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

Tuesday, 27 November 2018

BBC News

• Edinburgh tram staff vote to strike during festive periodAlmost 70% of Unite members in the ballot favour industrial action over alleged bullying.
• Ghosn sacked as Mitsubishi Motors chairmanThe carmaker ousts Carlos Ghosn over misconduct claims, following a similar move by Nissan.
• GM to slash jobs and close eight plantsUS President Donald Trump attacks the carmaker's plans, which will affect more than 14,000 jobs in North America.

ITV News

• £2billion to cut delays for passengers on South Western Railway trainsAs new figures reveal around a quarter of South Western Railway's trains are late, Network Rail has vowed to carry out more work than ever before to improve the ongoing chaos.
• Extra support urged for rail workers dealing with disruptionA rail union has called for extra support for workers dealing with huge disruption to services in Wales.

The Guardian

• Magnetic levitation: the return of transport's great 'what if?'34 years after the first commercial maglev line opened in Birmingham, the futuristic tech enjoys an Asia-driven rebirth
• Electric bike-sharing company Lime launches in UKSan Francisco firm backed by Uber puts 50 e-bikes on to streets of Milton Keynes

Times Online

• Express delivery service will take Amazon parcels to your HS2 seat [Subscription]Passengers on the new HS2 line could have Amazon parcels delivered to their seat under plans by a train manufacturer bidding for the contract.

City AM

• General Motors scales back workforce as it pushes for self-driving carsGeneral Motors will close five plants and lay off around 8,000 workers in North America, the company has revealed.

The National

• THE work being done a rail company to minimise its environmental impact has been praised.HS2 passengers could order Amazon packages to be delivered to their seat, a train manufacturer has claimed. Bombardier Transportation, which is bidding to win a £2.75 billion contract to build the high-speed trains in a joint venture with Hitachi Rail, is developing technology which would enable click-and-collect services on board.

Birmingham Mail

• This is why the script of It's A Wonderful Life to will be painted on New Street station floorBirmingham New Street and International stations will see the quotes appear before Christmas

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Rail Ombudsman launched amid Northern Rail struggle with complaintsThe first ever Rail Ombudsman service was launched yesterday to bring fresh rigour to the industry’s customer complaints process.

Edinburgh Evening News

• ScotRail train decouples speeding off and leaving carriage full of passengers stranded Rail Passengers at a Lothian train station were left stranded in a carriage when the ScotRail train that was due to carry them decoupled and sped off leaving them behind.

Liverpool Echo

• Liverpool to Manchester in 21 minutes on the train is now a REAL possibilityMinister held top-level discussions over massive rail plans

London Evening Standard

• Work begins on converting notorious Old Street roundabout to make it safer for cyclists and pedestriansPreparatory works have begun to convert the notorious Old Street roundabout to a two-way layout in a bid to improve cyclist and pedestrian safety.
• London Bridge protest: Black cab drivers blockade river crossing sparking huge traffic jamsA black cab protest on London Bridge has sparked huge traffic jams in the capital.
• An alternative TfL Tube map: Designer creates 'grid-like' London Underground plan using Beijing Subway as guideA London Underground enthusiast has combined the Tube map with a plan of the Beijing Subway to create a new 'grid-like' city plan.
• Australian charter flight missed destination by almost 50km after pilot fell asleep in the cockpitA plane missed its destination by almost 50km after the pilot drifted off in the cockpit.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Government defends plans for East Coast Main Line after MPs accuse it of 'experimenting'The Department for Transport has hit back after MPs say it is 'experimenting' with services on the East Coast Main Line
• Amazon parcels 'could be delivered to HS2 passengers at their seat'Bombardier Transportation, which is bidding to build the high-speed trains with Hitachi Rail, is developing technology which would enable click-and-collect services on board

Wales Online

• People using Transport for Wales trains say they’re getting covered in fresh paintPassengers have reported being left covered in a turquoise paint after holding onto headrests

Yorkshire Post

• Tom Richmond: It must be end of the line for flailing Grayling’s excuses over late trains CHRIS Grayling’s latest excuses to Parliament over the unacceptable state of the North’s abysmal rail service can be best described as ‘Failing’s Flailings’.

Londonist

• London's Loneliest Train Service Will Soon Stop Running For EverA London train service which we reckon is London's loneliest will soon cease running.

Plymouth Herald

• Trains between Devon and Cornwall will run every 30 minutes thanks to line improvementsTrains travelling between Penzance and Plymouth will be more frequent and faster thanks to signalling improvements

Other Regional Press

• South Western Railway firm wins Green Apple awardTHE work being done a rail company to minimise its environmental impact has been praised
• £2m upgrade of Carfin station in Motherwell almost completeCarfin station in Motherwell underwent the work as part of the wider electrification of the railway line.
• Transformation starts to turn Coventry Railway Station into major transport hubHuge £82million expansion plans at Coventry Railway Station have started.
• Answers demanded over delayed and cancelled trains chaosA politician has demanded answers over a series of cancelled and delayed train services in Mid Wales on the new Transport for Wales line.

New Civil Engineer

• Crossrail dossier suggests Khan knew about delayLondon Mayor Sadiq Khan faces fresh allegations that he misled the public about when he first knew about delays to Crossrail.
• Heathrow ramps up search for third runway delivery sitesHeathrow’s Logistics Hub programme has launched its pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) in its bid to decide which one of 65 sites is best positioned to deliver the airport’s third runway.
• Calls for joint TfL and Network Rail strategyNetwork Rail and Transport for London (TfL) are being urged to develop a joint rail strategy to provide the “focus needed to deliver a better service for passengers”.

Rail Advent

• Google Cardboard giveaway for new Greater Anglia trainsIt isn’t long now until new trains start to appear on Greater Anglia‘s network, but for people who can’t wait, there is now an opportunity to step on board virtually at Chelmsford this Friday.

RMT

• Rail privatisation to blame for current disruption in WalesRMT says years of rail privatisation to blame for current disruption in Wales as union calls for additional support for rail staff dealing with on-going chaos.

Aviation Industry

• Launch operator TAP Air Portugal takes delivery of first A330neo Airbus delivered the first A330-900 to launch operator TAP Air Portugal Nov. 26, kicking off a major fleet replacement for the airline.
• IATA: Brexit aviation declaration ˜lacks detailsA political declaration agreed by the UK and European Union (EU), setting conditions for how they will work after the Brexit separation, calls for an air transport agreement to ensure continued connectivity for airlines within the European trade bloc.
• EU launches GDS competition probeThe European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation, looking at whether global distribution systems (GDS) Amadeus and Sabre restrict competition.
• Airbus: A330neo sales will pick up as TAP takes first delivery Airbus is confident the A330neo will gain more traction in the market once airlines were able to verify the aircraft's in-service performance, now that TAP Air Portugal has taken delivery of the first A330-900.
• Airbus aims to have higher-weight A330neo in service in mid-2020 Airbus is targeting mid-2020 to have the increased gross weight version of the A330neo in service.
• Air France to cut A380 fleet by at least two aircraftAir France plans to reduce its 10-strong Airbus A380 fleet by returning at least two and potentially all of the five leased A380s the carrier operates.
• Air France-KLM, China Eastern expand JV partnershipAir France-KLM and China Eastern Airlines have agreed to expand their joint venture to include two new routes, the airlines said Nov. 26.
• Airbus to reveal A321XLR details in 2019 Airbus will give the market more concrete guidance on the proposed A321XLR in 2019, an aircraft Airbus Commercial Aircraft president Guillaume Faury said can change the industry.
• Boeing gives pilots more MCAS details on MAX handling, plans Q&ABoeing continues to provide airlines more details on the MAX family's stall-protection systems and carriers are sharing the information with their pilots, reiterating that even if elements of the systems are new, troubleshooting procedures have not changed.

Other News Sources

• SECOND TEESPORT RAIL LINK PROVIDES FURTHER TRADE CONNECTION FOR SCOTLANDThe new service, operated by DB Cargo, will run five days a week from the quayside at Teesport to PD Stirling Terminal at Mossend in Glasgow. The timings of the service operate in direct connection with the P&O Ferries service calling daily at Teesport from Zeebrugge and Rotterdam; providing a vital connection for shippers, shipping lines and forwarders looking for frequent, flexible and efficient routes to market
• Khan blamed for TfL's budget issues as it struggles to fund Crossrail completionTransport minister Andrew Jones has blamed London mayor Sadiq Khan for the government having to pump extra money into the late-running Crossrail project.