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

Friday, 06 September 2019

BBC News

• Swansea airport's commercial flights grounded due to 'safety concerns'Flights from a Welsh airport have been grounded after the former RAF base had its operating licence suspended due to a "series of safety concerns."
• Tesla Autopilot design 'led to' crashThe design of Tesla's Autopilot system and "driver inattention" led to a crash in 2018, according to a US National Transportation Safety Board report.
• Nissan boss says he was overpaid but denies wrongdoingThe Japanese carmaker has been grappling with the Carlos Ghosn scandal and falling profits.
• Europe will not accept US verdict on 737 Max safetyEurope's aviation safety watchdog will run its own tests on the plane before letting flights resume.
• BA strike still on after airline rejects union proposalThe airline rejects a last-ditch proposal which the pilots' union said could avert strike action.
• Air France crash: Manslaughter charges dropped over 2009 disasterFrench judges say there are not enough grounds to prosecute Air France and Airbus over the 2009 crash.

ITV News

• New fleet of trains for Merseyrail begin to take shapeConstruction for a new fleet of trains for the Merseyrail network is beginning to take shape as one stage of the manufacturing process is completed.

Department for Transport

• Protection for flights and road transport after Brexit reaffirmedPassengers and hauliers to continue to travel and trade with confidence as UK-EU transport protected after Brexit.

The Guardian

• Police report 16% rise in violent crime on Britain's railwaysIn 2018-19, there were 13,591 such offences, including attempted murder and assault
• Greater Anglia train ran for 16 miles at up to 80mph with open doorA passenger train travelled for 23 minutes at speeds of up to 80mph with a carriage door open, accident investigators have said.
• Tesla Model 3 was UK's third bestselling car in AugustThe Tesla Model 3 has rapidly become the UK’s third most popular new car as sales of electric vehicles overall doubled in the past year.

The Independent

• Train travelled at 80mph with door open, says investigationA passenger train travelled at 80mph for 23 minutes while a door was open. The commuter train was speeding from London Liverpool Street station to Southend Victoria in Essex when the incident occurred, according to a preliminary investigation by the Rail Accident Investigation Bureau (RAIB).

The Telegraph

• Southend train driven for 23 minutes with its door open [Subscription]commuter train travelled at 80mph for 23 minutes while its door was open, an accident investigation report has found.
• Lyft failed to protect passengers from sexual assault, lawsuit claimsUber rival Lyft failed to protect passengers from sexual assault, a lawsuit has claimed.

Times Online

• BA strike: thousands of pilots to walk out next week [subscription]British Airways is facing the most damaging strike in its history, with nearly 1,600 flights at risk of being grounded next week.
• Go-Ahead stays on track with help of profit from buses [subscription]Go-Ahead Group, the train company that was plagued by crises on the Thameslink-Southern superfranchise, has shrugged off another setback, last year’s loss of its London Midland rail contract, to post better than expected profits.

City AM

• Shaun Bailey confirms he will increase Tube fares – but says a fare hike is already comingTory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey has confirmed he would put up Tube fares after saying the current mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, would do the same.

Daily Record

• Proposal for new Stirling to London rail service by spring 2021A new Stirling to London rail service could be up and running by May 2021. Grand Union Trains have submitted a notification to the Office of Rail and Road to run the service which would go via Larbert and on to Motherwell before joining the West Coast Main Line.

The Mirror

• Busy passenger train travels for 23 minutes at 80mph with doors openThe Greater Anglia service travelled in traffic for 16 miles between London Liverpool Street and Southend, Essex

Birmingham Mail

• Labour furious over being left out of HS2 review talks as rail scheme controversy deepensShadow transport secretary Andy McDonald has said despite the review into HS2 being cross-party, he had not been contacted by anyone in Government

Other Regional Press

• Transport chiefs labelled 'irresponsible' after call for park and ride chargesCouncil bosses have confirmed they could consider charging motorists. Transport chiefs have been labelled “wholly irresponsible” after stressing that charging drivers to use park and ride sites could generate hundreds of thousands of pounds to expand the provision across the Capital.

Coach and Bus Week

• Stagecoach West commences new Bristol bus routesTwo bus services previously operated by First West of England moved to Stagecoach West operation from September 1. Route and times remain the same on both the X5 service which connects Weston-super-Mare with Clevedon, Nailsea, Portishead and Bristol’s Cribbs Causeway shopping centre and the Severn Express service between Bristol Bus Station, Cribbs Causeway, Chepstow and Newport.
• Opening up: Mental health in the bus industryMadaline Dunn spoke to Meera Rambissoon, Senior Consultant at TAS Partnership, to discuss mental health awareness in the bus industry and find out what is being done to destigmatise mental illness
• TfL invests in outer London bus routesTravel options for residents of south east London will be improved from October as Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed that, after a public consultation, a second new bus route will be introduced in the area.
• Reading Buses service changes commence operationMost of the changes are minor and involve the re-numbering of school buses to make them easier to understand for school and non-school customers alike, but some timetables will see other changes.
• North East alliance of bus operators relaunchesNEbus has been announced as the new form for the North East Bus Operators Association, with Go North East MD Martijn Gilbert leading it. James Day reports

New Civil Engineer

• Commonwealth Games transport plan revealedTransport for West Midlands has revealed details from its draft plan for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, which sets out key infrastructure proposals.

Rail Technology Magazine

• A mutually beneficial supply chainA complex supply chain and a new control period provide opportunities for solution-focused SMEs, argues Rob Morton, supply chain operations director for Network Rail. Our suppliers have a vital part to play in running Britain’s railway as Network Rail becomes more...
• Investing in the country's future workforceClair Mowbray, chief executive of the National College for High Speed Rail, talks about addressing the skills gap and investing in new talent across the transport sector. With the UK rail and engineering industries facing a critical skills shortage at a time of major investment and growth...

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• TfL sets out ‘tough measures’ to reduce bus driver fatigue following studyBetter partnership working between TfL, bus operators and bus drivers will deliver an even safer bus network, report concludes
• Bus priority in Scotland to get more than £500m boostThe Scottish Government is to allocate over £500m to improving bus priority. It is part of “a step change in investment” to tackle the impact of congestion on services and patronage levels.
• Lothian reports one million taps and countingLothian says its customers have hit a milestone of one million taps for its new contactless and fare capped payment system in Edinburgh.
• Two join management team at Stagecoach EastStagecoach East has made two key appointments at its depot in Peterborough. Stu Wright joins the team as Operations Manager with responsibility for 176 Drivers and five Controllers whilst Peter Green is the new Engineering Manager with an engineering staff, including storekeeper, cleaners, depot shunters and apprentices of 30 and 89 buses.

Aviation Industry

• Cathay Pacific to buy Boeing 777-9 simulator Textron subsidiary TRU Simulation + Training will provide a Boeing 777-9 full flight simulator (FFS) and two other flight training devices to Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways, TRU announced Sept. 4. read more
• Mesa Airlines agrees to buy 100 Mitsubishi SpaceJet M100 aircraft Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group signed an MOU with Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. (MITAC) Sept. 5 to enter negotiations to buy 100 SpaceJet M100 aircraft. read more
• IATA: Air freight demand continues to drop on trade tensionsGlobal demand for air freight dropped 3.2% in July, marking the ninth consecutive month of year-on-year (YOY) volume declines as weak global trade and the intensifying trade dispute between the US and China take their toll. read more

Other News Sources

• London Overground introduces fourth train per hour between Euston and WatfordLondon Overground is now running four trains an hour between Watford Junction and London Euston.