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

Friday, 26 April 2019

BBC News

• New north Wales and Liverpool rail services start in MayNew rail services linking north Wales, Cheshire and Liverpool will begin next month following the upgrade of a 1.5 mile stretch of track.
• Norwegian and Southwest count cost of Boeing 737 Max groundingNorwegian and Southwest say the grounding of Boeing 737 Max planes has cost them millions.
• Patrick Shanahan, acting US defence secretary, 'did not favour' BoeingActing defence secretary Patrick Shanahan is cleared of trying to promote his former employer.
• Crossrail to be finished without Bond Street 'by March 2021'The new £17.6bn railway across London had been due to open in December.

The Scotsman

• Teenagers deterred from using buses over travel issues - including ‘randomers’ sitting beside themTeenagers are deterred from using buses because they are not as user friendly as ordering pizzas or booking cinema tickets on their phones.

Times Online

• Put HS2 on hold until it is approved, ministers told [Subscription]Ministers were urged to halt all work on HS2 amid warnings over the “destruction” being caused to communities. HS2 should be banned from carrying out further work until the end of the year when ministers would issue a formal “notice to proceed”, councils claimed.

City AM

• Act on carbon capture or face hefty bill, MPs urge governmentMPa have today hit out at the government’s “vague and ambiguous targets” on carbon capture, and urged it to seize on its benefits.
• The worst may still be yet to come for Boeing, after it takes a $1bn revenue hit from 737 Max disastersDescribing Boeing’s past two months as “turbulent” is both a cliche and an understatement.
• Crossrail sets opening date between October 2020 and March 2021Crossrail will open to passengers between October 2020 and March 2021, about two years later than originally planned, its board revealed today.

Sky News

• 'Police aren't helping': Bikers reach 'breaking point' as thefts increaseA group of motorbike owners who patrol the streets of Manchester looking for stolen bikes has told Sky News that police budget cuts are forcing them to chase down suspects themselves.

London Evening Standard

• Meet the man making the Tube a kinder placeFernando Solis is the Product & Industrial Designer for Transport for London and the brains behind the capital's new 'priority seats' on the Tube
• Crossrail to open 'by March 2021 latest'... but Bond Street still facing delaysThe central section of London's beleaguered Crossrail project will open by March 2021 at the latest, those behind it have pledged.

Northern Transport Summit 2019

• Northern Transport Summit 2019 [Paid Inclusion] With better transport the linchpin to growth across the Northern Powerhouse, we bring you the third annual summit on this topic, giving an in-depth view of the opportunities and challenges presented by investment in transport. [For an exclusive discount on tickets for TransportInfo readers, please click on the link]

Other Regional Press

• Bus bosses tell council: 'Hike up parking charges in Stoke-on-Trent to help public transport'First Potteries and D&G believe bringing charges in line with Nottingham - where it costs £13-a-day to park - would encourage more people to catch the bus
• 'Stop moaning' mayor urges as claims of 'mistakes' made in Durham Tees Valley Airport dealConcerns over the deal with Peel and the Teesside Airport investment plan were given short shrift by Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen

Airportwatch

• Stagecoach motors north with a £60m buyback [subscription]Stagecoach shares climbed more than 5 per cent yesterday after the bus and train group unveiled a share buyback programme worth up to £60 million over the next year.

Coach and Bus Week

• Quality is always keySilverline LandFlight has been providing quality transport to the airline industry and the Solihull area since 1974. Recent expansion has seen the bus service side of the business grow with a number of contract gains. Richard Sharman visited the operator a few weeks after the start of the new services to see how things were progressing
• Drivers prepare for the Birmingham Clean Air ZoneDrivers are being urged to prepare for the introduction of the Birmingham Clean Air Zone. As mentioned in CBW1380 as part of Brum Breathes, Birmingham City Council’s air quality campaign, the Business Breathes website was created to advise businesses and city centre drivers to plan for potential vehicle charges. The CAZ will be introduced in January 2020, as part of an effort to reduce emissions.
• Big Bus faces multi-million dollar lawsuitThe Big Bus Company is facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit over alleged anti-competitive behaviour. The company, which is 15% owned by FTSE 250 giant and LegoLand owner Merlin Entertainment, and majority owned by Soho-based Quorn-owning private equity house Exponent, has allegedly, alongside Gray Line, ‘improperly prevented’ Go New York Tours from selling its tickets.
• Power to the busesStagecoach South’s Barry Bronger and Kevin Yetman talk to Andy Izatt about the electric bus Park & Ride operation now serving Guildford in Surrey
• Arriva performs well in latest TfL tendersArriva London North has won two new Transport for London (TfL) bus tenders from rival operators Metroline and London General.
• National Express buys 60% stake in WeDriveUThe company was founded in 1988 and today transports nearly seven million passengers annually National Express has acquired a 60% stake in Silicon Valley-based employee shuttle company, WeDriveU, for $84.3m.
• Powering throughDue to host the ALBUM Conference from 7-9 May this year, Cardiff Bus has faced challenging times recently, but as Managing Director Cynthia Ogbonna explained to James Day, it remains at the top of its game

Rail Technology Magazine

• ScotRail's new Hitachi Class 385 trains launched into service on Shotts line ScotRail has introduced its new Hitachi Class 385 trains onto the Edinburgh to Glasgow via Shotts line, meaning the electric trains are now running on all five routes between the two cities. Following the completion of Network Rail’s £160m electrification of the Shotts line, the...
• Safety concerns raised over Network Rail's £1.4bn railway arches sell-offConcerns over safety and hidden defects regarding Network Rail’s widely publicised £1.46bn sale of railway arches and 5,200 commercial estate properties have been reported to a confidential structural safety body. Anonymised concerns have been raised that the selling of space under...
• HS2 ignored serious concerns with winning bid for £1.3bn Old Oak Common contract, claims BechtelHS2 Ltd accepted an “abnormally low” bid and ignored serious concerns over the chosen contractors to build a key station, the losing bidders for the £1.3bn Old Oak Common contract Bechtel claimed in a High Court claim.  Bechtel’s claim states that HS2 acknowledged a...

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Introducing DOT: Helping to streamline operationsDownloading tacho data has just got simpler with Road Tech’s latest development
• Greater Manchester residents don’t want to foot bill for busesPartnership is the way to go to improve bus network efficiently, says OneBus CEO
• Arcola to build bus fuel cells on MerseysideArcola Energy will produce the fuel cell systems for a fleet of hydrogen-powered zero-emission buses bound for Liverpool at a new 15,000ft2 plant in nearby Knowsley.

Aviation Industry

• Hong Kong Airlines transfers pilots after A330, A350 delivery delaysHong Kong Airlines is offering pilots the option of transferring to alternative airlines as the company faces a surplus of pilots as a result of the delayed delivery of the Airbus A330 and A350. read more
• Recaro eyes becoming business-class seating leaderGerman cabin interiors specialist Recaro Aircraft Seating is aiming to become the No. 1 business-class seating supplier, after posting 15 years of double-digit revenue growth. read more
• Jet Airways’ aircraft scrubbed from Boeing backlogIndian carrier Jet Airways has seen its major order for Boeing airliners removed from the OEM’s official order backlog. read more
• First Pratt-powered Airbus A319neo begins flight test campaignThe Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-powered Airbus A319neo made its first flight April 25, starting a flight test campaign that is to be completed before the end of the year. read more

EIN News Subscription

• Europe's airline industry is consolidatingAMERICA MAY be the land of free-market competition. But look up at the sky and Europe looks freer.