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

Friday, 17 May 2019

BBC News

• SWR refurbished trains launch delayed over door safetyThe introduction of refurbished trains by South Western Railway (SWR) has been delayed over safety concerns.
• Tesla to update battery software after recent car firesThe move follows reports that a parked car caught fire in Hong Kong, after a similar incident in Shanghai.
• Driverless lorry allowed on public Swedish roadsThe lorry will move slowly but can carry tonnes of goods.
• ULEZ: More than 70% of drivers comply with new pollution rulesA report finds 74% of vehicles driving into the Ultra Low Emission Zone comply with the new standards.
• UK to scrap passenger landing cardsPassengers arriving in the UK will no longer have to fill in landing cards from Monday.
• Boeing completes 737 Max software upgradeThe firm will seek certification from the US regulator which grounded the jet after two crashes.
• Bus services should be designed for young people, says watchdogTransport Focus says tickets need to be easier to buy and recommends firms install onboard wi-fi.
• Troubled CalMac ferries 'may' be ready next yearTransport Secretary Michael Matheson tells a parliamentary committee of hopes for a 2020 completion date.
• Hunterston port 'masterplan' revealed promising £140m boostOwners Peel Ports claim the development will bring 1,700 jobs and add £140m to the Scottish economy.

Department for Transport

• New trains to be rolled out across the country alongside £48 billion investment to upgrade tracksTrains will be greener with more comfortable seats, improved accessibility, free wifi, power sockets and air-conditioning.

The Guardian

• Environmental protesters barred from HS2 site in west LondonHigh court ruling extends injunction to include ancient woodland and London aquifer

The Independent

• Uber launches 'Quiet Mode' for users who want to ride in silenceThe option is only available for Uber Black users
• Brawl erupts on Wizz Air plane after drunk British tourist refuses to sit down, making plane abort landingExclusive: Brawl breaks out aboard Wizz Air flight 2208 from Luton to the Hungarian capital

The Scotsman

• Undercover government inspectors keep ScotRail on its toes - Alastair DaltonThey are more obsessive than trainspotters, on the hunt for litter the size of a credit card and information posters just few degrees squint.

The Telegraph

• Thomas Cook crisis escalates as it lands £300m in emergency funding [Subscription]homas Cook's crisis has escalated after the tour operator was forced to ask for emergency funding to counter soaring losses.
• Train firm axes free food and drink in first class after claiming passengers were 'abusing' the offer [subscription]A train company has canned First Class upgrade deals, accusing customers of "abusing" the £10 offer of greater legroom - and more importantly, limitless complimentary food and drink.

Times Online

• Clean air for all: One in three cars still too dirty despite new curbs on pollution [Subscription]Almost a third of vehicles driving in central London during peak periods are powered by dirty diesel and petrol engines, despite the introduction of tough pollution measures.
• ScotRail pays over £1m compensation for delaysPassengers whose journeys were disrupted by delays have received more than £1 million in total compensation from ScotRail.
• Paying for public services should be treated as investment in infrastructure [subscription]Living standards depend not just on what people earn from paid labour, “but on the social income which they receive as citizens”. The historian R H Tawney was one of the first to draw attention to the value of the “social wage”, the wage made up of all the essential things that are funded through taxes and provided by the state. Healthcare and education are obvious examples. Roads, public parks, policing and child protection are also examples of services in welfare democracies: available to all according to need, not ability to pay.
• Abandoning HS2 would ‘enrage north’ [subscription]Cancelling HS2 would enrage businesses and politicians in the north and Midlands, the transport secretary has said.
• Row over British Airways cabin crew’s visible bras [Subscription]British Airways was embroiled in a sexism row yesterday amid claims that cabin crew were warned about bras being seen through their blouses.
• Noise from third Heathrow runway ‘will affect 1.6m’ [Subscription]Up to 1.6 million people may be exposed to regular noisy flights under plans for a third runway at Heathrow, according to analysis.

City AM

• Easyjet losses soar as fuel prices take chunk out of budget travelLosses shot up at Easyjet in the first half of the year, in line with expectations, the company showed this morning as it was forced to deal with lower revenues per seat.
• Logistics firm Wincanton raises profits despite fall in revenueSmall cap logistics firm Wincanton boosted profits in its latest financial year despite slipping revenues, sending shares up 1.6 per cent to 260p in early trading.
• Lift off: Flying taxi startup hopes to revolutionise city travel by 2025Ever been stuck in a traffic jam, wishing you could take to the skies and leapfrog the gridlocked cars below?
• French ride-hailing app Kapten puts Uber in its sights as it launches in LondonFrench ride-hailing app Kapten has taken a swipe at Uber after launching in London this morning.
• TfL rakes in £220,000 a day from mayor Sadiq Khan's Ulez pollution chargeTransport for London (TfL) is earning nearly £220,000 a day from the new Ultra-Low Emission Zone (Ulez), which charges vehicles if they do not comply with strict pollution standards in the capital.
• Canary Wharf Group in spat with Crossrail over station's £80m safety billThe Canary Wharf Group has hit back at Crossrail over claims that an extra £80m has been spent to make the Elizabeth Line station comply with TfL safety standards.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Edinburgh bus drivers to go on strike as Festival gets underwayA BUS strike looks set to start across the Capital at the beginning of August as drivers walk out over alleged bullying and harassment.

London Evening Standard

• London tube driver salary: How much do Tube drivers earn? What you didn't know about working for TfL Underground We take a look at what it's like to be a Tube driver

Northern Echo

• Improvement work nearing conclusion on Durham Railway Station underpassWORK is progressing improving part of the passenger experience at a principal station on the Main East Coast Railway line.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Outrage as damning 50-page report on HS2 by House of Lords doesn't mention Toton Hub onceThe £55 billion High Speed 2 rail project should be slowed down, and the entire economic case should be re-examined, according to a highly-critical House of Lords report.

Sheffield Star

• ‘Nearly £10bn cheaper, Manchester in 23 minutes and less than 20 demolitions’ – Campaigners bring viable alternative for HS2 in South YorkshireCampaigners and independent rail engineers have come up with an alternative to the ‘absolutely terrible’ HS2 route through South Yorkshire.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Major rethink needed as government warned northern cities like Leeds "short-changed" by HS2The government has been warned that HS2 needs a "major rethink" and northern cities like Leeds are being short-changed by the high speed rail plans.

Bucks Free Press

• Cheryl Gillan MP tells House of Commons that HS2 that HS2 is 'costing the earth'Chesham and Amersham MP Dame Cheryl Gillan issued a stark warning in the House of Commons speaking on the impact HS2 could have on the local wildlife.

North Wales Live

• BMW comes to Gwynedd to showcase its 'ultimate vehicle for driving pleasure'This is the latest car brand to head to North Wales to show off their vehicles

Other Regional Press

• Bus diversion a sign of calamitous planning by TfLALL the signs point to what can only be described as the decline of Transport for London.
• More trains, faster trains, better trains: MP welcomes Harrogate rail upgradeTransport Minister and local MP Andrew Jones has welcomed news that Harrogate is to see more services – including express services – to and from Leeds starting this week. Also the brand new Azuma bullet trains are shortly to start operating between Leedsand London while six direct services a day to and from Harrogate may start as early as December.

Coach and Bus Week

• New ultra-low emission buses for Sussex and SurreyTen single-decker Wrightbus Euro VI Micro Hybrid StreetLite buses have arrived in Metrobus’ Crawley depot to begin their first journeys with passengers in Sussex and Surrey.
• First Glasgow invests in 150 new low-emission busesThe latest buses feature the mirrorless SmartVision system distributed in the UK by 21st Century First Glasgow has invested over £30m in 150 new Alexander Dennis low-emission buses over the last six months, with plans to invest further in a continued bid to improve air quality in the city.
• Scania’s net sales rise in latest interim reportSwedish coach and bus manufacturer Scania has had a record-breaking start to 2019, with earnings in the first quarter at an all-time high of SEK 4.21bn and net sales rising to SEK 36.1bn.
• Win for Sullivan Buses in latest TfL tender resultsThe results of the latest round of TfL bus route tenders have been announced by London Bus Services Limited (LBSL).
• Coast Capital raises stake in FirstGroup prompting speculation of board shake-upFirstGroup investor Coast Capital, which has previously pushed for a break-up of the company, has raised its stake and sent a requisition notice to call a general meeting of the transport operator.
• Yorkshire Tiger Ltd found with timetable failuresIn a recent written decision, the Deputy Traffic Commissioner for the North East of England found that Yorkshire Tiger Ltd had failed, without reasonable excuse, to operate in accordance with the registered timetable under Section 6 of the 1985 Act.
• Yorkshire Tiger Ltd found with timetable failuresTfL is investing £12m in the vehicles and fuelling infrastructure, with over £5m being added by European bodies and £1m from the Office of Low Emission Vehicles

New Civil Engineer

• Exclusive | £1.5bn Crewe station contract delayedThe launch of a £1.5bn contract to upgrade Crewe station is being delayed, New Civil Engineer can reveal.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Scrap HS2 and use its £56bn budget to fund 28 alternative projects, urges TPAScrapping the £56bn HS2 project could pave the way for 28 separate local infrastructure schemes to be funded instead with the case “getting stronger by the day” a new report from the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has claimed. The report states that with the latest evidence...

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• Improved bus service between Durham and Sunderland is just Go North East is launching a new standard of express buses on a reinvigorated X20 route from Monday , giving customers a fast and direct service between Durham and Sunderland under a new ‘X-lines’ brand, which is around 25% faster than the normal bus service.
• The force for good: Operators laud ‘fantastic’ Album conference in CardiffLast week’s Association of Local Bus Managers (Album) Conference in Cardiff has been hailed a “fantastic” success by attendees.
• Car scrap 'mobility credits' scheme proposed for WalesMinisters in Wales are being asked to introduce a mobility credits scheme as part of their Clean Air Plan.
• Coach and bus autonomy: Think about it soonAutonomy. It’s a word that will play a major part in the future of much of the industry, and a survey of managers shows that a surprisingly high level of thought has already gone into the effects of autonomy by some operators.
• Avid Technology announces new chairmanAutomotive clean-tech firm Avid Technology Group in North East England has appointed Andrew Hodgson as its new non-executive chairman with immediate effect.
• NatEx Coventry thanks drivers 200 years’ serviceNational Express Coventry has honoured four recently retired drivers who clocked up nearly 200 years of service by naming buses after them.
• National Express WM has contactless ticketing breakthroughNational Express West Midlands (NXWM) has completed the rollout of its full upgraded Model 2 contactless ticket system.
• Open letter from operators says bus industry ‘needs to tell story’A small group of operators and marketeers have written an open letter to the bus industry, calling for stronger, united messaging to the outside world.
• Stagecoach’s £4m ‘gold’ investmentThe buses entered service from Monday (13 May). 15 buses will operate on service 151 and nine buses will operate on service 26. The vehicles are all fitted to Euro 6 standard and include start/stop technology and CCTV equipment.

Other News Sources

• MP Encourages Women To Report 'Unacceptable' Behaviour On Tube After 'Creepy' IncidentMP Dawn Butler, 49, has encouraged anyone made to feel uncomfortable by other passengers on public transport to report their behaviour to the British Transport Police after an incident on her morning commute.
• New ScotRail timetable changes set to come into forceNEW ScotRail timetable changes set to come into force this weekend (May 19) will add thousands of extra seats for customers, says the train provider.

EIN News Subscription

• 'Flying vehicles' could hit Paris 'within five years' says French capital's public transport operator … vehiclesâ€� could join Paris’ transport network “within five yearsâ€�, … is teaming up with Airbus, the European aerospace giant, to … quot;explore the feasibility of urban air … a statement. "Airbus is developing demonstrators of …