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

Monday, 12 August 2019

BBC News

• Disabled EasyJet passengers 'stranded' in London after cancelled flightsEasyJet passengers describe 'nightmare' of trying to get flights from London to Belfast.
• Shipyard boss Jim McColl and government clash over rescue planThe owner of Ferguson Marine says proposals to nationalise the beleaguered yard make

The Guardian

• Raise car fuel prices to fight air pollution, says rightwing thinktankBright Blue calls for zero VAT on electric cars and rewards for reporting idling vehicles. Vehicle fuel taxes should rise to combat the air pollution crisis in the UK, with an extra charge on diesel, according to the conservative thinktank Bright Blue.
• Train hits tree near Lincoln as wild UK weather disrupts travelRail passengers had a narrow escape after their train struck a tree that had fallen on to a line near Lincoln. The Lincoln to Nottingham hit the tree shortly before 9am on Sunday, Network Rail said.

The Herald

• SNP ministers 'abusing their power' over ferry contract, says Sturgeon adviserNICOLA Sturgeon’s government has been accused of “abusing its power” by one of the First Minister’s own economic advisers.

The Independent

• Railway ticket barriers could be no more as tech giants develop ways to sense when we’re travelling by our smartphonesAll change for ticket-checking as we know it as technology is developed to sense who is on a train by their smartphones. Railway station ticket barriers could be replaced by sensors which detect when passengers board trains, a manufacturer has claimed.

The Telegraph

• Railway station ticket barriers could be replaced by sensors which detect when passengers board trains [ Subscription ]TThe desperate scrabble for your ticket while running for a train could be a thing of the past, a manufacturer has claimed, with sensors potentially replacing ticket barriers which detect when passengers board trains. Train-builder Hitachi Rail is developing technology designed to ensure travellers are automatically charged the correct fare by recognising their smartphones at both ends of their journey.
• Bentley chief: ‘Leaving the EU without a deal is not corporate death for us, but it’s annoying’ [ Subscription ]“I don’t collect cars,” says Adrian Hallmark, the boss of Bentley, the Crewe-based luxury manufacturer whose vehicles are the choice of those who find a Rolls-Royce a bit too ostentatious. “But I’ve owned 160 cars since I was 17 – I keep a list.”
• No-deal lorry mayhem at Dover and Calais? 'C'est la bullsh**' replies French ports chief [ Subscription ]the head of the French channel ports has dismissed warnings of Brexit chaos on the Dover-Calais trade route as irresponsible scare-mongering by political agitators.

Times Online

• Boeing jet engine fragments rain down on Rome [ Subscription ]Romans ran for cover as hot metal fragments fell to the ground from a passing Boeing aircraft, smashing car windows, damaging roads and starting fires.
• Clean air campaign: Earn money by informing on idling cars [ Subscription ]People would be able to earn money from videoing drivers who cause air pollution by leaving their engines running while parked under a proposal from a Conservative think tank.
• Sky-high ‘kiss and fly’ fees to deter drivers [ Subscription ]Drivers are being charged up to £4 to drop friends and family at UK airports, with most operators hiking fees this summer. Research published today found that eight in ten airports had increased drop-off and pick-up fees as they seek to push passengers on to environmentally friendly transport.

City AM

• Southeastern among franchises placed on public takeover watch list The Southeastern franchise is one of six that could go the way of LNER and be taken over by the government as sources warned there was little time for a new operator to be appointed by April next year.

Bolton News

• Diamond North West: New bus firm takes over 18 servicesA NEW bus firm launched its first services this weekend. Diamond North West will operate 18 buses across Bolton and Bury after buying the Weston Street depot from struggling transport giant First.

Liverpool Echo

• The three train lines Liverpool has lost and the 34 stations that went with themLarge parts of the city now isolated from the railways used to be linked up by them

The York Press

• First York bus fare doubles on route to city's Nestlé factoryBUS fares on a First York route from a village to York’s Nestléfactory have doubled at a stroke. Passengers travelling from New Earswick to the confectionery business in Haxby Road are now paying £2 for a single fare, compared to just £1 until last month.

Yorkshire Post

• Debacle over Interrail is a taste of what's to come - Jayne DowleDon’t say I didn’t warn you. When I came back from our family adventure to France last year, setting off from Doncaster station with our two teenagers and travelling by train all the way to near Port Grimaud via Paris and Marseilles, I ruminated on the very real possibility that in the face of Brexit, it might be the last time we could enjoy such a jaunt.

Bucks Free Press

• Beaconsfield MP Dominic Grieve: 'Continuity in rail station funding is so important'THIS week, Beaconsfield MP Dominic Grieve writes exclusively to Bucks Free Press readers:

Carlisle News & Star

• Cumbrian rail users thanked after West Coast main line closureRAIL users in Cumbria have been thanked for their patience following a 16-day closure of part of the West Coast main line.

Other Regional Press

• Campaign fights train service cuts plan and calls for improvements to Luton stationCAMPAIGNERS fighting plans by train operator Govia Thameslink to reduce the number of trains stopping at Luton station have won praise from a senior Luton councillor.
• Figures reveal extent of train overcrowding on TransPennine Express servicesTrains run by TransPennine Express in West Yorkshire are squeezing in more passengers than the maximum capacity during peak hours, making it the operator’s most crowded service in northern England. New figures released by rail bosses show that during peak hours of 7 to 10am and 4 to 7pm, the operator’s trains are squeezing in nearly three per cent more passengers on average than the stated capacity.
• Hikes in airport parking fees ‘leave drivers wincing’Four out of five UK airports have increased their fees for drivers dropping off or collecting people at airports this summer, according to a study.
• Families' dismay at plans for new train siding near their homesFamilies unhappy at the prospect of overnight railway engineering works at the bottom of their garden have been invited to a consultation.
• Weather causes 'extensive damage' to railway tracksHEAVY rain has caused extensive damage to the railway at various locations between Ardlui and Tyndrum, disrupting trains between Glasgow Queen Street and Crainlarich/Oban.

Rail Advent

• Work to start this Autumn to allow longer trains to run between Cambridge and Kings LynnWork to sort out congestion on peak train services between Cambridge and King’s Lynn is set to start this autumn.

Other News Sources

• New homes on Oakham allotments would be too near noisy Oakham-Stamford-Corby railway lineA site for planned housing in Oakham would be too near a noisy railway line for its future occupants.
• Camden approves HS2 ‘sugar cube’ at EustonBuilding covered in 13,000 white tiles to reflect light into nearby streets
• Railway station protest planned over train fare hikeRAIL workers are planning to protest when higher rail fares are announced. The biggest rail workers’ union is planning a series of protests on the day higher rail fares are set to be announced.