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

Tuesday, 17 July 2018

BBC News

• Andy Burnham calls Northern train cancellations 'outrageous'A rail firm has been accused of "giving up on trying to provide a decent service" after it cancelled at least 170 services on World Cup final day.
• Bombardier warns of efficiency savings in Northern IrelandThe aerospace company employs 4,000 workers in Belfast.
• Great Western Railway's World Cup Final staffing excuse criticisedMP Jo Stevens says
• 'Delays' hit third new Govia Thameslink rail timetableCommuters face more delays as Govia Thameslink Railway introduces a

Department for Transport

• MPs launch inquiry into health of the bus marketThe Transport Committee is today launching a wide-ranging inquiry into the bus market in England outside London.

The Guardian

• The expensive disaster that is bus privatisationJust as some sections of the railway industry believe that privatisation ushered in an era of passenger growth, so Pauline Gaunt of the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK claims that privatised buses have stemmed the decline in bus use (Deregulation and Britain’s bus services, Letters, 12 July).

The Independent

• Airline boss warns about flight prices for Qatar World CupTravellers planning long-haul journeys in the run-up to Christmas 2022 face much higher fares due to the World Cup, The Independent has been told.

Times Online

• Boeing’s order book takes off at airshow [Subscription]Boeing has fired the opening shot in the battle for aerospace business at Farnborough Airshow with a book of orders worth $8.2 billion.
• The government isn’t listening to the north [Subscription]This summer is proving to be a hot but frustrating one for the millions of northerners who rely on travelling by train.
• Beat the traffic jams with Rolls-Royce’s 250mph flying taxi [Subscription]A flying taxi capable of carrying passengers at speeds of up to 250mph could be launched within the next three years under plans to give commuters an alternative to traffic-filled city roads.

City AM

• John Laing Infrastructure Fund shares leap on potential £1.4bn offerShares in John Laing Infrastructure Fund (JLIF) leapt by more than 17 per cent this morning after a consortium of funds announced a possible cash offer for the business.
• Rolls-Royce unveils ‘flying taxi’ at Farnborough AirshowRolls-Royce has released plans for a flying taxi that could be taking to the skies in the early 2020s.

Mail Online

• BMWs worth £11million are scrapped after being filled with sand in port A huge pile of sand blew over the cars in strong winds at the German port of Cuxhaven, writing off around 450 vehicles.

The National

• Stagecoach boss grilled by MPs over East Coast Main Line franchise failureTHE collapse of the InterCity East Coast rail franchise has come at “significant” cost to transport giant Stagecoach, chief executive Martin Griffiths told MPs.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Grand Central Rail 'truly sorry' for cancelling trains between Bradford and LondonFurther woe was inflicted on rail passengers in Bradford after Grand Central Rail cancelled four services yesterday between Bradford and London King’s Cross due to trains needing repairs.
• Union suspends planned rail strike pending talks in driver-only trains row A planned strike in the long-running dispute over the role of guards on trains has been called off.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Virgin East Coast boss says the failed franchise improved servicesThere's better carriages, improved food and more destinations on the East Coast Main Line, says rail manager

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Bus and ferry timetable changes to cost Shetland Islands Council £47,000Altering bus and ferry times to make them fit better around the new school timetable will cost Shetland Islands Council around £47,000 a year.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Fresh light shed on Virgin Trains East Coast franchise bid Department for Transport (DfT) officials accepted the franchise bid by Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) despite believing passenger growth targets would be missed, MPs have heard.

Yorkshire Post

• Officials accepted Virgin Trains East Coast bid despite believing it was overly ambitious Department for Transport officials have admitted accepting a bid from now-collapsed Virgin Trains East Coast to run services on the East Coast Main Line despite believing it was overly ambitious, MPs heard yesterday.

Bucks Free Press

• Company set to step in and save threatened school bus route A new operator is set to step in and save a threatened school bus route after plans emerged to scrap the service at the end of term.

Other Regional Press

• Royal Borough to put an extra £100,000 into the anti-Heathrow extension battle fundThe fight against the planned third runway at Heathrow will not be abandoned - as the Royal Borough prepares to put a further £100,000 aside to fund a legal challenge.
• MP welcomes reinstatement of Hassocks school rail service Arundel and South Downs MP Nick Herbert has welcomed Govia Thameslink Railway’s decision to reinstate the 8.28am train service from Wivelsfield to Hassocks as part of its new ‘interim’ timetable introduced this week.
• Tree felling by Network Rail results in 'total devastation' near Witley stationThe council said the severity of the clearance work came as a complete shock to residents - as did the "ugly eight-foot" fence
• Rail bosses to consider electrifying Lakes LineMP Tim Farron has met with chiefs from the government and Network Rail Lakes Line - submitted 5th September 2017Tim Farron MP with the West Coast Railways team at Oxenholme station
• £9m plan to make 'Botley Road corridor' safer for cyclists and pedestriansA £9.1M PLAN to improve cycling and walking on a key route in Oxford is likely to get the go-ahead this week.
• Council set to drop school transport charge today after a monthCOUNTY councillors are today likely to agree to reconsider changing a controversial plan to charge about 130 families with disabled teenagers or those with special needs for school transport.

New Civil Engineer

• More than 100 applicants weigh in on Heathrow expansionMore than 100 firms and individuals have told Heathrow bosses how expansion could be delivered following the airport’s call for ideas.

Rail Technology Magazine

• GTR launches third timetable in two months, hopes to provide 'more robust service'Struggling operator Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) will introduce its third timetable in just two months following a chaotic service shake-up in May. Rail services around the country were heavily disrupted from 20 May when operators introduced a new timetable — due to infrastructure and...
• ORR: Siemens-Alstom merger could have 'detrimental impact' on UK rail marketThe rail regulator claims that a merger between rail manufacturing giants Siemens and Alstom could have a “significant detrimental impact” on competition in important British rail markets. The ORR welcomed the European Commission’s decision to open an in-depth investigation...
• Metro control room to get £12m investment in new technologyThe Tyne and Wear Metro control room is to undergo a £12m programme of modernisation as part of its biggest upgrade in its 38 year history. Nexus, the public body which owns and manages Metro, is installing a new computerised signalling control system in the Metro control room in South...

Railway Gazette

• Review of Network Rail’s tree management launchedUK: Terms of reference for a review of how Network Rail can best ensure the safety of railway...
• DVV acquires Smart Rail WorldINTERNATIONAL: Railway Gazette’s parent company DVV Media International has purchased events and...

Aviation Industry

• Air France-KLM and Chinese partners create single JVAir France-KLM, China Southern Airlines and XiamenAir said they were streamlining their two existing agreements into a single joint venture carrying some 1.25 million passengers per year between Europe and China. read more
• United adds four Boeing 787s United Airlines added four more Boeing 787s to its orderbook for the type, bringing its total 787 orders to 55 aircraft. read more
• Wider net needed to attract more airline pilot studentsA combined effort by the airlines, governments and training providers will be needed to address the looking global pilot shortage, L3 executives believe. read more
• Farnborough Air Show Briefs-July 16, 2018Farnborough Air Show Briefs-July 16, 2018 read more

Other News Sources

• Bus service to be lostThe 449 bus which runs between Oswestry and Ellesmere will cease on September 3 after the operator, Tanat Valley Coaches lost out on a contract connected with the service.
• MPs look to give electrification a joltCancelled electrification projects should be revived and future schemes considered, according to MP Lillian Greenwood, chair of the Transport Select Committee.
• New Hitachi fleet for Hull Trains revealedHull Trains has revealed the first artist’s impression of the new trains set to ‘hit the tracks’ as part of a major £60 million investment that will see the rail operator replace its current fleet with new high-tech Hitachi trains that will operate on both diesel and electric traction, thereby giving customers access to the benefits of the East Coast Main Line’s electrified track.