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

Monday, 09 September 2019

BBC News

• Belfast International 'is UK's worst airport'London Luton and Manchester T3 also did badly in the survey by consumer magazine Which?.
• British Airways pilots begin two-day strike over payBritish Airways pilots will walk out on Monday and Tuesday, leaving almost all flights grounded.
• Extra carriages on ScotRail trains for Scotland matchThey will be on trains to and from Mount Florida and on trains travelling back to Perth and Dundee.

The Guardian

• London's abandoned underground – in picturesLondon has been shaped by its railways, ever since the Metropolitan opened as the world’s first underground line in 1863. As the network grew, old stations, tunnels, entrances, passageways and shafts were left behind
• BA cancels 'nearly 100% of flights' in pilot strike over payBalpa union calls 48-hour walkout with further action planned for 27 September

The Independent

• British Airways strike: 'If your flight is cancelled, please don't go to the airport'Almost all the 1,600-plus flights due to operate to and from Heathrow and Gatwick on Monday and Tuesday have been grounded

The Telegraph

• Electric scooters would beat cars on up to 70 per cent of city centre journeys, study reveals [subscription]lectric scooters could cut journey times in some of the UK’s most gridlocked cities by up to 70 per cent if they were made road legal, a new study has revealed.
• Caledonian Sleeper passengers left without water in the bathrooms after cleaners used the wrong kind of bleach [subscription]athrooms on the Caledonian Sleeper were left without water after the wrong kind of bleach was used to clean them, it emerged. All 75 carriages in the fleet, which cost £150 million, were affected when the wrong kind of chemical was used to clean en-suite toilets, basins and showers.

Times Online

• British Airways pilots threaten strikes until end of year over pay demands [subscription]British Airways pilots have threatened to hit the airline with a wave of strikes until the end of the year as they prepare for the first walkout by flight crew in the carrier’s history.
• Pavement parkers should be hit with £70 fine, say MPs [subscription]Parking on pavements should be banned to prevent vehicles obstructing footpaths and endangering pedestrians, MPs say in a report out today.

Reuters News

• U.S., Europe split over U.N. efforts to expand airport employee screening: sourcesMONTREAL (Reuters) - The United States and Europe are divided over United Nations efforts to expand employee screening at airports, following broader calls to harden airports against threats from their own workers, four sources familiar with the matter said.

City AM

• Boris Johnson hatches plan to devolve rail power to the northBoris Johnson is preparing to hand leaders in the north responsibility for train services as part of a big industry shakeup. Two struggling rail franchises, Northern and the Transpennine Express, are to be devolved to a new body that would be similar to Transport for London in the capital.

The Mirror

• Pensioners booted off train and abandoned 160 miles from home by jobsworth conductorSheila and John McEwan, who are in their 70s, had valid first-class tickets for their journey from Glasgow to Durham with London and North Eastern Railway (LNER)

Edinburgh Evening News

• Masterplan to transform Edinburgh city centre could see bus stops axedFears have been raised about the future of the city’s bus services following the announcement of a £314m plan to reshape the city centre. The revamp will see a series of roads closed to traffic, including Waverley Bridge, in order to cut the amount of traffic in the city centre by a third and make it more pedestrian and cycle friendly.
• Oops, wrong cleaner damages Caledonian Sleeper's on-board toiletsWater pipes on the Caledonian Sleeper’s £150 million fleet were seriously damaged - after the wrong type of chemical was used to clean them.

Metro

• Travel times ‘will be halved’ under HS2 hub rethinkJOURNEY times between major Midlands cities and the north of England could be slashed under ‘game-changing’ proposals for HS2.

Northern Echo

• North-East bus passenger numbers suffer significant fall since 2010COUNCILS across the North-East will today be urged to do more to encourage to people to use buses after figures show passenger numbers in the region dropped significantly over the last decade.

Nottingham Evening Post

• New plans for 33 minute direct rail link from Nottingham to Birmingham revealedMidlands Connect will present its proposals for the changes to the Birmingham to Nottingham route to the HS2 Oakervee review

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Proposed enhancements to Leeds to Leicester HS2 services make sense for the Northern Powerhouse and Midlands EngineYou would be very hard-pressed to find any regular rail commuter in and out of Leeds that might come close to agreeing that everything on the trains is rosy.

Carlisle News & Star

• Crowdfunding campaign launched to extend Borders Railway to CarlisleAN AMBITIOUS crowdfunding campaign has been launched to bring plans to extend the Borders Railway to Carlisle to fruition.

North Wales Live

• Commuters could feel the squeeze as trains sent to South Wales to ease overcrowdingTwo carriage trains could be replaced with diesel units that consist of just one carriage

Other Regional Press

• Transport for Wales could use new trains on Heart of Wales LineTransport for Wales (TfW) has confirmed it is "exploring future options" to run new trains on the Heart of Wales Railway Line.

New Civil Engineer

• Scottish government unveils railway decarbonisation plansScottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has revealed plans to decarbonise Scotland’s railways as she set out her government’s priorities over the next year.
• Heathrow expansion rival calls for third runway reviewHeathrow Hub has called on transport secretary Grant Shapps to launch a review into Heathrow Airport Ltd’s third runway plans, arguing that the operator’s cost estimates are misleading.
• HS2 review to consider changes north of BirminghamThe government-ordered Oakervee review is to rule on proposed changes to the northern section of High Speed 2 (HS2) tabled by Midlands Connect.

Rail Technology Magazine

• New fleet on the horizon for Hull TrainsLouise Cheeseman, managing director of Hull Trains, describes how a new fleet of rolling stock looks set to revolutionise the operator and their service.

Other News Sources

• Crossrail asks for TfL’s help in getting firms to prioritise work on late-running railway Scheme’s bosses worried about productivity of tier two contractors
• Rail passengers fined 'because ticket machine queues are too long'Northern Rail said the facility is working efficiently
• Midlands Connect's HS2 rethink plans to link Birmingham and Nottingham city centresRegional transport body is hoping to convince the Department for Transport to revamp its plans for East Midlands Hub to enable direct services between the two city Midlands centres