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

Wednesday, 17 October 2018

BBC News

• Will added noise make London’s buses safer?Last year there were 363 casualties involving London buses, including five fatalities.
• London Victoria power failure leaves hundreds strandedHundreds of commuters are facing major delays after the electricity supply to London Victoria failed.
• UK's worst stations: Passengers react to rail delaysFrustrating, expensive and unsurprising - just some of the words used by commuters about Britain's busiest rail stations.
• Paddington station: Passengers warned of major disruptionThe Heathrow Express and trains to and from Slough are cancelled until at least midday.

The Guardian

• Miserable news on the busesLetters Michael Green laments UK transport developments, Ronald Walton says buses provide a lifeline for older people, Patrick Carroll makes a funding offer, and Liz Bebington says London buses are better than the rest
• Paddington station suffers major disruption after overhead wires damagedProblems expected throughout the day with TfL, Great Western Rail and Heathrow Express services affected

The Independent

• London Paddington station closed after damage to overhead wires causes train travel chaosOverhead line damage hits 100,000 commuters, long-distance travellers and airline passengers
• First electric-hybrid plane to touch down at Heathrow within 12 yearsHeathrow to launch race to land first electric-hybrid aircraft

Times Online

• And the winner is: the ferry operator whose boat crashed [Subscription]Caledonian MacBrayne, the company that has been criticised for a summer of disruption, breakdowns and reduced winter services, has been named ferry operator of the year at the National Transport Awards.
• Sensors on lorries to save cyclists [Subscription]Lorries will be forced to install blind spot sensors as part of safety measures designed to reduce the number of cyclists killed on the road.
• Shipping agencies urge Brexit deal to keep ports flowing [Subscription]The Irish Maritime Development Office has called for an orderly resolution to Brexit talks to avoid a significant disruption at ports if the UK crashes out of the bloc next March.

City AM

• Paddington travel chaos: Commuters stranded as power line failure leaves trains stuck on tracksCommuters were left to face a travel nightmare this morning, with damaged power lines causing chaos at Paddington station.
• Uber set to be valued at $120bn when it goes public next yearRide-hailing giant Uber could be valued at $120bn (£90.8bn) as part of its upcoming public listing in 2019, skyrocketing from its last valuation in August.

Network Rail

• British Safety Council awards for IP TrackNetwork Rail’s Infrastructure Project’s (IP) Track team has been awarded three Safety Swords of Honour by the British Safety Council (BSC).

Sky News

• Railway stations with worst train delays revealedThe study analysed data from website On Time Trains to reveal the proportion of trains that were late or cancelled.

Belfast Telegraph

• Heathrow offers to scrap £1m landing fees for first hybrid-electric planeThe west London hub hopes the offer will encourage the uptake of electric technology to reduce emissions, noise and fuel consumption.

Birmingham Mail

• Virgin Trains staff given bodycams - and this is the incredible resultVirgin Trains said the number of assaults on its employees has fallen month by month

Bristol Live

• 'Why I'm organising a mass rally in protest at Bristol's bus service'Breastfeeding mum wants all bus passengers to fill College Green to protest against First and the council

Daily Post (North Wales)

• A55 park and ride sites could help ease gridlock as part of £80m transport visionAn £80 million transport vision will target heavy traffic at peak times on the most congested roads in North Wales.

London Evening Standard

• Police and TfL tackle hate crime on London transport in #WeStandTogether campaignPolice and Transport for London have joined forces in a fresh drive to combat hate crime on public transport.
• London buses to be fitted with alarms and speed restricting devices to help save pedestrians' livesNew London buses will sound audible warnings and be fitted with speed-limiting devices under a plan to eliminate pedestrian deaths.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Disruption for commuters after broken down freight trainTrain services running through Stowmarket station are returning to normal following an earlier broken down freight train but delays can still be expected.

Londonist

• London Buses Will Be The Safest In The World, Says TfLNo people killed by or on buses from 2030: that's the ambitious aim of the Mayor of London and TfL, who have announced plans to make London buses the safest in the world.

Other Regional Press

• Merseyrail platform works set to begin this weekMERSEYRAIL customers will NOT get compensation for the upcoming station closures that are part of a huge programme of platform upgrades, it’s been revealed.
• Bus campaigner Peter Kay: 'Council ignored every point I made'CAMPAIGNERS for better public transport in Colchester feel changes to bus stops are unfair.
• Corwen transport scheme lauded in ParliamentA SCHEME to help lonely people in a rural community has been lauded at the House of Parliament.
• Over a third of Glasgow trains fail to run on time according to new reportYet Glasgow Central and Glasgow Queen Street fare better than the majority of the busiest railway stations analysed across the UK.
• Diana Johnson brands Hull Trains 'unreliable, too small and inadequately supported' as passengers face even more disruptionDiana Johnson made the comments when asked whether Hull Trains should be renationalised
• Find out more about plans to protect vital railway artery to the South WestNetwork Rail is holding a series of community drop-in sessions this autumn to update residents and the local community on its ongoing work to improve resilience of the railway between Dawlish and Teignmouth in Devon.
• Rail plans could put millions of people within 90-minute train journey of HullThe plans are expected to outline a vision which would bring more than a million extra people – and 64,000 businesses – within a 90-minute train journey of Hull
• Brighton station is best performing in UK ­(but 1 in 4 trains is late or cancelled)BRIGHTON railway station has been named as the best performing in the UK — even though a quarter of its trains were late or cancelled.

Rail Advent

• Transport for Wales successfully takes over from Arriva Trains WalesTransport for Wales has announced that it has successfully taken over the operation of Wales and Borders from Arriva Trains Wales.

Rail Technology Magazine

• HS2 Phase 2 boss defends 12-month bill delay: ‘We actually proposed this ourselvesThe outgoing boss of HS2 Phase 2b has defended the one-year setback in introducing legislation to Parliament, arguing that the move was “essential” to ensure the benefits of Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) play a role in the final bill.

The Business Desk

• Rail plans to bring over 124,000 extra businesses to Leeds City RegionTransport for the North is to submit a report to the Government in December which outlines plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Cammax Limited

• Ensuring successful adoption in the era of SMART Public Transport [paid inclusion]Over recent years operators, councils and other stakeholders have invested heavily in attempts to modernise the UK public transport sector in what some commentators are labelling ‘the SMART revolution’. From Leeds to Bristol, pioneering initiatives like SMART ticketing and Real Time Information (RTI) are quickly becoming omnipresent and the benefits to both passengers and operators is obvious.

Aviation Industry

• New Polish Aviation Group to strengthen regional aviation sectorThe Polish government has established a Polish Aviation Group (PGL) to strengthen its position in the regional aviation sector. read more
• London’s Gatwick airport to unveil development plansLondon Gatwick Airport on Oct. 18 will unveil future development plans over the next decade, with widespread expectation that it will make greater use of its main taxiway as a second runway. read more
• TSA unveils 8-year biometrics roadmap planThe US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has released an eight-year plan to incorporate biometric technology, including facial recognition and fingerprints at airports across the country. read more
• Aircraft maintenance inspections by drones to be typical by 2020 Christian Suttner, the co-founder and managing partner of startup incubator Starburst, has predicted that drone-based aircraft maintenance inspections will go mainstream by 2020. read more

Other News Sources

• Northern Powerhouse Rail to boost access to SheffieldNorthern Powerhouse Rail could bring more than 100,000 businesses and almost 2.4 million people to within 90 minutes travel of Sheffield city centre, according to new research.
• Burnley development gets £3.2m transport boostThe finance will also be used for road infrastructure and related improvements needed for the project in the Curzon Street area.
• Digital ‘equally important’ as transport infrastructure, says Scottish ministerThe Scottish Government is to form an infrastructure commission to advise ministers on how spending should be directed to provide most economic benefit
• Rutland residents asked to help develop transport plansResidents are being asked to help shape future public transport services in Rutland by sharing their views on the County’s latest Local Transport Plan.
• Can transport investments change the economy of Kent?Professor Roger Vickerman, Emeritus Professor of European Economics at the University of Kent, discusses how the south east of England requires an overriding body that has the power to deliver Kent’s transport needs.
• Manchester Airports Group partners with Plug/Play as first airport anchorUK airport group MAG (Manchester Airports Group) has announced its partnership with startup accelerator Plug and Play, the company said.
• Commuter trains may need over 3Gbps of mobile data capacity by 2025Ofcom has set out its vision of what will need to be done to meet the government’s goals around data connectivity on the UK’s rail network
• Promised two trains an hour plan setback is 'unacceptable'NORTHWICH'S MP has told the transport secretary that a delay in bringing extra train services to Manchester is 'unacceptable'.
• New defibrillator at Royston stationRoyston railway station now has an automated external defibrillator thanks to a collaboration between several agencies in the town and further afield.