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

Friday, 21 September 2018

BBC News

• Brexit: EU must compromise or no deal, says ministerCabinet minister Chris Grayling has said there will be no deal with the EU on Brexit if it does not soften its position on the Irish border.
• Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary may leave within five yearsMichael O'Leary admits he is reluctant to sign a new long-term contract at the airline.
• Manchester Airport baggage handler filmed lobbing luggageThe employee casually flings cases towards a luggage trolley, sending them tumbling to the ground.
• South Western and Northern rail staff plan more strikesThe RMT union announces further action over train guards on the South Western and Northern networks.
• Train delays: Who is in charge of the railways?Chief Executive of the Rail Delivery Group says the industry need changing.
• Nigeria Air relaunch groundedNigeria suspends plans to relaunch its national airline two months after announcing it would be revived.
• Evans Cycles seeks new owner amid cash crunchThe bike store chain needs fresh funding as it struggles with tough trading conditions.

The Guardian

• Ryanair chair survives shareholder revolt but investors want changeCall for ‘strong, independent and visible board leadership’ after strike disruption of 2018
• Whoops – there go the railways, says Westminster’s answer to Mr BeanWith his history of bumbling ministerial ineptitude, the sooner Chris Grayling’s cabinet career hits the buffers the better

The Independent

• ‘Don’t go mad, Mr Grayling’: Transport secretary faces bruising questions over summer of rail chaos Minister was asked who was in charge as damning report found 'nobody took charge'

Times Online

• Grayling must take responsibility for summer train chaos, say MPs [Subscription]Chris Grayling should bear personal responsibility for Britain’s rail chaos, MPs said yesterday after an inquiry into the meltdown in summer timetables reported its findings.
• Ryanair boss still flying off course [Subscription]Personality changes can be tricky to pull off. No one gave Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary much chance when he stood up at the AGM five years ago and pledged to stop “doing things that unnecessarily piss people off”. A tough task, too, as he joked, given his “personal character deformities”.
• Timetabling fiasco and the future of railSir, Twenty-five years ago next month the Conservatives’ Railways Bill passed into law. Although privatisation has helped to usher in the largest growth in rail travel since the 1920s, the framework and structure of management that originally harnessed and helped bring this about is now tired and broken. Franchises are failing, trains are increasingly late, passenger confidence is falling and for the first time since privatisation rail passenger numbers are in decline.

City AM

• Ryanair boss to lead airline past 2019 but steers clear of five-year dealRyanair's colourful chief executive Michael O'Leary has said he will stay on past 2019 but that he would prefer to sign a 12-month rolling contract instead of a five-year deal.
• Sadiq Khan calls for rail re-nationalisation in wake of timetable chaosLondon mayor Sadiq Khan has joined calls for the railways to be re-nationalised following a damning review into industry's timetable chaos in May.

London Evening Standard

• Chris Grayling admits he was wrong to believe rail bosses over timetable shake-up but 'won't resign'Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has admitted he was wrong to accept assurances from rail industry bosses about the timetable shake-up that caused a meltdown in train services.
• £11 million extension to North-South CS6 Cycle Superhighway opensThe £11 million extension of the CS6 North-South cycle superhighway has opened.
• Train timetable chaos: Why were there Northern Rail and GTR cancellations and delays this summer? Who's to blame?Failures across the board were to blame for a timetable change that sparked weeks of disruption for passengers, a report found.
• Sadiq Khan says he 'cannot be sure' when Crossrail will be completedMayor of London Sadiq Khan has said he cannot be sure when Crossrail will be complete.

Manchester Evening News

• Commuters claim police were called to 'manage crowds' at 'chaotic' Oxford Road stationNorthern has apologised and said a fault has been reported

Yorkshire Evening Post

• The HS2 of its day: 50 years of the M1 in Yorkshire It styled itself the Motorway City of the Seventies, but Yorkshire was already a decade too late.

Yorkshire Post

• David Behrens: Passenger power - not nationalisation - can fix our broken railways The conclusion of yesterday’s interim report by the rail regulator into the summer’s timetable chaos was as predictable as a late-running train to Ilkley.

Doncaster Free Press

• First freight train has arrived at £14 million iPort Rail facility in DoncasterThe first freight train has pulled in to the newly-opened iPort Rail inland port in Rossington, the UK’s first inland intermodal freight facility for the last 10 years

Other Regional Press

• Talk of flaws in Edinburgh airport flight path noise data dubbed prematureEdinburgh Airport said talk of “fundamental defects” in a noise study into proposed flight path changes was premature.
• Hundreds of HS2 lorries to be sent down residential streetsCAMPAIGNERS have blasted new HS2 plans to send hundreds of lorries along “quiet residential streets” for the next 16 months.
• Bim Afolami interview: Railway system ‘unfit for purpose’, says MPThe rail industry must put commuters first – that was the line from Hitchin and Harpenden MP Bim Afolami as he tore into rail industry bosses and a system he said was “not fit for purpose”.

Bus and Coach Buyer

• An open letter to Lilian Greenwood MPThis week, the editor has given his blog over to an open letter sent to Lilian Greenwood MP, who chaired the Tranpsort Select Committee into the Section 19/22 guidance, and led the Parliamentary debate on the subject on 10 May.
• Coach operators deserve betterThis is a message for the London Mayor and every city and town currently planning rules for coaches in low-emission zones – you’ve failed before you started.
• The death of diesel?With a population of 16 million, BYD’s home city of Shenzhen is more than twice the size of London. To keep workers on the move, it uses 16,000 buses. Every one of them is an electric. Peter Ringham talks to the operator which runs them.

Coach and Bus Week

• Metroline invests £10m funding into hybrid fleetTransport for London (TfL) operator – and ComfortDelGro subsidiary – Metroline has invested in 37 new Volvo B5LH hybrid double-deckers, using funding from Lloyds Bank’s £2bn Clean Growth Financing Initiative.
• Clearing the airJames Day reports from the CENEX Low Carbon Vehicle Event 2018, where a variety of low carbon bus options were on display
• Reading Buses acquires Newbury & District operationReading Buses has announced the acquisition of Newbury & District’s operation in the Newbury and Thatcham area.
• The States of Guernsey orders 22 Wrightbus StreetVibe busesThe States of Guernsey has ordered 22 additional Wrightbus StreetVibe buses. This follows an initial order of 12 buses delivered in 2017.
• National Express acquires Stewarts CoachesCurrent MD will remain with the company for a minimum of two years
• Equipmake partners with Agrale to develop ‘low-cost’ electric busHethel-based electric vehicle specialist Equipmake has agreed to partner with Brazilian bus chassis manufacturer Agrale to jointly develop a low-cost electric bus.

Rail Advent

• Meet Hull Trains’ new Commercial and Customer Services DirectorHull Trains has announced they have appointed visitor economy expert Susie Brindley as Commercial and Customer Services Director.
• Brand new Vivarail train arrives at BletchleyVivarail has announced that the first of the new trains for the Marston Vale line has been delivered to the Bletchley depot.

Rail Magazine

• Porterbrook offers hybrid power for Turbostar DMUsTrain leasing company Porterbrook and engine maker Rolls-Royce launched a new hybrid diesel/battery power pack for Class 168 and Class 170 diesel multiple units at InnoTrans on September 19.

Rail Technology Magazine

• DfT quietly pulls the plug on CrossCountry franchise competitionThe government has decided to pull the plug on the CrossCountry franchise competition as a result of its rail review announcement today.

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Wrightbus selected as sole UK fuel cell ‘decker supplierWrightbus has been confirmed under as the sole supplier to the UK for double-decker fuel-cell electric buses, and one of two suppliers - the other is yet to be revealed - for single-deckers, as part of the JIVE project.
• Delaine upgrades fleet and goes contactlessHaving arrived at Heysham Docks on the overnight ferry from Belfast last week, a new Wrightbus Eclipse 3-bodied Volvo B8RLE joins the Delaine Buses fleet this week as the Bourne-based operator modernises and expands.
• Lothian trains policeLothian Buses has begun bus driving training for Police Scotland's Divisional Road Policing Unit in Edinburgh.
• Pickmeup breaks 10,000 barrierMore than 10,000 people have signed up to use the Oxford Bus Company’s ground-breaking on-demand ride-sharing service since it launched.
• Plenty of room up topThe partnership of Vantage Power, dealership Ensignbus and operator Go-Ahead used the Cenex-LCV low carbon vehicle show at Millbrook, Bedfordshire, to publicly display its newly-converted hybrid tri-axle double-decker.
• National Express acquires Stewarts Coach GroupNational Express has completed the purchase of Stewarts Coach Group.

The Business Desk

• Jobs lost as manufacturer enters administration following Network Rail contract delayA company which supplied products to the rail infrastructure market has ceased trading after being hit by a delay on a major Network Rail contract.

Aviation Industry

• Ryanair shareholders back resolutions at AGMRyanair shareholders backed all resolutions at its annual shareholders’ meeting, easing some pressure on the Irish LCC, but sending a clear signal of discontent about how management has been handling a labor relations crisis by re-electing its chairman with a much smaller majority than before. read more
• Rolls identifies 787 Trent engine fix; cites air pollution causeAir pollution, especially in large Asian cities, is believed to be one cause of reliability issues that have affected a large portion of the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-powered Boeing 787 fleet. read more

Other News Sources

• Rural railway crossing will be upgraded to prepare for 100mph trainsAn ageing railway crossing in rural Perthshire could become unmanned as part of an upgrade to help cope with high-speed trains.
• BOOMING SOUTHEND AIRPORT: Passenger numbers up 40 per centStobart, which bought the airport in 2008, is hoping to increase passenger numbers to 5 million a year by 2022.
• St Albans MP Anne Main: “Doing nothing is not an option” for Park Street rail freight landI welcome the fact that the new Local Plan is making progress and is now out for consultation. We currently have one of the oldest district plans in the country. We need a new plan to meet growing housing need and to shape St Albans for the future.
• First upgraded Northern train with free wifi sets off from LeedsUSB sockets, wi-fi and seating upgrades on Northern's new trains
• Details revealed to massively reduce Hull to Manchester rail journeyTransport for the North's chief executive has unveiled plans to cut the rail journey time, from Hull to Manchester, by 45 minutes.
• Northern unveils first digital train with free Wi-Fi - first look insideNORTHERN has given customers a glimpse into the future with the launch of its first fully refurbished train.
• Arriva Trains Wales boss thanks customers as 15-year rail franchise term enters final few weeksA TRAIN firm which manages Chester railway station is saying Arriva-derci as the new operator prepares to take control next month.
• Northern unveils first refurbished 'digital train'Northern has given customers a glimpse into the future with the launch of its first fully refurbished train, now out on the network.