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

Tuesday, 12 July 2022

BBC News

• ScotRail train drivers accept new pay deal to end disruptionTrains have been on a reduced timetable while drivers refused to work overtime during a pay dispute.
• Lambeth: £22m in low-traffic fines an abuse of power, say campaignersLambeth Council made £22m fining drivers for entering controversial low-traffic neighbourhood zones.
• Train drivers vote for rail strikes over payDrivers at eight train companies have voted to walk out but a date for action has not yet been set.

Financial Times

• Airbus raises outlook for global jet demandCompany revises up delivery estimate for all manufacturers but lowers passenger number forecast
• Heathrow warns of more flight cancellations as disruption continues UK airport says it will tell carriers to take action if needed as Wizz Air becomes latest airline to trim schedule
• UK trains face further disruption as drivers vote to strikeBallots from eight groups increase likelihood of simultaneous action by three unions

The Guardian

• MPs approve controversial plans to let agency workers cover for striking staffCritics accuse ministers of introducing a 'scab charter' that risks public safety and workers' rights. Ministers have approved controversial plans to allow agency workers to replace striking workers, voting through the regulations on Monday night by 289 votes to 202.While the business minister, Jane Hunt, said the change, which was accelerated as a result of the ongoing rail strikes, was needed to remove the outdated blanket ban on using agency workers to cover official industrial action, critics say the measure is akin to a 'scab charter'.
• The Uber whistleblower: I'm exposing a system that sold people a lieExclusive: Mark MacGann says he has decided to speak out about firm to ˜right some fundamental wrongs. Mark MacGann, a career lobbyist who led Uber's efforts to win over governments across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, has come forward to identify himself as the source who leaked more than 124,000 company files to the Guardian.MacGann decided to speak out, he says, because he believes Uber knowingly flouted laws in dozens of countries and misled people about the benefits to drivers of the company's gig-economy model.
• Uber paid academics six-figure sums for research to feed to the mediaHigh-profile professors in Europe and the US were engaged as part of lobbying campaign, leak showsUber paid high-profile academics in Europe and the US hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce reports that could be used as part of the company’s lobbying campaign.The Uber files, a cache of thousands of confidential documents leaked to the Guardian, reveal lucrative deals with several leading academics who were paid to publish research on the benefits of its economic model. The reports were commissioned as Uber wrestled with regulators in key cities around the world. Continue reading...

The Independent

• How did Boris Johnson’s transport promises measure up to reality?How has that 2019 Conservative manifesto aged in terms of transport and travel?

Times Online

• Firm stalking Go-Ahead is given deadline [subscription]A potential bidder for Go-Ahead has said it is still considering its options after being told it must make a firm offer by August 1 or walk away.
• Total rail shutdown looms as drivers join mass strike action [subscription]Fears of a rail shutdown this summer have intensified after thousands of train drivers and Network Rail workers voted overwhelmingly for strike action over pay.
• Thousands in limbo as Heathrow cuts 60 flights at last minute [subscription]Thousands of people booked on planes out of Heathrow yesterday had their flights cancelled at the last minute as a summer of chaos at airports continued.

City AM

• Rail union bosses who called for biggest train strike in 25 years take home £280,000 in pay and perksWith the transport unions having voted on the ‘biggest rail strike in 25 years’, it has been revealed that two Aslef trade union bosses had a combined total remuneration of £281,601 in 2021.

Network Rail

• Yorkshire’s first new electric railway in 25 years set to cut carbon and slash journey timesThe first miles of new electric overhead wires on a mainline in Yorkshire for over 25 years are now up, marking a step-change in progress for the multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade.

Birmingham Post

• Rival Go-Ahead Group bidder 'assessing options' as transport firm sees passenger numbers recoverVolumes across its regional bus business are now at more than 85% of pre-pandemic levels,
• DFDS Seaways' Immingham team sails to international safety accolade as refinery hits major milestoneRecognition comes as Cancer Research UK benefits from Phillips 66 Humber Refinery success
• Plans in for new HS2 station car parksUrban Growth Company has unveiled designs for the first of two possible multi-storey car parks at the site next to the M42

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Leeds Bradford airport among top 10 airports for delays in 2021Leeds Bradford has been named among the top 10 UK airports with the worst delays in 2021.
• 'Big Bus Chat' could see new services introduced in West YorkshireA CONSULTATION that could see new bus routes created in West Yorkshire has begun this week.
• Northern trains upgraded to LIDAR technology used by NASANorthern is also aligning its on-board CCTV systems with British Transport Police to enable officers to tune-in to live, high-definition footage.

The York Press

• First electrified track in decades built near YorkRAIL bosses say Yorkshire’s first new electric railway in 25 years is set to slash journey times and cut carbon emissions.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Black Country MP tells private parking firms to 'clean up their act' over finesPrivate parking companies have been warned to

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds trains: How the multi-billion-pound TransPennine route upgrade will impact services to York and ManchesterThe first miles of new electric overhead wires on a mainline in Yorkshire for over 25 years are now up, marking a step-change in progress for the multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade.

Bucks Free Press

• Train drivers at eight rail companies - including Chiltern - vote overwhelmingly to strike over payTrain drivers at Chiltern Railways are among those at eight companies to have voted to strike over pay, increasing the threat of huge disruption to rail services this summer.

South Wales Argus

• MPs approve controversial moves to allow agency workers to replace strikersMinisters have been accused of introducing a “scab charter” after their plans to allow agency workers to replace strikers were approved in the Commons.

Other Regional Press

• Oxford Train Station set for new track and platformsPLANS to improve Oxford Train Station, an application for a church to sell alcohol and the latest road closures are just some of the public notices issued by local authorities in Oxfordshire.
• ASLEF announces train driver strikes as rail network faces more problemsWorkers from eight companies have voted for industrial action
• Changes to bus services in Warwickshire this month: All you need to knowThere will be new amendments to timetables and reroutes with subsidised bus services across the county

New Civil Engineer

• Early and often is the best route to construction collaborationWith the construction industry at a crossroads when it comes to tackling big ticket issues such as net zero, it is clear that old methods of working are no longer passing muster. The best way to put projects in a place to succeed is through a collaborative approach, both with clients and throughout the supply chain.
• Ferrovial boss on why high speed rail costs more in UK Ferrovial's UK construction director has revealed why he thinks constructing high speed railways costs so much more in the UK than it does on mainland Europe.

The Business Desk

• East Midlands urged to unite behind Derby’s rail bidNottingham businesses and residents are being urged to back Derby’s bid to become the new home of Great British Railways (GBR) – with one inward investment specialist insisting it would be “a win for the entire region.”