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

Saturday, 06 July 2019

BBC News

• Old bikes help refugees settle into new livesRefugee families in Aberdeenshire are able to get around with ease due to donations of second-hand bikes.

The Independent

• Why are airport shuttle services between terminals always so terrible?Should you find me at an airport or other transport terminal, do say hello. That is what a gentleman did at Leeds station on Friday morning. He sought my opinion not on the state of the railways, but on the state of the airports – and in particular the debate over expansion at Heathrow.

Times Online

• KLM tells its customers: take the train instead [subscription]One of Europe’s biggest airlines is flying against business convention by encouraging its customers to think of the planet and consider travelling by rail.
• Ryanair passengers among most likely to suffer delays [subscription]Ryanair passengers are among the most likely to suffer delays, according to an analysis of the worst offenders in the industry.

Daily Record

• New £476K travel hub aims to turn Irvine in to a cycle friendly townA new closed cycle loop in Irvine's Quarry Road is due to open later this summer.
• East Ayrshire Council explore options to launch its own bus firmEast Ayrshire Council will explore options to run its own bus firm. Councillors say the move would combat firms that cut vital services to maximise profit.

Mail Online

• HS2 bosses make £30million renting out homes near the new railway line they encouraged owners to sellHS2 has been making millions of pounds a year in rent from homes it had pressured owners to sell. The company behind the £56billion high-speed rail plan has made almost £30million this way in the past five years, according to figures obtained by the Daily Mail.

The National

• Caledonia Way to link with interactive route plannerAN interactive route planner has been launched by walking and cycling charity Sustrans and VisitScotland to encourage people to explore one of the county’s most iconic long-distance cycling routes.

London Evening Standard

• Jaguar Land Rover announces range of EVs to be built in West Midlands plantThe announcement is seen as a major thumbs up for the UK car industry
• Sadiq Khan to investigate TfL 'withholding vital information' from Croydon tram crash probeMayor of London Sadiq Khan will investigate Transport for London for withholding
• Taxi age limit cut to improve air quality in LondonThe age limit of black cabs in London is to be cut from 15 to 12 years to reduce toxic emissions.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Metro bosses will boost driver numbers in a bid to stop last minute cancellationsMetro bosses have unveiled a "transformational" plan to end a train driver shortage that is causing regular cancellations.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Dudley Very Light Rail centre hits funding problemsCouncil bosses say they are confident they will not lose out on more than £5 million of funding for an innovative light rail facility.

Yorkshire Post

• ‘Staggering’ timing of East Coast Main Line closure condemned by Yorkshire event organisersCALLS are growing for transport chiefs to be compelled to take greater account of spectators attending major sporting and cultural events when closing major railways for engineering upgrades, The Yorkshire Post can exclusively reveal.
• MP wants heads banging together over closure furore after key East Coast Main Line rail body fails to meet for eight monthsTHE next Transport Secretary is being urged by a Yorkshire MP to “bang heads together” at the body that was set up to oversee improvements to services and represent the interests of passengers on the East Coast Main Line.

Other Regional Press

• Plans for new Fleming Way bus station moving forwardSwindon Borough Council has made it through to the next stage of assessment regarding a bid for funding.
• Why your trains go rogue at nightTrains are widely regarded as one of the most reliable modes of transport out there. Granted, they might not always - or often, run on time, but they can be relied upon to travel from A to B.
• Mayor James Palmer wants CrossCountry franchise stripped for refusing more trains from ManeaThe mayor said his attempts to convince the rail operator to run a direct service have fallen on deaf ears, despite his claim it would increase the economic opportunities in Manea and add another option for affordable housing within commuting distance of Cambridge.
• Rail depot gets green signal as new trains are on their way to the eastGreater Anglia has been granted planning permission to build a workshop to maintain its new suburban trains on the outskirts of Harwich.
• This is why you'll never know how long the train barriers will be down in LincolnA clever idea has been rejected by Network Rail

Train Operators

• Full speed ahead for Greater Anglia’s Bombardier trainsBombardier is building 111 trains for Greater Anglia which will run into London Liverpool Street from Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.

New Civil Engineer

• HS2 Old Oak station construction delayed by legal battleConstruction on High Speed 2’s Old Oak Common station will not begin until September at the very earliest, after a judge dismissed HS2 Ltd’s request to hear its application for lifting the automatic suspension placed on the contract before the court’s summer recess.

Rail Advent

• GB Railfrieght assist in reopening site near Heathrow AirportGB Railfreight has announced that it has assisted in the reopening of a rail site at Link Park Heathrow, just to the north of Heathrow Airport.

Rail Technology Magazine

• £80m Plymouth station refurbishment plan revealedMasterplans for a major refurbishment of Plymouth’s railway station have been revealed. Plymouth City Council approved a £26m funding package in 2018, working with Great Western Railway (GWR), Network Rail and the University of Plymouth to develop a large-scale regeneration project...
• Network Rail award drone repair contractsNetwork Rail has handed contracts totalling £2.6m to several firms to supply, maintain and repair its drones. The company has a fleet of 24 drones to assist maintenance teams in surveying the railways for repairs. Supplying the equipment will be Heliguy and Buzzflyer, servicing will be...
• The challenge of completing CrossrailWith a new plan now in place to deliver Crossrail, Hedley Ayres, National Audit Office manager, major projects and programmes, takes a look at how things went wrong. As has been extensively reported, Crossrail is around two years late and, if all its £17.6bn of funding is used, could end...
• Sellafield director joins Crossrail independent advisory panelThe supply chain director of Sellafield, the nuclear fuel processing and decommissioning site, Martin Chown, is joining the Advisory Board at Crossrail. The government announced the appointment earlier today, saying that he will use his expertise working for Sellafield and the Institution of...

Aviation Industry

• HOP strike revives Air France labor tensionsPilots at Air France regional subsidiary Air France HOP may strike because they want to be moved onto Air France contracts. read more
• Norwegian introduces ‘gate-to-gate’ Wi-Fi connectivity Scandinavian LCC Norwegian Air Shuttle has introduced “gate-to-gateâ€� Wi-Fi connectivity, which gives passengers access to the airline’s Wi-Fi network as soon as they step on board the aircraft. read more
• EC approves Flybe acquisition by Virgin Atlantic consortiumThe European Commission (EC) has formally approved Connect Airways’ acquisition of UK regional carrier Flybe, the consortium said July 5. read more
• Austrian union calls for strike action at Vienna airportAustrian trade union Vida is launching a new offensive aimed at Vienna International Airport that it says could involve strikes, but support across airline employees based at the fast-growing airport seems weak. read more