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

Sunday, 17 November 2019

BBC News

• West Midland trains face 'significant' disruption due to strikesTrain passengers have been warned of "significant disruption" to services as workers strike over guards on trains.

The Guardian

• Porn, public transport and other dubious justifications for using facial recognition softwareGovernments in Australia have come up with some creative reasons to sell the public on the use of facial recognition technology

The Independent

• How easyJet was nearly 'Stelair' – and other secrets of the airline's beginningPlane Talk: The budget airline's original marketing director reveals some of the secrets of the start-up

The Scotsman

• Edinburgh-Glasgow ‘fast’ trains to get slowerTrains on ScotRail’s flagship line are unexpectedly getting slower again – only a year after an £858 million upgrade that sped them up. The number of weekday services running on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow route in the new fastest time of 42 minutes is to be cut from ten to four from 16 December. They will be between one and three minutes slower, Scotland on Sunday has learned.

The Telegraph

• Smart motorways widow warned of more deaths months before child became second to die while stranded on M6 [subscription]woman whose husband was killed after becoming stranded on a smart motorway warned Highways England more people could die just months before a child perished at the same spot, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
• Duck eggs destroyed after Mallards 'posed danger to cyclists'

Times Online

• Elon Musk to unveil Tesla ‘cybertruck’ [subscription]Tesla will up the ante in the battle for supremacy in the electric vehicle market this week when it unveils its pick-up truck.
• As the flooding subsides, anger rises in the neglected north [subscription]... “The sad truth is that the north has become accustomed to abandonment.” Evidence to back up the north’s raw deal is extensive, particularly on transport. In the 10 years to 2018, spending on public transport had been £305 per person, compared with £739 per person in London and £368 across the whole UK, according to the IPPR North think tank.

City AM

• Crossrail to pay out millions more to firm hired to keep project on trackCrossrail is set to pay out additional incentives worth millions of pounds to a US company originally hired to keep the project on track and in budget.

Birmingham Mail

• 'Ticket to hide' policy as buses vanish over Arena Birmingham congestion fearsStranded Symphony Hall concertgoers forced to yomp up Broad Street on Saturday night are told 'You can rest easy with National Express' - but it's a city pub which offers them a free slap-up lunch to restore confidence in public transport just... when the trains are going on strike too
• National Express sends puzzled bus passengers 4,000 miles west - to Kansas and Chicago!BirminghamLive wanted information for the bus stops serving some of Birmingham's biggest Christmas attractions, but when we got to the last link we were then sent to... cities in the United States
• Too many passengers and not enough trains - why there is chaos on West Midlands RailwayTrain passengers in and out of Birmingham have faced months of chaos - so weekend strike action is the last thing the city needs. Jane Haynes reports.

London Evening Standard

• Jubilee Line passengers forced to exit through driver cab after tube doors fail to open at stationTube passengers have been forced to exit through the driver cab after the doors of the train failed to open for “at least 20 minutes”.

Sheffield Star

• Sheffield to Rotherham Tram Train service to resume after being suspended due to floodingThe Sheffield to Rotherham Tram Train service is to resume.

Yorkshire Post

• Yorkshire’s love affair with cycling hits the seven-year itch – David BehrensThe honeymoon is over and the marriage of convenience that was arranged between Yorkshire and cycling appears to have entered the not-speaking-to-each-other phase.
• 4,300 jobs to be created with massive logistics hub at Doncaster Sheffield AirportPlans to create a massive logistics hub that will create 4,300 jobs in South Yorkshire have been given the go ahead.

Other Regional Press

• Ken Skates to explore ambitious North Wales transport plans with Labour metro mayorsLABOUR metro mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram will visit Wrexham today to discuss Welsh Labour’s ambitious plans to improve rail links with the North West of England.

Rail Advent

• Train services resume between Long Eaton and Derby after floodingEast Midlands Railway has announced that the railway line between Long Eaton and Derby has reopened following severe flooding.
• Residents invited to a Pembroke Tunnel drop-in eventNetwork Rail is now inviting residents to a drop-in event being held in order to find out more information about essential maintenance work going on at Pembroke Tunnel which is in west Wales, which will improve the resilience and reliability of the railway for passengers.
• EXCLUSIVE: The Duke – The Impossible Dream – Past, Present and FutureWe recently covered an update about steam locomotive 71000 Duke of Gloucester, and the new appeal to cover the cost of new bearings.

Railnews

• 16 November: news in briefGreen light for West Coast franchise Great Western line reopens in Somerset after six day closure Union leader criticises ‘vampire’ train operators Eurostar plans to launch Amsterdam-London services in 2020

Other News Sources

• No trains between Hereford and Birmingham RAIL services between Hereford and Birmingham are disrupted this weekend by industrial action.
• Vivarail on track for rapid expansionWarwickshire-based Vivarail is moving to a new facility in Southam (near Leamington Spa) to underpin its growing order book, as it develops a range of emission-free trains.