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

Friday, 20 July 2018

BBC News

• Is killing the boom the key to supersonic air travel?There have been proposals to return to faster-than-sound commercial flight ever since Concorde retired 15 years ago. But now those plans look closer to being realised.
• Manchester Metrolink drivers to be balloted over August bank holiday strikeDrivers could walk out during the August bank holiday weekend if they vote to strike in a pay row.
• BA sorry for Heathrow IT-crash delays and cancellationsSome passengers have been delayed for almost 15 hours following computer problems.
• Ryanair flight cancellations to hit UK and Ireland routesThe Irish low-cost airline is facing a series of walkouts by staff over working conditions.

The Guardian

• No plan for surge in driving permits after no-deal Brexit, say auditorsPost offices could need to issue up to 7m international driving permits in first year

Times Online

• Brothers Dominic and Niall Leach jailed for graffiti campaign in Britain, Europe and Korea [Subscription]Two brothers behind a graffiti gang have been condemned by a judge for their “self-indulgent behaviour” during a six-year campaign of vandalism across the world.
• Cars sidelined as pedestrians get green light [Subscription]Pedestrian crossings will show a green man by default under plans to boost walking and cut the dominance of cars.
• M25-style railway takes you from Gatwick to Heathrow in 15 mins [Subscription]The journey time between Britain’s busiest airports could be cut to 15 minutes if a new M25-style high-speed rail line is approved.
• Councils will mount legal bid to block third Heathrow runway [Subscription]A legal challenge against the government’s decision to support a third runway at Heathrow has been launched amid warnings that it will lead to “unacceptable” levels of pollution.

City AM

• British Airways warns of Heathrow flight disruption after IT chaos yesterdayBritish Airways has warned that passengers flying from Heathrow Airport may face disruption today after an IT outage yesterday led to a slew of cancelled and delayed flights.

Mail Online

• London mayor Sadiq Khan launches legal challenge to block Heathrow third runway expansionA legal challenge to block expansion of Heathrow has been launched by a group of councils, London mayor Sadiq Khan and Greenpeace.

Birmingham Mail

• First blue trams, now red buses and orange trains revealed for West MidlandsBlue trams, red buses and orange trains are all set to become a part of the new identity of Transport for West Midlands, the mayor has announced.

Bolton News

• Bus farce would be funny if it wasn't so patheticTHERE were once again no rail services between Bolton and Manchester at the weekend. As is the custom, replacement buses were laid on instead.

London Evening Standard

• Green man to be left on at pedestrian crossings in radical bid to get Londoners walkingPedestrian crossings in key locations will be re-programmed so the green man shows most of the time in a radical attempt to get Londoners walking.
• TfL London bus driver claims temperatures in his cab reached 48C during heatwaveA London bus driver has claimed temperatures in his cab reached up to 48C during the heatwave sparking safety fears.
• Heathrow third runway: Sadiq Khan, London councils and campaign groups launch legal challenge to airport expansionA legal challenge to block proposals for a third runway at Heathrow has been launched by a group of councils, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Greenpeace.
• UK travel latest: Drivers to face major traffic jams on roads as millions set off for summer getawayDrivers have been warned to expect major traffic jams as millions of people take to the roads this weekend for the beginning of the summer getaway.
• Revealed: how the amazing, luxurious interior of the world's longest aircraft will lookCould this be the future of air travel?
• Gatwick delays: Hundreds left stranded at wrong airports after BA jet forced to make emergency landingHundreds of air passengers faced a travel nightmare this morning after planes were diverted to the wrong airports following an emergency landing at Gatwick.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Department for Transport consider cutting rail services to NorthumberlandRail services to Morpeth, Alnmouth and Berwick-upon-Tweed could be cut

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Moray parents reassured about school bus service despite ongoing dispute over contractsParents of Moray schoolchildren have been reassured that there will be buses to take pupils to school, despite an ongoing dispute over transport contracts.

This Is Local London Network

• Back Heathrow group challenges five councilsSUPPORTERS of Back Heathrow say it's time the five councils taking up a judicial review against a new runway at Heathrow respected the will of local people and MPs.
• Enfield MP hits out at 'rock bottom service' on trainsAn MP has called upon rail bosses to clean up their act after the "chaotic introduction" of a new timetable.

Other Regional Press

• Delays expected as lane closures planned for Oxford southern bypassLANE closures due to roadworks on the southern bypass could cause significant delays to motorists from the end of this week.
• Airport plans given fresh hopeCouncillors have voted in a Local Plan which could pave the way for a new airport at Manston.

Bus and Coach Buyer

• eCitaro and Sprinter citybus for UKIn a precursor to the IAA exhibition in Hanover, Daimler reveals much more about the full electric Mercedes-Benz eCitaro, and announces a new citybus Sprinter option with 6.8 tonne GVW on two axles
• Bus franchising for Liverpool?Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of Liverpool City Region, has set out how he will “take greater control” of buses.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Free and binding rail ombudsman service set for November launchUsers of the rail industry will benefit from the independent rulings of a dedicated ombudsman from November this year, allowing passengers who are unhappy with how TOCs handled their complaints to refer them to experts in consumer rights. After industry leaders committed to creating a complaints...
• HS2 will be on par with Japan's punctual bullet train, with issues 'designed out of the system'HS2 Ltd has promised that the mammoth project connecting London to the Midlands and the north will transform the country’s travel in the same way that the world’s first-ever high-speed rail line – Japan’s Tokaido Shinkansen – did in 1964. Before the Shinkansen...
• Higgins urges Grayling to make decision on Yorkshire HS2 parkway stationHS2 Ltd’s outgoing chairman, Sir David Higgins, has urged the government to make a decision on proposals to create a parkway station on the high-speed line to serve the South Yorkshire areas as a whole. In a major report released today, Higgins reiterated his support for Chris...
• Rail fares must be simplified if HS2 is to 'raise the bar' as promisedRailway fares must be simplified if HS2 is to bring a step change to the way passengers travel on the network, argued Sir David Higgins. Writing in a major new report, HS2 Ltd’s outgoing chairman said fares must become simpler and easier for passengers to understand so that the high-speed...
• DfT pledges 'tough action' on GTR, contract breach review due this monthGTR could be at risk of losing control of its franchise as early as this month depending on the outcome of a “hard review” into whether the TOC breached its contracts. During an urgent question about the May timetable fiasco at the House of Commons yesterday, rail minister Jo Johnson...

Railway Gazette

• UK railway news round-upFollowing a competitive procurement on behalf of train operators and Network Rail, the Rail...

Route One (Bus and Coach)

• The world is changing: get used to itChange in public transport - and indeed coach travel - is nothing new, but the pace of change appears to be accelerating.
• Coach operators warned over wheelchairsCoach operators will face tough action if they don’t comply with the law on the use of wheelchairs in vehicles on scheduled services, warns the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).
• Volvo receives large order of fully-electric buses for the NetherlandsVolvo has secured an order of 23 fully-electric buses from Arriva in the Netherlands. The buses will operate in the city of Leiden in the province of South Holland.
• Franchising: A bright new dawn or a terrible nightmare?Leading transport solicitor James Backhouse, of Backhouse Jones, sets out the process to enable franchising, the potential benefits and pitfalls

Aviation Industry

• Airbus secures MOU for 10 A320neos from another unidentified customer Airbus gained a commitment for 10 additional A320neos at Farnborough July 19, as an unidentified customer signed an MOU agreeing to the purchase, valued at approximately $1.1 billion. read more
• British Airways commits to additional 777-300ERsBritish Airways said it will commit to three Boeing 777-300ERs, which the carrier will take on operating leasing with an as-yet unidentified lessor. read more
• Airline seat size, ancillaries and washing machinesA US House bill has tagged a worrisome provision to the FAA reauthorization bill that would essentially regulate the size and spacing of seats on US carriers. read more

Other News Sources

• 'Don't repair our road' residents tell councilRESIDENTS have complained to a council about the state of the road surface in their street - because engineers are due to resurface it!