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

Thursday, 17 October 2019

BBC News

• Hi-Lex: 125 jobs to go at Port Talbot car parts firmJapanese firm Hi-Lex makes parts for car manufacturers including BMW, Honda and Bugatti.
• Unmanned ship to go on 400-year-old journey across the AtlanticUK-based team to chart unprecedented waters with fully autonomous sea journey.
• Northern rail could be nationalisedThe government is considering whether the management of the train service should be taken into public hands.
• BA passengers: Cabin fumes gave us breathing problemsA British Airways flight to Valencia in August was evacuated after the aircraft filled with smoke.
• Southend's 'dangerous' cycle divider to be removedA "dangerous" concrete cycle lane divider is to be removed by a council months after it was installed.

Financial Times

• Contingency plans in train to take Northern rail publicTroubled franchise ‘simply has to change’, says transport secretary
• Thomas Cook airport slots draw bids from rivalsCollapsed travel group’s Nordic business also attracts interest as asset sales increase
• Heathrow third runway battle resumes in courtActivists rely on net zero emissions pledge in seeking judicial review for second time

The Guardian

• Northern rail could be renationalised, says transport secretaryGrant Shapps says it is not OK for trains to fail to arrive or for Sunday services to be lost
• Heathrow expansion violates climate rights of children, say lawyersAppeal court to hear fresh challenge against plans for construction of third runway. The multibillion-pound expansion of Heathrow violates the rights of children and future generations, who will face the greatest impact of the climate crisis, lawyers will argue at the court of appeal in London.Fresh legal challenges on Thursday by environmental NGOs, councils and the mayor of London against the construction of a third runway will be presented during a five-day hearing. Continue reading...

Times Online

• Buses are vital to the economy and communities, so why are we looking backwards? - Martin Griffiths is the chief executive of Stagecoach Group [ subscription]We live in strange and contradictory political times. Just as there is a consensus that the country’s rail franchising system is broken, politicians are rushing to endorse the very same model for Britain’s bus networks, most vocally in Greater Manchester. “Things would all be better with a London-style system,” we are promised. But behind the soundbites, what does the London experience really demonstrate?
• Northern Rail faces nationalisation over delays [subscription]One of the country’s biggest train operators could be renationalised because of repeated concerns over the number of late-running services.

City AM

• Thomas Cook liquidators secure bids for valuable airport slotsThe liquidators of collapsed airline Thomas Cook are said to have secured bids from some of the UK’s largest carriers after kicking off an auction of dozens of UK airport slots.
• Heathrow airport faces fresh calls to increase competition between airlinesHeathrow airport has come under fresh pressure to increase competition between airlines, amid concerns over a monopoly by British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG).
• Arriva-run Northern Rail franchise could be nationalisedOne of Britain’s biggest rail franchises could be renationalised amid concerns about its financial situation and late-running trains, the transport secretary has said.

i News

• Northern Rail could be renationalised after 'months of misery' for passengers, Grant Shapps saysShapps told the Commons' Transport Select Committee the level of performance on the Northern network 'cannot continue'

The Mirror

• Northern Rail faces being stripped of franchise over poor performanceTransport Secretary Grant Shapps has taken the first step in returning the routes to government control

Sky News

• Furious commuters drag Extinction Rebellion protester from top of TubeAngry commuters have pulled Extinction Rebellion protesters from the top of a Tube as activists disrupted services across London.

Birmingham Post

• EV charging industry leader John Miles takes chairman role at MyEnergiFormer Arup and Chargemaster senior figure plugs expertise into rapif growth start up
• East Midlands Airport boss discusses the challenges she has faced and the potential for the regionKaren Smart was appointed as managing director at EMA last April

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Keighley railway station to get £4 million-plus faceliftKEIGHLEY’S railway station is to undergo a £4 million-plus transformation.

Bristol Live

• Police install knife arch at Bristol Temple Meads after 45 per cent spike in offencesAn estimated £1.3 million worth of illegal drugs were also seized under the same police operation

Edinburgh Evening News

• Lothian buses celebrate 'huge achievement' as they are nominated for three awards at UK Bus AwardsLothian have been nominated for three awards at the annual UK Bus Awards.

Northern Echo

• Hitachi set to miss out on Metro deal due to Brexit risksA NORTH-EAST train builder is set to miss out on a £500m deal to build a new fleet of Tyne and Wear Metro trains due to the additional costs and risk assessments of Brexit, it has been claimed.
• Railway director joins Darlington board in bid to build steam locomotiveA LIFELONG railway enthusiast has been appointed to a charity's board of trustees in its bid to build Britain’s most powerful steam locomotive.

Yorkshire Post

• Why arrival of Channel 4 and Burberry in Leeds shows HS2 is already paying dividends: The Yorkshire Post saysOn its current timetable, HS2 may still be more than a decade away from operating in Yorkshire but its promised arrival has already had a positive impact on the local economy – showing exactly what is at stake if the high-speed rail route to the region is scrapped as part of a money-saving review by the Government.

Bucks Free Press

• Great Missenden HS2 protesters pitch up in village for third day in a rowProtesters are pitched up alongside a busy road for the third day in a row amid a row over controversial HS2 road widening works in Great Missenden.

Other Regional Press

• 'Boris Johnson's Routemaster London bus caused more problems than it solved'Smaller, pricier, hotter, in some cases more polluting and in the end totally pointless, writes Qasim Peracha
• Councillor hopeful First Bus will reconsider after removing a sheltered bus stopA COUNCILLOR has called for First Bus to reverse its decision to remove a sheltered stop outside Tesco in Warndon Villages from a popular route.
• No it's not says angry MSP who rails against fares hikeRAIL fares on the Fife Circle line will increase by an average of 2.4% in January, with Transport Secretary Michael Matheson stating that the rise is justified by improved performance.

New Civil Engineer

• Alternatives to Silvertown Tunnel outlined by Greenwich Council leaderThe leader of Greenwich Council has called on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to “pause” work on the Silvertown Tunnel project so that a “full review of alternative options” can be carried out.
• Shapps says hydrogen trains are ‘key’ to rail networkTransport secretary Grant Shapps has told the transport select committee that he is looking to accelerate trials of hydrogen use on the rail network, stating that the option could be used in areas where electrification is unsuitable.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Northern Rail could be renationalised, according to transport secretary Grant ShappsThe train operator Northern could be set to be renationalised due to concerns over repeated poor performance and late-running services, the transport secretary Grant Shapps has said today. Speaking at an Oral Evidence Session for the Government’s Transport Committee, Shapps told MPs that...
• £10bn rail network enhancements announced for the next five yearsThe Department for Transport (DfT) has today (Oct 16) released its five-year Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) outlining plans that span over £10bn and 58 projects. The Control Period 6 (CP6) will provide the funding for the 58 short and long-term rail developments, through the...
• RAIB releases new safety recommendations following recent fatal accident The RAIB has delivered a new set of safety recommendations after a passenger suffered fatal injuries after leaning out of a window of a moving train last year. The rail safety branch has made four recommendations and identified two learning points, including changes for the operator and...

Railway Gazette

• Alstom launches internships for people with Asperger syndromeSPAIN: Alstom and the Madrid Asperger Association have signed a partnership agreement for people with Asperger syndrome to undertake pre-occupational professional internships at the company’s sites in Spain.

Aviation Industry

• EasyGroup wins two legal cases to preserve brandUK LCC easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou has won legal actions against two airlines he alleged were infringing on his company’s use of the “Easyâ€� brand. read more
• Ryanair to expand French summer 2020 scheduleRyanair will add eight new routes to and from France as part of an expanded French schedule for summer 2020. read more
• EasyJet reconsiders equalized MRO program Minimizing aircraft downtime is a mantra of MRO, but UK LCC easyJet is finding that as some of its Airbus aircraft get older, the ground-breaking maintenance program that it started using in 2004 to break up big maintenance checks into smaller overnight packages is not working. read more
• United posts $1 billion 3Q profit on high demand; lifts full-year guidanceUnited Airlines raised its full-year earnings forecasts following a stronger-than-expected third-quarter, driven by robust passenger demand and industry-leading cost discipline. read more
• Airbus offers to provide A350-1000 for Qantas ultra-LCC competition Airbus confirmed it is offering a version of the A350-1000 in the Qantas ultra-long-haul competition around its Project Sunrise initiative that would enable the airline to launch nonstop flights from Australia’s east coast to London and New York, among others. read more

Other News Sources

• Next-generation Cycle-Safe system boosts vulnerable road user detection in HGVsNext-generation Cycle-Safe technology will be launched at Freight in the City Expo next month, for those operators in the market for a vulnerable road user (VRU) detection system for their urban fleets.
• New walking and cycling routes unveiled in Fife’s Inner Forth areaA range of new day-long walks and cycle routes drawn up to help outdoor enthusiasts explore the landscape and heritage of the Inner Forth has been launched.
• 'Do they even care?' Worcester commuter's fury at overcrowded trainsTHESE photos show the scene on a commuter train arriving in Worcester, with passengers crammed into a carriage in conditions described as “unbearable".