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

Friday, 08 June 2018

BBC News

• M5/M6 link road through Black Country among ideas to cut congestionA relief road, more smart motorway sections and widening the M42 are among options being set out.
• Ship hack 'risks chaos in English Channel'A researcher reveals a way to trigger ship collision alarms that he says would prevent travel through the English Channel.
• Electric thrillsLegislation against vehicle pollution is giving electric motorbikes a boost around the world.

Department for Transport

• Jo Johnson visits northern staff and passenger groups in ManchesterRail Minister meets with Mayor of Greater Manchester and leaders of Northern and Network Rail.

The Guardian

• Heathrow airport’s polluting new runway is a macho follyhe building of a third runway at Heathrow must be the worst decision taken by a British government in modern times. There is nothing in it but private profit for a Spanish company that appears to have the British cabinet in thrall. That a rich European city should expand rather than contract a major airport in a built-up area defies belief.

The Independent

• Flights to Italy severely disrupted amid travel chaos across EuropeDozens of flights between the UK and Italy have been cancelled as Italian air-traffic controllers join a day of industrial action by public servants.

The Scotsman

• Alastair Dalton: Travel is all about the joy of the ride Travel should be an adventure - especially when so much of our daily transit can be a monotonous trudge.
• Edinburgh city-centre roads to close for Clean Air DayTWO key roads in the centre of Edinburgh will shut to traffic for festivities to celebrate Clean Air Day.

Times Online

• Clause in Heathrow third runway deal ‘may cost taxpayers billions’ [subscription]A former transport minister has claimed that Heathrow may be able to recover “billions of pounds” from the taxpayer if the government shelves the airport’s third runway.
• A tall tale from Stormin’ Norman [Subscription]Another day, another tall balding man at the dispatch box talking about transport. Not Chris Grayling, though. The Guild of Sketchwriters were spared another painful outing from the transport secretary since there was a bus stop in Luxembourg that needed his urgent study. Instead, he sent Jesse Norman, his lofty junior.
• How to fix train overcrowding: stop people getting on [Subscription]Packed trains could be “hidden” from passengers waiting at stations under a government plan to tackle overcrowding on busy rail services.
• Ban petrol cars by 2025, says Branson [Subscription]A call by Sir Richard Branson to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in Britain by 2025 has been derided by the motor industry as unrealistic, driving people into expensive electric cars they cannot afford and in which they will struggle to travel on long journeys.

City AM

• Former Airports Commission chairs urge MPs to back Heathrow third runway in summer voteTwo former chairs of the Airports Commission have written to MPs urging them to vote in favour of a third runway at Heathrow after the Cabinet approved the government's controversial expansion plans earlier this week.
• Former Airports Commission chairs urge MPs to back Heathrow third runway in summer voteTwo former chairs of the Airports Commission have written to MPs urging them to vote in favour of a third runway at Heathrow after the Cabinet approved the government's controversial expansion plans earlier this week.
• Shadow transport secretary says rail timetable inquiry 'can have no credibility' with regulator chair as figureheadThe shadow transport secretary has questioned the decision to appoint the chairman of the Office for Road and Rail (ORR) to conduct an inquiry into the major disruption caused by the recent timetable overhaul.
• Trainline owner considers £1bn sale of fare booking appThe owner of Trainline is looking to kick start the process of selling the company for £1bn only three years after acquiring the firm, reports this evening say.
• Political paralysis is nothing new – look at the decades of dithering on HeathrowI, too, have been part of the crowds of people lamenting how indecisive and slow the Brexit negotiations have been thus far.
• Oxford Street pedestrianisation plans cancelled: Mayor Sadiq Khan hits out at 'betrayal' of millions of LondonersThe mayor of London Sadiq Khan has hit out at the "betrayal of millions of Londoners" after Oxford Street pedestrianisation plans were shelved by Westminster City Council yesterday.

The Mirror

• Commuters forced to walk through airport metal detector at London railway station as knife crime epidemic grips capitalPolice officers set up a cordon for commuters to walk through the knife scanner as they entered Vauxhall tube station

Bolton News

• Train passengers hit with three days of strike actionUNDER-FIRE train operator Northern has been hit with further problems after staff announced three days of strikes.

Liverpool Echo

• This is what happened when we grilled Tory minister over Northern Rail shamblesThe ECHO took the Northern Powerhouse Minister to task over the misery caused to commuters.

Wales Online

• Old London Underground trains are taking over on the Welsh rail networkBut the trains will be gutted and updated before new Welsh rail franchisee KeolisAmey brings them on track

Get West London

• The Heathrow Airport long read: What Harmondsworth residents REALLY think of the third runwayA third runway would slice the picturesque village in two - but the plans also divide opinion

Other Regional Press

• East Midlands plans to stop direct Norwich-Liverpool route ‘an insult’, says councillorPlans by East Midlands trains to split the Norwich to Liverpool direct train link into two separate journeys has been described as ‘an insult’ by the chairman of Norfolk County Council’s environment, development, and transport committee.

Train Operators

• GWR unveils the Pride of the fleetA special #trainbow designed Intercity Express Train to promote Pride events across the GWR network has been launched today [Thursday 7 June].

Bus and Coach Buyer

• he Plaxton ‘decker coach is backThe first Plaxton double-deck coach for 27 years and a low-floor Panther emerge from Scarborough as the ADL company plugs the niches. Stuart Jones was at the factory

Coach and Bus Week

• VDL confirms driveline on next generation FuturasVehicles will feature the new ZF Traxon automated manual transmission as standard, with the first UK versions expected to be delivered from March next year

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• BusyBus lands at Manchester Airport in tourism hub coupSpecialist minibus tourism operator BusyBus is adding Manchester Airport as a new departure hub, with the backing of the airport.

Aviation Industry

• Flybe CEO addresses sexism in the airline industry UK regional Flybe CEO Christine Ourmières-Widener outlined the scale of inequality facing women in the airline industry in London June 7. read more
• Lufthansa warns on airport capacity crunch Tensions between increasing passenger numbers and limited airport expansion will lead to airport-based services being further decentralized, according to Lufthansa Group senior director-product management ground & digital services Bjorn Becker. read more

Other News Sources

• Ribble Valley MP asks questions over Clitheroe to Manchester lineRibble Valley MP Nigel Evans has met with Northern Rail director Dave Brown over the ongoing train chaos.