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

Monday, 24 June 2019

BBC News

• Birmingham Airport flights delayed due to fire alarmThousands of passengers had to evacuate the terminal when alarms sounded during the afternoon.
• Rail services improve after remedial noticeMore trains are running on time and fewer services are being cancelled, ScotRail claims.
• Climate change: Cashing in on CO2Scientists say carbon dioxide can be used to benefit humanity instead of overheating the planet.

The Guardian

• Chris Boardman at odds with DfT over zebra crossings in ManchesterIt is a disagreement between two extremely determined opponents: one a gold medal-winning Olympian and the other a government department suspicious of attempts to challenge its road painting orthodoxy.
• The Guardian view on Heathrow expansion: stop it to save the planetAviation efficiency gains and innovation will not be enough to limit emissions growth. Demand for air travel needs to be damped
• Public to have say on renaming White Hart Lane station Tottenham HotspurExclusive: FoI request reveals proposal was at advanced stage after lobbying by Tottenham Hotspur football club
• Airbus shuts down subsidiary at centre of bribery investigationInquiry into claims GPT paid multimillion pound bribes to win Saudi military contract

Times Online

• Mind the soot! Tube ride to the past [Subscription]There is nothing like nostalgia to mask the weeping eyes and soothe the rasping throat caused by soot and sulphur. For the Victorians, a journey on the London Underground — the only subterranean railway in the world ever to use steam locomotives — meant a choking, cinder-filled vision of Hell.
• East is back on track, says ScotRail [Subscription]Train cancellations in the east are at their lowest level in a year thanks to a driver and conductor training programme, ScotRail has said. There had been complaints of cancellations and overcrowding on services in Fife and the Scottish Borders, and Nicola Sturgeon had called the performance unacceptable.
• Paris aims for flying taxis by 2024 [Subscription]Visitors to Paris are wearily familiar with the problem. Taxis are in short supply and when one turns up the driver’s mood is bad and the traffic jams make it worse.

City AM

• Activist investor Coast Capital rails against First franchise bidAn activist investor vying to shake up First Group has warned that it will pull out of a contract to run one of the UK’s leading rail franchises if it succeeds in toppling the firm’s management at a showdown on Tuesday.

The Mirror

• Bus companies 'putting public at risk with “dangerous” long hours for drivers'MPs are being urged to back a private members bill capping drivers’ hours. Bus companies are putting the public at risk with “dangerously long” hours for drivers, say union chiefs.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Town's cycle lanes 'the worst I've come across', says Keighley councillorA KEIGHLEY councillor has described cycle lanes in the town as the worst he has ever come across. And the lanes in North Street were particularly singled out for criticism when members of Bradford Council’s Keighley Area Committee discussed road safety at its latest meeting.

Bristol Live

• Bristol Temple Meads labelled 'Poundland' of nation's stations as concerns raised over revampA council leader has raised alarms over the handling of a multi-million pound revamp of Bristol Temple Meads, as transport campaigners brandished it the “Poundland” of train stations.
• This is why Bristol's First buses have the numbers they doMany of us take the bus every day, but have you ever found yourself wondering how the services got their names?

Nottingham Evening Post

• East Midlands Airport hikes cost to park at rapid-drop off area despite original U-turn on changesEast Midlands Airport has increased the cost of parking in the rapid drop-off area despite a U-turn on a tariff change. From Monday, June 24, the rapid drop-off tariff cost changes from £2 for 10 minutes to £3 for 10 minutes.

Cambridge News

• Why is there a fence next to the railway but not the Guided Busway?Cambridge's Guided Busway is notorious. Its design seems to be a source of constant confusion for those unfamiliar with it, with endless numbers of drivers getting lost then stuck on it

Other Regional Press

• "Begging for a bus": the blind Chorley veteran who says he will be left stranded when village service endsA Chorley pensioner with barely any eyesight says he will be forced to move house when a village bus service comes to an end next month. Terry Collins, 80, believes many of his elderly neighbours will be faced with a similarly stark choice when Stagecoach scraps the only daytime link between Astley Village and Chorley town centre.
• Furious homeowner says low-flying Gatwick Airport planes are making his life intolerableThe couple bought their home in Chiddingstone Hoath 16 years ago and, for the first six years claim overhead planes were not a problem
• New short stay car park at Oxford station could open in JulyPARKING at Oxford Rail Station will become easier when new facilities are finally finished next month - two years behind schedule.
• Cyclists not given notice over plans to close main Cambridge cyclewayCambridgeshire Live columnist Robin Heydon argues cyclists should be given as much notice as car drivers
• ScotRail: Improvement plan ‘showing results’And in Fife, where fed up passengers have faced months of delays, cancellations and overcrowded trains, the operator said things were also looking up.

The Economist

• Airline catering giant checks in at Icon Manchester AirportOne of the world’s leading providers of airline catering services is expanding its UK operations with a move to a new state-of-the-art 102,500 sq ft industrial/warehouse unit at Manchester Airport.

Other News Sources

• Southend Airport introduces traffic management system to support sustainable growth - Essex-TVLondon Southend Airport is introducing a new traffic management system, as it prepares to welcome 2.5 million passengers a year by the end of 2019.
• Airport calls on government to help unlock its potentialEast Midlands Airport (EMA) has called on the government to help unlock its potential by setting out policies to solidify its position as a globally significant cargo hub.
• More women in engineering ‘an absolute necessity’ for future of transport The government calls on more women to consider engineering careers, highlighting the opportunities provided by major infrastructure projects like HS2.
• Major investment and new brand identity for East Midlands Railway Abellio is preparing to start operating East Midlands Railway in August and has been briefing its plans to invest £600 million on brand new bi-mode intercity trains and faster, modern, refurbished trains across the East Midlands to stakeholders including East Midlands Councils, Transport for the East Midlands, Community Rail Partnerships and rail user groups.