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

Wednesday, 25 July 2018

BBC News

• Ryanair: Dublin-based pilots third day of strikesMore than 100,000 customers across Europe will be affected by industrial action at Ryanair.
• Manchester Airport parking: Crackdown on meet-and-greet firmsCars left on residential streets by rogue companies could be towed away, the council says.
• South Western Railway strike to go ahead amid guard disputeSouth Western Railway workers are due to strike for eight days over six weeks.
• 20mph speed limit to be set on central London roadsCritics say the plans will make no difference because traffic in London is so slow-moving already.
• London's Crossrail project running £600m over budgetLondon's Crossrail project is running almost £600m over budget with extra funding required to complete the work, the rail minister has announced.
• Ministers pay £1m to Qatar Airways to market WalesThe Welsh Government had previously refused to release the value and structure of the contract.
• Best and worst motorway services revealedFor the second year running, travel watchdog Transport Focus has asked customers for their views.
• Airlines say French air traffic controllers' strikes break EU lawsFour European airlines claim strikes by air traffic controllers in France restrict freedom of movement.
• Rail passenger overcrowding still affecting major citiesPassenger numbers fell in 2017 in a number of English cities, but overcrowding remains a problem.

The Guardian

• Most overcrowded trains in England and Wales revealedSouth Western service to Waterloo was more than 500 passengers over 720 capacity
• London's black-cab drivers consider suing Uber for £1bnTrade body consults major law firm over possible loss-of-earnings suit

The Independent

• Transport secretary Chris Grayling says he is 'not a specialist in rail matters'On second thought, based on his recent performance during a grilling by the transport select committee, Chris Grayling might .

Times Online

• 20mph speed limit expanded to reduce death toll [Subscription]The speed limit on some of the country’s busiest roads will be cut to 20mph as part of a plan to eliminate pedestrian and cyclist deaths in built-up areas.
• Overcrowding hits 250% on busiest rail routes, says transport department [Subscription]Almost 170,000 commuters are being forced to stand on peak-time trains into the biggest cities and there have been warnings that passengers are facing “cattle class” conditions.
• Heathrow passenger figures jump to 38m [Subscription]Heathrow may have won the parliamentary case for the construction of a third runway, but its latest financial results show that the supposedly full-up airport is continuing to expand and, unlike the high street, is raking in money from passengers’ spending.

Reuters News

• Italian government calls into question costly French rail link, againROME (Reuters) - Italy’s new infrastructure minister denounced on Tuesday an ambitious, transalpine rail link as an enormous waste of public money and said he wanted to re-negotiate the project with neighbouring France.

City AM

• Congestion charging zone speed to be slashed to 20mph in TfL safety pushVehicles travelling within London's congestion charging zone will have their speed cut to 20mph in a bid to slash the number of deaths and serious injuries in the capital.
• Revealed: the top 10 most overcrowded train routes of 2017With their endurance of botched timetables and union strikes, British commuters are no strangers to overcrowded trains. But now it has been revealed that the top 10 busiest train services ran between 67 per cent and 150 per cent over their passenger capacity last spring.
• Do you want to breathe in cleaner air? London has the worst air quality of any city in the UKOver the past few years, Transport for London’s Overground network has been subject to a city-wide greening mission. All thanks to the Energy Garden project. The partnership initiative with Repowering London, The London Overground and Transport for London (TfL), transforms platform and public spaces to create sustainable community gardens, air quality walls, edible produce plots, biodiversity hubs and solar energy stations, which provide on-site renewable energy, in a bid to clean London’s air.
• Crossrail is running almost £600m over budgetJo Johnson revealed today within an annual update on the Crossrail project that it has had to seek an additional £590m in funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) and Transport for London (TfL) due to rising "cost pressures".

The Mirror

• Shameless Transport Secretary Chris Grayling insists he's 'not a specialist in rail matters' as he washes his hands of Thameslink chaosHe insisted he wasn't to blame for the rail timetable chaos causing misery to thousands of commuters

The National

• Transport Minister says he is 'not expert in rail matters'TRANSPORT Minister Chris Grayling said he is “not a specialist in rail matters” as he gave evidence to MPs yesterday.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Safety campaign warns youngsters of dangers posed by railwaysFOR schoolchildren, the long summer holidays bring a chance to let their hair down and have fun.

London Evening Standard

• London taxi drivers considering taking legal action against Uber over loss of earningsLondon's black cab drivers are looking to take legal action against Uber following a decision to extend its licence in the capital.
• Tube staff to wear shorts and will be given better air-con in staff rooms... as commuters swelter on London Underground during sizzling heatwaveLondon Underground staff will have the option to wear shorts to work during the summer months as part of a trial to keep workers cool in scorching temperatures.
• Euston delays: Chaotic scenes at station after all trains suspended due to person on trackThousands of passengers face rush hour chaos at Euston station after all trains were suspended due to a person on the tracks.

Manchester Evening News

• The most overcrowded trains in England and Wales were services arriving into and leaving ManchesterMore than 5,000 passengers a day were forced to stand on peak morning rail services into Manchester

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Chris Grayling makes strong admission over East Coast Main Line failureThe Transport Secretary has suggested it was a mistake to give Stagecoach-owned Virgin the East Coast franchise

The York Press

• Concerns over single lane traffic plans for Leeman Road tunnel YORK’S biggest bus operator and opposition councillors have raised concerns about proposals to reduce the Leeman Road tunnel to a single lane for vehicles.

Cambridge News

• Cambridge is the second worst in the UK for overcrowded train servicesIt's official. Cambridge is the second worst place to be stuck on a train in the UK because of overcrowding.

Other Regional Press

• Heathrow plans for 25,000-space car park near Stanwell 'wholly disproportionate', says council leaderSpelthorne Borough Council has expressed concerns that a new car park for the airport could be built in Stanwell

London TravelWatch

• Watchdog calls on operators to take action to improve the situation for passengers facing disruption and overcrowding during the height of the summerLondon’s passenger watchdog has called for operators to take action to tackle the effects of overcrowding on rail services in and around London which is being made worse by continuing disruption and the extreme heat of the last few weeks.

New Civil Engineer

• Skanska eyes Heathrow rail link in Windsor consortiumWindsor Link Railway is to form a consortium with Skanska and submit plans to build the new rail line to the Department for Transport (DfT), New Civil Engineer can reveal.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Transforming the Welsh railway Colin Lea, mobilisation director of rail services at Transport for Wales (TfW), takes a look at the promising future of the refreshed Wales and Borders franchise. TfW, a not-for-profit company owned by the Welsh Government, has developed what is  a new model in rail franchising by combining...
• Most overcrowded services revealed as passenger numbers plummetThe most overcrowded train services in England and Wales have been revealed by the DfT today. Services running to and from London were by far the most crowded in the country: nine out of 10 of the most overcrowded services in spring 2017 were services running through the capital. The most...
• Four bidders in final stages for major Network Rail asset sell-offNetwork Rail is nearing the end of the process to sell off its giant 5,500 infrastructure estate across England and Wales worth as much as £1.2bn. Following Goldman Sachs and the Wellcome Trust’s withdrawal from the race last week, the government-financed network is confident it will...
• SWR's future could be in doubt as negotiations are tabledThe future of South Western Railway (SWR) could be under threat as the TOC is set to renegotiate its contract with the DfT. According to documents from the ORR, the operator— FirstGroup plc— and the government are on different pages over whether promises made under the franchise deal...

Aviation Industry

• Aeroflot Group reports 1H traffic up 8.2% Russia’s Aeroflot Group carried 24.9 million passengers in the 2018 first half, up 8.2% year-over-year (YOY). read more
• European Space Agency, SESAR program to collaborate The Single European Sky ATM Research Deployment Manager (SESAR DM) and the European Space Agency (ESA) signed a memorandum of cooperation July 19, marking the start of a formal collaboration on a new satellite-based communications capability for aviation. read more
• US airlines to change how they refer to TaiwanFour US international airlines are reportedly about to change how they refer to Taiwan. read more

Other News Sources

• Bradley takes top HS2 jobMichael Bradley CB has switched from Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), an arms-length body of the Ministry of Defence, where he was currently chief financial officer and director of general resources and has been Acting CEO since December 2017.
• I Am Determined To Make Sure Disabled People Have The Same Access To Transport As Everyone Else - Nusrat Ghani MPToo many of the people I’ve spoken to are not able to travel with the dignity every single person deserves
• Thatcher aide to resolve HS2 disputesSir Mark Worthington, former private secretary to Baroness Thatcher, has been appointed HS2 construction commissioner.
• British Transport Police and Network Rail launch holiday campaign warning teenagers to stay off the tracksTom Hubbard, from Rugby, was just 16 when he climbed over a fence with friends to get onto a train track.