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

Tuesday, 23 October 2018

BBC News

• 'Capacity constraints' hit extra Cheshire train servicesLong-promised extra train services for Cheshire are not being introduced due to "capacity constraints", rail officials have said.
• Avon Valley Railway carriages 'not secured', report findsTwo train coaches which rolled into closed level crossing gates during a shunting operation were "not properly secured", a safety report has found.
• Budget 2018: Why is it so hard to spend money on roads and rail?It's not easy getting big infrastructure projects finished, or even started.
• South Western Railway workers begin five-day strikeThe walkout will be the longest yet in the dispute over the role of guards on South Western Railway.
• Conservative MP Michael Fabricant 'cycles naked through London park'Michael Fabricant is campaigning for a nude charity bike ride in his Lichfield constituency.
• Ryanair profits hit by strikes and higher fuel costsHigher fuel costs also contributed to a 7% decline in half-year profits.
• Grayling to decide on Govia Thameslink penalty 'in weeks'Transport Secretary Chris Grayling was grilled by MPs about a timetable overhaul that caused chaos.

The Guardian

• Florida: driverless bus shut down for putting children at 'inappropriate' riskTransdev was granted permission by US traffic safety agency in March to use shuttle for testing purposes, but not as a school bus

The Scotsman

• Sir Richard Branson stepping down as chairman of Hyperloop OneSir Richard Branson is stepping down from his role as chairman of Virgin Hyperloop One, the company has announced.
• Rail disruption: Delays on Edinburgh - Glasgow line due to overhead wires damageRail users have been warned to expect travel disruption until at least 10pm due to damaged wires on the Edinburgh Waverley - Glasgow Queen Street line.
• Scotrail fined £2.2m over litter and train and toilet cleanlinessFailure to meet a series of targets has resulted in ScotRail being fined more than £2.2 million in the first half of the year

Times Online

• Racist tirade ‘mishandled’ by Ryanair [Subscription]Ryanair was condemned yesterday after failing to remove a passenger who launched a racist tirade against an elderly black woman sitting in his row.
• Weeks of railway strikes timed to hit England rugby [Subscription]Passengers are facing chaos on the country’s busiest rail network during a five-day strike over the closure of doors on trains.
• Watching porn on the bus ‘is harassment’ [Subscription]Watching pornography on trains and buses is sexual harassment against women and should be banned, say MPs.
• Fare freezes lump taxpayer with the bill, says Chris Grayling [Subscription]The transport secretary has ruled out a fare freeze for rail passengers caught in this summer’s timetable chaos, arguing that a similar move in London had caused serious damage.

City AM

• Uber to appeal Singaporean competition watchdog decision on Grab mergerUber has said it will appeal a decision made by the competition watchdog in Singapore on its merger with local ride-hailing rival Grab.
• Ryanair profits slide as strikes, cheaper fares and higher fuel costs impact bottom lineRyanair saw half-year profits decline this morning to round off a troubled few days at the budget airline.
• Fiat to sell components maker to KKR-backed firm, creating major car parts manufacturerFiat will sell its car parts business Magneti Marelli to private equity backed Calsonic Kansei for €6.2bn, creating one of the world’s largest components companies.
• Elon Musk says first Hyperloop tunnel to open in the US in DecemberEntrepreneur Elon Musk has said the first testing tunnel of his Hyperloop transport system is almost fully completed, and will be open to the public later this year.
• Hybrid car grants end early after ‘exceptional demand’The government has pulled the plug on its grants for buyers of low-emissions cars, after “exceptional demand” for certain models meant the policy quickly hit its sales cap earlier than expected.
• Out of the loop: Virgin boss Branson steps down from Hyperloop roleSir Richard Branson quit his role as chairman of Virgin Hyperloop One tonight, in a move that comes days after Saudi Arabia said it was scrapping a planned deal with the company following the billionaire’s decision to freeze his ties with the kingdom.

Daily Express

• REVEALED: Transport Department official tried to HIDE details of rail compensation schemeCHRIS GRAYLING was unable to explain why an official from his department had instructed a rail company not to reveal the details of their compensation scheme to the media.

The Mirror

• Disabled train passenger left stranded 11 miles from home after ScotRail blunderRichard Toner - who suffers from brittle bone disease - was told he would have to get off at the next manned station which was four stops away

Bristol Live

• Fears no local bus service will be added to new neighbourhood in South GloucestershireConcerns have been raised over buses not being planned into key infrastructure projects - like a 1,290-home neighbourhood east of Harry Stoke, which Cllr Dave Hockey said could set a worrying precedent
• First boss reveals cause of delays after driving bus for a dayJames Freeman drove the 349 bus for a day - and had this to say The managing director of the company running almost all Bristol's buses has got behind the wheel of one of his buses himself - to see exactly why his company has come in for fierce criticism in recent weeks.

London Evening Standard

• Tearful victim of Ryanair passenger's racist rant: If it was the other way round, they would have called the police on meA pensioner who fell victim to vile racial abuse while on a Ryanair flight has tearfully said if the situation had been reversed, she believes passengers would have rounded on her and called police.
• TfL 'could face independent probe into Crossrail project'Transport for London could face an independent probe into delays to Crossrail, it emerged today.
• Chris Grayling blames Sadiq Khan's fare freezes on TfL money issuesTransport secretary Chris Grayling has blamed Sadiq Khan for Transport for London's (TfL)
• South Western Railway strike: Travel misery to hit London commuters as five-day walk-out beginsRail passengers and half-term holidaymakers are facing travel misery as a five day strike on South Western Railway (SWR) trains brings thousands of services to a standstill.

Sheffield Telegraph

• Uphill battle for Sheffield pensioners in bus changes rowFrustrated pensioners have claimed they face a walk up one of the steepest hills in Sheffield for a bus following timetable changes.

East Anglian Daily Times

• 30 staff lose jobs as airport taxi run firm falls into administrationAll 30 staff at an Ipswich firm offering airport taxi runs have lost their jobs after it collapsed into administration, it has emerged.

Other Regional Press

• 'Welcome to idiot town!' says Colchester bus campaigner Peter KayEssex County Council introduced an overhaul of Colchester’s bus system on Sunday, in a bid to reduce bus traffic and air pollution.
• ‘We’ll fight on for bus service’ - Preston residents stranded by bus service cuts vow to keep up campaign despite Lancashire County Hall knockbackStranded residents are refusing to back down in their battle for a bus service, despite being told public transport is “unsustainable” in their part of Preston. Read more at: https://www.lep.co.uk/news/transport/we-ll-fight-on-for-bus-service-preston-residents-stranded-by-bus-service-cuts-vow-to-keep-up-campaign-despite-lancashire-county-hall-knockback-1-9408825
• Extra Flybe flights from Exeter Airport to benefit Enterprise ZoneAirline operator Flybe has announced a raft of new winter flights - a move that has been mooted to benefit Exeter and East Devon Enterprise Zone.
• Scotrail fined £2.2million in first half of the year for failing to meet targetsA service quality report covering April to June showed the operator only achieved 15 out of 38 targets.
• Businessman launches petition to restore Sidmouth’s railway linkThe Sid Valley community has been called upon to throw their support behind the scheme which seeks to rally the government into bringing the line back. Last year the Herald ran a story on the potential return of thousands of railway links across the country, including in Sidmouth.
• Transport for Wales reports 'challenging' first weekFrench-Spanish firm KeolisAmey took over the service, which runs through Shropshire, from Arriva Trains Wales last weekend.

Construction News

• Prison seeks partner for HS2 rail training facilityHMP Brixton is “actively seeking” a partner to set up a facility in the prison grounds that could be used to train offenders to work on projects such as HS2 after release.

Rail Magazine

• EXCLUSIVE: Smith: rail freight can boost economy with political backingMore political support is needed if the rail freight sector is to achieve its potential in boosting productivity and increasing the sustainability of the UK economy.
• Northern to introduce first new trains from DecemberThe first of Northern’s 98 new trains will enter traffic in December.
• Azuma launch date unclearThe Government says it is working closely with the Office of Rail and Road, Hitachi, LNER and Network Rail on the introduction of the Class 800/801 Azuma fleet.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Bombardier Transportation to unveil MOVIA C30 metro trainBombardier Transportation is set to unveil its new MOVIA C30 metro train at Persontrafik 2018 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Aviation Industry

• UK to probe competition concerns on CityJet-Aer Lingus wet leaseThe UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will probe Irish regional airline CityJet’s plans to place aircraft on long-term wet-lease with International Airlines Group (IAG) Irish carrier Aer Lingus. read more
• Volocopter to test eVTOL air taxi in Singapore in 2019 Autonomous air taxi developer Volocopter will conduct its next set of urban flight tests in Singapore, in the second half of 2019. read more
• Safran shareholders to review Zodiac merger details French aerospace firm Safran and seating and cabin interior manufacturer Zodiac Aerospace last week signed an agreement to merge Zodiac Aerospace into Safran, eight months after the success of the initial tender offer and as the integration process is already under way. read more
• Boeing predicts need for 3,260 freighters by 2037With air cargo traffic expected to double over the next 20 years, the global freighter fleet will need to expand by more than 70% to satisfy demand, from the current 1,870 aircraft to 3,260 in 2037. read more

Other News Sources

• New Trains To Be Tested To And From ScarboroughNew trains are being tested to and from Scarborough in the next few weeks.
• Developer's application for rail depot in Northamptonshire rejected by Government body The Government body responsible for examining the proposal for a huge rail depot in the Northamptonshire countryside has not accepted the developer's submission.
• New £2 billion 12-year plan to boost our railways from Brighton to LondonGREATER Brighton chiefs have welcomed a pledge for widespread investment in the region’s creaking rail infrastructure with a £2 billion, 12-year plan to put more trains on the mainline to London.
• HS2 masterplanner reveals management overhaulThe firm behind the masterplanning of one of HS2’s hub stations has revealed a management shake-up which includes the departure of one of its founders.
• Derby resignalling - 79 days laterYou can achieve a lot in 79 days. Last year, British cyclist Mark Beaumont, inspired by the Jules Verne novel, cycled around the world in less than 80 days, covering more than 18,000 miles and claiming a new world record.
• ‘Revolutionary’ plans to transform rail services publishedPlans to 'revolutionise' rail services across the West Midlands over the next 30 years have been unveiled.