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

Monday, 02 September 2019

BBC News

• HS2 Derbyshire tram plans 'could devastate canal'Plans to build a tram line along the route of a former canal, to take passengers to an HS2 rail hub, have been attacked by a restoration group.
• New off-road cycle route links England and ScotlandA new 800-mile mainly off-road cycle route between England and the north coast of Scotland has been launched. The Great North Trail links the Peak District to Scotland's most northerly mainland points for the first time.
• French air traffic control 'outage' hits UK flightsAirlines warn of delays and some cancellations due to problems affecting French airspace.

The Guardian

• Leaked no-deal report says lorries could face 48-hour delays at Dover‘Clear and present danger’ to supply chain, say hauliers, with no sign of new customs process
• Disruption continues as South Western rail strike enters fourth dayWalkout by RMT union as part of dispute over guards on trains will last until Tuesday morning

The Independent

• Top airline bosses call on Sajid Javid to cut passenger duty before Brexit hits or risk 'holding Britain back'Ryanair, easyJet and British Airways tell chancellor to slash tax on fliers which is highest in Europe

The Telegraph

• Daniel Ramot: The man taking on Uber with ride-sharing for buses [subscription]efore Daniel Ramot started Via, he and his co-founder wanted to fix your overflowing inbox. “You know how you get way too many emails? We were going to make a filter that randomly deleted 50pc of your incoming email.”
• Driverless cars are the new dot-com bubble – they promise far more than they can deliver [subscription]e simply don’t know what sort of jobs will be available in the future. After all, imagine yourself in the year 1900 peering into the future. How could you know then that the proportion of people employed in agriculture in the USA would fall to a twentieth of what it was then?

Times Online

• Hopes rise for Ferguson Marine shipyard buyer [subscription]Hopes are rising that a potential buyer can be found for the Clyde’s last commercial shipyard, which looked certain to be nationalised.
• Clean air campaign: Mayors call for fund to clean city air [subscription]Mayors of 14 cities with illegal levels of pollution are calling for a £1.5 billion clean air fund to get polluting vehicles off their roads.
• University and rail pension funds urged to take Pensions Regulator’s counsel [subscription]Charles Counsell is unfazed by the notion he could be partly responsible for two of the most disruptive potential strikes of the coming winter. University lecturers are being balloted this month, while rail unions are threatening their first nationwide industrial action in 20 years.
• British Airways set to strip perks from striking pilots [subscription]British Airways is preparing to crack down on perks enjoyed by striking pilots as it became clear that the majority of the airline’s flights are likely to be cancelled during a walkout next week.

City AM

• Zoopla founder raises £25m for used car start-upA company planning Amazon-style home delivery for cars has won a further £25m in backing ahead of its launch later this year.

Birmingham Mail

• Grim message over new bus lane fines in BirminghamThe number of Birmingham bus lane cameras has already doubled since 2016, but as another new lane goes live close to Broad Street the city council is gearing up to fine transgressors

Morning Star

• Scotrail staff work-to-rule over change in job descriptionSCOTRAIL faced a flurry of cancellations this weekend as a work-to-rule among driver managers takes hold.

The York Press

• York road schemes - including Monks Cross roundabout - to be reviewedIMPROVEMENTS will go ahead on a main road in York. And the council will look at altering the design of the Monks Cross roundabout upgrades in response to a public consultation launched on the scheme.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Don't let our city's bus passengers down - YEP's plea to transport leadersTo say they are the lifeline for thousands of passengers a day across Leeds is quite simply an understatement. Residents across the city are dependent on buses for work, school, training, travelling to and from vital medical appointments as well as staying connected with their loved ones

Other Regional Press

• Here's why new bus gates have been put in place in Glasgow city centreCharity Environmental Protection Scotland welcomed council's new traffic management measures – though they admit "they are unlikely to be popular with motorists"
• New stations in Middlewich and Gadbrook Park 'could serve 140,000 passengers'The forecasts have been published by consultancy firm WSP in a feasibility study which shows the options for bringing passenger trains back to Middlewich
• Echo letter: 'We don’t want even more noisy flights from Southend Airport'HOW nice of Southend Airport to inform us that we are going to be subject to even more noise in the future with new flight destinations it has secured. What gives it the right to impose such noisy aeroplanes to fly over our homes?
• Academics asked to shape 'mass transit system' for West YorkshireAcademics from the University of Huddersfield will be among the experts invited to submit ideas for a “mass transit system” for West Yorkshire. Experts from the university’s Institute for Railway Research will be among the promoters, manufacturers, suppliers, constructors, engineers, system developers and operators expected to feed into plans being developed by West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA).

Train Operators

• ScotRail launches WhatsApp service for customersScotRail will launch a new WhatsApp service for customers as part of a £4million investment plan to improve customer satisfaction.

Other News Sources

• Train stations to lose permanent security guardsPERMANENT nighttime security guards are being removed from some Southend borough train stations raising fears among passengers. C2C has decided to increase the number of guards at Southend Central but Southend East and Thorpe Bay stations will be among those who will lose permanent cover and be served by a mobile unit instead.