Boeing 787 engine. read more
• Ryanair, Unite agree to UK cabin crew representationIrish LCC Ryanair has inked its second cabin crew union agreement, recognizing the UK’s Unite the union, where 25% of the airline’s fleet is based. read more